Although the supernatural and evil forces plague Macbeth's conscience,

Macbeth is ultimately to be held responsible for the tragic consequences on

himself and by extension, society. Shakespeare's tradegy Macbeth, written
during the reign of King James of Scotland, pays homage to the monarch by
involving supernatural forces beyond the control of man throughout
Macbeth, as the King was fervently obsessed with such ideals of
supernatural influence. Throughout Macbeth, the three witches are the
manifestation of the supernatural forces poisoning Macbeth's mind.
However, it is Macbeth's ambition that leads him to his eventual downfall
intertwined with the insidious manipulation of Lady Macbeth.

Dealing with the first supernatural element in the play leads us to the
witches. They make their appearance in the very first scene where you
witness them prophesizing and declaring that there is going to be blood
shed, and one force will rise to be the victor. The witches’ roles in the
beginning are to grab attention, stimulate the audience, create an evil
atmosphere so the audience is scared, and to foreshadow what is going to
happen. The scenery is also in a thunderstorm yet again making the entire
scene compelling to the reader. We see them again when they encounter
Macbeth, except this time their roles are different. They not only spark
interest into the audience, but they toy with Macbeth. They insidiously speak
out loud all of Macbeth’s secret thoughts and prophesize him gaining the
throne. As a result of this, Macbeth’s ambitious and murderous temptations
are stronger than ever. From his actions and from the way that he was
morally weak enough to let witches manipulate him, we see the downfall of a
great man. The witches are therefore important to the play because they are
the ones who created a problem in the first place through Macbeth.

In William Shakespeare’s dramatic tragedy, Macbeth, Macbeth is overcome

by his own desire. His eventual downfall and destruction was a product of
his blind and "vaulting" ambition. The ambitions of Macbeth began a tragic
downward spiral from which the eponymous character could never recover
depicted by his transformation into a "tyrant." Macbeth's "black and deep
desires" to be King is brought to the fore regarding what led him to commit
regicide. The eponymous character attempts to interpret the "supernatural
soliciting" in his own manner by committing a crime he is ultimately punished
for. Macbeth's insidious plans are revealed as the witches announce that
Macbeth "shalt be king hereafter" kickstarting the tyrannous traits that solely
appear in Macbeth's nature. Raging ambition is the source of Macbeth's
hideous and cold nature in stark contrast to his previous connotations of a
"brave" warrior who is "valour's minion" depicting the aphoristic knowledge
that power and ambition corrupts an individual no matter how brave or
"worthy" one is. Furthermore, in a society where masculinity is of foremost
importance and necessity, Macbeth is simply unable to rebuke Lady
Macbeth's claims that "when you durst do it, then you were a man"
threateningly attacking his manhood. This allows Lady Macbeth to negatively
manipulate Macbeth into committing regicide and giving Macbeth the
opportunity to rule Scotland as a "tyrant" and extinguish all hope of returning
into a fabled and noble warrior holding his "brandish'd steel" on the
battlefield.

However significant Macbeth's "vaulting ambition" is in bringing his and

society's downfall, it alone cannot be held responsible as Lady Macbeth,
deviously manipulates the eponymous character into transforming into the
monster that orders for cold blooded murders without a slight moment of
hesitation. Lady Macbeth, at first seems to be an indifferent woman at that
time in that society, fully devoted and loyal to her husband, Macbeth.
Blinded by her excitement and ambition upon reading news of Macbeth's
future of being the ruling monarch, demands the spirits to "unsex [her] here"
relieving her off the archetypal connotations of a woman, kindness, nurturing
and loving, allowing her to lead her husband to commit what, in her eyes,
needs to be done. During her opening soliloquy, her casual remark that
Macbeth is "too full of kindness" and unfortunately has the "illness" of
sympathy and a peaceful nature, provides her with the opportunity to ask the
supernatural and evil forces to "stop up the passage to remorse" leaving her
with no chance to regret her actions. Lady Macbeth also continually attacks
Macbeth's manhood by threateningly commenting that "when you durst do
it, then you were a man", thus fuelling Macbeth's "black and deep desires"
to be King by deviously convincing him that "fair is foul and foul is fair." This
ability to manipulate Macbeth with ease is in stark contrast with later in the
play after Macbeth has become King as he dismisses Lady Macbeth, thus
disallowing her to take charge.

Ultimately, the supernatural influence throughout Shakespeare's tradegy

Macbeth, plays a significant role in the eventual demise of Macbeth and
Lady Macbeth in the manifestation as the three witches. However, the
Macbeths' "vaulting ambition" plays a substantial role in the downfall of
Macbeth and by extension, society. The involvement of supernatural forces is
done to please King James of Scotland, the king at that time, and to teach
society that committing regicide is an act that one cannot hide from and one
will surely be punished. However, this same message cannot be transferred
to modern audiences due to the lack of monarchs in many places around the
world. Instead this tragic play depicts the aphoristic fact that unchecked
ambition corrupts an individual no matter how courageous or noble one is.