Deception & Supernatural

Macbeth introduces us to the brutal and unfounded world of medieval, feudal

Scotland. However, some of the themes that Shakespeare highlights are still
relevant in the 21st century. One of them being deception and the supernatural.

In Shakespeare's time, the powers of evil were thought to be absolutely real, to most
people Hell was an actual place and the Devil a constant threat to their souls. In
particular there was a fascination with witches and witchcraft. Hundreds of innocent
people, mostly women, were executed as suspected witches. When Shakespeare
came to write his play, he knew that his audience would find the theme of evil and
the supernatural very interesting indeed. In Macbeth, things are never quite what
they seem. Wicked and violent acts such as murder are covered up or the blame is
shifted onto someone else. The Witches mislead Macbeth, or they at least make
suggestions which allow him to mislead himself.
Ghosts, visions and apparitions occur regularly. All of these things contribute to the
many contrasts which exist in the play. Shakespeare set Macbeth in the distant past.
Scotland is shown as a wild and savage place ruled over by a weak king, Duncan,
who relies on his warrior Thanes to keep control. However, through the character of
Macbeth, Shakespeare goes on to show that having too much ambition and total
control of power is just as bad. By the end of the play Malcolm has become King and
it seems likely that he will be much fairer and treat his people justly.
“My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man
That function is smothered in surmise,
And nothing is but what is not.”
Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act I, Scene 3 shows him trying to puzzle out the implications
of the Witches’ prophecy. He reasons that since what the Witches predicted turned
out to be correct, it cannot be evil. But Macbeth also admits that because of their
prediction, he’s already begun to fantasize about killing King Duncan and taking the
throne. Macbeth struggles with whether he should murder Duncan. He knows that
Duncan has been a good and wise king. Macbeth also acknowledges that his role as
Duncan’s host and subject is to protect his king, not murder him in his sleep. Macbeth
senses that the murder will change his life, by making him king, but also by unleashing
his dark ambition on the world. By the end of the speech, he seems to have decided
against the murder, but his wife will soon talk him back into it.

“Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan

 Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been”
Macbeth struggles with whether he should murder Duncan. He knows that Duncan has
been a good and wise king. Macbeth also acknowledges that his role as Duncan’s host
and subject is to protect his king, not murder him in his sleep. Macbeth senses that the
murder will change his life, by making him king, but also by unleashing his dark ambition
on the world. By the end of the speech, he seems to have decided against the murder,
but his wife will soon talk him back into it.

“Is this a dagger which I see before me,

This handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
[...]
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?”
Macbeth’s soliloquy in Act 2, Scene 1 is important as it marks the first time he
hallucinates. We can assume the Witches he saw earlier were real, because Banquo
saw them too. In these lines, however, Macbeth is aware that the floating knife he sees
is not really there. The fact that he is troubled enough to hallucinate, yet still sane
enough to understand that he is hallucinating, can be contrasted with his later mental
state, when he fully believes he sees Banquo’s ghost, even though Lady Macbeth tells
him no one is there.

“Whence is that knocking? –

How is’t with me, when every noise appalls me?
[...]
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.”
Immediately after murdering Duncan. He hears a knocking at the gate to the castle, and
thinks it must be his doom coming to claim him. This moment, now that the dreadful
deed is done, shows Macbeth what the rest of his life will be like: he will become king,
but he also will be wracked with guilt and sure that supernatural elements are warning
him of his imminent death.

Shakespeare has used the supernatural and deception to inject pure horror into the play
and the eyes of the audience. The paranormal signs and powers show considerable
overlap with insanity in the case of several characters throughout the play.