The Supernatural in Macbeth

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When Shakespeare wrote his play, Macbeth in 1606 a large majority of people were interested in witchcraft. This is why Shakespeare made the witches and the witches’ prophecies play a major part in the plot of the play. In the time of Macbeth witches were not believed to be supernatural beings themselves, but allegedly extended their powers by trading their souls to Satan. (atheism.about.com/od/christianityviolence/a/witches.htm) There can be little doubt that most of Shakespeare’s audience would have believed in witches, and for the purpose of the play, Shakespeare also acknowledged their reality. The three witches in the tragedy Macbeth are introduced at the beginning of the play and the brief opening few scenes give an instantaneous impression of mystery, fear and vagueness. This is a sign of things to come, as witchcraft is used as one of the main themes of the play. The witches will ultimately control Macbeth’s character, the plot, and lastly the theme and how they’re incorporated into the play. The witches have a solid effect on Macbeth's character. They very much encourage him in his accomplishments and awake his desires. They give Macbeth a false sense of hope with their prophecies of truths. They are the ones who cement the actual idea of killing Duncan into Macbeth's mind. But if it were only the witches prophecies, then Macbeth surely would not have murdered the king. “When you durst to do it, then you were a man,” (Macbeth, Act One Scene 7) When you reason things out by yourself you have a habit of knowing what is right and what is wrong, a conscience. But with the external influence from the witches, Macbeth thinks that the witches’ prophecies are his actual fate and feels that he must do all to fulfill it. One can wonder if Macbeth ever had a chance of doing what was right after he met with the witches. Macbeth had caused his own destruction and
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