Shakespeare introduces magical and seemingly clairvoyant characters in his works like Macbeth and The Winter’s Tale. He purposefully implements witches as supernatural guides or puppet masters that pull the strings and seem to lead those around them. Throughout many of his other pursuits like A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Tempest, Shakespeare utilizes characters that are magical beings (Oberon, Titania, Puck, Hamlet’s ghost) as well as characters who possess unknown gifts or curses of magic (Prospero, Oracle of Delphi, The Weird Sisters). These characters were usually tied to power in some way. For instance, Oberon was the King of the Fae folk and wielded powerful magic to control his subjects. Likewise, Prospero was another power player who exploited his magic to control others on the island. Considering magic and magical figures as tools for power, can we claim that the idea of witchcraft in Shakespeare’s plays could be used as a social construction to support or undermine political climates or monarchies in England?
Shakespeare wrote his plays in a time in which his audiences were fluent in their acceptance of the existence of the supernatural. The attitudes of Shakespeare’s audiences in the early 17th century were heavily superstitious in nature (Husband and Shipp, n.p.). Many were thought to believe that witches cause illness, death, and disaster in their wakes. In fact, King James VI, the monarch at the time Shakespeare wrote MB, even produced his own book on witches and other breeds of supernaturals: Daemonlogie.
According to the Worchester Cathedral Library and Archive Blog, James’ Daemonlogie focused on unearthing the origins, theological perspectives, and purpose of witches, magic, and necromancy (Husband and Shipp, n.p.). The time of his reign was filled with suspicion, fear, and betrayal for those who were seen as practitioners of the magical arts, also known as “black magic” (Husband and Shipp, n.p.). Critics claim that James might have also written this book as a power play to socially raise his position by taking advantage of the fear and hysteria that surrounds this ancient concept of the supernatural. His reign marked a time, in particular, when an interest on witches, magical creatures, and other ungodly lifestyles bordering on hysteria was ever pervasive in society. As such, Shakespeare’s usage of witches in MB and the implications of female characters as witches in WT are key figures in determining agency and political sway of the male characters. Witches in these works could also be tied to the politics surrounding James’ reign and the hysteria of witches facing the populace at this time.
In Daemonologie, James asserts, unlike Reginald Scot, that humans can summon and control spirits (EFrench, n.p.). He claims that those people, witches, who can summon spirits and use them freely gain this knowledge and ability from a partnership or contract with the Devil. James VI was an avid believer that the Devil tricks them into signing away their immortal soul by leading them into thinking that He wants to serve them (Husband and Shipp, n.p.). The word, witch, comes from the Old English “wicce” (feminine), relates to “wicca,” or man who practices witchcraft (Oxford English Dictionary). Witch was eventually used instead of the Middle English wicche beginning in the 16th century, and the most common definition of witch is one where a woman is considered a female magician, sorceress, or magic wielder. This is the etymology that Shakespeare draws upon in his characterizations of The Weird Sisters in MB and Paulina, specifically, in WT as a potential witch or necromancer. He inherently describes them as female, albeit, for The Weird Sisters, with certain stereotypically masculine characteristics. In accordance with James’ beliefs and theories about witches, the word, witch, was later used to describe women in league with the devil or evil spirits/forces. In this way, these “witches” were be able to perform supernatural acts or, as James would argue, summon and control spirits (OED)
In WT, Leontes regularly turns to accusations of witchcraft in order to assert his power as a monarch and to support his outrageous claims against women like Hermione and Paulina. For instance, in his wife’s trial, Leontes demands supernatural proof that Hermione had indeed cheated on him with Polixenes. Clouded by his own obsession, Leontes wants to have her “given to the fire, a moitey of my rest/might come to me again” which alludes to the ancient and superstitious theory that burning a witch at the stake purifies them from the evil they carried (2.3, 8-9). In this, Shakespeare indirectly characterizes Leontes as cruel in his treatment of his wife and claims that he uses witchcraft as a social tool to punish the guilt that he perceives, because charges of witchcraft for a woman almost always ended in her death. Shakespeare also suggests that Leontes, as a monarch, had the power to burn Hermione if he found supernatural proof of her guilt. Considering the hysteria surrounding the notion of witches at this time, Leontes’ accusation of witchcraft would have been more easily feared, accepted and carried out at his royal suggestion. Throughout history, male monarchs, especially in England, have executed their wives for mere suspicions or even less, Henry VIII as an example. In fact, without the oracle’s claims of innocence, Hermione might have died much sooner. Through this, Shakespeare could be referencing the political power of fear and superstition; the notion of a witch is seen as a fail-safe way to “relieve anxiety about a sinister connection between women, demonic malice, and death” (Dutcher and Prescott, n.p.). Since men like Leontes fear the power of women in this time period and, in Leontes’ case, their ability to make cuckolds of them, the witch allegations serve to support the perceived authority of men over women who disagree with them or have opinions like Hermione and Paulina.
