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Grade 9 Essay on the theme of the Supernatural in Macbeth
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A Grade 9 Essay exploring the theme of the supernatural in Macbeth. Written for Eduqas but can be adapted to suit any exam board.
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Supernatural EssayYou are advised to spend about 40 minutes on this question.
You should use the extract below and your knowledge of the whole play to answer this question.
How does Shakespeare present the theme of supernatural throughout the play?
In your response you should:
refer to the extract and the play as a whole;
show your understanding of characters and events in the play.[25]
5 of this question’s marks are allocated for accuracy in spelling, punctuation and the use of
vocabulary and sentence structures
Macbeth is a Shakespearean tragedy written in 1606 based around the tragic
downfall of the Scottish noble Macbeth. The supernatural is one of the main
themes of the play, with a continued presence throughout all acts. It is arguably
the originator of the plot and events of the play, instigating the regicide, and
murders that follow, along with the death of both Macbeth and his wife.
At the beginning of the play, in A1S1, Shakespeare uses the witches to
build the supernatural atmosphere, and emphasise the prevalence of
supernatural throughout the play. The stage direction: ‘Thunder and lightning.
Enter three witches’ uses pathetic fallacy, creating a sinister and violent
atmosphere, demonstrating how the supernatural will be a strong theme
throughout. The use of the determiner ‘three’ as an odd number, would frighten
the Jacobean audience as they were aware of the superstitions and supernatural
surrounding odd numbers. Furthermore the witches state: ‘when the hurly burlys
done. When the battles lost and won.’ The repetitive use of time markers creates
suspense in the audience, as to the rest of the events in the play, and the impact
the supernatural will have on them – Shakespeare presents the supernatural as
majorly influencing the plot as it unfolds in the rest of the play. The witches also
speak in trochaic tetrameter, adding to the supernatural atmosphere and
implying the presence of the supernatural, if not through the form of the witches,
is constant throughout the play. The use of rhyming couplets exemplifies the
eerie and supernatural atmosphere, the equivocal phrase: ‘lost and won’
insinuating the witches are almost omniscient. In Act 1 Scene 3, the witches re-
appear, presenting the evil and darkness the supernatural embodies and brings
to the country. One of the witches comments: ‘Sleep shall neither night nor
day…wary sennights nine times nine.’ The symbolism of the noun ‘sleep’ as
innocence, illustrates how the supernatural impedes the innocence and purity of
a person, not allowing them sleep. Later in the play, this eventually happens to
Lady Macbeth – due to her previous alliance with the supernatural, it reigns over
her, driving her mad through sleepwalking. The use of odd numbers such as
‘sennight’ and ‘nine’ link to the supernatural and superstitions of the time which
would again evoke fear in the audience towards the supernatural; the use of the
verb ‘times’ perhaps indicating the equivocal speech of the witches, and their
double meanings. Shakespeare effectively uses the witches to the evil and
constant presence of the supernatural and its control over all events of the play.
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