A supernatural occurrence is described as an event or thing that is assumed to come from beyond or to originate from otherworldly forces and cannot be explained by reason or science. The play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare is a tragedy that highlights the danger of too much ambition without moral consciousness through the development of Macbeth’s character. The plot of the drama explores topics including tyranny, gender stereotypes, and belief as a source of motivation. Also incorporated throughout the play are various supernatural and mythical occurrences, which are portrayed as witches, ghosts, prophecies, and delusions. These supernatural events are included in Macbeth because of their contribution to the overall theme, and because of their relevance to each character depending on how much they believe in them. Shakespeare uses supernatural events to highlight existing qualities in Macbeth and to show how these qualities are intensified when Macbeth is exposed to them.
The qualities that are affected are ambition, greed, and malevolence, which all become exacerbated throughout the play and help show the development of Macbeth’s character. The first mention of mythical events is at the very start of the play. It opens on page 17 to the witches huddled in a circle conversing with each other, until Macbeth and Banquo enter the scene. Each witch shouts a line at the two men this information becomes the newly formed prophecy which predicts that Macbeth will become, the Thane of Glamis, Cawdor, and future king. This is the very beginning of Macbeth’s strong desire for success. Here, Macbeth’s character is naive and passive. The supernatural predictions begin to come true by naming him Thane of Glamis and Cawdor, he asks “Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor. If good, why do I yield to that suggestion/…My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical, / Shakes so my single state of man / That function is smothered in surmise, / And nothing is but what is not” / (1.3.146-155).
Our writers can help you with any type of essay. For any subject
Order now
Macbeth asks himself why he is feeling bad if something good is happening. He talks about the thought of these goals as just a fantasy. It shows his true naivety when he speaks about committing murder, he explains how the mere thought “Shakes so my single state of man” (1.3.153). It seems here as if Macbeth would never commit such a horrible act because just the thought of it gravely scares him, this portrays Macbeth’s character now before the development begins. He doesn’t know yet the extent that his future self will go to, to achieve his goals. After the prophecy is introduced Macbeth is urged to take drastic measure and murder Duncan for his benefit. When he eventually does decide to do this there are some strange events in nature that help portray the concept of limited access and how nature has correlation to the plot through foreshadowing. When Macbeth commits the murder of Duncan there are parallels that can be drawn between him and the animal’s behavior. The morning after his death an old man speaks about the unusual nature during the night “A falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place, / was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed” (2.4.15-16).
The owl resembles Macbeth’s character as a murderer with no intentional cause. This is symbolism of Macbeth’s character transformation because it was unnatural for him to murder someone and this predator-prey situation is a mirror to the events going on in Macbeth’s life. After this, Macbeth becomes even more confident and convinces a couple assassins to kill Banquo. He tells them “Fleance, his son, that keeps him company, / Whose absence is no less material to me / Than is his father’s, must embrace the fate / Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart. / I’ll come to you anon” (3.2.154-158). Macbeth is now plotting to murder more people in comparison to him before, being shaken up by the mere thought of it. Not only has he murdered one person, but he is also now conspiring another homicide and slowly becoming insane. This change came very suddenly, so it suggests that this was a quality that was already in Macbeth, but circumstances around him like the validity of the prophecy, enhanced characteristics such as malice within Macbeth and made it become a prominent trait in his personality. He becomes determined to make it come true no matter what it takes.
Jumping ahead in the play to when the witches reappear, there is already a huge shift in his personality. He has now not only killed Duncan to fulfill prophecy, but has also murdered Banquo and Macduff’s family in a bloody rage. His personality has grown power hungry, desperate, could even be described as mentally ill. His descent into madness is displayed in his second encounter with the witches, he orders them to “answer [him]. / Though you untie the winds and let them fight. / Against the churches, though the yeasty waves. / Confound and swallow navigation up…Even till destruction sicken, answer [him]./ To what [he] ask[s] [them]” (4.1.52-64). Macbeth commands them to tell him everything they know and has no regard to what the consequences are including unleashing violent winds, tearing down churches, etc. This is a huge character shift from the previous Macbeth who was scared of the thought of murder. This change is primarily due to the original prophecy and its effects, it made him yearn for power so much so that he would do anything to get it. This greed and selfishness shaped his character to become a vile human being. He had so much fixation on these events that the obsession is bringing out his inner evil and morphing his mental-state. After Macbeth’s outburst with the witches he finds out that he will never be harmed by “none of woman born” (4.1.91) and he will never be defeated until “Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill Shall come against him” (4.1.106-107).
