Preview

Macbeth Superstition

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
481 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Macbeth Superstition
Out of Control The article The Curse of the Play was an insightful and enjoyable read. The main focus of this article was on the play “Macbeth” and how it is supposedly cursed. The curse allegedly ranges from dramatic events happening during the production of the play, to just the superstition of saying the title of the play in any theatre. For instance, multiple people have died suddenly during dress rehearsals, showings, and just general association. “Hal Berrige was to play Lady Macbeth at the play's opening act.”, but he never made it to the stage. (Faires Par 2) Hal passed away from a deadly fever. Much like throwing a pinch of salt over one's shoulder, if an individual says the forbidden title inside a theatre and wants to rid himself of the negativity swarming upon them, they must choose …show more content…
I believe that superstitions are, for the most part, a method of man to control the uncontrollable parts of life. In relativity to humans, animals act on mostly impulses. Animals seem to be doing just fine without the concept of time, reality, religion, superstitions, currency, and advancement beyond ourselves. A “superstition” that I have relates to pole vaulting. I think it is more of a habit, or compulsive attempt at manipulate variables such as luck. Whenever I switch a hand grip, or switch to a new pole, I must freshly chalk my hands. If I do not follow through with this ritual, my jump may suffer. Though, my jumps do not seem to be affected when I forget, or chose not to re-apply chalk to my hands. “knocking on wood” is a superstition that individuals follow today. If one says that something negative is going to happen, another person, if present, may say “knock on wood” and proceed to knock on the nearest piece of wood. This is supposed to prevent the unwanted outcome from coming

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    There are many examples of superstition in the novel, Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twian. One of the examples is when Huck kills the spider by flicking it into the fire. Killing the spider to Huck was considered very bad luck. Another example is when they had used a hair ball to tell fortunes. The last one is when Huck runs out of tobacco and he goes to the Craven to get some and he finds a rattlesnake. He then kills it and then puts it on the end of Jim’s bed then when Jim went to lay down the snake got him.…

    • 361 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Satire in Huckleberry Finn

    • 1809 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Superstition is an issue that has been around forever, and will probably be around forever. A psychologist, B. F. Skinner, discovered that any animal will develop superstitions, we are all just wired that way. For example, if one makes a bad grade on a test Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and it rains Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, one may start to believe that the rain is the reason why they have bad test grades just because of the correlation . Because of this, they may never want to take tests when it rains. Today, superstitions are less abundant because of widespread knowledge of science and reasoning, but it can still be observed in sports and religion where people do things really without a reason or don't really understand why. They just do it because they've always done it. Superstition today does not really harm society but honestly makes it more interesting.…

    • 1809 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    20 Medieval Superstitions

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages

    8. The myth that breaking a mirror can bring 7 years of bad luck came from the belief that the reflection in a mirror was actually the image of your soul and broken glass represented a broken soul. One must wait 7 hours before picking up the broken pieces and burying them in the moonlight.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    If you step on a crack, you will break your mamma back, keep cats away from babies because they suck the breath of the child, and cross my heart and hope to die, cut my throat if I tell a lie are examples of some superstitions that people believe in. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, superstition is a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jim and Huck use and believe in many superstitions. There are many examples from the book that show this in the characters. Most of the superstitions are ridiculous, but some actually make a little sense. In the book, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, one of the main themes he uses in this book is superstition and two main characters that have attitudes that are different and similar towards superstition is Huck and Jim.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    It’s like a saying some say, dress well test well. Some just have superstitions that they have to stick too. For instance, in my life during post season of softball, we always wear the exact same uniform. We wore black even though it was ninety degrees outside in June. The example in Grey’s Anatomy is when every time someone dies in surgery Addison Montgomery Shepard gave the surgeons who were involved a cup of hot chocolate and that was her juju, you had to drink it. If you did not accept it like Meredith Grey did once, then your next patient was going to die as well until you drank it all. Meredith Grey had a surgery with Addison and their patient sadly did not make it. Addison always heard two other surgeons were not having such good days and their patients died. Addison went around and got everyone hot chocolate who was involved in those surgeries, meaning she gave one to Meredith Grey. Grey did not accept it because Addison was with Derek and she thought she was maybe trying to poison her or something, she threw it away. Merediths very next patient died because she dissed the juju. So everyone relies on weird and different superstitions because we do not always have an answer for every little thing in life. Life works in mysterious ways some times, so it makes us think that we can not diss on the…

    • 1183 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Are Superstitions Hurtful

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Superstitions have been said to be both helpful and hurtful, but according to the articles “Why Are Humans So Superstitious?” by Marc Lallanilla and “Is magical thinking hurting or helping you?” by Sarah Albert, they are far more hurtful than helpful. Superstitions are hurtful because they can be very unhealthy, they can make people lose confidence, and they can cause anxiety.…

