Tag Archives: magic

Warwickshire witchcraft: Macbeth and the mystery of Meon Hill

“And over there, the hill with the flat top, that’s Meon Hill”. The guide at the top of the RSC’s tower didn’t need to say more, knowing we were locals. With our guest for the weekend we were admiring the … Continue reading

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Shakespeare and Hallowe’en: not just Macbeth

The Elizabethan and Jacobeans had superstitions covering almost every area of life. Supernatural explanations for natural phenomena were widely accepted: the appearance of a comet in 1577 caused public alarm, and even historian John Stow believed the story that the striking … Continue reading

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A Midsummer Night’s Dream: lost in the forest

It’s the longest day of the year, a time when our ancestors believed the supernatural came particularly close to the human. So where does Shakespeare set his play where, on Midsummer night, the world as we know it gets turned … Continue reading

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Posted in Plays and Poems, Shakespeare's World | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments