The supernatural is not only a key element in the plot and atmosphere of Hamlet and Macbeth; it is a key element even though it appears in each of the plays only a very few times and most of its appearances are not for very long. One way Shakespeares skill as a playwright could be measured is by how much he makes each of those appearances count in the action and in the audiences imagination. He gets the most outof them dramatically.In Hamlet, the supernatural makes even fewer appearances than in Macbeth and it takes only a single form, as the ghost of the dead King Hamlet, Prince Hamlets father. Out of the plays total of twenty-two scenes, the Ghost appears in just four (I.1, I.4, I.5, III.4), and in two of them (I.1and I.4) it does not even speak. Of the plays almost four thousand lines, the Ghost speaks just ninety-one, which does not seem like much for such a key figure until you remember that it is speaking from the dead, whose words by their nature generally carry more weight than the words of the living, especially when spoken by a king. In the opening scene of the play, set at midnight on the ramparts of the kings castle at Elsinore, it appears to the two sentinels, Barnardo and Marcellus, and to Hamlets friend and fellow-student Horatio, who has been asked to come to witness what the other two had witnessed on two previous nights. At first, Horatio is skeptical about the sentinels report of a ghost looking like the dead king, but the Ghosts sudden appearance shocks him into belief. The two sentinels urge Horatio to speak to it. This is what Shakespeares audience would have supposed him better qualified to do than they are since, as an educated man, he would know what kind of language to use in addressing a spirit and the verbal formulas that will protect him in case it is a spirit from hell that can harm him. Horatio calls on the Ghost to speak--what art thou that usurpst this time of night . . . Speak, speak. I charge thee, speak (46-51)--but instead of answering, the ghost disappears. The three men agree on the Ghosts exact resemblance to the dead king, Horatio gives his opinion that this bodes some strange eruptions to our state (69), and then, in answer to Marcelluss question why the country is mobilizing for war (70-79), he explains that Denmark is threatened with invasion by Fortinbras, a Norwegian prince who aims to win back territory that his father had lost to King Hamlet some time before in single combat (80-107). It is hard to believe that two professional soldiers, Marcellus and Barnardo, should not know of the reason for their countrys mobilization, and therefore Marcelluss question is nothing more than a clumsy device of Shakespeares to get in some important plot information. Horatio suggests that the ghosts appearanceis to warn Denmark of the threat.At this moment, the Ghost suddenly reappears. Horatio confronts it and, agitated, asks whether he can do anything to comfort it, if it is trying to warn the country of danger, or if it is restless because it buried treasure during its lifetime as Shakespeares contemporaries thought this was one of the reasons why a ghost might come to haunt people. The cock crows and the Ghost vanishes without answering. Horatio advises Barnardo and Marcellus that they tell young Hamlet what they have just experienced, and expresses his belief that this spirit, dumb to us, will speak to him (170-171).The resentment and bitterness towards his uncle--and now his stepfather and his king--and his mother that Hamlet expresses in the following scene (I.2) prepares the audience for the Ghosts shocking revelations in its next appearance on stage. In Act I., scene 4, Horatio has brought Hamlet to the castles ramparts to see if the Ghost will reappear. He has told Hamlet of what he and the sentinels had witnessed the night before (I.2.189-243), and Hamlet has vowed that If it assume my noble fathers person, Ill speak to it though hell itself should gape And bid me hold my peace. (I.2.244-246)

To himself he has expressed a belief that All is not well and a suspicion of foul play (I.2.255-256). The way hell enters Hamlets thoughts here shows that from the very first he recognizes the possibility that the Ghost may intend to do him harm rather than good, that it is a bad ghost. I.4 opens with Hamlet commenting scornfully to Horatio on the kings noisy and vulgar partying (it is a custom / More honored in the breach than the observance [15-16]). His hostility towards Claudius and his contempt could not be plainer. Just as he comes to the end of his long and bitter denunciation, the ghost appears. Hamlet is immediately struck by its resemblance to his dead father, but at the same time shows that he is aware that it can be a spirit of health or goblin damned, that its purpose in coming can be wicked or charitable, that it may be accompanied either by airs from heaven or blasts from hell (40-42). He does not mention the Catholic Purgatory, so that up to this point at least he seems to be taking the Protestant view of ghosts, that they may come either from heaven or from hell and from nowhere in between. Hamlet frantically calls on the ghost to tell why it has come and what should we do? (57) The Ghost beckons him to follow (stage direction, 57) and, showing a great deal of courag , as it takes courage to follow a ghost, especially when you know that it may be a spirit from hell, Hamlet does. All of this in spite of Horatio and Marcellus effort to hold him back and Horatios warning that it may intend to lead him to his death or to drive him mad. Horatio and Marcellus follow after Hamlet, with Marcellus famously remarking that Something is rotten in the state of Denmark (40). The Ghost commands Hamlets attention, saying that it must shortly return to sulphrous and tormenting flames, which at first sounds as though the flames must be the fires of hell. But then it goes on to identify itself as thy fathers spirit, Doomed for a certain term to walk the night, And for the day confined to fast in fires, Till the foul crimes done in my days of nature Are burnt and purged away. (I.5.9-13)

and this sounds just like a description not of hell but of Purgatory. Abruptly, the Ghost orders Hamlet to avenge his fathers foul and most unnatural murder (25). To Hamlets horror, it goes on to relate how Claudius first seduced Gertrude (my most seeming-virtuous queen [46]) and then poisoned his brother: Thus was I sleeping by a brothers hand / Of life, of crown, of queen at once dispatched (74-75), all this without King Hamlet having had the chance to confess his sins and receive the churchs last rites that would have helped settle his account with

