Notes

In this essay, I will be writing about how the main influence on Macbeth's actions are the supernatural, e.g. the witches. Greed, avarice, ambition are also factors that are relevant however the overarching theme/motif is the supernatural in both this extract and the play as a whole, which eventually leads to the demise of both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth.
Shakespeare uses language in this essay to show the supernatural as the main influence on macbeth by constantly repeating the phrase, 'double, double..' throughout the scene. This represents the witches duplicity as double shows that their is 2 sides to every story and the witches cannot be trusted as they only covet to toy with Macbeth's life for their own pleasure. Elsewhere in the play this behaviour is reciprocated onto Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, it proves the witches are 2 faced and contradict Macbeth. The dramatic irony is here that we know that in the Jacobean era, witches were seen as capricious, nefarious creatures with no contrition for their actions whatsoever that are replete of abhorrent omens. So the fact that Macbeth decides to confront these figures which are shunned by the rest of society shows how people like Banquo are a foil to him which show how the supernatural affect him compared to others. Lady Macbeth also picks up on the witches duplicity when she says to Macbeth, '..look like the innocent serpent but be the serpent..'earlier on in the play. This truly shows other instances when Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are clearly influenced by the witches which corrupt their loyal dispositions and make them culpable of regicide which is in the Jacobean era, the most sacrilegious crime possible to commit as they believed the monarchy/dynasty was appointed by God. A final example of duplicity shown by the witches and the antagonists Lady Macbeth and Macbeth is right at the end of Act 1, Scene 1 when the witches are setting the exposition and start foreshadowing the outcomes of the play. They chant, ''..fair...filthy air'', this supports the motif of duplicity as it shows how there is a facade of their true outcomes, it reveals how the bad will become good and vice versa. A couple scenes later Macbeth unconsciously repeats a similar phrase showing how he is not in control of his actions and how his peripeteia is already starting to display.

Moreover, another way the supernatural influence Lady Macbeth and Macbeth is by almost belittling them using nursery rhymes and chants to try to tame yet entice them at the same time. For example, in this extract when the witches incant '...trouble...bubble.' this is said in unison by the 3 witches and is similar to a nursery rhyme as it is a rhyming couplet which is often used to help young children remember certain things like facts or fables. This shows how the witches attempt to have an affect on the pair so they remember their words and they have an impact on their action as the words lie in their head. This belittles them and make the witches seem even more powerful in the eyes of the audience which is the point when they realise Macbeth's vaulting ambition and his hamartia is unmanageable and spiralling beyond control. Also, 'fire burn' symbolises religion and spirituality and relates to how Macbeth is going to 'burn' in hell fire because of his bad deeds. Pretty much everyone was religious in the Jacobean era and it shows how the supernatural have influenced him as instead of eschewing from bad deeds instead he makes the wrong decision in the moral dilemma and his fate is doomed.

A final way Shakespeare uses the language to show Macbeth is influenced by the supernatural is by showing his reliability on the witches like when he uses imperatives such as, ''..answer me'', ''stay'', ''speak'' this shows he is desperate to find a answer and the fact he has gone all the way to the witches again just to get a prophecy. This highlights Macbeth's desperateness and great need for confirmation by the witches and how he craves their attention/false prophecies, which devalues his hubris as king.