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.
Mediums claimed to be intermediaries between the living and dead”) (McCarthy). Soon after Doe and his Aunt Tillie had begun to participate in the use of the Ouija board, Aunt Tillie passed away.... ... middle of paper ... ...
In all of human history, people have written about inhuman beings, many of which include gods, demons, wizards, sorcerers, sorceresses, and witches. Nowadays mystical beings are seen everywhere in media. Most of society stopped believing in these creatures years ago, but for 17th-century Salem, witchcraft became a living nightmare (Fremon, 1999).
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.
Campion, N. "Prophecy, Cosmology And The new Age Movement: The Extent and Nature of Contemporary Belief In Astrology".(PhD Thesis, Bath Spa University College 2004)
The thought of magic, witches, and sorcery to be fact is seen as preposterous in modern America. Coincidence is accepted as such and accusations of possession and bewitchment is extinct. When North America was first colonized by Europeans, however, the fear of magic and the like was all too real. Alison Games’s “Witchcraft in Early North America” describes the effects of the Europeans’ on the Native Americans and vice versa. As decades progressed, the ideas on witchcraft of the Spanish and British changed as well. “Witchcraft in Early North America” introduces different beliefs and practices of witchcraft of Europeans before colonization, Native Americans after colonization, the Spanish of New Mexico, and the British Colonies.
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.
The medicinal practices and problems of the Elizabethan Era were very important to the people, although they are very different from those of today. There were many different beliefs and diseases, like the Plague. Medicine was not an exact science and was related to Alchemy (Chemistry). Here, some of the many practices and beliefs of the Elizabethan Era will be discussed.
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.
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)
According to (Radford, 2013), “Most religions claim that humans can be possessed by demonic spirits, and offer exorcisms to remedy this threat.” Demons are known as being angels that rebelled against God. Demons are not made of matter and do not have bodies but they can still tempt humans to sin with flesh. The angels became demons when they disobeyed God’s test of fidelity, faithfulness. The reason the angels did not want to follow God was because they felt he was taking away their freedom (Fortea, 2012).
The supernatural was believed by everyone from the educated to the non-educated. When something was not explainable they would relate that problem to the supernatural, even though today that same problem was explainable in scientific. terms. The.. & nbsp; The witches in this play are named by Shakespeare as the "weird Sisters". These witches had all the features of witches in those days: old people, dirty.
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.
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.
This was also a time when science came to the forefront of Western thought, seen as the embodiment of rationality. It was believed that the ability to reason is the very thing that separates man from other animals. It is what makes us human, and therefore it is our job to utilise this benefit at all times. As rationality grew in importance its contrasts such as ignorance and superstition were seen to have no place in a rational Western society. Things that were unexplainable through rational means were invalid. These are terms that can and are applied to practices such as witchcraft and magic.
Astrology has had its ups and downs through history, but it always maintained that station of being. (www.astrologers.com/history.html# Relevant, p.1) After some aspects of religion became prevalent, astrology became known as the “work of the devil”. (Weblinker.com Enterprises, p.1) During the Renaissance, though, astrology became more liked than before. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) Even religious leaders began to practice astrology more often. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) People of the royal families had their own astrologers. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1) That is how worldwide astrology was. (Weblinkers.com Enterprises, p.1)