God (76-77). The Ghost again commands Hamlet to revenge (81), but this time puts the emphasis not on the murder but on the adultery:

Let not the royal bed of Denmark be A couch for luxury and damned incest. (82-83)

And it goes out of its way to warn Hamlet not to harm his mother in the process but to leave her to be judged by heaven and her own conscience (84-88). This seems to suggest that the Ghost does not believe that Gertrude was a party to her husbands murder and was only guilty of adultery. Urging Hamlet to Remember me (91), the Ghost vanishes. Hamlet passionately agrees to fulfill the ghosts commandment (105). When Horatio and Marcellus catch up with him, he first confuses them with wild and whirling words (133), then declares that it is an honest ghost (138; that is, a genuine spirit and not a devil), and finally makes them swear to keep the events of the night secret, with the Ghost echoing from Beneath (that is, from the cellarage [154], the space underneath the stage), Swear (158). The scene, and Act I, ends with Hamlet swearing Horatio and Marcellus not to give him away even if he perchance hereafter shall think meet / To put an antic disposition on, that is, to pretend to be mad (174-175). The ghosts echo from beneath the stage, Swear by his sword (164), is the last he is heard from until III.4, the scene in Queen Gertrudes boudoir, fifteen hundred lines later. A great many things happen between this scene and the Ghosts next appearance in the play, which is also its last. There is the meeting of Hamlet and Ophelia which Polonius has arranged in order to demonstrate to Claudius and Gertrude that Hamlet is, literally, mad with love for his daughter. It is hard to know whether Hamlets strange behavior at this meeting is really part of his earlier announced antic disposition, or is at least partly genuine and the result of real disturbance of mind, it is very convincing. After all, he has had a lot of upsetting things to deal with and he is depressed. There is Claudiuss anxious setting-on of Hamlets former friends and schoolmates, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, to spy on Hamlet to try and discover what is behind his stepsons transformation (II.2.5). There is Hamlets arrangement with the troupe of visiting players to perform The Murder of Gonzago, whose plot mirrors the Ghosts account of King Hamlets murder. Hamlet suggests that he inserts some dozen or sixteen lines so that, by watching Claudiuss response, he will know whether or not the Ghost was telling the truth. Whether it was a good ghost or a bad ghost. Most important of all, there is Claudiuss guilty reaction at the moment when the Player Lucianus Pours the poison in [the Player Kings] ears (stage direction, III.2.256), and Hamlets moment of certainty: O good Horatio, Ill take the ghosts word for a thousand pound (III.2.281). At this point, the many members of Shakespeares audience who would have fully understood Hamlets doubts about the Ghosts nature, and shared them, would also have been satisfied that it is in fact an honest ghost. And of course a modern audience, ignorant of Elizabethan ghost beliefs, is satisfied, too.The Ghosts last appearance comes in the middle of Hamlets feverish interview with his mother in her boudoir (III.4). It is different from the others because only Hamlet sees and hears the Ghost. His mother does not, and she understand the speech he addresses to the Ghost as further proof of his madness. Is the audience supposed to think that this appearance is a hallucination, a product of Hamlets melancholy, and the spirit of Act I, which Horatio, Barnardo, and Marcellus also see, a real ghost? Or has Shakespeare simply been careless? The stage time between Hamlets confirmation of Claudiuss guilt and the Ghosts appearance in the boudoir scene is short but it is filled with drama. Hamlet has been called to see his mother, first by Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (III.2.324-325) and then by Polonius (III.2.367-368). Claudius, who is now aware of the danger Hamlet represents, has called Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to escort Hamlet to England (III.3.1-7), making it sound as though the reason for his order is the threat of Hamlets madness to his own safety and not Hamlets knowledge of his crime. Polonius has gone off to hide behind a tapestry in the queens apartment so that he might overhear her meeting with her son. And the audience witnesses Claudius kneeling in solitary prayer, trying to atone before God for his sin and knowing that he fails, and Hamlet, who has happened to enter, passing by the chance to kill his uncle and revenge his father out of concern that Claudius, unlike King Hamlet, would die confessed and so go to heaven (III.3.36-98). There is even more drama than this when Polonius overhears Hamlets threatening speech to his mother and from behind the arras echoes her cry of alarm, causing Hamlet, who thinks it is Claudius and that his life is in danger, to thrust his sword through the tapestry and kill the old man (III.4.21-33). Before the audience can catch its breath, Hamlet processes into a fit of bitter accusation against his mother over her adultery (41-88). It is at the height of this outpouring of accusation and verbal abuse, and as a kind of climax to the series of dramatic events that have just taken place on stage, that the Ghost suddenly enters. The long span of time since it last appeared makes its entrance seem that much more explosive.This time it is dressed not in battle armor but in his nightgown, that is, in a dressing gown (stage direction, 101). What this change in dress is supposed to signify is hard to guess. Does the Ghost dress according to the occasion and setting, with armor being thought as much out of place in a wifes boudoir as a dressing gown would be on the castles ramparts? And this time it speaks only a very few lines. The first two reproach Hamlet for not yet having carried out the Ghosts command to revenge his fathers murder:

