Shakespeare and the Supernatural

It is common in Shakespeare's plays, and indeed in any literature, for the characters to find themselves in difficult situations. Whether it is pride, revenge, or any number of other emotions driving the choices that are made along the way, eventually the character must face the repercussions of their actions. In a few plays, Shakespeare introduces a different element: the supernatural.

The supernatural, in the form of witches, fairies, and sorcerers, takes control out of mortal hands, and then stands back to observe the results. However, because these supernatural beings are playing upon existing facets of the humans they are manipulating, the responsibility for any resulting actions lies divided between the supernatural and the human being acted upon.

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, the title character kills a king in order to take his throne, and then is himself overthrown in a bloody battle. However, Macbeth cannot take complete blame for this defeat, as there were three very important players who set his plan into action and then goaded him onward to his death. These players are the three weird sisters, or witches. While it is unclear why they choose to take an interest in Macbeth, they do, and this causes great harm to fall upon many.

When Macbeth first encounters the witches, he asks them if they can speak. This interest in the witches and their possible unearthliness is what they have been counting on. In response, they hail him as Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor, and say that Macbeth "shalt be king hereafter"( 1.3.48). Macbeth is understandably taken aback, because as far as he knows, only Thane of Glamis applies to him. Macbeth goes into a trance of sorts, considering these possibilities. At this moment, the idea that he could be king is planted in his head, even if he had never thought it possible before.

Banquo, feeling left out, asks for his fortune as well, and is told that he will be both lesser and greater than Macbeth, not so happy, and yet much happier, and that his children shall be kings, even though he will not. Banquo's fortune is far more vague than is Macbeth's, which would make it nearly impossible for Banquo to actually strive toward the end results he has been promised. Macbeth, on the other hand, discovers in the next scene that he has indeed become Thane of Cawdor, and this sets him firmly and unchangeably on the path to make himself king. It is not only the witches which drive Macbeth to kill the current king. Once his wife discovers what the witches have said, she becomes even more determined than Macbeth that he should be king and she queen. They kill Duncan and divert the blame from themselves. It is important to consider that Macbeth, although he has doubts, is goaded onward by his wife, the invisible dagger he sees, and most importantly, the future foretold by the witches.

Macbeth says, before the death of Duncan, that "I have no spur / to prick the sides of my intent, but only / vaulting ambition"(1.7.25-27). While considering the murder he shall soon commit, Macbeth shows pity, sorrow, and regret for the deed. He even states that he shall not commit the murder, because Duncan has been good to him. However, he feels that he must go onward, because his ambition, and that of his wife, is driving him. Although ambition may be an ingrained trait within Macbeth, it is surely accelerated by the prophecy.

After the deaths of Duncan and Banquo, Macbeth returns to ask more wisdom from the sisters. He has killed Duncan to become king, and he has had Banquo and Fleance attacked to prevent the witches' prophecy about Banquo's line from coming true. However, he still intends, now that Fleance has escaped the murderers, to place him as king after himself. This shows a loyalty to Banquo which is at odds with the desires the witches have imparted in Macbeth. Hecate has insisted upon a second meeting between Macbeth and the witches. She says that she and the witches:

Shall raise such artificial sprites

As by the strength of their illusion

Shall draw him on to his confusion.

He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear

His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace, and fear."

(3.5.26-31)

Again, it is not clear why she should wish this, but when Macbeth arrives, the stage is set. Hecates's desires clearly indicate that she intends for Macbeth to be confused and driven onward without being able to consult his reason, thus making terrible choices for himself. Also in this scene, the line "something wicked this way comes," spoken by one of the witches, hints that Macbeth had wickedness in him before the witches became involved, although proof for this is never presented.

Macbeth insists on having answers, no matter what the consequences for himself or others, saying that "even till destruction sicken; answer me." As this was already the plan of the witches, they concede and bid him listen. An armed head first appears, and warns Macbeth to beware the Thane of Fife (Macduff). A second apparition, a bloody child, appears and tells Macbeth that he shall not fear any man of woman born. This apparition also encourages Macbeth to "be bloody, bold, resolute, laugh to scorn the power of man" ( 4.1.95-96).

The third apparition, a crowned child with a tree in its hand, tells Macbeth that he will not be defeated until Great Birnam wood comes to Dunsiane hill. This apparition, also, has words of advice, and urges Macbeth to "be lion-mettled, proud, take no care." ( 4.1.105) Twice Hectate's wishes for Macbeth's future reckless behavior have been reinforced upon him. Not only is Macbeth being told that he is invincible, he is being urged by supernatural (and thus all-knowing) beings to rush incautiously forward without any consideration of danger or harm to himself or others.

