By all critics, at one time or another, William Shakespeare has been variously referred to as the ômaster playwrightö, brilliant in his portrayal of nearly every facet of action, plot, character; in short, a genius of dramatic expression rarely equaled in his or our time. It is a tribute of course that one-third of all books written is directly or indirectly related to this man. But I do not only wish to praise a man who has already been praised beyond this writerÆs ability, but to expound on one of his themes frequently, and, again, brilliantly woven into many if not most of his plays. This being the theme of the supernatural, present, specifically, in Hamlet and Macbeth, which will provide the necessary backdrop for our discussions of the supernatural theme.
The use of the supernatural in ShakespeareÆs works encompasses a staggering variety of functions, some of which are obvious: to create the initial atmosphere, capture the audienceÆs attention, introduce tension and the sense of foreboding, and often times to simply inject a note of terror into the proceeding. But more importantly, it is important to distinguish between the obvious and the subtle, which is not often an easy task with Sir William. He knew how useful superstition was to the ancient poets and probably felt that its dramatic symbol was necessary to the poetry itself. As evidence of this, W.C. Curry writes that . . . ôthe function of the dramatic symbol is to stimulate his imagination to the point of grasping some underlying emotional, moral, or intellectual contentö (Curry 117).
Throughout ShakespeareÆs works be it whatever theme, meanings usually run in at least triplicate and such is not less the case with his use of the supernatural. But his uses of it, or references to it, e.g. ghosts, witches, etc. are not alone necessarily for shock value as one might at first suspect. Here, as previously mentioned, is the subtle dramatist gently conspir...