GCSE English Literature

The Supernatural in Macbeth10 key quotes with full analysis.

Complete collection of quotes about the supernatural in Macbeth for GCSE English Literature, exploring witchcraft, prophecies, ghosts, and hallucinations.

Understanding the Supernatural in Macbeth

The supernatural is central to Macbeth, appearing through the witches, apparitions, ghosts, and hallucinations. Shakespeare wrote this for King James I, who had written “Daemonologie” about witchcraft. For Jacobean audiences, the supernatural was real and terrifying.

The witches' prophecies raise the question of fate versus free will - do they cause Macbeth's actions, or merely predict them? The supernatural also manifests through guilt: Macbeth hallucinates a bloody dagger and sees Banquo's ghost. These could be genuine supernatural events or psychological projections of his guilty conscience.

WitchesProphecyGhostsHallucinationsKing James I

All Supernatural Quotes

“Come, you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here”
Lady MacbethAct 1, Scene 5
GenderAmbitionSupernaturalPower

Context: Lady Macbeth calls upon evil spirits after reading Macbeth's letter about the witches' prophecy.

Analysis

Lady Macbeth invokes dark spirits to strip her of feminine qualities she sees as weaknesses. The verb "unsex" reveals her belief that femininity is incompatible with the ruthlessness needed for murder. This subverts Jacobean gender expectations and establishes her as the driving force behind the regicide.

Language Techniques:

Imperative verbsInvocationSubversion of gender roles

Exam Tip

Link to context: James I's views on gender and witchcraft. Compare to later scenes where her femininity returns through guilt.

“Come to my woman's breasts, and take my milk for gall”
Lady MacbethAct 1, Scene 5
GenderSupernaturalMotherhoodEvil

Context: Continuation of Lady Macbeth's invocation to the spirits.

Analysis

Lady Macbeth asks spirits to replace her nurturing breast milk with bitter gall (poison). This perverts the natural maternal role, suggesting she would sacrifice motherhood for power. The imagery links femininity with nurturing, which she sees as weakness. Shakespeare shows how ambition corrupts natural bonds.

Language Techniques:

ImageryInversionSemantic field of the body

Exam Tip

Link to the later reference to dashing out a baby's brains. Question whether Lady Macbeth has children.

“Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?”
MacbethAct 2, Scene 1
SupernaturalGuiltAmbitionMadness

Context: Macbeth hallucinates a dagger before murdering Duncan.

Analysis

The rhetorical question reveals Macbeth's uncertainty - he cannot distinguish reality from imagination. The dagger pointing towards his hand suggests fate or the supernatural guiding him, yet also implies his own responsibility. This soliloquy marks his psychological descent into guilt and paranoia.

Language Techniques:

Rhetorical questionSymbolismSoliloquyVisual imagery

Exam Tip

Debate whether the dagger is supernatural or psychological. Link to the witches and question of free will vs fate.

“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”
WitchesAct 1, Scene 1
Appearance vs RealitySupernaturalEvilChaos

Context: The witches' chant in the opening scene of the play.

Analysis

This paradox establishes the play's moral confusion from the very first scene. The chiasmus creates a sense of inversion and disorder. It suggests the natural order is disrupted and nothing is as it seems. The trochaic tetrameter differs from the play's usual iambic pentameter, marking the witches as unnatural.

Language Techniques:

ParadoxChiasmusTrochaic tetrameter

Exam Tip

Link to James I's Daemonologie and fears about witchcraft. This motto echoes throughout the play.

“All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”
WitchesAct 1, Scene 3
ProphecyFateAmbitionSupernatural

Context: The third witch prophesies Macbeth's kingship.

Analysis

This prophecy ignites Macbeth's ambition. "Hereafter" is deliberately vague - it doesn't say how or when. The witches don't command murder, merely predict kingship. Macbeth chooses the path of violence. The prophecy tests whether he will wait for fate or force it.

Language Techniques:

ProphecyAmbiguityTriadic structure

Exam Tip

Debate: do witches cause Macbeth's actions or merely predict them? Key for fate vs free will essays.

“Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble”
WitchesAct 4, Scene 1
SupernaturalEvilChaos

Context: The witches prepare their cauldron before Macbeth arrives.

Analysis

The trochaic rhythm differs from the play's iambic pentameter, marking the witches as unnatural. The rhyming couplets and repetition create an incantatory, spell-like effect. "Double" suggests duplicity and multiplication of evil. The brew symbolises Scotland's corruption under Macbeth.

Language Techniques:

Trochaic tetrameterRhymeIncantationRepetition

Exam Tip

The witches' distinctive rhythm sets them apart from human characters. Link to James I's interest in witchcraft.

“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”
Second WitchAct 4, Scene 1
EvilSupernaturalTransformation

Context: A witch senses Macbeth approaching.

Analysis

The witch calls Macbeth "wicked" - he has become evil enough for witches to recognise. The physical "pricking" suggests supernatural intuition. By Act 4, Macbeth has transformed from victim of prophecy to embodiment of wickedness. Even the witches acknowledge his corruption.

Language Techniques:

Rhyming coupletSensory imageryCharacterization

Exam Tip

Key turning point - Macbeth is now called wicked by evil itself. Shows his complete moral degradation.

“But 'tis strange: And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths”
BanquoAct 1, Scene 3
DeceptionEvilSupernatural

Context: Banquo warns Macbeth about trusting the witches.

Analysis

Banquo wisely recognises that evil can use truth as a trap. The witches' truths are bait to lead Macbeth to destruction. "Instruments of darkness" identifies them as evil's tools. This warning shows Banquo's wisdom - wisdom Macbeth ignores to his doom.

Language Techniques:

WarningPersonificationInsight

Exam Tip

Banquo sees through the witches' tactics. His wisdom makes his silence about Duncan's murder more culpable.

“Merciful powers, restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature gives way to in repose”
BanquoAct 2, Scene 1
TemptationConscienceSupernatural

Context: Banquo prays for protection from dark thoughts before Duncan's murder.

Analysis

Banquo admits he is tempted by the prophecy ("cursed thoughts") but prays for strength to resist. Unlike Macbeth, he appeals to good powers against evil impulses. "Repose" (sleep) suggests these thoughts come unbidden. Banquo represents human resistance to temptation.

Language Techniques:

PrayerSelf-awarenessContrast

Exam Tip

Shows Banquo is also tempted but chooses to resist. Key difference from Macbeth's response to prophecy.

“Macduff was from his mother's womb untimely ripped”
MacduffAct 5, Scene 8
FateProphecySupernatural

Context: Macduff reveals he was born by Caesarean section.

Analysis

This revelation fulfils the witches' prophecy while subverting Macbeth's interpretation. "Untimely ripped" suggests violent, unnatural birth, yet this makes Macduff the destined killer. The prophecies were technically true but deliberately misleading. Macbeth's overconfidence in his invincibility proves fatal.

Language Techniques:

Dramatic ironyPassive voiceAmbiguity

Exam Tip

Shows how the witches' prophecies are equivocal - technically true but misleading. Fate cannot be escaped.

Explore More Macbeth Themes

View quotes organised by other key themes including ambition, guilt, and power.

All Macbeth QuotesGuilt Theme