However, to prevent Macbeth from settling back and relaxing, he must be provided with something to fear. When Macbeth demands to know whether Banquo's line shall become kings after him, he is shown a disturbing vision of a line of kings concluding in the ghost of Banquo. Macbeth, then, has several fears: Banquo's ghost, Fleance, who still lives, Macduff, and Birnam Wood. In his mad rush to protect himself from these things, Macbeth brings himself closer to destruction.

Due to his fears, Macbeth retreats to Dinsiane hill, the last place that anyone thinking clearly would go. He has already been driven to kill Duncan and Banquo, and now, when he is being challenged, he is too proud and reckless (as Hectate wanted) to see that Birnam Wood coming to Dinsiane Hill would do no good if he was not there to be attacked. Then Macbeth, full of pride, fights Macduff, as he is certain that he cannot be harmed. Macduff, aside from not being born of a woman, is filled with fury at the death of his wife and children at Macbeth's hands, and defeats him.

It is due to the influence of Hectate and the weird sisters that Macbeth is killed at the end of Act V. Although Mabeth may have had pride and ambition to begin with, and although he is stated to be wicked, he had no dream of becoming king until it was planted in him by the witches. Then, once he became king, instead of pacifying those who were outraged and living peacefully, Macbeth furthered the bloodshed until he quite literally lost his head.

The intervention of the supernatural does not always result in death and destruction, however. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, the King and Queen of the fairies, along with several helpers, intervene in the lives of mortals. This intervention ends well for everyone involved, although some questions of free will are left unresolved. In this case, the supernatural beings hold no ill will toward mortals, and seem to view them in a loving and almost bemused fashion.

In his quest to retrieve the changeling child from Titania and regain her love, Oberon is willing to use human beings much like chess pieces. After anointing Titania's eyes with the juice from the flower, he is incredibly amused when Puck recounts his tale of turning Bottom into an ass, so that Titania might awake and fall in love with him. Neither Oberon nor Puck considers the effect of this transformation on Bottom. Bottom is merely a required player in the theater Oberon has constructed to get what he wants.

Oberon does seem to take some pity on the humans, however. He tells Puck to place the love juice on Demetrius' eyes, so that he will fall in love with Helena, who loves him. Oberon has no apparent motive for doing so. It is possible that Oberon has a mischievous streak akin to Puck's, as he does not intend for Demetrius to fall in love with Helena and for the two to live together happily. Instead, he says that "ere he do leave this grove / thou shalt fly him and he shall seek thy love"( 2.1.245-246). It is unclear at this point why Helena would fly Demetrius' love, although Oberon may possess omniscient qualities that allow him to foretell the confusion that will soon occur.

However, due to chance and a mistake on the part of Puck, it is Lysander's eyes which are anointed with the love juice, and instead of awakening to Hermia, the first thing he sees upon awaking is Helena, whom he then falls madly in love with. Oberon soon realizes the mistake, and sets out to cause Demetrius to fall for Helena. However, Puck seems amused and unconcerned by the situation, saying "what fools these mortals be"( 3.2.115), implying that the trouble they are in is their own fault. Puck does not take blame for his own mistake, because in his eyes he has done precisely what he was told to do.

Helena, believing the love that Lysander and Demetrius suddenly profess is some sort of trick (which, in a way, it is), believes that both men are lying. Lysander and Demetrius are following her desperately about when Hermia arrives and is devastated to find Lysander in love with Helena. What was intended to be a simple intervention on the behalf of a maiden has now become a tangled mess of unhappiness, although it has certainly come true that Helena is flying Demetrius' love. Oberon makes a plan to reorganize the lovers properly, leaves the fixing of things to Puck, and returns to Titania, thus washing his hands of the unimportant mortals for the moment.

Titania, during this time, has become besotted with Bottom, who is now literally an ass in addition to figuratively being one. He is waited upon by fairies and showered with love by Titania. Although he has become ass, he seems not to know it, and is amazed by his new situation, although he seems to be a bit overwhelmed. He does not at any point consider, for example, his wife, whom he has left at home. Instead, he preens even more than usual, and commands the fairies as though he were a lord and they his servants.

When Titania awakens to Oberon after she has been released from the love juice, she is disgusted to discover that she has been in love with an ass. However, she and Oberon are now reunited, and he has been given the child which he requested of her. Bottom is quickly changed back into himself, awakens, and returns to town for the play, believing that he has had a "most rare vision" ( 4.1.202). At the same time, the lovers awaken in their new pairing. With Theseus' approval, all return to Athens for the now-triple wedding.

