HW for ThursdayMacbeth III-IVMeet with fellow

The Ghost as Symbol

Grief/mourningRevengeDoubtDeathCounselMadness/insanityMemoryGuiltThe pastInternal conflictFearWarningMessengerAction/inactionSecretSuccession/royalPolitical legitimacy

Impending doomPower/lack of powerObligations/dutyIntention/characterReligionReputationArt/theaterParentingMentorWar

The Ghost as Symbol• battling epistemologies, what to believe

in, where do we find truth? testimony, eyes, inability to know anything, inability to trust others, self, god

• dueling means of expression/art—poetry, drama, mythology, history, etc.

• lingering cultural desire for Catholic “superstitions”

• real ghost• dramatic tool—scary, something different

from regular experience• meta-dramatic tool—what gets a plot

kicking, revenge story• unreality of theater/playacting• ghost in machine, soul, identity, true

interior (stand and unfold thyself), self-knowledge, sanity (v. madness)

Big Issues in Thinking about Occult in

MacbethEquivocationWitch Persecutions

DemonologieGunpowder Plot

(Gov’t. Under Fire)Religious Upheaval

Prophecy, PredestinationForeigners, ImmigrationWar, Violence, MurderDivine Right of Kings