Sep 6, 2008

Macbeth | Supernatural Elements

Walter Curry examines the Weird Sisters and the precise nature of the evil they embody in Macbeth. The critic argues that Shakespeare's witches are consistent with how Elizabethans envisioned demonic spirits, not as mere hallucinations, but as representatives of an actual evil.

That the Weird Sisters possess ... perennial and astounding vitality is attested by the whole sweep of Shakespearean criticism. All hands seem to be convinced that they symbolize or represent evil in its most malignant form, though there is to be found little unanimity of opinion regarding the precise nature of that evil, whether it is subjective or objective or both, whether mental or metaphysical. (pp. 55-6)

The single purpose of this study is to examine, as thoroughly as possible, the nature of that evil which the Weird Sisters are said to symbolize or represent, and to reproduce one...