To what extent is the supernatural to blame for Macbeth's downfall?
Language, form, structure and context
In the play Macbeth, themes of supernatural partly drive Macbeth’s downfall by acting as a
catalyst, stimulating Macbeth’s ambition and violence. The use of paradoxal and
supernatural language creates temptation and manipulation. However, Shakespeare
creates a tragic hero who is flawed by his harmartia of ambition where it could be viewed
that its Macbeth’s weakness in morality and masculinity that ultimately cause bad choices
leading to his downfall.
The key supernatural element to the play is the witches who embody evil and ambiguity.
They initiate his tragic downfall through planting seeds of lies of kingship in his head. The
use of paradoxical language such as ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’ blurs moral boundaries
destabilizing natural moral orders creating confusion between good and evil. This is
significant as its evident Macbeth starts to embody this language where he suggests ‘so
foul and fair a day I haven’t seen’ suggesting the supernatural has started to infiltrate his
thoughts and destroy his good nature. In the Jacobean era, people were influenced heavily
by witchcraft beliefs as King James I viewed it as a corrupting force capable of leading
individuals into damnation. The witches start at beginning of the play to position the
supernatural as a dominant force but also the origin of chaos and a catalyst for Macbeth’s
ambition and catastrophe. The witches talking in trochaic tetrameter (four beats per line -
stressed unstressed) creates an unnatural atmosphere used for magical chants
highlighting them as a manipulating force. This is significant because Shakespeare uses
the witches to reflect the supernatural as a powerful force that orchestrates Macbeth’s
downfall.
However, Lady Macbeth could be held significantly for Macbeth’s downfall due to the
manipulation of his masculinity. Masculinity at the time it was written was defined through
ruthlessness and bravery. Lady Macbeth challenging and manipulating Macbeth’s
masculinity creates insecurity and the idea of being honored as an important factor of
masculinity. She uses coercive and manipulating language where she claims ‘when you
durst do it, then you were a man’ in which gender norms are used to shame him into
murdering Duncan. This is significant because this highlights masculinity as a toxic force
that leads men to do violent acts and immoral things to prove themselves and prevent
weakness or losing honor. Jacobean audiences would’ve found Lady Macbeth unsettling
as she challenges gender roles of women being subservient and silenced by being
,manipulating and dominating in manipulating Macbeths acts. This is significant because
Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth’s psychological manipulation as an attack on
Macbeth’s manipulation which plays a role in his downfall.
Yet, Macbeth is responsible solely for his own downfall due to his conscious moral choices
and ambition that drive the tragedy forward. He claims he has ‘no spur but only vaulting
ambition’ highlighting he has no moral justification to kill the king. The metaphor of
‘vaulting ambition’ compares his ambition to a horse rider attempting to leap to high
foreshadowing his downfall suggesting its reckless and inevitable. Therefore, Macbeth is
fully aware of the consequences knowing his commitment of regicide will lead to chaos.
This suggests he has agency in his actions and isn’t influenced by supernatural control. His
language starts to shift to tyrant language using imperatives and violent imagery where he
describes his thoughts as ‘slaughterous’ highlighting his center on violence and murder.
Shakespeare ultimately presents Macbeth as a character who tragically falls but is self
inflicted by his ambition and moral desensitization where he’s the primary agent of his own
destructution.
Macbeth historical context
• Jacobean era - uncertainty and tension due to king James I power
• Witchcraft the king was interested in - fears
• Divine right of kings James I believed in - chosen by God - witch trails and hunts
were a sin and moral conviction
• Great Chain of being was a conception everything had a fixed place - sin of regicide
and jumping the chain of being - chaos and bloodshed
• James I believed women were witches and the weaker sex and eve was tricked by
the serpent - women are more easily influenced and persuaded
• The witch trials and hunts led to thousands of deaths
• Scotland is a dark and moody place - bleak weather
• The men were in positions of power - women were subservient - responsible for
homes - fathers held authority
•
, •
Macbeth literary techniques
Often to explore themes of ambition guilt and the supernatural
Symbols
• Blood symbolizes guilt - permanent stain on the conscience of both the Macbeths -
guilt as a powerful and irreversible force on the soul and mind - mentioned over 40
times - stresses and creates tension to audience - deadly sin
• Weather - Macbeths murder causes unnatural occurrences in nature - thunder,
lightening - reflecting the violation and corruption of the hierarchy chain of being
• Night - evil and secrecy - to show the darkness of Macbeths character and the
sense of horror
• Time - being able to see into the future gives a sense of power to his actions and him
and his wife seem to being in a hurry to realize their ambitions - drives the climax
and consequences
• Sleep symbolizes the ignorance many characters find themselves facing leaving
them vulnerable - danger - notion of a spiritual world far beyond everyday
experience of the characters - innocence, peace of mind and purity
• Dagger is a symbol of Macbeths violent choice and ambition
• Macbeth represents the corrupting power of unchecked ambition where he serves
as a tragic figure who falls from a loyal figure to a tyrant king
• Lady Macbeth represents female ambition, manipulation and subversion of
traditional gender roles - a catalyst for her husbands violence and power
• Banquo represents loyalty, nobility and moral integrity
• Macduff symbolizes justice loyalty and the restoration of order
Structural elements
Act 1 - exposition - prophecies of witches are delivered - Macbeth is introduced as a hero
Act 2 - rising action - Duncans murder
Language, form, structure and context
In the play Macbeth, themes of supernatural partly drive Macbeth’s downfall by acting as a
catalyst, stimulating Macbeth’s ambition and violence. The use of paradoxal and
supernatural language creates temptation and manipulation. However, Shakespeare
creates a tragic hero who is flawed by his harmartia of ambition where it could be viewed
that its Macbeth’s weakness in morality and masculinity that ultimately cause bad choices
leading to his downfall.
