Speak of the Devil and He Will Appear: Why Macbeth Deserved His fate.
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Theatre
Start Date
15-5-2014
End Date
15-5-2014
Keywords
Macbeth, Shakespeare, Witchcraft
Abstract
“God will not permit [the devil] to deceive his own: but only such as first willfully deceive themselves, by running unto him, whom then God suffers to fall into their own snares, and justly permits them to be illuded with great efficiency of deceit, because they would not believe the truth”–King James Daemonolgy. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more.”–Macbeth Act I Scene III Macbeth. “What can the Devil speak true?”–Banquo Act I Scene III Macbeth. Modern audiences are quick to assume that the ghosts and visions in Macbeth are the result of an inner madness. Macbeth sees floating daggers, hears voices, and sees visions that no one else can see. However, when Macbeth was first being performed these things would not automatically be assumed to be merely constructs of his guilty mind. This paper examines the supernatural elements of Macbeth through the eyes of the original audience especially King James whose treatise on witchcraft and spirits, Daemonology, gives valuable insights into the mindset of the time.
Recommended Citation
White, Cassandra, "Speak of the Devil and He Will Appear: Why Macbeth Deserved His fate." (2014). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 79.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2014/oralpresentations/79
Additional Mentoring Department
Theatre
Speak of the Devil and He Will Appear: Why Macbeth Deserved His fate.
SURC Theatre
“God will not permit [the devil] to deceive his own: but only such as first willfully deceive themselves, by running unto him, whom then God suffers to fall into their own snares, and justly permits them to be illuded with great efficiency of deceit, because they would not believe the truth”–King James Daemonolgy. “Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more.”–Macbeth Act I Scene III Macbeth. “What can the Devil speak true?”–Banquo Act I Scene III Macbeth. Modern audiences are quick to assume that the ghosts and visions in Macbeth are the result of an inner madness. Macbeth sees floating daggers, hears voices, and sees visions that no one else can see. However, when Macbeth was first being performed these things would not automatically be assumed to be merely constructs of his guilty mind. This paper examines the supernatural elements of Macbeth through the eyes of the original audience especially King James whose treatise on witchcraft and spirits, Daemonology, gives valuable insights into the mindset of the time.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Ball, Jay