Witches also serve as scapegoats of culpability. As Leontes struggles with his neurotic thoughts that Hermione cheated with his best friend, he makes her the scapegoat to rationalize his own unsupported accusations: Shakespeare claims that, so Leontes cannot be crazy, he instead characterizes Hermione as a witch. Leontes acts out again with Paulina in almost the same way. Paulina, in an effort to help her queen, attempts to reason with Leontes, resulting in his immediate outrage; he claims Paulina be “a mankind witch” (2.3.67). He repetitively accuses Paulina of witchcraft in the context of her disapproval and expression of dissent with his rule. In fact, within the same scene, he tells her that he will “ha’ thee burnt” for her opposition regarding Hermione’s innocence (2.3.113). Shakespeare’s continued allusions of the fire and burning could seemingly echo the beliefs of religious heretics who fear the supernatural and prosecuted women like Paulina and Hermione for fabricated theories of witchcraft or devil worship.
However, instead of perpetuating or justifying the witchcraft, Shakespeare presents Paulina as a foil to Leontes’ insecure, neurotic nature. She claims that “it is an heretic that makes the fire/not she which burns in’t” (2.3.115-116). In this, Paulina directly characterizes herself as the victim of a dictatorial “heretic,” and alludes to the witch hunts that persecuted countless, innocent women on the basis of allegations. Shakespeare characterizes Paulina as a fierce combatant of Leontes’ tyrannical power play as well. Paulina rejects the scapegoat mentality that Leontes attempts to push through his characterization of her as a witch worthy of burning. Shakespeare develops a contemplative tone in which his superstitious audience might consider Leontes’ allegations of witchcraft as nothing more than a manifestation of his own frustration and insecurity with his authority as King.
Polixenes, much like Leontes, also utilizes witchcraft as a social tool to justify his suspicious nature in court and the actions he takes against women. Shakespeare forebodes at Polixenes and Leontes’ fears of evils and devilish “breeding” throughout the first few scenes of WT (1.2.12). In a conversation with Hermione, Polixenes indirectly implies that his wife and Hermione both are devils due to their nature as women: “lest you say/your queen and I are devils” (1.2.83-84). Shakespeare presents a dual perspective of the men’s ideologies and expectations of women. Leontes and Polixenes both have split views of women as good or bad, evil or angelic. According to the article “Witchcraft and Wonder in The Winter’s Tale,” for the men in this play, “reality is split into irreconcilable opposites: good and evil; love and hate; truth and deception; obedience and subversion” (Dutcher and Prescott, n.p.). The characterization of a witch simply serves as a manifestation of the negative opposites. This bodes true in the case of Leontes and Polixenes as they both idolize and demonize their wives and other women as previously aforementioned.
Shakespeare’s direct characterization of Hermione and Polixenes’ wife as “devils” creates a prophetic tone that foreshadows the suspicious and fearful natures of both Leontes and Polixenes regarding women and their actions (1.2.83-84). In this, the simple act of Hermione dancing with Polixenes and giving him attention in front of Leontes brings out his mistrustful and frightful nature about her faithfulness to him as his wife. Likewise, Perdita’s relationship with Polixenes’ son fosters his fearful and apprehensive nature. To force Perdita away from his son in Bohemia, Polixenes claims she is a “fresh piece/of excellent witchcraft” (4.4.410-411). Calling her a “fresh piece” of witchcraft implies that Perdita is a witch that seduced his son through devilish means. This dangerous accusation serves as the basis on which he demands her execution for having an affair with his son, Florizell. In this, Polixenes takes the agency of loving Perdita away from Florizell and thrusts it upon Perdita’s devilish charms or sorcery. Thus, Shakespeare presents another example of men in WT utilizing witchcraft as a scapegoat. He creates a dubiously erratic tone in which Polixenes’ neurotic behavior concerning Perdita and his son parallels Leontes’ actions regarding Hermione’s fidelity. And, in these two instances, Shakespeare claims the two kings utilize witchcraft as a scapegoat to assert their own power.
In MB, witches serve a similar role as a tool for social power. Alternatively, to WT where the witches are used mainly as scapegoats to blame women and to assert masculine authority, MB characterizes witches as agents of evil and prophecy to provide a call of action to the tragic heroes as well as scapegoats. In both plays, however, Shakespeare implements these witches to provide justification for other characters’ actions. Specifically, though, in MB, The Weird Sisters are the instigators that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth use to authenticate their immoral choices against the monarchy. Characterized as women having “beards,” Shakespeare caters to classically stereotypical ugly or monstrous portrayal of witches in contemporary culture, which is unique to MB and did not apply to WT (1.3.43-44). Following stereotypes of witches in James’ reign, MB’s witches are accompanied by storms, relish “killing swine,” and addressing petty revenge on poor victims (1.3.1-25). Shakespeare creates these accompanying features in order to characterize the witches as forces of nature. Shakespeare also, by calling them The Weird Sisters, characterizes them indirectly as prophetic in that Weird comes from the Old English word, “wyrd,” meaning “fate” (OED). This implies that these witches have powers of prophecy. Whether these powers are bestowed by God or more devilish entities is unproven, but Shakespeare heavily suggests that they are connected to the Devil as he alludes to the evil spirits or familiars: “I come, Grimalkin/ Paddock calls” (1.1.7-8). In this, Shakespeare characterizes the witches as the Devil’s attendants, which he claims could be carrying out His will through the prophecy with MB. This connection to the Devil is apparent in WT as Polixenes directly characterizes Hermione and his wife as “devils” (1.2.83-84). However, by writing them into an agency position, the witches in MB possess oracle-like qualities that the power-thirsty characters like MB and his wife lean into as a way to validate their nefarious deeds and to socially construct power for themselves in the form of the kingship of Scottland.
