The Supernatural in Shakespeare's Works

The Supernatural in Shakespeare's Works

No one questions the fact that William Shakespeare is a pure genius when it comes to creating immortal characters whose characteristics transcends those of the normal supernatural beings, but most students of literature agree that his uses of the supernatural aren’t merely figments of his creative imagination. Every man, woman, and child is influenced by the age into which they are born and Shakespeare was no exception. Not only does his use of supernatural elements within his works reveal the Elizabethans’ obsession with mythical beliefs, but it also reveals his attitude toward these beliefs at different points of his writing career. Because of the profound understanding of the beliefs of his time, Shakespeare was able to create masterpieces that critics and readers have respected all over the world.

In Shakespeare’s time, the belief in the presence and power of the supernatural touch life at every point. Customs were formed by it and behavior was dictated by it. Not only did the poor believe in it, but all classes of people were under its spell from nobles to the poor. It governed people’s lives down to the smallest details. They carried charms and mascots, found horror in spilling salt and walking under ladders, and dreaded the thirteenth of Friday (May 35-38). They believed that all supernatural elements were at work.

The Elizabethans had always been susceptible to belief in the supernatural. As May notes, these people more that other people questioned matters beyond their vision (39). Shakespeare was clearly influenced by his race. He had an inquiring mind that refused bondage by the limitations of matter (Mish 28). Listing the numberless superstitions that Shakespeare gathered from his environment would be impossible. May believes that it is because his own observations of the habits of animals and plants were explained by stories that were more myth that truth. Elizabethans also gave superstitious explanations for changing weather and season, phase of life, and sickness and death (59-63). As a youth, Shakespeare was susceptible to all kinds of influences around him.

Due to the widespread obsession with the supernatural, Shakespeare was compelled as a writer to adopt the views of the majority. The people who crowed the theaters and paid the money demanded fairies, ghost, and witches, and all the commonly h...

... middle of paper ...

...onio for the terrible wrong he has don and no traces of anger or resentment linger. In this final play the supernatural is entirely beneath the control of man. All authority is taken form the spirits in The Tempest and the power to harm is gone. Shakespeare’s state of mind is best expressed at this point when Prospero reveals how man has at last attained dominion over the forces of evil (Schiller 378).

William Shakespeare was a genius. Not only was he able to use the supernatural in his works to the fullest extent of Elizabethan belief, but he was skillful at molding the supernatural into remarkable assets to his plot. However, Elizabethan beliefs weren’t the only influences that shoved their way into the meanings of his plays. His whole outlook on life also played a major part in the way that he shaped the supernatural. Not only does his use of supernatural elements within his works reveal the Elizabethans’ obsession with mythical beliefs, but it also reveals his attitude toward these beliefs at different points of his career. His remarkable handling of the supernatural is on reason why William Shakespeare is generally regarded as the greatest writer of English literature.