Key Quotes on Supernatural

Question 1

“Stars hide your fires; let not light see my dark and deep desires” Macbeth, Act I, Scene IV

“Come, thick night and pall thee in the dunnest smoke of Hell […] nor Heaven peep through” Lady Macbeth, Act I, Scene V

Answer 1

Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are asking for their evil desires to be hidden from God

Both quotations come as they are plotting the murder of King Duncan

Analysis

Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are both on their own on stage when they speak these lines, suggesting that these soliloquys reveal the characters’ true feelings

The fact that Lady Macbeth echoes Macbeth’s words shows that they still have a close relationship based on shared ideas (unlike later in the play)

The religious symbolism (“stars”, “light”, “Heaven”) suggests that both characters are aware of the significance and consequences (“Hell”) of committing regicide

Both characters use imperative verbs (“hide”, “come”) to command the natural world (“stars”, “night”). This could be seen as blasphemous and an attempt to disrupt the Great Chain of Being or God’s plan

Question 2

“The dead butcher and his fiend-like queen” - Malcolm, Act V, Scene IX

Answer 2

Malcolm is describing the now-dead Macbeth and Lady Macbeth

This comes as part of the final soliloquy of the play after Macduff has killed Macbeth and Malcolm is restored to the throne

Analysis

A “butcher” is someone who kills without feeling or remorse. Shakespeare is suggesting that, because of his ambition, Macbeth turned from noble general to common murderer

Malcolm doesn’t refer to either character by name: this omission shows their immediate fall in status

Lady Macbeth is described as a “fiend”: a demon. She is being compared to the evil forces present in the play – the witches – who aim to bring chaos to the kingdom of Scotland

Question 3

“Fair is foul and foul is fair” — The witches, Act 1, Scene 1

Answer 3

At the beginning of the play, Shakespeare introduces the supernatural setting and the “weird sisters” as a malevolent force

Analysis

Shakespeare establishes the disruption of the natural order and the corruption of nature through the use of paradoxical language and parallelism

The use of rhyming language conveys the impression of evil spellcasting, adding to the supernatural atmosphere

Question 4

“A dagger of the mind” — Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 1

Answer 4

Shakespeare reveals the danger of the supernatural elements in the play through the corrupt transformation of the protagonist:

His vision of an imaginary dagger leads him to commit regicide and kill King Duncan

Analysis

Shakespeare’s use of metaphorical language shows Macbeth’s awareness of the malevolent effect of the vision

The vision acts as a catalyst for his murderous actions, showing impact of the supernatural on Macbeth

Question 5

“Do not shake thy gory locks at me” — Macbeth [to Banquo’s ghost], Act 3, Scene 4

Answer 5

Macbeth sees a vision of the assassinated Banquo at the feast, a sign of his guilt

Analysis

As the play progresses, Shakespeare presents the moral and psychological decline of Macbeth through his use of supernatural visions and auditory hallucinations

The use of assonance and monosyllabic words heightens the sense of his abject terror at seeing the ghost

Question 6

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes” — The witches [as Macbeth enters the scene], Act 4, Scene 1

Answer 6

The witches’ observation about Macbeth’s wickedness signposts his descent into evil for the audience

Analysis

The rhyming couplets and use of trochaic tetrameter for the witches’ speech suggests their supernatural difference

The use of assonance and superstitious references in this couplet also reinforces their supernatural wickedness