Do not forget. This visitation Is but to whet thy almost blunted purpose. (III.4.110-111)

Clearly the Ghost has been keeping an eye on things. The Ghosts unhappiness with Hamlet here may strike an audience as unfair. So far as the audience knows, the only opportunity for revenge that Hamlet has had, once he became convinced of the truth of the Ghosts story, was when Claudius was praying. The Ghosts rebuke of Hamlet must be based on its knowing of Hamlets failure to take advantage of that opportunity. But the audience knows that Hamlet had a very good reason for not avenging his fathers murder at that moment, a reason which the Ghost would have to have approved of (just as, earlier, Hamlet had a very good reason for testing the truth of what the Ghost said). Hamlet, who is depressed, may blame himself for being slow in carrying out the Ghosts dread command (III.4.108), but the audience knows better. He has, in fact, been very active, while taking sensible precautions. To make sense of all this, the Ghost, from Purgatory, knows what Hamlet does or does not do but, unlike the audience, cannot enter into Hamlets mind to know why he does or does not do it. Admittedly, this calles for a lot of mental gymnastics on the part of the audience. No sooner has the ghost chided Hamlet than it directs him to observe his mothers bewilderment and to comfort her:

But look, amazement on thy mother sits. O step between her and her fighting soul! Conceit in weakest bodies strongest works. Speak to her, Hamlet. (III.4.112-115)

Is Gertrudes bewilderment over Hamlets speaking to vacancy [III.4.117] or over his bitter accusations, or both? These are the Ghosts last words in the play and its last appearance, if it is an appearance and not a hallucination. It remains on stage, though (or, if the director has chosen to have it speak from the cellarage again, at least before the eye of Hamlets imagination), for another few minutes, first glaring (Look you, how pale he glares [125]) and then by its expression calling on Hamlet to be merciful to his mother (127-129). For the rest of Hamlet it will not even be mentioned.

Ghost or supernatural plays an important role in the plays written during Renaissance orElizabethan age. The Elizabethan age greatly believed in the super natural. Thepresentation of ghosts, fairies, witches, portents, omens uncommon happenings,disturbances in nature was quite and common phenomenon on the Elizabethan stage. Itwas a traditionally recognized instrument in the dramatic art. People liked to see thesupernatural elements on the stage and fully enjoyed them. Shakespeare possibly yielded tothe demands of the people and gave them what they wanted. Shakespeare makes aneffective use of these popular superstitions and beliefs of his time. But unlike hiscontemporaries, his use of the supernatural is neither crude nor gross, nor is it extraneousto the action of he plays. According to Moulton, Supernatural agency has a place in theworld of Shakespeare.In hamlet the supernatural appears in the form of the ghost. In the first act, five hundredand fifty lines out of the eight hundred and fifty lines are concerned with the ghost.Therefore, it may be said that if we remove it, the play falls to pieces. The ghost in Hamlethas at least a three fold dramatic significance. It contributes to the general tragicatmosphere of the play, it motivates the entire action of the play, and it shows up thecharacter and derives home a certain moral effect.First, in this play, Shakespeare has introduced the supernatural element in order to createatmosphere of mystery, horror and suspense It diffuses an atmosphere of awe throughwhich tragedy becomes more impressive The appearance of the ghost in Hamlet chills ourblood with horror, or to be more correct, with, terror. Horatio does not believe in ghostsbut the appearance horrors him with fear and wonder. This introduction of the deadking in the first scene immediately creates an atmosphere which is a forewarning that un-natural deeds are either to take place or to be disclosed. Hamlet himself comes to believe insome calamity or evil about to be faced when he says: My fathers spirit in arms! All is not well,I doubt some foul plays.Secondly the ghost initiates the entire action of he play. Verity has pointed out without theghosts initial revelation of truth to Hamlet; there would be no occasion for revenge, inother words no tragedy of Hamlet. The main theme of the play is revenge. The motive of this revenge theme is provided by the ghost when it says:Let not the royal bed of Denmark beA couch for luxury and damnd incest.The ghosts appearance accounts for two other important developments in the play.Hamlets mind is occupied with the thought of the ghosts reality. To confirm the truth of its word he puts on an antic disposition and then he gets enacted the Mouse-trap playto Catch the conscience of the king.Thirdly, the presence of ghost in Hamlet has a moral significance also. The play shows thatwe cannot conceal the truth for a long time. It must appear, and Murder speak with mostmiraculous organ. The ghost, we feel, is a representative of that hidden and ultimatepower that rules the universe; it is a messenger of the divine justice. Hamlet says:Foul deeds will riseThough all the earth oer them, to man eye.The ghost reminds us that even the greatest earthly strength is still subject to thecontrolling Influence of spiritual powers. The ghost speaks of Its Prison house and of thefires of hell for his crimes in life which is so horrible that it is denied to mortal ears. HereShakespeare combines classical and Christian concept with the popular superstitions of hisage.About the nature of the ghost, there exists a controversy. Some critics are of the view thatthe ghost is a subjective (existing within) phenomenon, a hallucination springing fromimagination. Others believe that it is an objective (existing outside) phenomenon. The