    • 479 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Macbeth Soliloquy

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages

    I see you, the imaginary ball, as real as this other one at my feet.…

    • 805 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Superstitions can make people do crazy things. In the tragic playMacbeth, by William Shakespeare, superstitions play a great role. In the play there are three witches that supposingly can predict the future and have some great power. Macbeth and many others put much faith into what they have to say. Many would plan their actions solely on what the witches predict. These days that kind of thing really does not happen. Most people plan their actions based on what they want. In Macbeth's time most people relied on superstitions as a way of life, but these days most people do not.…

    • 424 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Superstitions can seem innocent, and of no consequence at first, such as when a sports…

    • 1024 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Puerto Rico Superstitions

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Some of the superstitions that are shared with the United States include black cats and walking under ladders bringing bad luck. Another similar one is that the number 13 can bring bad luck as well. Most high rise buildings in Puerto Rico do not have a thirteenth floor. The floor numbers jump from twelve to fourteen. Also, Tuesday the 13th is the equivalent of the United States Friday the 13th, however many in Puerto Rico view both days as a day full of bad luck. Some other interesting superstitions begin on New Years. These superstitions begin with throwing a bucket of water out the front door at midnight. To many in Puerto Rico, this symbolizes throwing out the all of the bad events of the previous year and emptying out the past year for a fresh new year. Following this New Years superstition involves the first twelve days of the year. Each day is believed to correspond with the month and how the weather will be. For example, should it rain on the third day of the year, it is believed that March will bring many rain showers. Should it be windy on the fifth day of the year, it is believed that there will be many wind storms in May. Also in May, it is not uncommon to see many people walking throughout the streets on the first rain of May. It is believed to be good luck to take a stroll in the first showers of May. One interesting superstition is that it is…

    • 954 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    macbeths flaw

    • 697 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Macbeth's vaulting ambition, though it is what brings him to his height of power, it is also what leads him to his downfall. Vaulting Ambition is one of Macbeth's flaws; it disables him to achieve his utmost goals and forces him to face his fate. Without this ambition, though, Macbeth never would have been able to achieve his power as King of Scotland or have been able to carry out his evil deeds. In these instances, ambition helped Macbeth do what he wanted to do. But, consequently, Macbeth's ambition has another face and is what leads him to his tragic downfall. Had he not been so enveloped with becoming King and remaining powerful, he would not have continued to kill innocent people in order to keep his position. It was because of these killings and his overbearing attitude that caused him to be overthrown and killed himself. Macbeth, at the beginning of the play seems to be a very noble person.…

    • 697 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Macbeth

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Thesis: In Macbeth I think the character made the choices he did in order to lead his life in the direction of determination and success. So he made the choices he did and pushed for his life to be like that.…

    • 793 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Macbeth

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In the era of Macbeth, many of the beliefs were based upon fate. It was a major part of the culture and how everything happens for a reason. In this play by Shakespeare, fate is corrupted by the main character Macbeth; this corruption unbalances the universe. Macbeth provides an example of contradicting the beliefs in this time frame, eventually fate restores the kingdom and the universe balances out. “Tragedy, according to Aristotle, involves usually a noble man fighting against his fate which lies in the hands of God” ( Jean-François Vernay. Literary Contexts in Plays: William Shakespeare 's 'Macbeth '). According to this quote by Vernay, it relates to Macbeth and all the other Shakespearean tragedies. In Macbeth, the main character was a noble man in the beginning and does fight against his fate. At first he tries to make his fate come faster and then later Macbeth tries to contradict it. While, it was really planned out for him the whole time. Macbeth is corrupted by power, causing him to make decisions that interfere with fate, in which witches tell Macbeth he is destined to be king; however, Malcolm is the one who is next in line. Macbeth does anything he can to get the crown which leads to chaos in the kingdom. He kills anyone who is in his way which causes the whole creation of unbalance, arrogance and power corrupts his mind, and once Macbeth is killed the kingdom is restored.…

    • 1181 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shakespeare has left a big mark on our history. With all his plays and stories. But one really stood out to everyone, “Macbeth.” Ever since it was first shown people have believed there is a curse on this production. That causes horrible events to occurs surrounding the production.…

    • 765 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In "Romeo and Juliet" Shakespeare uses the contemporary superstitious beliefs and plays on them using the main characters Romeo and Juliet. For the duration of the Elizabethan era, people rested on their beliefs on God, superstition and fate to get through their everyday lives. They contemplated the fact that the world, in general, had had a stability of both good and evil. There are many specific examples which illustrate how the subject of fate had impacted on the public at that point in time. For instance, Religion was varied in England during the Elizabethan Age. There was much conflict between the Protestants and the Catholics. Elizabeth restored the Protestant service but kept many features of the Catholic religion. She hoped this negotiation…

    • 1768 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays