The introduction of the supernatural in the Elizabethan-Jacobean mind as human beings, we tend to perceive concepts like “supernatural” as a sort of phenomena beyond scientific explanation, a notion largely identified with religion and belief. It might be portrayed as events or occurrences introduced by powers outside nature. These obscure powers have been, since the start of mankind incorporated in every social and literary interpretation, the presence of the supernatural is for the most part acknowledged as an unavoidable truth by the masses, and even by the best researchers and scholars, in the Elizabethan and Jacobean times. Throughout the Elizabethan Era, and with the development of science, started the superstitions. The roots of the supernatural can be directly traced from the Celtic tribes of the Bronze Age, the convention of making medicines was given over to women, and hence the old women of this period were distinguished as witches and their medical prescriptions as magic potions.
In the renaissance period stars were said to have a great impact on society. The Elizabethans were absorbed by celestial prophesy also called astrology, the reading of the different positions of stars, and their impact on people. It was also used as an important political instrument by the rulers as it gave them guidance and future predictions, thus astrology was regarded as important mainly for its popularity among the monarchs especially queen Elizabeth because she was known for her friendship and consultation with john Dee, a famous astrologist.
As in our times, the Elizabethan audience widely used the services of astrologers for the compilation of horoscopes and interpretation of the posi...
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...ssified ghost into two categories blessed, and damned spirits. Those who come from paradise appear for a good purpose and those from hell for an awful and demonic purpose. While a few apparitions could be heavenly angels in a form of a ghost, Protestants felt that spirits were mainly evil because they take the form of dead friends and relatives to abuse and harm people.
The third school of thought is mostly exposed by Reginald Scot the author of ” discoverie of witchcraft”, who considers and believes in the presence of abnormal apparitions, yet holds that ghosts cannot take the form of normal human beings. Thus these apparitions are
“either the illusion of melancholic minds or flat knavery on the part of some rogue” (Wilson 64)
In other words supernatural apparitions come as a result of either hallucination and depression or an evil deed.
In this paper, I will explore many aspects of the outbreaks of the witch accusations and witch trials which plagued England and the rest of Europe from approximately 1450 to 1750. Though numerous theories have been provided as to the reasons for these hunts and trials, there are three which are the most prevalent, and able to support themselves. These three theories are the topics of: gender, as a stepping stone towards the oppression of women; social class, as a relief of tension and stress formed by the socio-economic gaps between the wealthy and the poor; and finally religion, as a result of the encouragement to conform more steadily towards one religion. I chose to argue towards the third theory I have stated, that of the religious changes facing England at the time. Throughout the three hundred years that the perceived problems of witchcraft haunted this nation, the religious momentum swayed back and forth many times. My decision to support the religious theories attached to witchcraft may not be as traditional as most student’s. It was a decision based more upon the motives and not so hidden agendas that the theorists who were (obviously) not present at the times of the trials. Historical fact has been in debate for as long as history has been recorded, because everything written or spoken is rhetoric, and this impossible to escape from. Therefore, in order to defend my decision to choose religion, I will be adopting a new historicist point of view for the first few paragraphs of this paper.
St. Albans Sanatorium is a destination known by serious paranormal investigators as a place where they can seek answers to the mysteries of what lies beyond death. Some of these investigators were able to find resolutions for themselves to a number of these age old riddles through their experiences at the sanatorium. The frightening and true stories found within the pages of this book are about these inquisitive investigators’ encounters with The Ghosts of St. Albans Sanatorium.
Medicine was very important to Elizabethan England and was used widely. It played a major part in the life expectancy of people and was widely studied. It was one of the most important sciences of that era and still is today.
Bacon, Elizabeth E. “Witchcraft.” Encyclopedia Americana. Volume 29. Pages 83 – 84. Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated, 1999.
There are many theories as to how someone or something becomes a ghost. This is called Paranormal which means beyond normal and scientific name is parapsychology, which means study of interactions between living organisms and their external environment that seem to transcend the known physical laws of nature (Britannica, 147). In 1920, Dr. William McDougall was the first scientific psychical who research about Paranormal Activity (Stefanik, 2000). According to Stefanik, Paranormal experiences often seem weird, uncanny, or unnatural. Typically they are quite rare but there are a few exceptional "stars" such as who have regular paranormal experiences and may show seemingly consistent paranormal ability (Daniel, 2004). Different types of scientists who researched about paranormal activity was spiritualists. The scientists accepted paranormal to be real. There are believers and nonbelievers about the paranormal phenomenon. Discussion about parapsychological phenomena has assumed emotional overtones, unsuitable to scientific discipline, and outspoken but contradictory opinions are still voiced (Cauz, 2010, p.147)
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.