2source of this controversy is the second appearance of the ghost in Gertrudes room. InMacbeth, the ghost of Banquo is subjective because it appears only to Macbeth and to noone else in the court. In Julius Caesar the ghost of Caesar appears only to Brutus. Butthis is not so in Hamlet. In the beginning, Hamlet, Marcellus, Bernardo and Horatio see theghost. They not only see it but also address it. In this sense, the ghost is objective and has areal existence. If it were a product of Hamlets fancy, other people could not have seen itand heard it simultaneously. But in closet scene, Hamlet sees the ghost and talks to it; theQueen is unconscious of the presence of the ghost and cannot hear it speak. In this sense,the ghost is subjective. To reconcile this subjective-objective controversy, two explanationshave been offered. Koble says that the first apparition was real and the second wasimaginary: the first was initiative and the second was inhibitive. Verity has offered anotherexplanation. The fact that the ghost is not seen by the Queen has its moral ring, suggestingthat the woman has stayed so far from the path of honour that she is unable to receiveSpiritual visions. Coarsening of her nature has dulled her sense of things non-material. Thesecond explanation seems to be more plausible.To sum up, the presentation of the ghost in Hamlet is an artistic triumph. With out it, therewould have been no tragic suspense or curiosity, no suitable atmosphere and consequentlyno interest. This artistic treatment of the supernatural reveals Shakespeares universaldramatic gift.Written&Composed By:Prof. A.R.SomrooM.A.English&Education0661-610063

The supernatural elements that are apparent in most of Shakespeares plays,significantly inHamlet andMacbeth, which we are going to elaborate further,have their roots in the Elizabethan era and their beliefs in supernaturalcreatures, such as witches, ghosts and fairies. The Elizabethan era was poured into beliefs of the existence of thesesupernatural creatures and phenomena or as they mostly treated them asthe unseen creatures. Their beliefs on the unseen beings dated backfrom the medieval times and spread their existence boughs through theElizabethan era all the way to the 20thcentury.Shakespeare, the master playwright of all the times, the supernaturalwordsmith, used the supernatural themes and elements into his plays inorder to express the concerns of the Elizabethan society on thesupernaturalism and their attitude towards them. He also used them to makehis plays more tragic and also to reach the catharsis of his masterful plays onthe scene. As we mentioned earlier, we have selected two of Shakespearestragedies;Hamlet andMacbethin order to elaborate and compare theutilization of the supernaturalism and the supernatural elements in his plays.In both of these tragedy plays we encounter the usage of the supernaturalelements; the ghost of King Hamlet inHamlet , and the ghost of Banqou, thevision of the bloody dagger and the three witches inMacbeth. One mightwonder as to why Shakespeare used these supernatural beings andphenomenon into both of these tragedies as well as others. The response isthat he wanted to input some of the supernaturalism of the time into hisplays, to make them be treated as the plays of the time for the people of the time, as we know that his idea was always treated as such and to treatthe concerns of his society into his plays though make them more easilyaccessible. Another important reason regarding this was that he used thesupernatural creatures, in this particular case the ghosts, in order to revealthe truth behind the characters actions without having to revenge against aparticular person for revealing that truth, therefore be able to enclose theplay in a tragic way and make his spectators more attentive andenthusiastic.InHamlet,Claudius has inherited the throne of Denmark after having killedhis own brother, King Hamlet, by pouring the poison into his ears, andthereafter marrying his brothers widow Queen Gertrude. Fortunately KingHamlet had a son named after his own name, Prince Hamlet, who, after the

The very first lines of Hamlet seem to be designed to prepare the audience for the ideas that will develop as the play progresses.

BARNARDO Whos there?FRANCISCO Nay, answer me. Stand and unfold yourself. (1.1.1-2)

This opening exchange is set upon the gloomy, gothic battlements of the castle as the watchmen stumble through the dark, afraid of meeting the ghost that the audience will discover has already appeared twice before. As an opening image, this immediately introduces an element of the supernatural in order to unnerve the audience and convey the sense of uncertainty that runs throughout the play. As well as this, the dialogue hints at the way in which the dark battlements can be read as a metaphor for the way in which Hamlet is struggling with his own sense of identity, which his fathers ghost later forces him to unfold in order to restore a natural order to the usurped throne.

