The Supernatural in Macbeth | Theme Analysis 

1 day before my exam and this video is the only revision ive done. a wise person once said, 'revision is doubting ones ability to perform under pressure'

summary -Shakespeare uses the supernatural through: Witches and witchcraft Apparitions, ghosts and strange visions The disruption of nature -Shakespeare reveals the danger of interacting with supernatural powers; specifically, witches. He choses to open the play with a supernatural event which sets the tone for the disturbing events that will follow, and creating a fearful and unpredictable atmosphere -Macbeth is both tempted and prayed upon by the witches, tempting him prophecies that heighten his ambition. The witches also mislead Macbeth later in the play with strange visions -Lady Macbeth wants ‘spirits that tend on mortal thoughts’ to ‘unsex’ her to purge her of any guilt over the plan to murder Duncan. She wills the spirits to remove her womanhood (as woman were thought to be the weaker sex in Jacobean times) and replace it with direst cruelty. She, like her husband, loses everything she has as a result of embracing evil spirits. -Shakespeare uses the paradox ‘Fair is foul, and foul is fair’, from the witches as a spell willing for the world to be twisted and turned upon its head. Macbeth is the ‘fair’ warrior who is turned ‘foul’ through trusting the supernatural. Likewise, a fair a good king meets a foul end at the hands of his traitorous subjects. -Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to ‘look like the innocent flower, but be the serpent under it’. Here Shakespeare references the biblical creation story of Adam and eve, where the devil in disguise as a serpent, tempts eve to betray god’s instructions. This reference is used to symbolise the Macbeths actions with satanic origins. They become liars and deceivers, aligning themselves with the supernatural forces of evil, rather than the true and righteous god. ‘Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires’ -‘Is this a dagger which I see before me?’ is a symbol is the violent murder and represents the spells and temptations of the witches. Either Macbeth is hallucinating due to the stress and anticipation of a heinous crime, or he is being summoned to commit the murder by the same evil forces which drive the witches' prophecies. Later in the soliloquy, Macbeth references Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, which offers a further clue that his mind is in fact bewitched. -After Duncan’s murder, Shakespeare makes many references to the disruption of nature. The earth shakes, horses eat themselves, owls prey on falcons. These happenings link to the Jacobean belief in the great chain of being, with kings having the highest form of authority. These happenings suggest that Macbeth has caused a supernatural disruption in nature through his treasonous actions which cannot be undone. -Macbeth returns to the witches with his own choice, which is a sign his character has become reliant on evil forces for guidance. A witch says ‘something wicked this way comes’, emphasising Macbeth’s lack of humanity, even to the witches - he is monstrous and twisted, an echo of the ‘fair’ having become ‘foul’. -While lady Macbeth is found sleepwalking, she is seemingly haunted by supernatural visions of her crimes, seeing blood upon her hands which she cannot wash out. Her speech ‘Out, damned spot! Out, I say’ uses the symbol of blood to reveal her guilty conscience, as she is haunted by the terrible images of the murder of Duncan. Something she achieved by calling upon evil spirits. She is unable to sleep due to the bloody visions, which plague her night times. -Shakespeare uses this as a warning of the dangers of the supernatural; Lady Macbeth loses her mind, and Macbeth loses any sense of humanity - and ultimately, both lose their lives as a result of their foolish trust in supernatural powers

thanks for this video really worrying on exams and this has helped.

I have been binge watching these and it’s helped so much with my revision

this video has helped a lot, tysm

The video was really informative but I think an outro will be great. :)

Thank you so much, this video helped a lot

Thank you!

Its tommrow guys gl

7:36am on the day of Lit Paper 1…

oh my god this is brilliant

GCSEs in two weeks thanks for the video, what theme do you predict for aqa English this year?

What a geeza