Witches and Jesuits: Shakespeare's Macbeth

by Wills, Garry

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Title Statements

Full title :Witches and Jesuits : Shakespeare's Macbeth / Garry Wills.

Summary

In Witches and Jesuits, Wills focuses on a single document to open up a window on an entire society. He begins with a simple question: If Macbeth is such a great tragedy, why do performances of it so often fail? Wills maintains that the fault lies not in Shakespeare's play, but in ourselves. Drawing on his intimate knowledge of the vivid intrigue and drama of Jacobean England, Wills restores Macbeth's suspenseful tension by returning it to the context of its own time, recreating the burning theological and political crises of Shakespeare's era, such as the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when a small cell of Jesuits came within a hairsbreadth of successfully blowing up not only the king, but the prince his heir, and all members of the court and Parliament. Wills likens their shock to that endured by Americans following Pearl Harbour or the Kennedy assassination. In this new light, Macbeth is transformed. Wills presents a drama that is more than a well-scripted story of a murderer getting his just penalty, it is the struggle for the soul of a nation. Rich in insight and a joy to read, Witches and Jesuits is a tour de force of scholarship and imagination by one of our foremost writers, essential reading for anyone who loves the language. (Publisher).

Edition Statements

Publication Date:1996, ©1995.

Publication Statements

Publisher(s):New York Public Library / Oxford University Press
Place of Publication:New York
Language:eng
Publication Date:1996, ©1995.

The Physical Object

Description:ix, 223 pages : : illustrations ; : 21 cm

Edition Identifiers

ISBN:0195102908, 9780195102901, 0195088794, 9780195088793
oclc:ocm34631139
LC Classification:PR2823
Dewey Decimal:822.33

Introduction: The trouble with Macbeth -- Gunpowder -- Witches -- Male witch -- Lady Macbeth -- Jesuits -- Malcolm -- Macbeth -- Conclusion: The test of performance -- Appendix I: Date of the play -- Appendix II: Text of the play -- Key to brief citations.

Subjects

England Gunpowder Plot, 1605 in literature History Jesuits Literature Literature and history Literature and history -- History -- 17… Literature and history -- History -- 17… Littérature et histoire -- Histoire -- … Macbeth (Shakespeare, William) Macbeth,, King of Scotland Shakespeare, William Tragedy Witchcraft in literature