Lukasz Kornas
The supernatural is a prominent theme in William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and Hamlet. This form of spiritualism adds an important degree of depth to Shakespeare’s works. Depending on the play, the supernatural can either be a force for retribution or a force of retribution. This is an important distinction because Macbeth and Hamlet do not share similar goals. While Macbeth lusts for power, Hamlet demands justice. Therefore, while Macbeth is haunted by spirits, Hamlet is aided by them. Furthermore, because the spirits are adopted uniquely for their intended role in each respective play, the temperament of the spirits varies between Macbeth and Hamlet. Finally, the supernatural in Macbeth and Hamlet is intended to personify the internal struggles of the plays’ protagonists.
The supernatural as a cultural phenomenon influenced literature in early modern England. Sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England was not governed by the belief in the supernatural. Ghosts in the late sixteenth-century England were viewed very much like they are in the modern United States. Some believed they exist, but belief in them was hardly a social norm. Voltaire commented on the belief in ghosts in English society by claiming, “The English have certainly no more belief in spirits than the Romans had, and yet they see every day with pleasure in the tragedy of Hamlet” (236). Many Romans, especially the Patricians, did not believe in ghosts and oftentimes not even in the gods. As Pamela Marin states, “…most educated Romans appeared to pay only lip-service to religion” (15). Instead, religion was seen as a political and social (tool). Similarly, religion played a ceremonial function in Elizabethan England and was more popular in some circles than in others. John Dover Wilson observed that, “Spiritualism…formed one of the major interests of the [early modern] period” (65). Therefore, it is natural that spiritualism is present in many aspects of English society at the time. It is to be expected that Shakespeare used ghosts or other supernatural forms in his plays to express the conflicts his protagonists face.
Shakespearean England was very much a monarchy, and the pleasure of the royal family was important for the social well-being of prominent citizens. Shakespeare lived under the reigns of Queen Elizabeth I and King James I, and their reigns were distinct in many ways. Queen Elizabeth did not take a very active role in managing every aspect of her Kingdom. She allowed a level of leniency and believed “a sense of performance was crucial to…success” (McDonald 313). Elizabeth I was concerned with how she was perceived by the public, and as a result, she manipulated her advisors to make decisions without her expressed consent. On the other hand, James I had a very “authoritarian style” of ruling his kingdom (McDonald 303). Also, James I primarily was very much interested in the arts and religion. When James became king, Shakespeare’s company was renamed the King’s Men because James I sponsored the troupe. King James was also very spiritual. He was known for prosecuting people who refused to believe in the mystical. For instance, “King James felt the need to rebut [Reginald] Scot, and […] Scot’s books were publicly burned by the hangman at the king’s order” (Wilson 64). The king sometimes censored what people read and, by extension, believed. Consequently, Shakespeare had to write his works according to what his audiences desired, and an important member of Shakespeare’s audience was James I.
In addition to pleasing his audience, Shakespeare’s use of spirits in Macbeth and Hamlet serves a psychological purpose throughout both plays. In the plays, the supernatural spurs both the protagonists to action. Shakespeare probably used Reginald Scot’s Discovery of Witchcraft as a source for both Macbeth and Hamlet. Reginald Scot considered the ghosts, “the illusion of melancholic minds or flat knavery on the part of some rogue” (Wilson 64). Simply put, Scot believed that the supernatural indicates the troubled mind of a character. Macbeth and Hamlet both are faced with very real and troubling conflicts. Thus, the supernatural seems to externalize the mental state of both characters.
For example, the witches are an early indicator of what Macbeth will become. The witches in the beginning of the play are surrounded by an aura of uncertainty. During the first meeting of the witches, the three sisters chant the paradoxical statement, “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” (1.1.11). If something is foul, it is not fair, and vice versa. This paradox puts the audience in a state of doubt in the play’s very first scene. This ambiguity is also representative of what Macbeth feels in the first few scenes of the play. Rajiva Verna believes, “Macbeth is a story of ambition and murder” (838), as well as of a man struggling to come to terms with his own desires. After Duncan has supper, Macbeth demands of his wife that, “We…proceed no further in this business” (1.7.31). Macbeth continually hesitates to finalize his plans to kill Duncan. Here, the witches and Macbeth are both creatures of doubt, and therefore, it stands to reason that the two share a connection in some capacity. In this way, Shakespeare seems to use the supernatural to project Macbeth’s emotions.
