Supernatural essay plan

Question 1

Thesis

Answer 1

• Witches serve as catalysts that awaken Macbeth’s already existing “black and deep desires” rather than purely supernatural beings who dictate fate (the witches’ prophecies are self-fulfilling rather than definite truth, perhaps not even real to begin with)
• Macbeth’s psyche becomes corrupted by the paradoxical, almost satanically tempting language of the witches
• Macbeth realises the duplicitous nature of the prophecies too late
• Shakespeare laments involvement with the supernatural through the use of dramatic irony (the audience can already see how Macbeth is doomed once the horses become cannibals after regicide), portraying it as a devilish force that leads to an inevitable tragic demise

Question 2

Paragraph 1

Answer 2

Initial influence:

• Witches as catalysts = Macbeth is in control of his own fate
• Childish rhyming (trochaic tetrameter = chanting, spell-like, tempting) = not to be taken seriously yet Macbeth does bc greed. They speak in half rhymes and with equivocation and with an enigmatic tone to purposefully mislead Macbeth (test of morals) “fair is foul and foul is fair”
• Use of enigmatic equivocation = foreshadows how the witches are not to be trusted however Macbeth subconsciously ignores these obvious warnings as he prioritises the promise of future glory over possible danger “stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more”
• Contrasts with Banquo (hush now) emphasises Macbeth’s shallow morals
• Shakespeare laments involvement with the supernatural to appease King James I (wrote Daemonolgie, obsession with witches) as he was a member of the elite. + witch hunts instilled paranoia and fear within Jacobean society

Question 3

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Answer 3

Development:

• Similarly, dagger appears to **tempt **Macbeth into committing regicide “is this a dagger which I see before me? The handle toward my hand?”
• Shakespeare blurs the line between supernatural illusions and reality = reinforces how prophecies have infiltrated his mind. Freud’s theory of unconscious motivations = superego = hesitates “I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself and falls on the other”. Id = unconscious “deep and black desires” to commit regicide to obtain future royal glory. “I go, and it is done; the bell invites me, hear it not Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell”
• Shakespeare reveals that the driving force behind Macbeth’s actions isn’t fate/witches but his own unconscious desires.

Question 4

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Answer 4

Final impact:

• Macbeth is exposed to the deceptive facade behind the witches’ prophecies however it is too late
• “Macduff was from his mother’s womb, untimely ripped” = exposed prophecy
• “Juggling fiends” “double sense” = Macbeth eventually realises that he has allowed himself to be deceived by the prophecies; they only told him what he wanted to hear (contrasts earlier in the play where he eagerly accepted the prophecies, “stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more”)
• Shakespeare ends the play on this final note to condemn the notion of trusting the supernatural which will lead to an inevitable tragic demise (true power lies in rightful rule through the Divine Right of Kings, attempting to control fate is futile — Macbeth should have known this yet he commit regicide anyway , dramatic irony - audience can predict he will suffer consequences. This would have reassured King James I)