When the ghost of King Hamlet eventually speaks to the Prince, Shakespeare seems to ensure that the feelings of uncertainty are not removed as an audience may expect. Instead, the ambiguity of the ghosts intent and role within the play are only increased, which is again something that is reflected on stage through Hamlets own reactions. Despite the apparition taking his fathers form, Hamlet is cautious of the spirits intentions and finds himself unable to act upon his promise to avenge his father due to conflicts with his moral and religious characteristics. Arguably, Shakespeare is exploring the idea of the conflicts between morality and a greater sense of duty, something that is reflected in Hamlets To be, or not to be soliloquy where he contemplates the difference between life and death as an analogy for taking action or being passive. Campbell and Quinn argue that:

The soliloquies are the passages that most clearly reveal Hamlets struggle on the one hand to obey the Ghosts sacred injunction and on the other to follow the dictate of his own natureThey relate what is passing through his mind to moral imperatives and religious principles. In the To be or not to be speech Hamlet considers the implications of his undertaking the career of an avenger to which he has just dedicated himself. (1966, 288)

Shakespeare is therefore using the supernatural as a dramatic device through which he can convey Hamlets uncertainty to the audience by forcing them to consider his predicament from their own perspective. In this sense the ghost is used as a powerful device that crosses the divide between actors and the audience, affecting both worlds and crucially blurring the audiences perception of what is presented as real and what is a representation of Hamlets internal struggle. This would have been especially significant to an Elizabethan audience whose Christian beliefs would have suggested that King Hamlets spectre was a product of Prince Hamlets deranged mind, for as Campbell and Quinn point out:

Hamlet is no pagan avenger of Icelandic saga, but a Christian Elizabethan who adopted the current confused beliefs of his age about ghostsThe Protestants, having banished purgatory from their theology, held that a man once dead could find no exit from heaven or hell. Therefore, such spectres as the ghost of Hamlets father were either illusions of minds unhinged by melancholy or devils masquerading as spirits of the departed in order to lure the persons they address to damnation. (1966, 288)

However, from the very beginning the audience has been told that other characters are able to see the ghost and Horatio is even able to describe him in detail:

MARCELLUS Is it not like the King?HORATIO As thou art to thyself.Such was the very armour he had onWhen he thambitious Norway combated.(1.1.57-60)

This raises important questions about the objectivity of King Hamlets ghost. Just as Hamlet questions whether it is really the spirit of his father who is visiting him, so does the audience, again taking advantage of the ambiguous nature of the supernatural imagery to link the audiences state of mind to that of the protagonist. Robert West argues that if:

the pneumatological evidence in Hamlet is ambiguous, it is either because Shakespeare thought it unimportant to post the audience by its means on the ultimate nature of the ghost, or because he thought it desirable to keep the audience a little uncertain about it. (1955, 1111)

The pneumatological evidence mentioned here, is a reference to the established ideas and laws that an audience of the time would have expected ghosts in drama to adhere to. However, as I have already mentioned, the concept of the ghost is far too vague to be fixed to a set of laws. Therefore, by suggesting that Shakespeare is purposefully ignoring the established pneumatological evidence, West seems to be confirming that he is indeed being deliberately ambiguous about his supernatural characters in an attempt to subvert the audiences expectations.

Therefore the identity of the ghost in Hamlet is certainly not as easy to define, as an Elizabethan audience may have liked it to be. If King Hamlet is a product of Hamlets deranged state then why is it that the watchmen are also able to see him? Furthermore, to add to this confused identity, we are later shown that Gertrude is unable to see the apparition. These constant contradictions deny the audience an easy way of identifying the ghost as real, or a product of Hamlets disturbed state of mind. As West points out, the supernatural is being used to increase the dramatic impact of the play by distorting the audiences own ideas of death and identity and therefore allowing them to identify with Hamlets situation.

[Shakespeare] knowingly gave precedence to dramatic considerations over pneumatological ones, and that, for Hamlet particularly, this required a confusion of pneumatological dogma. (1955, 1113)

In Macbeth the supernatural also plays a large role in exploring the theme of identity. However, the supernatural elements of the play differ greatly from those found in Hamlet; the most important difference being that the witches do not have any wrong doing for Macbeth to put right. This apparently random interference of the witches and the subsequent chaos it causes in the kingdom is likely to stem from the fact that Shakespeare was writing the play to be performed for King James, who was notorious for his belief in the evils of witchcraft:

These witches conform exactly to King James beliefs. Their every act confirms the truth of his suspicionsBy seeking and accepting their aid Macbeth becomes guilty, albeit indirectly, of trafficking with the Prince of Darkness. This vivid way of dramatizing a mans bondage to evil has enthralled every spectator or reader of the tragedy, as, in a peculiar sense, it must have enthralled King James. (Campbell and Quinn 1966, 484)

