Superstition is a valuable part of English literature. From Homer to Shakespeare, the supernatural is used to create a more interesting story. According to Merriam Webster, “superstition is a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance or a false conception of causation”(Merriam Webster). Superstition has played a part in literature for centuries. Some examples of superstition are witches, gods, goddesses, monsters, ghosts, and fate.
“Witches are credited with usually malignant super powers” (Merriam-Webster). Witches were perceived as evil beings by early Christians in Europe. “Early people who practiced witchcraft were seen as pagans doing the devil’s work. Though many were simply natural healers and were misunderstood. It is unknown when people started to believe in witches but one of the earliest records is in the Bible” (“History of Witches”).
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During Shakespeare’s time around the 1500s, people believed witches were women who made a promise with the Devil and in exchange he granted them supernatural powers. Everyone blamed everything that was bad in their lives on witches. If a cow was sick or crops didn’t grow, it was because of a witch. “People accused of being witches were old, poor, and single women” (“Beliefs and Superstitions”).
King James I was very superstitious about witches. Shakespeare may have wrote Macbeth with supernatural characters to make the King happy (“Beliefs and Superstitions”). King James was not the only one who believed in witches at the time, many people around did. Shakespeare used this to his advantage when he wrote Macbeth, which includes witches that are portrayed by old, poor, single women. Shakespeare most likely got this idea from what was really going on at the time.
In Macbeth the witches helped the plot move forward. The whole reason why Macbeth began to be more confident is because of what the witches told him. They said he would become Thane of Fife and then King. When he found out that he was the Thane of Fife, he thought the entire prophecy must be true. His ambition started with the witches, but he put too much trust into them. The witches were able to predict the future, but Macbeth really believed when the witches conjured up apparitions.
Among these apparitions were an armed head, a bloody child, and a crowned child with a tree branch. The apparitions told Macbeth of his fate but made it seem like none of it would ever happen. The witches were the ones who conjured them, so the witches were at fault. “Tell me, thou unknown power-” Macbeth said this to the witches knowing full well they could tell him his fortune (Shakespeare Macbeth 384). The Witches also chant these words, “Double, double, toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble” (Shakespeare Macbeth 383). This adds to the dark setting of the play. Shakespeare leads the play in a supernatural direction, and many people did not think the play was too far off of reality. This led to more witch inspired works (“History of Witches”).
Ghosts also made an impact on English literature. Merriam Webster says that a ghost is a disembodied soul. “During Shakespeare’s time, ghosts were believed to have committed suicide, been murdered, or they were criminals in their past lives” (Mirabile). When someone is visited by a ghost, it was believed to be bad luck even if it was a loved one. When ghosts appeared, it meant deceased did not pass over to the other side and were trapped. Those who experienced an encounter with a ghost were expected to help the ghost pass over. For the ghost to pass over, someone would have to figure out what was keeping them here in the first place (Mark).
The fear of getting a visit by a ghost and having to help them pass over sparked many writers, including William Shakespeare. Shakespeare's Hamlet and Macbeth both have ghosts that are critical to each plot. Hamlet has the ghost of Hamlet's father. Macbeth has Banquo's ghost.
In Hamlet, Hamlet is visited by his father's ghost. Hamlet's father told him about how Claudius killed him. This very well could be the reason why Hamlet's father did not pass over, his murderer had to be brought to justice. By getting Claudius to confess and ultimately killing him, Hamlet helped his father pass over to the other side. This idea of ghosts are trapped until someone helps them, likely came to Shakespeare because of what was going on at the time. “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life / Now wears his crown” the ghost of Hamlet's father said this (Shakespeare Hamlet 59). This is when the Kings ghost told Hamlet that Claudius had killed him. Without the ghost of King Hamlet, the plot of Hamlet may have never happened, and Claudius would still be alive.
In Macbeth, the ghost of Banquo visited Macbeth. Macbeth hires assassins to kill Banquo and he could have done it himself too. Banquo's ghost did not pass over and he helped himself by making Macbeth act crazy. Macbeth did not like being visited by Banquo, as did many others of the time that thought it was bad luck to be visited by a ghost. Macbeth says, “The table’s full” meaning he sees Banquo's ghost in his seat at the table (Shakespeare Macbeth 374). The next thing that has to do with superstition is gods.
“Gods are beings of perfect power, wisdom, and goodness who are worshipped as creators and rulers of the universe” (“Merrium Webster”). Gods are found in books like the Iliad. “The Iliad was written down in the eighth century by Homer” (Shurkin). People believed in these gods and would do anything to make them happy and to gain good favor. People in that time would do things like put on Olympic games to honor the gods or festivals to entertain them (Gill).
In the Iliad, each god takes a side between the Trojans and the Greeks. Gods like Athena and Poseidon are on the Greek side and Artemis and Apollo on the Trojan side. Each god intervenes in their own way. Apollo helped open the gates to Troy so the Trojans could get to safety. When Hector dropped his sword, Pallas Athena picked it up and gave it back to him. There are many more examples of the gods intervening.
The Iliad is more interesting when gods intervene, making more people want to read it. Gods are pretty much the main part of the epic, and without them the Iliad wouldn’t make much sense and probably wouldn’t be read as much as it is. The Iliad inspired many authors to write about Greek mythology and some still do today. The idea of having gods intervene is still popular and wont be going out of style any time soon. Like the gods interfering in fate is superstition, fate itself is also superstition as well.
“Fate is the will or principle or determining cause by which things in general are believed to come to be as they are or events to happen as they do” (“Merriam Webster”). During the Anglo - Saxon period, people had a strong belief that fate, or wyrd is what Anglo-Saxons called it, was real (“Anglo-Saxon Belief In Fate and Chrisianity”). Their people believed that everything that happened in their lives was meant to happen.