Macbeth is a dynamic character with an extraordinary sense of self-awareness. As the play progresses, the reader will notice that Macbeth’s attitude changes, as he becomes far more invested in his cause. Macbeth goes from fearing murder to fully embracing it. In addition to murdering Banquo, he attempts to murder Banquo’s son, Fleance, and he murders the family of Macduff. Similarly, the witches also seem to experience a change in attitude. During Macbeth’s second visit to the witches, the witches seem to deny and contradict Macbeth at every turn. The three sisters demand that Macbeth, “Seek to know no more” (4.1.103). This is a major shift for the witches and is uncharacteristic of how they treat Macbeth in the play’s beginning. In the first act, the witches, while still enigmatic, are far more forthcoming than they appear to be in the Act 4. When they meet him the second time, everything seems to be falling apart in Macbeth’s life. His wife has lost her reason. His enemies are rallying their forces, and his greatest allies, the witches, have become an obstacle to Macbeth and have seemingly abandoned him. However, as Stacey Hibbs and Thomas Hibbs note, “Macbeth’s imperfect virtue renders him vulnerable to temptation” (274). Macbeth is flawed, and he chooses to conform to his worst qualities. His uncontrolled ambition, lust for power, and bloodthirst conflict with Macbeth’s virtuous side. Ultimately, these internal struggles explain the uncertainty of the latter half of the play.
Macbeth is a story of contradictions and paradoxes. The first feature most readers will notice about the play is its inherently paradoxical nature. Rajiva Verma suggests that, “Paradoxes are also used in Macbeth, but like so much else in the play, they are only seeming paradoxes that are resolved by time. They express contingent facts rather than the true nature of reality” (851). Therefore, the paradoxes may not be as paradoxical as they first appear. The witches create doubt in the mind of the reader or viewer. However, if viewed as an externalization of Macbeth’s thoughts, the witches seem to suggest the struggle Macbeth faces between what is moral and what he desires. In this case, paradoxes are simply the complicated thought process of Macbeth. The witches are an extension of his soliloquies and the role they perform in the play. Henry Levin comments on the importance of soliloquies: “[Macbeth’s] soliloquizing is central to the play, as he considers intentions, casts suspicions, registers hallucinations, coerces his conscience, balances hope against fear, and gives thought to the unspeakable” (238). Macbeth’s soliloquies and the witches serve the same purpose, which is to expand our understanding of Macbeth’s character. The difference is that the soliloquies deal with the conscious, deliberate thoughts of Macbeth, while the witches are a representation of the more subtle, undesirable thoughts of Macbeth.
This distinction between the supernatural and soliloquies is also apparent in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The ghost of King Hamlet seems to represent Prince Hamlet’s grief and desire for revenge. The ghost is an elusive force in the play. Hamlet is the only person who has consistent contact with the ghost, and during the first scenes of the play, Hamlet is the only one who speaks with the ghost. The exception is that Horatio and Marcellus can hear the Ghost demand that they “swear” to keep Hamlet’s plot secret (1.5.188). Horatio is the best friend of Hamlet, and they seem to be aware of each other’s thoughts. Therefore, the ghost being a part of Hamlet’s mind would demand that his best friend and Marcellus, who also likely deduced some of Hamlet’s intentions, swear to keep his secret.
Hamlet’s conversations with the Ghost can be viewed as an internal dialogue. Richard Burton claims, “Hamlet who could not only make up his mind, but who knew very well what he was about. Hamlet vows vengeance in the presence of the Ghost” (175). However, Hamlet is, perhaps, not vowing vengeance to a literal ghost but to himself. Also, the ghost portrays the uncertainty Hamlet faces not only regarding the act of revenge but the justness of the act. Throughout the play, Hamlet struggles to come to terms with his actions. He only accepts his fate by the end of the play, at which point, the ghost has ceased to appear.