As the house begins to settle down for sleep later that evening, Titania and Oberon make one final appearance. They send fairies throughout the house, to stay until dawn and bless the inhabitants. The King and Queen will themselves go to the bed of Theseus and Hippolyta to cast blessings upon the couple and their future children. Now that Oberon has gotten what he wanted (both the boy and Titania) the fairies are content to make the lives of humans better, and bestow blessings upon them without interfering in their lives.

Some questions are left unanswered, however. Demetrius, fallen in love with Helena because of the love juice, will remain so unless some unkind (or perhaps kind) soul anoints his eyes with the herb which Oberon used on Titania's eyes. This brings up a moral question of whether forcing someone to love another is right, and whether or not that love is valid. This question receives no satisfactory answer, and remains as evidence of supernatural beings interfering in the lives of mortals, often to their own ends.

In the case of Bottom, it is necessary to turn to Hoffman's film production of A Midsummer Night's Dream for answers. At the end of the film, Bottom is shown peering longingly out of a window, holding a ring made of vines that has been given to him by Titania. Although no sign of this ring or the accompanying emotion is found in the play, it appears that Titania holds some fond feeling for Bottom after all, and is not completely disgusted by him. This love, in addition to his strange dream and success at acting, may cause Bottom to change for the better, and to be less of an ass. If he does so, this change can be directly attributed to Puck's mischief.

In Hoffman's film, the fairies, including Puck, seem more willing to help the humans. They are less concerned with their own affairs, have human characteristics, and capable of joy at the happiness of the human beings they affect. At the end of the film, the fairies fly with abandon throughout the house, spreading blessings and happiness to everyone, although this gains them nothing. Puck ends the both the play and the film in a show of good will, encouraging the audience to "Give me your hands, if we be friends" ( 5.Ep.15).

Despite the fact that Titania, Oberon, and Puck also claim allegiance to Hecate, they are certainly almost polar opposites of the witches found in Macbeth. This seeming inconsistency may in part be due to the change in Hecate's specialties throughout history. In earlier times, Hecate was considered a goddess of the wilderness, and also of childbirth. This mother figure could certainly be the goddess invoked by the fun-loving and mischievous fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Later, however, Hecate gained a reputation as the Queen of the Ghosts, and became associated with witchcraft and sorcery. This incarnation of a ruthless and uncaring Hecate is present in Macbeth.

Although the supernatural forces in both plays and the film behave differently from one another, they all claim allegiance to the same Goddess. The witches in Macbeth have more similarities with the fairies in either version of A Midsummer Night's Dream than one would be willing to admit. They all use their influence to change human lives with little or no concern for those who they are affecting. Oberon does not consider Bottom's feelings any more than the witches consider the life of Duncan, which will almost certainly be lost if they urge Macbeth onward.

However, supernatural beings cannot be blamed (or rewarded) for every action and result within the plays and film. Although they do very well at using suggestion and magic to convince their intended victims, the victims must be open to that suggestion. Macbeth was already full of ambition when the witches met him, and Lady Macbeth acted without the influence of the witches, based solely on what her husband told her. It is also hoped, at least by this reader, that Demetrius would eventually have discovered loved for Helena, had he been given opportunity.

Although Oberon's love potion seems inescapable, it is clear in Hoffman's version of the play that Titania feels some fondness for Bottom even after the love spell has been removed. This suggests that she was capable of loving him. Also, Bottom certainly was an ass before he was transformed by Puck. Puck merely worked with what was already given him to accomplish his goal. And no spell is placed upon Theseus to cause him to allow the newly organized couples to marry as they wish.

Supernatural beings have great power over mortals in the works of Shakespeare, whether that power is used for good or for evil. Often, although not always, the supernatural beings use what already exists in the humans they wish to affect, in order to create the desired results. It is only rarely that there is no chance for escape and that no blame to be laid upon the affected mortal. Shakespeare, then, in creating his plays, is allowing for supernatural escalation of human traits. He does not, however, absolve humans of all responsibility for their own fates.

Theseus unwittingly makes perhaps the greatest statement on the assigning of blame in either play. After witnessing Pyramus and Thisbe, Theseus will accept no apologies or excuses, and says that "when the players are all dead there need none to be blamed" ( 5.1.350-351). In the case of Macbeth, Macbeth, Banquo, Duncan, and Lady Macbeth are all dead. However, in Polanski's film, the suggestion is made that the witches will step in again, to tempt the new king, Malcolm. In A Midsummer Night's Dream, all are happy at the final curtain, and there is no blame to be laid. Perhaps Shakespeare's true message is that the casting of blame and the rehashing of motivations and deeds does nothing at all to change events.

Works Cited:

The Norton Shakespeare, William Shakespeare, ed. S. Greenblatt and W. Cohen, Norton. London, 1990