Shakespeare often uses the adjective "strange" in his tragedy Macbeth. In addition to calling to mind the supernatural and otherworldly, the word also forces us to consider the nature of its opposite: what is normal? Macbeth's emotions and actions become progressively more disjointed throughout the play. When he finally loses his ability to feel emotions, Macbeth also loses his humanity; in other words, it gets “weird.” The prophecy that catalyzes Macbeth's death comes from the "Weird Sisters" and "weirdness" is prevalent throughout the play. For example, Ross says: “Sixty-ten I remember well: in that time I saw terrible hours and strange things; but this painful night has nullified the previous knowledge” (2:4:1-4). Ghosts appear frequently in Macbeth, as do paranormal events. Shakespeare, however, does not use supernatural elements simply to drive the plot; elements of strangeness help clarify Macbeth's tragic flaw by forcing the reader to define normality. To fully understand the importance of “strange,” one must also examine the other themes and symbols of the work. The opening lines of the play are full of dialectical discourse and paradoxes. The Weird Sisters' speech is filled with statements like “When the battle is lost and won” (1:1:4) and “Fair is ugly, and ugly is fair” (1:1:12). Macbeth repeats the paradox prophetically: "I never saw a day so bad and so beautiful" (1.3.38). So from the beginning the reader is led to question the opposite of a statement or a scene. For example, Lady Macbeth asks the murderous ministers to deprive her of sex. What is the opposite of a sexless woman? Not a man but rather a sort of 'unwoman' who cannot be defined without reference to her opp... in the middle of a sheet of paper..., and I would have broken her brains out, if I had sworn as you did to this" (1,7,56-59). She also subtly works on Macbeth, not recognizing him as her husband until he kills Duncan: "My husband!" (2:2:13), he finally cries. This emotional manipulation successfully shuts down Macbeth's emotions and allows him to act without feeling; that is, without his humanity. Through Macbeth, Shakespeare argues that the human being is not merely physical; rather, to be human we must also feel emotions and this makes us "strange". With the tragic flaw of Macbeth, Shakespeare probes the gray area between biology and philosophy. Although there is no explicit discussion of this connection in the play, Macbeth's tragic flaw provides insight into how one can avoid leaving this world a "dead butcher" (5:8:70), one who has lost his emotions and therefore his humanity.