Macbeth now puts a lot of faith into the prophecy and inflates his ego to the point where he thinks nobody will ever defeat him. In his mind it makes sense, a forest will never uproot and move and no human is not born of a woman. This ego inflation results in another personality transformation, and he becomes the most arrogant, irrational man who believes he is invincible and will never die. He announces “Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane / I cannot taint with fear. 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’” (5.3.3-6). Macbeth’s newfound smugness compels him to talk to others like so as if he has nothing to fear. Macbeth’s tone is representative of how the prophecy leads the quality of conceitedness to be drawn out of him because of the circumstances. His reliance on the prophecy makes him to continue to believe that he fears nothing until “Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane” or he meets “a man not born of woman” (5.3.3-6). The supernatural occurances in Macbeth allow readers to better understand charecter traits of Macbeth by creating circumstances that involve qualities already within Macbeth to be drawn out and intensified.
Research Theatre In Shakespeare’s Time
The cornerstone of entertainment
William Shakespeare’s play Macbeth was a failure — in regard to its role as a play. Theatres and audiences at his time didn’t seem to be appreciating his scripts at all. Despite their wrong criticism on this great man of letters, theatres back in the 1600s did have a wide variety of forms of plays and performances, while audiences were seeking new approaches to recreations. This provided a never-seen-before chance for the development of modern entertainment. The demanding demands on the actors, the changes in the theatre and the initial expression of people’s tastes are the cornerstones of the creation of modern entertainment.
To begin, the good actors must be the most indispensable resource for modern entertainment. The same was true for the dramas of Shakespeare’s time when actors were the most necessary presence of a drama. There can be no elaborate stage, no delicate costumes, no lighting and special effects, but there must be actors. A drama without an actor is like a man has only mind yet no body, unable to be performed and shown. The profession of an actor was strictly demanded by the public from the very beginning, which was reflected in the law and people’s prejudice at that time. The first was gender discrimination. Most plays required female characters, but because the importance of women’s rights was ignored, and neither the law nor the public pressure allowed women to become an actress. “As we know, and as Thomas Jordan’s prologue makes very clear, prior to Marshall, women did not play Shakespearean roles. Instead, the practice of casting boy actors in female parts meant that the playful exploration of gender was written into these plays from the start” (The first English actress, para. 1).
Our writers can help you with any type of essay. For any subject
Order now
In the above remarks, it can be found that women as actresses have been subjected to serious discrimination and prejudice. As the claim by Thomas Jordan, people at the time believed that only men could act well in plays, let alone Shakespeare’s. Serious sexism prevented women from becoming actors. “Shakespeare was an actor, people who were actors were called undesirables by England laws” (Was Shakespeare an actor, para. 1). In fact, actors were not in high status in Shakespeare’s time. Even the publics classify them as ‘vagabonds and sturdy beggars’ according to an act of Parliament in 1572 defined them, and as “servants of noblemen”. All of these, however, has evolved over time. In Shakespeare’s time, actors were not well regarded. So, they had to have more changes and cater to the audience. In this unfair time, every actor is forced by life to improve his acting skills and plan better scripts. There was a general default stereotype towards actors that an actor could only play one kind of character in his life.
Although they can only play one role in their lifetime, it also gives them the opportunity to delve deeper into analysis of this type of role. These analyses would then be passed on to the next generation of actors, which were then spread out to the rest of the world. At the same time, as the servants of the aristocracy recognized by law, they also had to have good manners. This was very strict on the character of the actors, to avoid unnecessary collision when aristocrats were seeing dramas. Thus, the character of the actor was quickly cultivated by the social environment. Good character and professional acting had made the profession a success. Also to the modern entertainment training and laid a good social resources.
Furthermore, if an actor is a program in a computer, the theater is then a computer display. The theatre is the stage where actors perform and the best place for drama. A good theatre accommodates its deficiencies by considering its furnishings and configuration. The Globe theatre is a good example to everyone. It was established before Shakespeare, and as the once popular theater, it recorded the most authentic appearance of the former theater. ‘At the gation of American actor and director Sam Wanamaker, a new Globe theatre was built according to an Elizabethan plan.’ (the modern Globe, para. 1) Just as ginkgo, the living fossil of the biological world, the Globe theatre is also a ‘fossil’ in the history of entertainment. The amphitheater with a rectangular stage was a standard arrangement of the theatre at that time. In terms of universal configuration, the theatre consisted of two parts — the auditorium and the stage. At the bottom of the stage was a place called cellarage, which was usually the entrance to the stage when actors were ready to perform. Directly above the stage was a balcony-like place where actors could change their costumes and make up. There were three levels of spectators around the stage, and the audience on the first floor directly opposite the stage is generally was the place for civilians. ‘They will pay ?5 to come to the theatre and stand and watch.’ (layout of the Globe, para. 4) This excerpt showed that there were no seats on the ground floor for people who came here. But the second and third floors were generally for aristocrats to see dramas.
