The following document contains character profiles of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the Supernatural from William Shakespeare's play 'Macbeth'. The character profiles focus more on analysis than facts and details of each character. Each character is divided into 3 key traits that they display in the pl...
Character Profiles
How does Shakespeare present ____ in Macbeth
The Three Witches
Dangerous/ Evil Impartiality Role in Natural Order
-At face value, the -The witches did not The witches aren’t actually
witches are the directly cause Macbeth to forces that exist to
embodiment of the act evil but only subvert the natural order
supernatural in the provided the situation in but instead reinforce it.
play. These witches are which Macbeth decides The witches’ prophecies are
portrayed as evil and whether to follow good or like a test, which will
dangerous due to their evil. lead to his demise if he
immense power and The text is unified and choses wrongly. The
trickery. As a result, the prophecies of the supernatural here serves
all the misfortunes of witches meant that the purpose of monitoring
Macbeth are at first Macbeth could turn to the behavior of humans,
labeled as the fault of evil but aren't the preventing chaos within the
the witches. direct cause for Macbeth natural order by causing
-King James I (the ruler turning to evil. the downfall of those
at the time Macbeth was -Shakepeare was a seeking to disrupt the
written) was fascinated proponent of free will order.
by the supernatural and and believed we should -The supernatural (e.g
even wrote a book about use our free will to do demons) were placed high on
it. As a result, the good (as we are all the Great Chain of Being.
supernatural became a capable of doing both Their role within the
popular topic during the good and evil) natural order is important.
Jacobean era. -This is contrary to the The fact that humans don’t
-(Dangers of) the belief in determinism understand the true nature
supernatural during the Jacobean era of the supernatural’s
-They meet at a “heath” -Free will purpose is because the
to discuss meeting -Good vs Evil supernatural places higher
Macbeth at the beginning -Determinism on the chain than humans.
of the play -Act 3 Scene 5, Macbeth -Natural Order
-The witches have is described someone who -Great Chain of being
contact with Hecate “loves for his own ends” -Act 4 Scene 1 “Even
(goddess associated with by Hecate till destruction sicken;
witchcraft and capable --Act 3 Scene 5- answer me” Macbeth demands
of good and evil) “security/ is mortal’s that the witches answer.
chiefest enemy” ~Hecate -Macbeth chooses to go back
to the witches, failing the
moral test. They give him
prophecies that will lead
to his demise, calculated
by his past actions.
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