Supernatural in Mcbeth and Hamlet

Supernatural in Mcbeth and Hamlet

Introduction

Stories of the witches, supernatural beings and even ghosts are common among many plays written during William Shakespeare’s time.  They reflect what the society practiced and believed during the early days.  William Shakespeare has employed the use of the witches and ghosts in several of his books which clearly shows how he believes in this whole concept of supernatural beings and ghosts. This study shows how William Shakespeare employs the use  of ghosts and supernatural beings to relate with his characters in Macbeth and Hamlet and how they affect characters in their acting.

The use of supernatural by Hamlet and Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Supernatural beings or ghosts have been featured by William Shakespeare in Hamlet and Macbeth.   Ghosts can be regarded as the spirits of the people who died long ago that come manifesting back in the lives of the living.  In his writing, Shakespeare employs the idea of ghosts in the starting scenes of this play where characters encounter costs. The act starts with Bernado asking Francisco, “Whose there?” and the play starts with a tense suspense which prepares audience for horrifying outcomes (Bušelić,2015). In the first act, Macbeth and Banquo, while on their way they encounter the three “weird sisters” who utter words towards Macbeth. As Macbeth tries to think about what these witches told him, he becomes possessed with an obsession about Kingship.  These witches set a spell on Macbeth which controls him. The primary aim of these witches was to make him possessed so that they would have their prophecy fulfilled. They did not want Macbeth to pursue the throne of the kingship.

On the other hand, Hamlet too faces other ghosts that wanted his father’s death avenged.   The scene is brought to the castle where even the watchmen walking outside in darkness are too afraid to encounter the ghosts after it had appeared twice.   The ghosts had already appeared two times in the area of this castles that had made everyone afraid of meeting them again. The opening of the scene with this kind of setting initiates a tense mood of the play. This set the audience to get ready for the uncertainty ahead with the element of surprise of the supernatural.   The ghosts take Hamlet father’s form which leaves him in dilemma on how to respond to it (Bušelić,2015). He remembers his promise to avenge his father’s death but right now he is torn between fulfilling the promise and adhering to his moral and religious values.  Shakespeare uses soliloquy to let his audience to know about the struggles that Hamlet is undergoing as he is haunted by the ghost of his father whose presents compels him to fulfill his promise to avenge. From this soliloquy, it is clearly evident that Hamlet is willing to defy the wishes of his father’s ghost and follow his moral and religious stand but he is still undecided.

How the characters are influenced by the supernatural

The fact that the supernatural beings are able to appear in the midst of the living large impacts on the characters behaviors shows how Shakespeare uses of ghosts to convey the beliefs of people during his time.  In the case of Hamlet, when the ghost enters the room all the characters are set into frenzy and fear and they are not sure what to do. They keep commenting, “looks a lot like king?” Their character is influenced to appear like they are cowards and always undecided. This is because they questioning the looks of the ghosts and are not sure whether it looks like the king. Hamlet, on the other hand, is influenced to start engaging in a soliloquy when the ghost of his father appears before and he also appears undecided as for whether to follow his promise to avenge for his father or to stick to his religious and moral stands.

Furthermore, the appearance of the Ghosts impacts on the religious beliefs of these characters. Horatio is seen confronting a ghost when it appeared and wanted it to explain what it really wanted from them(Bušelić,2015). He confronts the ghost according to his religious beliefs that the devil, in this case, the ghost, should be confronted on the spot any time he appears. However, the ghost disappears without commenting anything after a cock crowing. According to Marcellus, the crowing of the cock implied God’s presence that led to the ghost taking off according to the Christian beliefs. The ghost instilled fear in the characters from the start.

The beliefs about the appearance of the supernatural during Shakespeare’s time

In the era of Shakespeare’s time, there were stories about the ghosts or the supernatural beings which had attracted so many beliefs from the people. During these times, there was a strong belief in the ghosts as portrayed by Shakespeare where people believed that the ghosts could come and convey messages to the living (Bušelić,2015).  As it was seen, Horatio asked the ghosts to tell him what it had come to believe that the ghost would reply even though it did not reply.

Again, the religious people during the Shakespeare’s time believed that they had the powers to command the ghosts when they appeared in their lives.  They also believed God is superior to the supernatural beings and ghosts.  Shakespeare reveals this through Marcello who says that the ghost disappeared when they heard the sound of a cock crowing. They believed the cock crowing was an indication of God’s presence.

Supernatural beings and the ghosts were believed to perform extraordinary things just like the three witches were performed on Macbeth which led to Mcbeth becoming possessed (Bušelić,2015). The supernatural being was believed to have powers to control the people as we see that the witches were able to control Mcbeth and made her obsessed with kingship. They controlled here so that she could not pursue the seat of kingship. Additionally, Shakespeare shows how Hamlet’s fathers appear to him in form of a spirit to compel him he accomplish his promise of avenging for his father’s death.

The effects of the beliefs of supernatural being in Shakespeare’s time in the interpretation of the play

When the readers know and understand the beliefs that the people in the Shakespeare’s time had about the ghosts and the supernatural, this knowledge will largely influence their interpretation of the play. This is because they readers will understand why Shakespeare had to include these supernatural and the particular role that they play (Bušelić,2015). This information will make the interpretation of the message in the play much easier.

Conclusion

In conclusion, William Shakespeare uses the supernatural beings and the ghosts in his play, Macbeth, and Hamlet, to pass across the message of the beliefs of his people during his time. The characters in the play were affected by the appearance of the ghosts including instilling fear in them and also by testing their religious firmness. During Shakespeare’s time, people believed in the powers of the supernatural to control the human beings as shown by Shakespeare Macbeth being controlled by the witches.  Even though there is a slight difference, the belief in the supernatural powers and ghosts in the Shakespeare’s time still reflects what happens in the current world.