Witchcraft In The Elizabethan Era

Witchcraft

The belief in witchcraft has existed for centuries. Many have disregarded the idea of witches existing on Earth, but many have believed in witches for it to take a toll on civilizations throughout the history of the world. Throughout the history of the world the belief has even affected the way of life in numerous civilizations. It also affected culture in history, as many authors used witches as inspiration for great pieces of works. The belief of witches in England during the 16th century influenced Shakespeare and the lives of many people in England.

Although many have believed in witches, the early belief in witchcraft took place in unscientifically advanced societies. When the belief in witchcraft finally ended, it was already
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It eventually became a crime in European countries to practice witchcraft. Under Queen Elizabeth conviction of being a witch resulted in legal punishment. “During Elizabeth’s reign witchcraft, which had previously been a religious offense, was transformed into a criminal rather than a canon-law offensive”. It also became legal for men and women to be executed if they were convicted of being a witch. However, it should be noted that witch conviction was rare, and very uncommon. “Only about a dozen witches were executed out of 5,000 tries.” It’s been recorded that thousands of people have died do to witch conviction in Europe. Although it was uncommon to be convicted of a witch it still occurred. Although many saw this law as unnecessary and pointless, it gave inspiration to many authors, and to some of the greatest writing ever
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In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Shakespeare depicts the witches as evil spirits. “The psychology of evil. The witches are an enactment of the irrational. The supernatural world is terrifying because it is beyond the human control, and in the play it is therefore symbolic of the unpredictable force of human motion. At their first appearance, the Witches state an ambiguity that rules the play until it closes: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”’. Without the belief in witchcraft who knows if Macbeth would ever of been as great as it was. “However, the witches do not control behavior in the play. They are symbolic of evil and prescient of crimes which are to come, but they neither encourage nor facilitate Macbeth’s actions. They are merely a poignant external symbol of the ambition that is already within Macbeth”. Witches played a big role in Macbeth. It helped out the plot and the overall greatness of the play.

In England during the 15th and 16th century, the belief in witches affected the lives of countless people and influenced playwrights such as William Shakespeare. Even though in the early parts of civilization witches were considered to be real people, witches are now used as symbols of evil. Throughout history many people have argued witchcraft is impossible, and witchcraft is just a foolish idea. However for all of these people arguing against witchcraft, there were just as many believers in witchcraft