Edward Robert Hughes, “Midsummer Eve” (1908)

Glendower:

I can call spirits from the vasty deep. 

Hotspur:

Why, so can I, or so can any man;

But will they come when you do call for them?

This heated exchange between a reputed magician and avowed cynic in Henry IV, Part I highlights the ambiguous status of magic in early modern England. It was the height of the Reformation, but the pagan gods were alive and well. Colonisers brought back reports of shamanic visions, while Queen Elizabeth’s astrologer held séances with a stolen Aztec scrying mirror. Reformers sought to eradicate “popish” superstition, but King James had witches burned at the stake. But one place where magic reigned was the theatre, where one could suspend disbelief without fear of heresy.

Shakespeare’s plays are positively filled with supernatural happenings and otherworldly beings: faeries, ghosts, sorcerers, and witches; mythological deities; efficacious curses; enchanted handkerchiefs; uncanny oracles; living statues; even resurrected mummies. How should we understand the kinds of magical power represented in these plays? We will pursue this question through readings of Midsummer Night’s Dream, Macbeth, Pericles, The Tempest, and The Winter’s Tale, and briefly consider stage magic’s afterlives, e. g. in early silent film. Throughout we will ask: What forms of power does the Shakespearean supernatural harness or represent? When are theatre’s magical effects truly transformative, and when are they merely sleight of hand? Can the stage be a portal to other worlds? 

Our field trip to London will include the Witches and History Magical Walking Tour a Shakespeare play, the Lamb and Flag pub (haunted by literary history), and possibly a magic show.

Professor: Wendy Beth Hyman, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Oberlin College, whyman@oberlin.edu