Jul 26, 2008

Shakespeare A to Z | Supernatural Phenomena

Ghosts, fairies, witches, sorcerers, and other supernatural phenomena are central to the plots of four of Shakespeare’s plays: Hamlet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, and The Tempest. The playwright often based his depiction of otherworldly occurrences on Elizabethan folklore, but he also drew on his imagination to create new versions of the supernatural.

In Hamlet, Shakespeare refers to several of the most common beliefs about ghosts. The apparition in the play, for example, returns from the dead because he has an important message to impart...