Supernatural Imagery

Macbeth abandons his rationality as the apparitions speak to him. The keynote to the play "Fair is foul and foul is fair" (I . i . 12) applies to this scenario, as the apparitions' warnings are not as they seem. Through these warnings Macbeth grows confident that he is not going to fall to anyone which ultimately leads to his death.

Everything Is Not What It Seems.

The supernatural forces brought upon Macbeth provide insight on his true character and how although he may seem to be a noble and valiant king, he struggles with the abandonment of moral thought as seen when the three apparitions are told.

"What's the boy Malcolm? Was he not born of woman? The spirits that know all mortal consequences have pronounced me thus: ' Fear not Macbeth. No man that's born of woman shall e'er have powers upon thee'" (V . iii . 3-7).

The Beginning of the End

Macbeth's inability to think rationally is exhibited through his literal interpretation of the apparitions which leads to his belief that he is invincible.

In Macbeth, a pattern resides, where one death after another caused by the supernatural brings him closer to insanity and to his own death. This tragic tale of one man's cycle of life lead by the supernatural, also paints a vision of the beginning of his plunge into his weak nature . Macbeth's first encounter with the three witches is truly the beginning of the end.

Weird = Fate

The three sisters are rarely referred to as "witches" in the play but, are more commonly known as the "weird sisters". "Weird" comes from the Old English word "wyrd," meaning "fate." This is associated with the three Fates in Greek mythology. "The Fates" control man's destiny therefore, calling the sisters "weird" highlights that Macbeth does not have control over his own actions, and that he does not make his own choices. As the most recognized paradox in the play states, "what's fair is foul, and foul is fair" {Shakespeare, I . i . 12} everything is not as it seems.

The Floating Dagger

Macbeth's fate is portrayed through the witches' supernatural powers when the floating dagger appears to him in order to help him lose his sense of morality and aid him in fulfilling his prophesied fate by killing the king.

The Three Apparitions

Macbeth is overcome by his inner evil and is blind to the real truth in the apparitions.

William Shakespeare's use of the supernatural in Macbeth serves as the driving force that leads the protagonist to succumb to his weak nature thus bringing about an ultimate downfall.

Macbeth receiving the three apparitions from the Three Weird Sisters.

A dagger of the mind: A False Creation

The Three Weird Sisters

Supernatural Imagery

"Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee. I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight? Or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?" (II . i . 44-51).

Supernatural imagery is exhibited through the floating dagger because the dagger is the witches' way of tempting Macbeth without inflicting harm on him.

Being the catalysts of the plot, the three witches are the supernatural forces that spark Macbeth's character into the vile and tyrannical man that he ends up being.

*The play is dependent on the supernatural for a plot, and without it, there is no play*

The floating dagger depicts Macbeth as an unknowing victim of fate, hardly able to help himself any longer. The supernatural forces limit Macbeth's judgement as well as control over his actionswhich ultimately leads to the murder of Duncan.

Bogdan, David, Julia, Talia and Cristina

Fate is written in the stars