Throughout his tragedy “Macbeth”, Shakespeare examines how the supernatural transcends the perceived bounds of normality and naturality and in doing so forcefully propels individuals to commit moral transgressions. The witches’ supposed power is rooted in their ability to understand the human condition as they are able to recognise that everyone has a capacity to commit acts of evil and in doing so Shakespeare essentially warns his audience about the dangers of forsaking one’s moral values in order to fulfill selfish desires.

Within the play, the supernatural’s ability to influence individuals is explored through the characters of the witches who initially appear in the opening act, declaring “when shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning or in rain?”. Shakespeare may have intentionally positioned the witches at the start of the play not merely in an attempt to play on King James’ keen interest in the supernatural, seeing as he wrote the book Daemonologie whereby he expressed a deep disdain for the concept of the supernatural as a whole, instead he implicitly suggests that the supernatural has power over society seeing as the fact that the witches’ are the opening act could be a communication of the idea that their power is inextricably linked to the turnout of the play. Moreover, Shakespeare employs pathetic fallacy through the witches to highlight their deeply unsettling nature as the tricolon of violent weather phenomena may have been interpreted as an omen of divine displeasure by his audience. As a result, it is made abundantly clear that they are forces of evil and the fact that they align themselves with the eponymous character Macbeth as they declare “There to meet with Macbeth” may be an indication that their influence will be what drives the action of the play. In addition, Shakespeare highlights their existence outside of moral binaries as Banquo, upon meeting the witches states “you should be women And yet your beards forbid me to interpret that you are so” indicating their androgyny and subversion of traditional gender roles that essentially defined women in the Jacobean era. In this way, Shakespeare taps into period anxieties surrounding the supernatural and their unnerving appearance may spark fear within his audience as they will interpret them as pawns of the devil who actively defy God’s laws (seeing as they believed the laws they followed within society were dictated by God himself).

Despite the witches’ unnerving appearance and clearly evil nature, Macbeth still feels intrigued by them and pays heed to their prophecies. They deliberately tell “half truths” to spur Macbeth into action and plant seeds of hope within his character to fulfill his brutal ambition so that he may become “king hereafter”. Upon meeting with them, Macbeth commands the “stars” to “hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires”. In the Jacobean era, “stars” were often perceived as commanders of fate, and in asking them to “hide” their fires Macbeth may be actively attempting/seeking out control of his own fate because of the witches’ prophecies. In this way, Shakespeare communicates through the construct of Macbeth about how the supernatural may outwardly be perceived as an unsettling and dangerous force but also an alluring and lulling spectacle that has the ability to deceive individuals and awaken unknown darkness within them. Macbeth is depicted as actively defying God as the “light” he is trying to hide from may be the deity himself as Jesus declared “I am the light of the world”. Therefore, the supernatural is depicted as driving individuals to actively become pawns of the devil or realise their potential to defy God because Macbeth aligns himself with his “black and deep desires”. He aligns his image and therefore character with something that is morally repugnant, without recognising he has free will and self-agency. He has the ability to actively resist the witches’ prophecies, however he chooses to call upon his “dearest partner in greatness” to hopefully “spur” him into action and as a result sets himself up for failure because he should never have defied God in the first place.

By contrast, the witches’ offer prophecies to Banquo who recognises their role as “instruments of darkness”. Through Banquo, Shakespeare constructs a character that can be perceived by his audience as a symbol of morality and ideal response to supernatural influence. He recognises that it is human nature to be influenced by “half truths” that sound extremely alluring and in doing so displays superiority over Macbeth in this sense as he resists temptation and even asks for “merciful powers [to] give restrain in [him] the cursed thoughts”. Shakespeare emphasises that internal corruption begins in the mind, and even noble characters are not immune to supernatural influence. The verb “restrain” demonstrates active resistance within Banquo, whereas Macbeth invites darkness with “stars hide your fires”- revealing Banquo’s integrity and his role as a foil to Macbeth as he does not succumb. His plea mirrors Christian values as he turns to God in the face of temptation whereas Macbeth turns his back on him and submits to his dark desires. Therefore, Shakespeare may be presenting Banquo as the model of a good Christian subject and in doing so highlights why he is “lesser than Macbeth and greater”.

Finally, supernatural evil seemingly takes the form of Lady Macbeth who arguably acts as the fourth witch in the way she aligns herself with the supernatural from the moment she appears. She asks “murd’ring ministers” to take her “milk for gall” and even asks to pour her “spirits into thine ear”. In this way, Shakespeare reveals the unsustainable nature of consorting with the supernatural as she eventually meets her tragic demise. The oxymoronic expression “murd’ring ministers” takes the image of a benevolent figure - denoted by minister - and inverts it to become a symbol of her willingness to accept evil forces to fulfill her unnatural desires. Shakespeare’s lexical choice in “spirits” instantly creates a sense of foreboding, indicating that perhaps her plans mirror the unnatural plans of the witches. The links with the tragedy genre where the tragic hero is influenced by external forces of evil and in this case Macbeth is influenced by the supernatural who utilise the vessels of the witches and Lady Macbeth.

In conclusion, Shakespeare’s presentation of the supernatural is as a tempting force that can be resisted by aligning yourself with forces of good and in doing so warns his audience about the dangers of transgressing God’s laws.