Aside from the rather sweeping statements made at the end of this quotation, it should be noted that Macbeth never actually seeks the witches help until after their first meeting. In fact, it is the witches that seek Macbeth at the beginning of the play. However, his instant and incautious commitment to fulfilling the prophecy is a stark contrast to Hamlets slow battle with his morality, showing how the supernatural is used differently in the plays to expose vastly different character traits. Furthermore, the sudden change in Macbeth from the seemingly likeable and noble character to an immoral, villainous one, can either be seen as another damning account of the evils of witchcraft, or a subtle warning of powers ability to corrupt. After all, it is Lady Macbeth who finally convinces her husband to actively pursue the prophecy and kill the King in his sleep (1.7.61-72). She condemns Macbeth for his cautious character, challenging his manhood: When you durst do it, then you were a man (1.7.49), whilst adopting a more masculine mode herself:

LADY MACBETH unsex me here,And fill me from the crown to the toe top-fullOf direst cruelty. Make thick my blood,Stop up thaccess and passage to remorse,That no compunctious visitings of natureShake my fell purpose nor keep peace betweenTheffect and it. (1.5.39-45)

She even takes it upon herself to ensure that what needs to be done is seen through:

MACBETH Ill go no moreI am afraid to think what I have doneLook ont again I dare not.LADY MACBETH Infirm of purposeGive me the daggers Ill gild the faces of the grooms withal,For it must seem their guilt (2.2.48-55).

Despite this, both protagonists remain fully responsible for their actions, or inaction, throughout the play. Macbeth may have many different influences acting upon him, but it is not the knowledge of his fate that drives him to murder, it is his submission to his ambition and lust for power. In both plays, the ghosts and witches are only able to provide information on what has happened, and in both circumstances the protagonists seek proof before taking action. Hamlet sets up the play within a play, and Macbeth waits for confirmation of his new title before plotting to pursue the witches prophecy. Crucially, the witches do not specify how Macbeth will become King, nor can King Hamlets ghost take his own revenge on Claudius. To actively take part in such events would not only change the plots dramatically but also destroy the protagonists underlying struggle to come to terms with their actions and humanity.

Time is another theme that Shakespeare explores through the use of the supernatural in both plays. Hamlet is haunted by a ghost of the past, who demands that the wrongs of the past are avenged and restored to normal. In contrast, Macbeth is concerned about his future, hence his submission to his violent ambition. As I have mentioned, his rise to power is meaningless in the face of his inability to leave behind a successor, who can continue to reign once he has died. This is perhaps why the ghost of Banquo haunts Macbeth, for it is Banquo who will represent the future line of kings, rather than King Duncan. Finally, of course, Macbeth begins to realise the futility of his struggle to maintain power in the face of an uncertain future.

MACBETH Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrowCreeps in this petty pace from day to dayTo the last syllable of recorded time,And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle. (5.5.18)

Hamlet also discusses the way in which great men are returned to nothing more than dust when they pass away:

HAMLET Imperial Caesar, dead and turned to clay,Might stop a hole to keep the wind away.O, that that earth which kept the world in aweShould patch a wall texpel the winters flaw! (5.1.196)

This may at first appear to be a similar feeling to that of Macbeths; however, in remembering the deeds of Caesar and Alexander, Hamlet is showing how it is possible to live on through memory of great deeds performed in a lifetime. This is furthered by his comment that he knew Yorick (5.1.171-80). Even though he is disturbed at the way humans return to dust, the audience is shown how memory can keep preserve life, something that Macbeth neglects in his blind ambition to secure power.

The use of the supernatural is therefore very different for both characters, however it serves the same dramatic purpose of externalising the internal mental struggles each character goes through. In Hamlet the focus on past events and the clash between Hamlets moral standards and his sense of duty is externalised by the memory of his father. Whereas, by hearing his fate through the witches self-fulfilling prophecy, Macbeths ambition is awakened as he desperately tries to secure a future, spurred on by the futility of having no offspring like Banquo. Hamlet therefore struggles with his humanity, whilst in contrast Macbeth neglects to think about his through his concerns over his mortality.

Another interesting difference is the appearance of the ghosts themselves. Horatio describes the ghost of King Hamlet as wearing the armour from a previous ferocious battle, perhaps to emphasise his anger at being murdered without the chance to confess his sins and then buried without the appropriate religious ceremony. In contrast, Banquo appears to Macbeth covered with twenty trenched gashes on his head (3.4.80), suggesting that, unlike King Hamlet, only Macbeth is able to see the ghost, which the audience is likely to interpret as a physical representation of his own guilty conscience. At the feast, Macbeth seems to be able to exert some power over his conscience, forcing the ghost hence and recovering himself. Shakespeare is again using the ghosts as a dramatic device that force the internal thoughts of the characters outwards, showing the audience, both on and off stage, that his struggle to come to terms with what he has done is making it difficult for him to control his guilty conscience. Elmer Stoll maintains that:

the words of Macbeth are words of impiety, of a classical Infatuation and Insolence, and they are answered from the other world. They fly in the face of Heaven, andare hurled back upon the speakers head. (1907, 209)

Just like the ghost of King Hamlet however, the subjectivity of Banquos ghost is still debateable. Stolls essay, Objectivity of the Ghosts in Shakespeare,argues against the idea of Banquos ghost as a vision conjured only by Macbeths guilty conscience.

