The Curse of Macbeth Essay -- Macbeth essays

The Curse of Macbeth Macbeth is one of Shakespeares more popular plays, and nearly everyone knows about the abundant blood and gore, the witches, Lady Macbeths ambition, and the ghost of Banquo. However, not as many another(prenominal) people know about the superstitions that surround this play. Theres a long-standing belief that the play is jinxed, than any company that produces it is courting disaster, and that quoting from the play (or even saying the title) leads to serious hazardous luck. Theres no doubt that several superstitions are associated with Macbeth. Many actors refuse to say the name of the play but rather refer to it as The Scotch picnic or even The Plaid Play (Gero). Some go even further, referring to it as The Unmentionable or even That Play (Demcisak 8). Actors also look unlikable on anyone who says the name of the title character or quotes from the play while in the theater. The only way to cure the problem created is to perform a ritual. For instance, th e pique actor may be required to turn around triad times and spit over his left shoulder, or turn around three times and quote from A Midsummer Nights Dream (Faulkner). Whats the evidence for the curse or jinx? Bad luck certainly seems to follow productions of Macbeth.According to legend, during the plays first production, the son who played Lady Macbeth died backstage (Rozakis 245). In 1849, three of New Yorks theaters were featuring Macbeth, and two of the lead actors had a serious rivalry going. Edwin Forrest (one of the Macbeths) reportedly encouraged some of his chase to disrupt the production at his rivals theater. In the resulting riot, thirty-one people were killed (Demcisak 7). Demcisak reports more tra... ...lthttp//ws.bowiestate.edu/archives/1995/0075.html>. Gagen, Steven. The Scottish Play. Online posting. 6 Feb. 1995. SHAKSPERws.bowiestate.edu. 7 March 2001 <http//ws.bowiestate.edu/archives/1995/0075.html>. Gero, Edward. Re The Scottish Play. Online p osting. 8 Feb. 1995. SHAKSPERws.bowiestate.edu. 12 March 2001 <http//ws.bowiestate.edu/archives/1995/0088.html>. Ivanov Goes to Moscow. ArtsZone. 2 March 2001. <http//www.ovationtv.com/artszone/programs/ivanov/wild.html>. Rozakis, Laurie. The Complete Idiots Guide to Shakespeare. New York Alpha, 1999. Shakespeare, William. Macbeth. Literature An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 7th ed. New York Longman, 1999. 1522-1634.