Compared with the aristocrats who could sit comfortably upstairs and see drama quietly, the paupers on the first floor were pathetic. Besides that, theater equipment was often expensive, and it could be very expensive to have a stage designer. What’s more, some theaters were often destroyed. Modern theatres are free of odd designs of different classes given different treatments, but for the most part they are as they were in Shakespeare’s time. Just as the saying goes, ‘a change in form but not in content’. Although today’s theaters have changed the shape of the theater and added many high-tech configurations, the basic requirements for theatre setting remain unchanged. In other words, people assert that everyone should improve what the theatre used to be, rather than demolish it altogether. This shows that people are what the theatre of Kili used to be, to create a theatre of today. And as theatres are giving modern entertainment a better place to show, people can do more to promote the development of modern entertainment. The cinema, for example, is a derivative of the old theatre. Theatres in Shakespeare’s time were the basis for arranging modern entertainment available on a wider stage.
From the other side, people’s preferences are the most important thing in driving the flow of entertainment. People’s preferences determine where the mainstream of contemporary film and television would go, so was the audience’s preferences’ huge impact on modern entertainment in Shakespeare’s time. In Shakespeare’s day, there were only a few major leisure activities: books, plays, music, and the Colosseum. Since riding and archery were skills that were generally necessary and expensive for everyone, people other than the aristocracy in many cases did not consider them a pastime. In comparison, only drama was an entertainment that could be consumed by common people and nobles. In fact, in the existing literature, most of the literature records that plays were not popular. ‘During the reign of Elizabeth I, Theaters were still escorted within the city walls of London (even though the Queen enjoyed the theater and frequently saw performances in person).'(How Shakespeare Changed Perceptions of the Theater, para. 2) This could be due to prejudices against actors, a thriving but unpopular profession. But this did not affect people’s love for drama. When it came to what kind of play they like, the answer would mostly be historical plays. For example, Shakespeare wrote many tragedies in his life, but historical plays were the most popular during his lifespan. It was sarcastic that his play Helmet, which in his own willing was intended to be famous as a play, wasn’t known as a brilliant work of literature to people until 40 years after his death. It’s almost as if diamonds, which are supposed to be the jewel of the mining industry, are more famous for being displayed at weddings. The audience’s pursuit to history made the aristocracy gradually accept the existence of drama, after all, history can consolidate the position of contemporary government. This facilitated their better governance and development. But at the same time, other dramas were quietly growing. Because they were not popular with the contemporary people, they would seek more elaborate scripts. They were then gradually discovered and matured into modern entertainment films, plays and cartoons. All of these are the needs created by the evolving process of people’s hobbies and needs. So the choice of people’s first hobbies also made an important contribution to modern entertainment.
To sum up, in Shakespeare’s time, the harsh treatment of actors, the design of theaters and the choice of comedy types became the most important cornerstones of modern entertainment.
Work Cited
- None. “Shakespeare and Gender: the ‘Woman’s Part’.” The British Library, The British Library, 10 Feb. 2016, www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/shakespeare-and-gender-the-womans-part.
- Raesly, Harrison. “Theatre in Shakespeare´s Time.” Adobe Spark, 2016, spark.adobe.com/page/UMFg6sBSxkkhL/.
- Wells, Stanley. ‘Shakespeare, William (1564-1616).’ Poets: American and British, edited by Ian Scott-Kilvert, vol. 3, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1998, pp. 1245-1288. Scribner Writers on GVRL, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=GVRL&sw=w&u=nysl_ca_queen&v=2.1&id=GALECX1386100067&it=r&asid=3e6a96b6f83aee56fbda50cb989068fc. Accessed 6 Mar. 2017.
- None. “Elizabethan Actors.” Elizabethan Actors, 2017, www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-actors.htm.
- Picard, Liza. “Amuseuments and Pastimes in Elizabethan England.” The British Library, The British Library, 17 Feb. 2016, www.bl.uk/shakespeare/articles/amusements-and-pastimes-in-elizabethan-england#.
- Jamieson, Lee. ‘Theater Experience in Shakespeare’s Lifetime.’ ThoughtCo, Feb. 11, 2020, thoughtco.com/theater-experience-in-shakespeares-lifetime-2985243.