Banquos Ghost, then, rises not because Macbeth remembers the words of the murderer, but because the ghost must be like the corpse. It is no matter of psychology of symbolism, but the exceedingly simple matter of a story hanging together. (1907, 216)

However, this conclusion appears a little weak if it is taken into account that Banquo appears just as the murderer has described him, and very shortly after this description. Also, given the way that Shakespeare has demonstrated a disregard for pneumatological rules, it is unreasonable to think that the ghost appears as it does just because it must conform to the same law as the Ghost of Hector in the Aeneid, who, by stark contrast, appeared in a dream. Again, it is probable that the apparition is meant to be deliberately ambiguous, both to the audience and to Macbeth, making physical (or perhaps metaphysical) his fears of Banquos children retaking the throne while he has no power to create his own line of Kings and pointing out the cruel irony of a man who is told his future, bit is incapable of sustaining it.

Therefore, whether it is Hamlets objective ghost from the past or Macbeths subjective visions of the future, it is clear that the supernatural elements of both plays are essential to the way in which the key themes of identity and mortality are conveyed to the audience. Contradictions in the concept of the ghosts, such as who is able to see them, as well as the ambiguous way in which they can be interpreted as real or representations of internal struggles, mean that the audience is prevented from settling on a comfortable, easy explanation for them. This disturbs their sense of identity, just as it does the characters in the play, blurring the boundaries between actor and audience and forcing them to confront the same questions that Hamlet and Macbeth face as they struggle to find a sense of purpose in their corrupted worlds.

Usually explanations of supernatural figures tend to reduce their proper effect of awe and mystery, but the indecisive explanations Shakespeare gives and the standard questions he raises rather tend to create awe and mysteryIn contemporary consciousness such experience kept a preponderance of terror and doubt that overrode normal confidence in pneumatological rationalizations. We see just this overriding take place in the sceptical Horatio, and Shakespeare meant, perhaps, that it should take place in the audience too. (West 1955, 1114)

Shakespeare uses the supernatural in these plays a metaphor for many different things, from the physical manifestation of Macbeths immoral acts and guilty conscience, to Hamlets sense of duty toward his family and the natural order. However, what is arguably most important about Shakespeares use of the supernatural is not the form it takes, but the way in which it is used as a dramatic device that disrupts the audiences expectations and forces them into engaging with the plays central themes and issues.

Supernaturalism is a manifestation of intellectual curiosity. Modernity has prohibited such curiosity with technological inquisition. But while it can be avoided phylogenetically, it cannot be avoided ontogenetically. With modern theatre, this aspect of mythology and the treatment of the supernatural elements, bear a direct inclination towards politics. But this tendency to profess political ideas is not modern but penetrates deep into the ancient world.

Shakespeares tragedies are flagship plays of all such constitutions. His treatment of supernaturalism, whether in Julius Caesar or Hamlet, has both the political and personal elements. Far from being a feudal poet, observes Wyndham Lewis in The Lion and the Fox,1 the Shakespeare that Troilus and Cressida, The Tempest, or even Cariolanus shows us is much more a bolshevik (using this little word popularly) than a figure of conservative romance. As a dramatist, Shakespeare was bound to provide entertainment for his audience. But, in Hamlet, his hatred for mere entertainment becomes evident in one of Hamlets famous dialogues:

HAMLET. Be not too tame neither, but let your own discretion be your tutor. Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance: that you oerstep not the modesty of nature. For anything so overdone is from the pur- pose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is to hold as twere the mirror up to nature, to show virtue her own feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure. Now this overdone, or come tardy off, though it make the unskilful laugh, cannot but make the judicious grieve; censure of the which one must in your allowance oerweigh a whole theatre of others (3.2.16-28). This, is what precisely, happens in Hamlet: a play within the play is staged, an extensive decoy, which would reveal the...

The supernatural is a recurring aspect in many of William Shakespeare's plays. In Hamlet there appears, perhaps the most notable of the supernatural forms, the ghost. However, in Macbeth, not only does the ghost appear, but a floating dagger, witches, and prophetic apparitions. In both Hamlet and Macbeth, the supernatural plays an intricate and very important role in the two plays. In two such plays, Hamlet and Macbeth, the supernatural is an essential part of the structure of the plot.The information the ghost reveals motivates Hamlet into action against a situation he is already uncomfortable with. In scene V of act I, Hamlet and the ghost appear together. The ghost confesses to Hamlet that "A serpent stung me, so the whole ear of Denmark/Is by a forged process of my death/Rankly abus'd"(I.v.36-38). The ghost's words make it clear that he was not poisoned by a snake but murdered by his own brother. In Hamlet, if he had not seen the ghost of his father, he would not have known that Claudius had killed his father to claim the throne. The ghost asks Hamlet to seek revenge for the King's death and Hamlet is thus propelled to set into action a series of events that ends in Hamlet's death.The core of the play then unfolds from the actions and words of this ghost. In the famous "To be or not to be" soliloquy (III.i.56-89), Hamlet makes it clear he is unsure of what action to take. Hamlet encounters the ghost once more in his mother's bedroom. The ghost reminds him to avenge his father's death. Hamlet's revenge against his uncle, Claudius is certainly stimulated by the ghosts' words. His father's murder is forcing Hamlet to take action.The supernatural occurs four times during the course of Macbeth. It occurs in all the appearances of the witches, in the appearance of Banquo's ghost, in the apparitions with their prophecies, and the floating dagger that guides Macbeth towards his victim. In Macbeth, the supernatural plays a si...