The witches’ actions affect Lady MB greatly, leading to her driving the chaos of Duncan’s regicide. Lady MB claims “all that impedes [MB] from the golden round/which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem/to have [MB] crowned” (1.5.26-28). Here, Lady MB shares that she wants to encourage her husband to seize the “golden round” which is a metaphor for the crown or kingship of Scotland. Shakespeare claims that Lady MB desires to help her husband find the passion she herself has mustered to defeat “all that impedes” them from the kingship. She is spurred by these power-lusting passions only after she hears the witches’ predictions. Lady MB asserts that “fate” and “metaphysical aid,” the witches and their prophecies, have determined MB will be king, so it is their duty to enact what has already been ordained. Shakespeare indirectly characterizes Lady MB as justifying Duncan’s regicide in that MB is to be “crowned” by higher powers. In this, the witches serve as a scapegoat for thoughts of regicide and social power acquisition.
Unlike WT, Shakespeare, in MB, differentiates the witches as characters by having them speak in poetry instead of prose, specifically rhymed couplets. According to McDonald, prose is the language of the mundane, and “poetry has a more distinctly musical quality, further differentiating it from prose” (50). Shakespeare utilizes prose as a way to distinguish social class: “Bottom and company speak in prose, the least formal and least ‘elevated’ kind of language” (McDonald 48). Therefore, arguably the most important characteristic of prose in Shakespeare’s works is that “it is not poetry” (McDonald 49). In this, he places witches in an entirely different social class through their poetic language, which debatably gives them even more social power to intimidate and to instigate action. Shakespeare employs the rhythmic qualities of poetry in the witches’ dialogues in order to “heighten the emotional effect of a passage” (McDonald 50). In this, he uses their poetic dialogue to develop a mysterious and somewhat devilish tone: “fair is foul, and foul is fair/hover through the fog and filthy air” (1.1.10-11). The rhythmic combinations with end rhymes, “fair” and “air,” seem to invoke a sort of incantation, which illustrates Shakespeare’s magical, albeit demonic, characterization of The Weird Sisters. A darker tone emerges through the convoluted paradoxes of “fair is foul” and “foul is fair” that “depend on the trickiness of words,” which further distinguishes these characters from the rest in elevating them through the poetic confusion that emanates in their diction, much like an oracle (McDonald 47). Shakespeare’s other famous MB example, “double, double, toil and trouble/fire burn, and cauldron bubble” also produces the magical intonation and rhythmic countenance that evokes an ominous spell-like incantation (4.1.10-11). Therefore, the witches in MB serve as more than a simple tool or threat to intimidate normal people into submission as seen in WT; he wrote these witches as otherworldly through physical descriptions and language to raise the question of whether a person’s life is preordained by supernatural forces or if they have agency in what happens.
Connecting this back to James’ reign, James thought that witches had a hand in influencing the lives of those around them. In fact, he believed that he was almost drowned by witches, an occurrence that was echoed in MB (1.3.23-28). As such, the thematic concept of questioning agency and fate in MB directly implicates James’ rule, for one could claim that his rule was instigated by these demonic witches. In this, the ambiguity of fate or agency can either support or challenge James’ reign. In the assertion of fate as the driver of the actions, MB committed a necessary evil in his murder of Duncan. However, in the assertion of agency, MB committed wrongful regicide for power that is not his to have, and what exactly does this say about the legitimacy of James’ rule?
So, while WT and MB offer significant insight into the social culture surrounding witches in Shakespearean England under the rule of superstitious monarchs like James VI, witches can also illuminate underlying social concepts regarding masculine authority and the intimidation that upper class men feel about strong women (Husband and Shipp, n.p.). In both WT and MB, Shakespeare addresses the demonic undertones of witches in accordance to the Catholic faith and the fear of the supernatural that James encouraged in his rule. Utilizing the evil and intimidation that accompanies the supernatural during this time, witch-hunters, religious dogmatists, and the elite could safely supervise the populace and determine the borders of orthodox thought and reject the unconventional. Persecutions of those unprotected classes like the elderly, the poor, and the unmarried women, evoked apprehension and wonder in those left to stand as witness. The trepidation and spectacle both act as particularly effective social constructions for those aforementioned witch-hunters, religious representatives, and upper class to control the larger English and Scottish cultures. Plays like WT and MB and Shakespeare’s treatment of the supernatural also gave James a way to control his people in a time of political unrest and turmoil, following his controversial rise to power, in a time dominated by paranormal hysteria.
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