How does Shakespeare present the supernatural throughout 'Macbeth'?

NOTES:Focus on the authorial methods utilised by Shakespeare in this instance as it is a 'how' question. Consider the theme/motif which is mentioned within the question: the supernatural. Now consider instances the supernatural is utilised thematically/functionally within Macbeth; for example, the witches, Banquo's ghost, the phantom spot of blood on Lady Macbeth's hand, premonitions. ANSWER:Shakespeare presents the supernatural as a central theme throughout Macbeth that ties in with his broader contentions concerning fate, mortality and power. The supernatural is a vessel for presenting these arguments throughout. The opening scene of the play is a significant example of this; as the witches speak of premonitions. Shakespeare employs a rhyme scheme as well as the oxymoron to present and establish a world of half-truths and split totality. Many of his plays problematise the notion of a past, present and future, a linear narrative structure, by revealing the conclusion of the play in it's opening scene - see Romeo and Juliet - however in the instance of 'Macbeth' this is turned into a kind of riddle wherein nothing can be deemed 'certain'. The witches are presented as symbols of the supernatural and thus the supernatural is framed as 'evil', or at least as existing on the deviant end of the play's moral spectrum. However, it is revealed throughout that much of what they predict is correct, and their position is more that of neutral evil than active. By removing the moral foundation and the totality of the future (i.e. that it is unknown) the world of 'Macbeth' instantly becomes one with a different world-structure to our own. It is circular, and known, and yet there is little comfort to be found in fate. This stands in the face of hubris, of ones perception not only that we have control over the future but that this control is a morally positive force, and lays the foundations for the characterisations of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. Shakespeare's presentation of the phantom in this play is also noteworthy as it illustrates an active past as well as an active present. This is again an illustration of his world-building within Macbeth, as he does not allow any of time's three states to remain entirely 'still'. Whilst it is Banquo's ghost who returns, the entire play is tonally 'haunted' by the death of Duncan; this is something that Shakespeare engenders symbolically through the immovable spot of blood on Lady Macbeth's hand. His use of powerful rhetoric and emotive language, "Out! Damned Spot..." illustrates how the supernatural is a vessel for this contentions regarding human nature throughout the play: primarily our hubris in seeking power this is not ours to have, be it through Kingship or through knowledge of the future, the Macbeth's 'over-reach' and find themselves struck down by a world more powerful than themselves. Again this theme of fatality is rife throughout the Shakespearian canon and can be traced back to contemporary beliefs in a 'wheel of fortune' which was believed to dictate life in a way that human agency could not - this provides a deeper understanding of Shakespeare's presentation of the supernatural as a means of reconciling the human consciousness and the totality of the world in which is exists.