The supernatural has played a major role in many medieval stories. There has been a sort of dread fascination with the unknowns of witchcraft for hundreds of years. The belief in the superstitious has compelled man to horrifying deeds. The Spanish Inquisition, or the numerous witch hunts that plagued Europe during the middle ages are some examples of the extremes man will go to when faced with horrifying unknowns of the superstitious. Macbeth, from Shakespeare's tragic play Macbeth, is by no means an exception to this phenomenon. He was driven by the witches and his superstition, as well as his wife and his ambition into a world of evil and deceit. A mans belief in the supernatural can be manipulated, causing him to descend into evil.
To blatantly kill another man for no apparent reason takes a very cold hearted person. Macbeth was incredibly loyal to those he killed throughout the play prior to his futures being predicted to him by the three witches. To protect Duncans kingship, before returning home from battle, Macbeth had slain two of his fellow Scotsmen who had rebelled against Duncans rule and completely massacred the opposition. Upon arriving back to Scotland, Macbeth was deemed Thane of Cawdor for his courage and strength that he exhibited. As a result, he responds to Duncan with this,
The service and loyalty I owe/ in doing it pays itself. Your Highness part/is to receive our duties/ and our duties are to your throne and state children and servants/ which do what they should by doing everything/ safe toward your love and honor. (Act I Sc. IV Lns. 25-30).
Macbeth shows how grateful he is to have received his promised position as Thane of Cawdor and does not make any plans to do away with Duncan.
It isnt until people make our dreams a possible reality that we make decisions to achieve those given goals. The same is true for Macbeth who was heavily influenced by the witches, even more so after Lady Macbeth points out the possibilities to Macbeth. Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth that since the weird sisters prophesized his becoming king, that he should follow their prophesy as quickly as possible and do away with his own cousin, Duncan, as soon as possible. Even after Lady Macbeth had read Macbeths letter explaining his encounter with the witches, she was skeptical of his capabilities in gaining the throne; she says, Yet do I fear thy nature./ It is too full o the milk of human kindness/ to catch the nearest way. (Act I Sc. V Lns. 15-17). Lady Macbeth knows that Macbeth is not strong enough and has too much sensibility towards human lives outside of battle and offers her own evilness to him and even asks to spill her own wicked thoughts and power into him. Macbeth calls off his plans to kill Duncan, telling his wife, We will proceed no further in this business./ He hath honored me of late. (Act I Sc. VII Lns. 34-35) showing his true feelings towards the plan to kill Duncan.
Supernatural forces can highly affect how one thinks and can alter ones decisions based on sheer superstition. Superstition has long played a role in cultures all around the world. The middle ages especially were a time when superstition ran rampant around Europe, where to be branded a witch meant death by burning at the stake. The witches, or weird sisters had a large impact on some of the more important decisions Macbeth made in regards to the throne, and the ruthless acts he perpetrated to keep his place on it. It is curious as to how the witches gained such control over Macbeth, in order to influence his decisions so profoundly. As Macbeth slides into madness, goaded by his wife and his lust for power, the witches look on and manipulate him to greater feats of evil, one of these being the killing of Macduffs family, The castle of Macduff I will to his throne surprise,/ Seize upon Fife, give to th edge o th sword/ his wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls/ that trace him in his line (4.1.171-174). Macbeth commits these acts with the warnings of the witches ringing in his ear, disturbed by their prophecy that only Macduff poses a threat.
The manipulation of the supernatural can cause man to become something evil and not off original state. The supernatural has the power to alter mans decisions and make man act in cruel and unusual manners. These changes that man goes through, in following the influences of the supernatural, break down them mentally and a person as a whole and detach them from all human feelings.
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