Supernatural

• come you spirits that tendon mortal thought, unsex me here and fill me from the crown to the toe topfull of direst cruelty
• The supernatural cannot be commanded. they influence human characters, but not the other way round
• double double toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble
• The witches prophecy pushes Macbeth into taking action and murdering king Duncan. Wider forces influence the protagonist but ultimately it is his harmatia that leads to his downfall
• banquo has the most positive reaction as he sceptical and dismissive of the witches
• for context, Shakespearean audience believed in the existence of supernatural forces. They would have thought of Macbeth as a cautionary tale. People also believed in a natural order on earth and that the supernatural aims to undermine the great chain of being by creating mischief.
• Lady Macbeth and Macbeth both try to command and use a supernatural to achieve their ambitions. lady Macbeth uses the imperative ‘unsex me here’ to command the supernatural to do as she wishes. Macbeth uses the imperative ‘and let me not be a coward’ to command the supernatural to do as he wishes.