Supernatural in Shakespeare's Tragedies

Belief in ghosts and witches remained widespread in Elizabethan England. Shakespeare may not have believed in the supernatural, but he was certainly aware that such beliefs were held by many and he used the element of supernatural to dramatic ends in many of his tragedies. The supernatural is introduced to contribute to the action of the play, and is an indispensable part of it. Furthermore, the supernatural is always placed in the closest relation with …

…as do the reactions to them. In Hamlet the Ghost appears several times and is seen by many persons. He even speaks to Hamlet. The ghost in Macbeth, however, is only seen by Macbeth and is never heard. The ghost of King in Hamlet does not cause Hamlet to go insane as Banquo's ghost does to Macbeth. The similarity between the two ghosts is that both men represented by the ghosts had been wrongfully murdered.