The
The supernatural
supernatural in
in Macbeth
Macbeth
Shakespeare explores Jacobean ideas of morality, damnation, kingship, and fate.
Arguably, this play’s interpretation of the supernatural is inspired by King James I’s
obsession with witches, as shown through his book, Daemonologie published in
1597, and his paranoia about the forces of evil’s plan to destroy him and his legacy.
Using the king and country’s morbid fascination with witches and the supernatural,
Shakespeare explores the idea of ‘the natural order’ and the consequences that the
disruption has on both Heaven and Earth’s harmony and one’s own soul. It's a
warning, inspired by the gunpowder plot in 1605, that advises the public not to
overthrow James I off his throne, as this was high treason to God, seeing as the
power to rule the country is God-given. Often, the supernatural is interpreted as
‘witchcraft’ but it also refers to the realm in which beyond natural happenings occur,
such as the ongoing war between good Equivocation
and evil or heaven and hell.
Equivocation
“look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t.” Act 1
This is a direct reference the gunpowder plot medal made in 1605 in
commemoration of the discovery of the plot, and indirectly likens Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth to Adam and Eve, both pairs assuming that they could deceive God and
could acquire knowledge that only God knows. The medal itself, depicted a snake
amongst lilies and roses, and was inscribed with the phrases, ‘he, who concealed
himself, is detected’ and ‘God, the keeper of James, have not slept’. This image, a
familiar sight with the Jacobean audience, is a reminder that both Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth’s plans and schemes will soon be unveiled, and their wrongdoings will be
exposed as well, and by extension, evil and wicked schemers. But also, it reminds
the audience that God restlessly is in control and watches over his chosen people,
therefore, despite how bleak the world looks, evil will never fully triumph over the
forces of good. Additionally, being the ‘the serpent’ could indirectly put Macbeth in
the same league as the devil but also as the ‘Jesuits’, the rebels that planned the
gunpowder plot.
“This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill; cannot be good” Act 1
“fair is foul, and foul is fair” Act 1
“the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles” Act 1
“these juggling fiends no more believed that palter us with double sense” Act
5
This refers to the particularly volatile and bleak times in which Macbeth is written in
and set in. This idea of a moral grey area permeates the play and influences the
actions of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, in which good and evil aren’t so black
and white as we see in fairy tales. Macbeth depicts the gritty reality of humans being
torn between their own cardinal sins and their own morality, where the world is
flipped on its head and good and our innate greed act as a lens to distort what is
deemed evil to appear good and vice versa. This play recognises that the forces of
evil often distort the truth and basically tear away at our futures thread by thread,
which makes Macbeth as a victim, a victim of the witches, a victim of his own
ambition, a victim of his ill-fated destiny. This play is sort of like the story of Job, in
which the struggle of humans is simply just a contest between Good and evil except
Macbeth is just a pawn in thisLightand and dark
used imagery the natural order and to test
to readjust
Malcom and Macduff.
Light and dark imagery
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark” Act 1
The supernatural
supernatural in
in Macbeth
Macbeth
Shakespeare explores Jacobean ideas of morality, damnation, kingship, and fate.
Arguably, this play’s interpretation of the supernatural is inspired by King James I’s
obsession with witches, as shown through his book, Daemonologie published in
1597, and his paranoia about the forces of evil’s plan to destroy him and his legacy.
Using the king and country’s morbid fascination with witches and the supernatural,
Shakespeare explores the idea of ‘the natural order’ and the consequences that the
disruption has on both Heaven and Earth’s harmony and one’s own soul. It's a
warning, inspired by the gunpowder plot in 1605, that advises the public not to
overthrow James I off his throne, as this was high treason to God, seeing as the
power to rule the country is God-given. Often, the supernatural is interpreted as
‘witchcraft’ but it also refers to the realm in which beyond natural happenings occur,
such as the ongoing war between good Equivocation
and evil or heaven and hell.
Equivocation
“look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t.” Act 1
This is a direct reference the gunpowder plot medal made in 1605 in
commemoration of the discovery of the plot, and indirectly likens Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth to Adam and Eve, both pairs assuming that they could deceive God and
could acquire knowledge that only God knows. The medal itself, depicted a snake
amongst lilies and roses, and was inscribed with the phrases, ‘he, who concealed
himself, is detected’ and ‘God, the keeper of James, have not slept’. This image, a
familiar sight with the Jacobean audience, is a reminder that both Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth’s plans and schemes will soon be unveiled, and their wrongdoings will be
exposed as well, and by extension, evil and wicked schemers. But also, it reminds
the audience that God restlessly is in control and watches over his chosen people,
therefore, despite how bleak the world looks, evil will never fully triumph over the
forces of good. Additionally, being the ‘the serpent’ could indirectly put Macbeth in
the same league as the devil but also as the ‘Jesuits’, the rebels that planned the
gunpowder plot.
“This supernatural soliciting cannot be ill; cannot be good” Act 1
“fair is foul, and foul is fair” Act 1
“the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles” Act 1
“these juggling fiends no more believed that palter us with double sense” Act
5
This refers to the particularly volatile and bleak times in which Macbeth is written in
and set in. This idea of a moral grey area permeates the play and influences the
actions of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, in which good and evil aren’t so black
and white as we see in fairy tales. Macbeth depicts the gritty reality of humans being
torn between their own cardinal sins and their own morality, where the world is
flipped on its head and good and our innate greed act as a lens to distort what is
deemed evil to appear good and vice versa. This play recognises that the forces of
evil often distort the truth and basically tear away at our futures thread by thread,
which makes Macbeth as a victim, a victim of the witches, a victim of his own
ambition, a victim of his ill-fated destiny. This play is sort of like the story of Job, in
which the struggle of humans is simply just a contest between Good and evil except
Macbeth is just a pawn in thisLightand and dark
used imagery the natural order and to test
to readjust
Malcom and Macduff.
Light and dark imagery
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark” Act 1
