Shakespeare’s Use of Supernatural Elements:
Hamlet and Macbeth The supernatural according to The Oxford English Dictionary, “belonging to a realm or system that transcends nature, as that of divine, magical, or ghostly beings; attributed to or thought to reveal some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature; occult, paranormal” (Supernatural). A belief in the existence of the supernatural: ghosts, witches, fairies, etc., has been universal in all the ages of time. Thus, it was also present in the age of William Shakespeare, resulting in an almost a universal belief in the presence and power of the unseen. This belief was shared amongst all classes of people because it was an age literally witch struck.
Thus, the recurring …show more content…
The ghost has a dramatic significance in each of its appearances. It begins with setting the atmosphere of the play, following by the motivating the action of its characters and ending in certain chaos and destruction.
The story begins on a dark winter’s night where the ghost of Hamlet’s deceased father wanders around the Elsinore Castle in Denmark. The ghost first appears to the officers Bernardo and Marcellus. The two inform Horatio, a friend of Hamlet, of the “dreaded sight… [an] apparition” in the form of Hamlet’s father, the king (I.i.23, 26). Horatio, who first doubted the sight, tells Hamlet of “a figure like [his] father (I.ii.199). The king was murdered by his own brother, Claudius, by pouring poison into his ear while the old king way sleeping. Claudius (knowing this before hand-- of course) inherited the throne and married his brother’s widow. The ghost reveals to Hamlet the truths of his murder and ordered Hamlet to seek revenge. The actual appearance of the ghost creates an atmosphere of tension and fear which give the audience the chance to fear with and …show more content…
Macbeth conquered the enemy and traitor, thane of Cawdor. To this news, the King declares Macbeth to be given the Cawdor’s title and sends someone to deliver the news to Macbeth. The witches appear again in a grassy field just as soon as Macbeth and Banquo are approaching their location in Act I, scene iii. The witches, already knowing of Macbeth’s new title, hail to Macbeth as thane of Glamis (his original title) and then as thane of Cawdor. They also tell Macbeth that he will be king one day and Banquo’s children will be kings (I.iii.46–48). The news baffles and stuns Macbeth resulting in him anxious and pressing for an explanation of them calling him thane of Cawdor but the disappear into thin
Hamlet and Macbeth The supernatural according to The Oxford English Dictionary, “belonging to a realm or system that transcends nature, as that of divine, magical, or ghostly beings; attributed to or thought to reveal some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature; occult, paranormal” (Supernatural). A belief in the existence of the supernatural: ghosts, witches, fairies, etc., has been universal in all the ages of time. Thus, it was also present in the age of William Shakespeare, resulting in an almost a universal belief in the presence and power of the unseen. This belief was shared amongst all classes of people because it was an age literally witch struck.
Thus, the recurring …show more content…
The ghost has a dramatic significance in each of its appearances. It begins with setting the atmosphere of the play, following by the motivating the action of its characters and ending in certain chaos and destruction.
The story begins on a dark winter’s night where the ghost of Hamlet’s deceased father wanders around the Elsinore Castle in Denmark. The ghost first appears to the officers Bernardo and Marcellus. The two inform Horatio, a friend of Hamlet, of the “dreaded sight… [an] apparition” in the form of Hamlet’s father, the king (I.i.23, 26). Horatio, who first doubted the sight, tells Hamlet of “a figure like [his] father (I.ii.199). The king was murdered by his own brother, Claudius, by pouring poison into his ear while the old king way sleeping. Claudius (knowing this before hand-- of course) inherited the throne and married his brother’s widow. The ghost reveals to Hamlet the truths of his murder and ordered Hamlet to seek revenge. The actual appearance of the ghost creates an atmosphere of tension and fear which give the audience the chance to fear with and …show more content…
Macbeth conquered the enemy and traitor, thane of Cawdor. To this news, the King declares Macbeth to be given the Cawdor’s title and sends someone to deliver the news to Macbeth. The witches appear again in a grassy field just as soon as Macbeth and Banquo are approaching their location in Act I, scene iii. The witches, already knowing of Macbeth’s new title, hail to Macbeth as thane of Glamis (his original title) and then as thane of Cawdor. They also tell Macbeth that he will be king one day and Banquo’s children will be kings (I.iii.46–48). The news baffles and stuns Macbeth resulting in him anxious and pressing for an explanation of them calling him thane of Cawdor but the disappear into thin