The genesis of Hamlet's angst is the visitation of his father's ghost, a fact that he refuses to accept at first, which causes him great anxiety tinged with filial guilt. Also represented in the presence of the ghost is the possibility that he is not Hamlet's father at all, but a manifestation of the devil trying to trick Hamlet into taking revenge on those who are suspected of killing the king.Therefore, Hamlet must consider whether the ghostly image is a temptation designed to allow him to forfeit his own mortal soul, or his father, beseeching his son to avenge his murder.The supernatural in this play is a way for Shakespeare to introduce the presence of evil or evil doings, to give us a clue that dark forces are at work. It creates an unsettling atmosphere filled with fear and trepidation for Hamlet and the reader. Supernatural forces are unpredictable, we never know how they will strike or at which character.Hamlet is also consumed with the deep and mysterious question of contemplating the nature of death. He becomes entangled in his own mind, procrastinating about what he should do regarding the murder ofhis father as he wanders the recesses of his mind looking for answers to the timeless questions regarding the meaning of human existence andthe purpose of life."Not only is death pervasive, its occurrence is a product of chance and circumstance. True, Hamlet anticipates his death, while Claudius and, perhaps, Laertes deserve theirs, but Polonius dies by accident as does the Queen, while Ophelia's suicide seems to be beyond her control. Life inevitably yields death and a wormy grave, and its occurrence cannot be foreseen or avoided"In any case, Hamlet is surrounded by death and its reminders, which in and of itself, is supernatural.In Shakespeare's time, the supernatural, witches and spells and the tinkering with men's lives was a reality of everyday life. The King at the time, King James I, was very interested inwitches and witchcraft, that is why Shakespeare put the three witches in his tribute play Macbeth, where he honors the lineage of King James's ancestors and his succession to the throne.

renoa|Elementary School Teacher|SalutatorianPosted June 12, 2012 at 1:39 PM (Answer #2)dislike0likeHamlet is a tragic play that discuss the theme of revenge and hate. Shakespeare used the supernatural element throughout Hamlet's father ghost and that was a smart move to convey the unknown secret the father had .Hamlet's father died and it said that a snake bit him but that wasnt the truth . the ghost told Hamlet the sour truth by telling him that his father soul is arrested in the earth because it was killed . Hamlet's uncle killed his father and the ghost of his father is seeking revenge from the uncle .The new king who is Hamlet's uncle didn't just kill the father , it also married Hamlet's mother and that made Hamlet furious and full of hate .The role of the ghost is important in the play because it appeared many times in front of Hamlet and spoke to him asking him to take revenge .The ghost is one of the characters in the play which rise the events by creating the inspiration of taking revenge . The ghost plays an important role in the in Hamlet because it would not have had such a significant effect on his character and play.In conclusion, the ghost plays an extremely significant role in the play and brings enjoyment to all audiences. Shakespeare gave us a wonderful play that still has its value .

References

Berry, Ralph. 1986. Hamlets Doubles, Shakespeare Quarterly 37.2, 204-212.

Campbell, Oscar James and Edward G. Quinn (eds). 1966. A Shakespeare Encyclopaedia.London: Methuen.

Cartelli, Thomas. 1983. Banquos Ghost: The Shared Vision, Theatre Journal 35.3, 389-405.

Hill, Susan. 1983. The Woman in Black. London: Vintage, Random House.

Johnson, Samuel [1745]. 1975. Johnson on Shakespeare.London: Yale University Press.

Joseph, Miriam. 1961. Discerning the Ghost in Hamlet, PMLA 76.5, 493-502.

Knights, L. C. 1959. Some Shakespearean Themes. London: Chatto & Windus.

Shakespeare, William. Hamlet and Macbeth quoted from Greenblatt et al (eds) 1997. The Norton Shakespeare.London: W. W. Norton, 1659-1759 and 2556-2618.

Siegel, Paul N. 1963. Discerning the Ghost in Hamlet, PMLA 78.1, 148-149.

Stoll, Elmer Edgar. 1907. The Objectivity of the Ghosts in Shakspere, PMLA 22.2, 201-233.

West, Robert H. 1955. King Hamlets Ambiguous Ghost, PMLA 70.5, 1107-1117.

Zucker, Jerry (dir). 1990. Ghosts Paramount Pictures.