The ghost and Hamlet share remarkable similarities in the way they think and believe problems should be resolved. Hamlet’s comments regarding his mother include, “She married. Oh, most wicked speed, to post / With such incestuous sheets!” (1.2 156-157). Similarly, the Ghost of King Hamlet angrily spat, “Ay, that incestuous, that adulterate beast, / With witchcraft of his wit, with traitorous gifts […] won to his shameful lust / The will of my most seeming-virtuous Queen” (1.5.42-43; 45-46). Both the ghost and Hamlet seem to share their disdain for the marriage between Gertrude and Claudius. However, Hamlet apparently conceals his sentiments about the marriage before he meets the ghost. Stephen Orgel believes that supernatural figures, “Like [King Hamlet’s] Ghost…are quintessential theatrical devices; they dance and sing, perform wonders, appear and disappear, fly, produce visions, do in short, all the things that, historically we have gone to the theatre to see” (259). Thus, the Ghost is a prop. Hamlet’s complexity is viewed through several mediums in the play, and the Ghost is just one representation of Hamlet’s struggle to come to terms with the death of his father.
Despite the role of the supernatural, Macbeth and Hamlet both act upon their own free will. Macbeth is ambitious before the witches appear. The witches, however, spur Macbeth into action. It is likely that the witches are Macbeth’s own inner demons, spurring him onto the path of regicide. Likewise, the ghost of Hamlet embodies Hamlet’s grief. It is evident that Hamlet is grieving for his father and angered by his mother’s quick marriage before Hamlet meets the ghost. The ghost’s suspicions are those of Hamlet. The ghost also helps Hamlet cope with the horror of killing another human. Shortly after Hamlet kills Polonius, the ghost appears and speaks with a rational voice. After the murder, Hamlet is likely in a disorganized mental state. However, the rational part of Hamlet presents itself in the form of the ghost. The ghost tells Hamlet, “This visitation / Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose” (3.4.111-112). The Ghost acknowledges that Hamlet’s current course of action is “blunted” or misdirected. Here the ghost also may represent Hamlet’s feelings for his mother. In his anger in this scene, Hamlet may have struck his mother. However, Hamlet believes that his mother is being manipulated; the ghost has told Hamlet, “Taint not thy mind, nor let thy soul contrive / Against thy mother aught. Leave her to heaven” (1.5.85-86), suggesting that Hamlet has no hostile feelings towards his mother. Despite his feelings, Hamlet has no desire to punish her. His goals are aimed towards Claudius, as he is the main catalyst for his misfortune.
Spiritualism plays an important role in Macbeth and Hamlet. The spirits that visit both Macbeth and Hamlet are mediums for these characters’ own internal struggles. Although both protagonists commit actions that go against their very beliefs, they eventually overcome their struggles and accomplish their goals, for better or worse. The supernatural, then, is a literary device to demonstrate the struggles of Macbeth and Hamlet and the complexity of the human mind. They embody desires that most people experience at least once in their lives. These spirits serve to embody the intricate desires of Macbeth’s and Hamlet’s characters.
Works Cited
Burton, Richard. “Introduction to Hamlet.” Miola, ed, Hamlet, pp. 173-182.
Hibbs, Stacey and Thomas Hibbs. “Virtue, Natural Law, and Supernatural Solicitation: A
Thomistic Reading of Shakespeare’s Macbeth.” Religion & the Arts, vol. 5, no. 3, Sept. 2001, pp. 273-296. EBSCOhost, ccc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=6109694&site=ehost-live.
Levin, Harry. “Two Scenes from Macbeth.” Miola, ed., Macbeth, pp. 238-255.
McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001.
Miola, Robert S, ed. Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Norton Critical Edition, Norton, 2011.
—, ed. Macbeth by William Shakespeare, Norton Critical Edition, Norton, 2014.
Orgel, Stephen. “Macbeth and the Antic Round.” Miola, ed., Macbeth, pp. 255-270.
Verma, Rajiva. “Winners and Losers: A Study of Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.” Modern Language Review, vol. 81, no. 4, Oct. 1986, pp. 838-852. EBSCOhost, ccc.idm.oclc.org/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=17588040&site=ehost-live.
Voltaire. “Preface to Semaramis.” Miola, ed., Hamlet, pp. 236-237.
Wilson, John Dover. What Happens in Hamlet, Cambridge UP, 1935.