Witchcraft in Jacobean Society

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In the tragedy of Macbeth, there are many different motifs used in the play. One of those motifs includes witchcraft and that is what I will be talking about during the course of this paper. Witchcraft is a topic that has been talked about and believed in for many centuries, especially in Shakespeare’s era. Witchcraft has been believed to be something associated with Satan and darkness. During the Burning Times, nine million women were killed for the accusation of being witches. Witches were greatly feared because they were known to have great power and magic as their weapon. Although they were greatly feared, they were also of great interest to many people. Till this day, people are still writing novels, making movies, and creating music about witches, witchcraft, and the great power that they possess which has come to be called magic. During the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth century, witchcraft was very strongly believed in and the consequences were barbaric if you were caught being involved with witches, the devil, or any sort of evil. In the Tragedy of Macbeth, the three witches were of his great interest because of their power and the prophecies they foretold. The prophecies they engaged him in allowed him to deceive himself. In Jacobean society, King James I believed in the Christian paranoia about witchcraft and banned all beliefs and activity involving witchcraft. Throughout this paper, I will be discussing three main points: witchcraft in Macbeth, witchcraft in Jacobean society, and then I will be comparing and contrasting the two topics.
WITCHCRAFT IN MACBETH Macbeth is a play written by Shakespeare around 1606 during the time of King James I reign. Macbeth is one of the most intense plays Shakespeare has ever written where the play is mad from beginning to end. In the play, Shakespeare uses a wide variety of literary devices from ambiguity to

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