Supernatural in Macbeth
The Witches
Prophecies / Apparitions
Spirits / Ghosts
Hallucinations
they use chiasmus - 'fair is foul and foul is fair'
they make prophecies on the futures of Macbeth and Banquo that end up being true. this is not possible by a normal human, so they are considered witches
three apparitions are shown to Macbeth by the witches
Lady Macbeth calls on spirits to 'unsex' her
after Banquo was murdered, his ghost returned to haunt Macbeth at his banquet, a manifestation of Macbeth's guilt
Macbeth sees a dagger when he is thinking about killing King Duncan
Context
James I was fascinated by the supernatural, so much he wrote a book on it called 'Daemonology'
they all speak in trchaic tetrameter with rhyming couplets, making them sound different to other characters
their appearances re unhuman like, they are women but have beards - separates them from human stereotypes - unhuman like
the contents of their cauldrons are horrifying
people didn't have enough facts back then, so lots of people believed in the supernatural
James I believed that it was supernatural forces that tried to kill him
Weather
at the start of the play, the weather was thunder and lightning, weather that is typically associated with the supernatural