The supernatural in Hamlet and Macbeth In both Hamlet and Macbeth, the supernatural plays a very important role. The supernatural elements are crucial to the plot and also have a more thematic part. Shakespeare presents the ghost in Hamlet, and the witches and the ghost in Macbeth, as disruptive elements that not only heighten the drama, but also destroy the existing order of things. They force the title character of each work to undergo their own internal struggle that arises from their insecurity of living up to the image of a man. First, let's consider Hamlet. The presence of the supernatural takes center stage at the beginning with the dramatic appearance of the ghost of Hamlet's father. Although the ghost does not speak, its presence is visible and already shocking. It is later in the first act that the ghost plays his first and most crucial part. In Act I Scene V, Hamlet and his father's ghost appear together and alone. The ghost says, “A serpent stung me, then the whole ear of Denmark / Was by a forged trial of my death / Brutally abused” (Iv36-38). The first seed of destruction of things (both Hamlet's identity and Denmark) is planted here. The ghost's words make it clear that his murder was not only a crime against him, but also a crime against the land. The core of the work therefore develops from the actions and words of this ghost. Hamlet's revenge against his uncle is certainly fueled by the ghost's words, but here the ghost seems to play a more subtle and internal part. In the famous soliloquy "To be or not to be" (III.i.55-88), Hamlet makes it clear that not only is he unsure of what action to take, but he is also unsure of himself. It seems that his father's aberration confuses Hamlet... middle of paper... and serves as ghosts in the machine of the character's life. And that's what ultimately really kills them or pushes them to their deaths. Works cited and consulted: Bloom, Harold. "Introduction." Modern critical interpretations: Hamlet. Ed. Harold Bloom. New York City: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986. 1-10.Bradley, A.C. “The Witch Scenes in Macbeth.” England in literature. Ed. John Pfordesher, Gladys V. Veidemanis and Helen McDonnell. Illinois: Scott, Foresman, 1989. 232-233Goldman, Michael. Critical essays on Shakespeare's Hamlet. Ed. David Scott Kaston. New York: Prentice Hall International. 1995.The Riverside Shakespeare: Second Edition Houghtom Mifflin Company Boston/New York G. Blakemore Evans and JJM Tobin eds.Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Edited by Norman Sanders. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984