People believing in fate impacted writers of the time by giving them ideas on how to show their own culture. The Beowulf poet wrote down Beowulf and the whole main idea of the story was that Beowulf had his own destiny, his own fate, that he had to follow. Beowulf defeated Grendel and Grendel’s mom not only because he was the strongest man in the world, but he had fate on his side. The coincidence that Hrothgar had done a great deed for Beowulf's father only strengthens the idea that fate is real. Beowulf owes Hrothgar. Beowulf is taken on a journey of defeating the monsters that were killing people. With many great victories, even Beowulf’s fate caught up to him. The dragon may have killed Beowulf but that was all a part of fate. He may still have died either way if he would have fought the dragon or not. Wiglaf’s fate was to be king and succeed Beowulf. The same goes for Grendel, his mother, and the dragon; their fates were to be defeated in the end.
Other works that have fate as a theme are A Tale of Two Cities, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Hamlet and Macbeth. Carton in A Tale of Two Cities ends up being executed to save Lucie of a broken heart. Carton told Lucie that he would die for anyone that she loved and he did just that. His fate was to serve Lucie rather than be loved by her. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight also have themes of fate.
Sir Gawain made a promise to fight the Green Knight. On the day that the fight was supposed to take place Sir Gawain was given a supernatural sash that kept him safe. Although he may have cheated Sir Gawain showed up to the fight and kept his promise. The Green Knight named Sir Gawain to be the most honorable man in the land. “I consider you polished as white and as perfectly clean” the Green Knight said this to Gawain (Gardner 221). Sir Gawain took the fight and honored it, his destiny was then fulfilled.
Hamlet and Macbeth both met their fates at the end of the plays. Hamlet completed his promise to get Claudius to confess. In the end, Hamlet was always supposed to die so that Fortinbras could become king and bring the two nations of Norway and Denmark together. “But I do prophesy th’ election lights / On Fortinbras” Hamlet said this so that Fortinbras could become king “(Shakespeare Hamlet 283). Macbeth met his fate at the end when Macduff put his head on a stick. When Macbeth died Malcolm then became king which he was supposed to be all along.
Fate is still a main idea in literature today. Fate is superstition because it may not be real. Somethings may just happen on accident, and we may overthink what it really is. Another superstition is monsters.
Monsters aren’t just things but people too. There are animals like things like Grendel and his mother or the dragon that are monsters. People like Madame Defarge and Satan are all monsters in the eyes of the reader.
According to Writers Digest, what makes a monster is that monsters are unpredictable, they have a passion for violence, and they are beyond control (“What Makes a Monster Scary”). Madame Defarge is a perfect example of these. She wants revenge, and with revenge comes violence. Madame Defarge tried getting all the remaining Evremond’s executed. Her actions were unpredictable due to her always remaining silent and knitting. She was beyond control and that led up to her death. Satan was also beyond control.
In Paradise Lost Satan was not able to be controlled by God. God sent Satan to hell and even though Satan thought he could not be controlled there, he was. Satan was thrown out of heaven due to his retaliation and fighting against other angels. Satan tried to prove he was god's equal. He was unpredictable, violent, and beyond control for any other angel.
Superstition is a main theme when it comes to english literature. From Homer to Shakespeare, there are many different aspects of superstition. Ghosts, witches, gods, fate, and monsters are just some of the categories. Having superstition in stories and plays makes everything more interesting and gives authors a new tone to write with.
Works Cited
- “Anglo- Saxon Belief In Fate and Christianity.” School Work Helper, 2019, schoolworkhelper.net/anglo-saxon-belief-in-fate-and-christianity//. Accessed 13 Dec. 2019.
- “Beliefs and Superstitions.” Bbc, www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/zmjnb9q/revision/3. Accessed 13 Dec. 2019.
- Beowulf Poet. Beowulf The Language of Literature, edited by Arthur Applebee et al., McDougal Littell Inc., 2006, pp. 33-60.
- Dickens, Charles. Tale of Two Cities. Mcdougal Littell Inc, 1997.
- Gardner, John. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. The Language of Literature, edited by Arthur Applebee et al., McDougal Littell Inc., 2006, pp. 210-221.
- Gill, N.S. “Ancient Greeks and Their Gods.” Thought Co, 18 June 2018, www.thoughtco.com/did-the-greeks-believe-their-myths-120390. Accessed 13 Dec. 2019.
- “History of Witches.” History, 12 Sept 2017, www.history.com/topics/folklore/history-of-witches. Accessed 13 Dec. 2019.
- Homer. Iliad. The Language of Literature, edited by Arthur Applebee et al., McDougal Littell Inc., 2006, pp. 67-89.
- Mark, Joshua. “Ghosts in the Ancient World.” Ancient, 30 Oct 2014, www.ancient.eu/ghost/. Accessed 13 Dec. 2019.
- Mirabile, Allessandra. “How Ghosts Were Viewed During Shakespeare's Time.”
- Shakespeare Comes Alive, 2017, shakespearecomesalivesdsu2017.wordpress.com/group-four-history-topic//. Accessed 13 Dec. 2019.
- Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Washington Post, 1992.
- Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. The Language of Literature, edited by
- Arthur Applebee et al., McDougal Littell Inc., 2006, pp. 327-416.
- Shurkin, Joel. “Genetics Estimate Publication Date of The Iliad.” Scientific american, 27 Feb 2013, www.scientificamerican.com/article/geneticists-estimate-publication-date-of-the-iliad/. Accessed 13 Dec. 2019.
- “What Makes a Monster Scary.” Writer’s Digest, 27 Oct 2017, www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/writing-monsters-scary-qualities. Accessed 13 Dec. 2019.
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