The key supernatural element to the play is the witches who embody evil and ambiguity.
They initiate his tragic downfall through planting seeds of lies of kingship in his head. The
use of paradoxical language such as ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’ blurs moral boundaries
destabilizing natural moral orders creating confusion between good and evil. This is
significant as its evident Macbeth starts to embody this language where he suggests ‘so
foul and fair a day I haven’t seen’ suggesting the supernatural has started to infiltrate his
thoughts and destroy his good nature. In the Jacobean era, people were influenced heavily
by witchcraft beliefs as King James I viewed it as a corrupting force capable of leading
individuals into damnation. The witches start at beginning of the play to position the
supernatural as a dominant force but also the origin of chaos and a catalyst for Macbeth’s
ambition and catastrophe. The witches talking in trochaic tetrameter (four beats per line -
stressed unstressed) creates an unnatural atmosphere used for magical chants
highlighting them as a manipulating force. This is significant because Shakespeare uses
the witches to reflect the supernatural as a powerful force that orchestrates Macbeth’s
downfall.
However, Lady Macbeth could be held significantly for Macbeth’s downfall due to the
manipulation of his masculinity. Masculinity at the time it was written was defined through
ruthlessness and bravery. Lady Macbeth challenging and manipulating Macbeth’s
masculinity creates insecurity and the idea of being honored as an important factor of
masculinity. She uses coercive and manipulating language where she claims ‘when you
durst do it, then you were a man’ in which gender norms are used to shame him into
murdering Duncan. This is significant because this highlights masculinity as a toxic force
that leads men to do violent acts and immoral things to prove themselves and prevent
weakness or losing honor. Jacobean audiences would’ve found Lady Macbeth unsettling
as she challenges gender roles of women being subservient and silenced by being
,manipulating and dominating in manipulating Macbeths acts. This is significant because
Shakespeare presents Lady Macbeth’s psychological manipulation as an attack on
Macbeth’s manipulation which plays a role in his downfall.
Yet, Macbeth is responsible solely for his own downfall due to his conscious moral choices
and ambition that drive the tragedy forward. He claims he has ‘no spur but only vaulting
ambition’ highlighting he has no moral justification to kill the king. The metaphor of
‘vaulting ambition’ compares his ambition to a horse rider attempting to leap to high
foreshadowing his downfall suggesting its reckless and inevitable. Therefore, Macbeth is
fully aware of the consequences knowing his commitment of regicide will lead to chaos.
This suggests he has agency in his actions and isn’t influenced by supernatural control. His
language starts to shift to tyrant language using imperatives and violent imagery where he
describes his thoughts as ‘slaughterous’ highlighting his center on violence and murder.
Shakespeare ultimately presents Macbeth as a character who tragically falls but is self
inflicted by his ambition and moral desensitization where he’s the primary agent of his own
destructution.
Macbeth historical context
• Jacobean era - uncertainty and tension due to king James I power
• Witchcraft the king was interested in - fears
• Divine right of kings James I believed in - chosen by God - witch trails and hunts
were a sin and moral conviction
• Great Chain of being was a conception everything had a fixed place - sin of regicide
and jumping the chain of being - chaos and bloodshed
• James I believed women were witches and the weaker sex and eve was tricked by
the serpent - women are more easily influenced and persuaded
• The witch trials and hunts led to thousands of deaths
• Scotland is a dark and moody place - bleak weather
• The men were in positions of power - women were subservient - responsible for
homes - fathers held authority
•
, •
Macbeth literary techniques
Often to explore themes of ambition guilt and the supernatural
Symbols
• Blood symbolizes guilt - permanent stain on the conscience of both the Macbeths -
guilt as a powerful and irreversible force on the soul and mind - mentioned over 40
times - stresses and creates tension to audience - deadly sin
• Weather - Macbeths murder causes unnatural occurrences in nature - thunder,
lightening - reflecting the violation and corruption of the hierarchy chain of being
• Night - evil and secrecy - to show the darkness of Macbeths character and the
sense of horror
• Time - being able to see into the future gives a sense of power to his actions and him
and his wife seem to being in a hurry to realize their ambitions - drives the climax
and consequences
• Sleep symbolizes the ignorance many characters find themselves facing leaving
them vulnerable - danger - notion of a spiritual world far beyond everyday
experience of the characters - innocence, peace of mind and purity
• Dagger is a symbol of Macbeths violent choice and ambition
• Macbeth represents the corrupting power of unchecked ambition where he serves
as a tragic figure who falls from a loyal figure to a tyrant king
• Lady Macbeth represents female ambition, manipulation and subversion of
traditional gender roles - a catalyst for her husbands violence and power
• Banquo represents loyalty, nobility and moral integrity
• Macduff symbolizes justice loyalty and the restoration of order
Structural elements
Act 1 - exposition - prophecies of witches are delivered - Macbeth is introduced as a hero
Act 2 - rising action - Duncans murder