The Elizabethans thought that ghosts were real and that they existed. They thought that ghosts were known to walk around the streets at midnight. Either the ghosts would not speak to anyone unless they had been challenged, or then only to those who they had a message to deliver to. They also believed that crossroads, where back in Elizabethan times, criminals and suicidals were commonly buried, were the most haunted spots. In green and marshy areas, if a traveller was hanging around there, he would be sent to his doom. A large number of roads were frequently walked along by horses without heads or deadly packs of demon hounds.
In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there are several references to supernatural activity. This supernatural activity is very crucial to the storyline. Supernatural defined by Webster relates to an existence beyond the visible observable universe. The Three Apparitions are spoken of in Act IV of the play, but the supernatural is first introduced by the three witches in Act I. The three witches who speak the apparitions are the opening characters in Macbeth. After reading the book, I fully understand Shakespeare reasoning for including them in the story. Each of the three apparitions depicts a clue of Macbeth’s future.
Envision yourself as encircled by strange, yet terrifying and evil spirits that trouble you in your worst nightmares. The spirits could desire something from you. In fact, they could aid you in locale of frightening you. Should you attend to them? What do you contemplate they are trying to notify you? In one of the inquiries above, notice the ironical use of the word “fact” that endeavors to obscure the fictitious nature of ghosts. It displays that the meaning of the word “ghost” is equivocal. In supplementary words, the word “ghost” is multivalued, that way that ghosts can purpose in extra than one way.
Everyone has a slightly different interpretation of the supernatural but the interpretation which we can start with is Shakespeare’s. Everyone of Shakespeare’s time found the supernatural fascinating. Shakespeare interpreted the supernatural as witches, magic, unnatural and evil and he expressed his beliefs in the play, “Macbeth” very clearly, as he portrayed the three deformed women with control over the weather and the ability to predict the future. These three evil witches with magical powers were the creation of Shakespeare’s interpretation of the supernatural. Shakespeare’s contemporaries believed in the supernatural very strongly and a majority of them were frightened of it, including the king of that time, King James I of England.
As long as one can remember, paranormal beliefs have always existed in human society. They are living in every man’s childhood and in every corner of human’s life. From the burning belief about Santa Claus’s gifts under a Christmas’s tree in the morning to a scary game about Bloody Mary and her coming back from the dead, it seems that people cannot help but draw themselves to these stories. Even when these beliefs fade, there would be a new one that eventually shows up. No matter how much science has progressed, the belief in paranormal phenomena still remains in society. Eventually, the question about paranormal phenomena seems pale in comparison to the human’s undying belief about such things. It is really hard to pinpoint an exact cause for human’s belief in the paranormal for only one cause is not enough; however, it is sure that psychological, sociological, and biological factors play an enormous role that contributes to this belief.
Ghosts, as with any other misunderstood group or people, have been preyed upon by others without understanding. The lack of knowledge about ghosts and haunting activity has led people astray as to what they really are. What Hollywood and television portrays is very inaccurate and cannot be relied upon as truthful. They show these spirits of the dead as being evil in nature, filled with malice and harmful intent. But that this is not the case. The field of paranormal activity is amazing. It has caught the imagination of people from every walk of life. It has always interested me and has influenced me to pick this as the topic for my research. Through this research I wish to uncover the truth about the existence of ghosts. I also wish to correct the wrong notions that people have about ghosts and enlighten non-believers.
...f boundaries between characterizations, identities, the psychological, and the supernatural, is not only ambiguous and incongruous, but unstable, contingent, baseless, mysterious, and haunting.
For many years, people have debated whether or not spirits are real. Some people get scared at the fact that there might be something unknown lurking in their house in the middle of the night making their footsteps known to everyone in it. Maybe that person feels watched upon or feel some kind of presence in their home, or even sees shadows moving their way through rooms. Different people around the world have their own opinions based on religion and experiences when talking about angels, demons, and the spirits that have life after death. New technology is getting closer to detecting these energies happening in the world today. The history of haunting dates back many years, and more people want to get involved because of the new technology.
The supernatural was a popular element in many of the plays written in Shakespeare's time (including Hamlet) and everyone of Shakespeare's time found the supernatural fascinating. Even King James I took a special interest in supernatural and written a book, Daemonologie, on witchcraft. It must be remembered that, in Shakespeare's day, supernatural referred to things that were "above Nature"; things which existed, but not part of the normal human life and unexplainable. The play Macbeth involves many supernatural actions that act as a catalyst for suspense and thrill, insight into character, foreshadowing of future events as well as making connections with the theme.