Both William Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth reveal that supernatural intervention can be used as a great force that reveals hidden crimes, ignites dangerous desires, and leads their protagonists into psychological, moral and political woes. In Hamlet, the Ghost of the deceased king uncovers the hidden crime of regicide, and Hamlet is left with the responsibility of revenge. In Macbeth, the witches’ prophesies stir up Macbeth’s dormant ambition and make him think of kingship being within his reach as a destiny. Yet, the supernatural does not work as absolute power that deprives human freedom. Hamlet’s suffering is from his doubt concerning the Ghost, the moral misgivings and the fear of damnation, while Macbeth’s woe is from his purposeful misinterpretation of the equivocal prophecies and the determination to make the prophecies come true with violence. These crises are manifested in Shakespeare’s imagery of darkness, blood, poison, disease, sleep, madness, decay, and unnatural disturbance. Blood and sleeplessness give the representation of the violated world of Scotland, while disease and corruption dominate Denmark. This paper asserts that the Ghost and the witches provide the inhuman and supernatural origins of tragic conflict, while the human interpretation and moral choice of that conflict render the revelations of the supernatural sources into misery. The image of crisis is thus linked to the broader loss of family, kingship, society and natural order.
P.G. Department of English College of Commerce, Arts & Science, Patna.
