Supernatural Flashcards
Supernatural
TS1 – The witches are the catalysts for the action, and they exploit Macbeth’s hamartia – his ambition.
TS2 – Banquo is less trusting of the witches and cautions Macbeth that they might have evil intentions.
TS3 – The supernatural also occurs in the appearance of Banquo’s ghost.
TS4 – Later in the play, the witches recognise Macbeth’s evil, and seek to deceive him.
TS5 – At the end of the play, Macbeth realises he has been deceived, and the witches have led him to damn his soul.
[ witches ]
‘fair is foul and foul is fair’
L Paradox / Chiasmus
The witches predict Macbeth will be king which is good but lead him to commit murder which is evil, in order to achieve his ambition to be king. It shows equivocation of the witches.
[ Banquo ]
‘instruments of darkness’
C - Reflects James I’s belief in witches as evil agents, described in his book ‘Daemonology’. Shakespeare flatters his patron the king by including a subject in which he was interested.
L - Metaphor
Banquo realises the witches could be evil agents of the devil and tempt Macbeth to commit sin.
[ Macbeth ]
‘thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold’
C - The Gunpowder plot
R - Ghost terrifies the audience. It is also a warning of how murderer will be punished – dead will come back to haunt them.
D - The ghost is not just supernatural, it is also a projection of Macbeth’s guilty conscience after murdering Banquo.
[ witches ]
‘by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes’
C - It was believed witches could sense the approach of evil.
L - Rhyming couplet
The witches know Macbeth has become as evil as they are.
[ witches ]
‘artificial sprites … shall draw him on in his confusion’
The witches decided to deceive Macbeth about his future to punish him.
R / I - Audience may feel Macbeth deserves punishment for his evil or feel sympathy as he should not have trusted the witches.
[ Macbeth ]
‘juggling fiends’
C - Divine right of king Punishment from God.
L - Metaphor
Macbeth realises he has been deceived by the witches as agent for the devil and that he has damned his soul to Hell for murdering a king.
