Elizabethan Witchcraft and Witches Elizabethan Superstitions Who were the people accused of being Elizabethan Witches?Women were those most often accused of being witches. There were 270 Elizabethan witch trials of 247 were women and only 23 were men. OldPoorUnprotectedSingle women or widows (many kept pets for company - their 'familiars') During the Elizabethan era men were all-powerful. Queen Elizabeth and the Punishment of Elizabethan WitchesThe hysteria and paranoia regarding witches which was experienced in Europe did not fully extend to England during the Elizabethan era. Elizabethan Witches - Black Witches and White Witches ('Cunning Folk' or Healers)Up to the Renaissance period the wisdom of the 'Wise women' or 'Cunning Folk' - the White Witches - were seen as helpful, if not invaluable, members of the community. Elizabethan Superstitions Who were the people accused of being Elizabethan Witches? OldPoorUnprotectedSingle women or widows (many kept pets for company - their 'familiars')
Shakespeare Insult Kit Shakespeare Insult Kit Since 1996, the origin of this kit was listed as anonymous. It came to me on a piece of paper in the 90's with no attribution, and I thought it would make a cool web page. Combine one word from each of the three columns below, prefaced with "Thou": My additions: cullionly whoreson knave fusty malmsey-nosed blind-worm caluminous rampallian popinjay wimpled lily-livered scullian burly-boned scurvy-valiant jolt-head misbegotten brazen-faced malcontent odiferous unwash'd devil-monk poisonous bunch-back'd toad fishified leaden-footed rascal Wart-necked muddy-mettled Basket-Cockle pigeon-liver'd scale-sided Back to the insulter. Chris Seidel
James I and Witchcraft James I considered himself to be an intellect. In particular James saw himself as an expert on witchcraft, which was still an issue in Stuart England in so far as many did not share the same views as James. The idea of black and witch witches can be traced back to Roman times. However in the sixteenth century a new Christian theory developed based on Christian theology, canon law and philosophical ideas. This theory was that a witch had made a deliberate pact with the devil – almost a form of a personal arrangement – but that a witch did not act alone. There are no accurate figures for the arrest and punishment of witches in the early seventeenth century – which could indicate poor record keeping or simply that so many were arrested that records were never updated. The wholesale persecution of witches started in Scotland in 1590 when James VI was king – the future James I of England. The issue may well have been James himself. Why is 1590 a key year?
Absolute Shakespeare - plays, quotes, summaries, essays... MacBeth and Feminist Theory In MacBeth, we see a dramatization of man versus woman. It is, in fact, easy to view MacBeth as the victim of women; Lady MacBeth’s towering ambition, as well as the victim of the witches’ bad intentions. In support of this, Sigmund Freud suggested, as cited in Dr. Caroline Cakebread’s essay, “MacBeth and Feminism,” that Lady MacBeth’s singular raison d’etre is to overcome “the scruples of her ambitious yet tender-minded husband… She is ready to sacrifice even her womanliness to her murderous intention…” However, the feminist point of view seems to dismiss the notion of Macbeth as the victim of these multiple feminist plots, reminding us that it was he, MacBeth who killed Duncan, and Lady MacBeth who was left to sort out the mess. A feminist theory approach might have one interpret “Fair is foul, and foul is fair” as a clarion to the sexual ambiguity in the text. In the end, women are removed from any position of power in the tale. Works Cited Adelman, Janet. Chomsky, Noam.
William Shakespeare Intro William Shakespeare scarcely needs an introduction. Born in 1564, he was an English playwright, poet, actor, favorite dramatist of queens and kings, inventor of words, master of drama, and arguably the most famous writer of all time. In the 400 or so years since Shakespeare died on his 52nd birthday in 1616, there have been plenty of rumors about the Bard and the personal experiences that may have inspired his works. Shakespeare changed the English language, inventing dozens of new words we still use today.
Tragedy of witches Scene from Macbeth, depicting the witches' conjuring of an apparition in Act IV, Scene I. Painting by William Rimmer The Three Witches or Weird Sisters are characters in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth (c. 1603–1607). Their origin lies in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland and Ireland. In the eighteenth century the witches were portrayed in a variety of ways by artists such as Henry Fuseli. Origins[edit] The name "weird sisters" is found in most modern editions of Macbeth. The weyward Sisters, hand in hand, Posters of the Sea and Land... In later scenes in the first folio the witches are called "weyard," but never "weird." Shakespeare's principal source for the Three Witches is found in the account of King Duncan in Raphael Holinshed's history of Britain, The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1587). Macbeth and Banquo meeting the witches in a woodcut from Holinshed's Chronicles Dramatic role[edit] Analysis[edit] Performance[edit] In art[edit]
Macbeth Stop us if you've heard this one before: a man hears an exciting prophecy about his future and decides to take fate into his own hand by killing his king. Things go rapidly downhill. Sure, it's possible that you were just tra-la-la-ing through the Internet and randomly stumbled over this guide, but we're guessing that you already know Macbeth's basic plot. After all, it is one of the most famous works of English literature, and it's even loosely based on some real-life 11th century events found in Holinshed's Chronicles. So let's tell you something you might not know: when it was first performed by Shakespeare's company around 1606, Macbeth was the latest in ripped-from-the-headlines, up-to-the-minute political events. (1) It was written in 1605 or 1606, right after James I, the first Stuart king, took up the crown of England in 1603. (2) Witchcraft was a hot topic at the end of the 16th and beginning of the 17th century. Probably not.
tragedy of Fleance Shakespeare's play is adapted from Holinshed's Chronicles, a history of the British Isles written during the late sixteenth century. In Holinshed, Fleance escapes Macbeth and flees to Wales, where he fathers a son who later becomes steward to the King of Scotland. His later descendants gain the throne and begin the Stuart line of kings in England. James I, who was king during the writing of Macbeth, was, as legend had it, a descendant of the Stuart line of Scottish kings. History[edit] Fleance and his father Banquo are both fictional characters presented as historical fact by Hector Boece, whose Scotorum Historiae (1526–27) was a source for Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles,[1] a history of the British Isles popular in Shakespeare's time. The Stuarts used their connection with Fleance and his marriage to the Welsh princess to claim a genealogical link with the legendary King Arthur. In Macbeth[edit] Fleance appears in Shakespeare's Macbeth. Analysis[edit] Theatre and screen versions[edit]
Open Source Shakespeare: search Shakespeare's works, read the texts tragedy of Malcom Malcolm's Kingdom did not extend over the full territory of modern Scotland: the north and west of Scotland remained in Scandinavian, Norse-Gael and Gaelic control, and the areas under the control of the Kings of Scots did not advance much beyond the limits set by Malcolm II (Máel Coluim mac Cináeda) until the 12th century. Malcolm III fought a succession of wars against the Kingdom of England, which may have had as their goal the conquest of the English earldom of Northumbria. These wars did not result in any significant advances southwards. Malcolm's main achievement is to have continued a line which would rule Scotland for many years,[6] although his role as "founder of a dynasty" has more to do with the propaganda of his youngest son David, and his descendants, than with any historical reality.[7] Malcolm's second wife, Margaret of Wessex, was later beatified and is Scotland's only royal saint. Background[edit] Malcolm and Ingibiorg[edit] Malcolm and Margaret[edit]