answersLogoWhite

0


Best Answer

For the same reason people these days are superstitious. People have a hardwired tendency to view certain things as significant, which includes anything which is unusual. So an unusual coincidence or event will impinge on people's mind and they will not accept that it is just chance or a coincidence. They have to find some other reason to account for it, probably one involving the supernatural or some huge conspiracy.

If you don't think people these days are superstitious, what were you thinking on Dec. 21, 2012? Hmmm . . .

User Avatar

Wiki User

βˆ™ 11y ago
This answer is:
User Avatar
More answers
User Avatar

Wiki User

βˆ™ 14y ago

Well, through that time there weren't any faries, but in stuartera they loved blaming inosent old for being witchs! Sooo:

No faries

Yes witchs Superstitions about witches and fairies were alive and well in Shakespeare's time. In fact Witches figure heavily in the play Macbeth and fairies are major cast characters in both A Midsummer's Night Dream and The Tempest.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

βˆ™ 9y ago

We have no reason to believe that Shakespeare was in any way superstitious, but of course we have so very little information about his personal life, it doesn't prove much. The characters in the plays are sometimes superstitious, but this only reflects how people are. In this sense, the superstition which people tend to display did have an effect on the way in which Shakespeare created his characters.

This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

βˆ™ 10y ago
Religion was a touchy political subject in Shakespeare's day. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was fuelled by the desire of Catholics to restore the country to the Roman faith. As a result, the censors would not allow pro-Catholic sentiments in plays. Anti-Catholic sentiments (such as those expressed in Shakespeare's King John, for example) were ok, as they supported the established church. Shakespeare and a number of other playwrights once tried to write a play about Thomas More, but it was impossible to come up with anything which would satisfy the censors, More being a Catholic hero.

Later in his career, the censors also started to crack down on swearing in the plays. This was a result of Puritan influence. Later versions of the foul-mouthed Falstaff in Henry IV are much toned down from the way he spoke in earlier versions.
This answer is:
User Avatar

User Avatar

Wiki User

βˆ™ 13y ago

We have no idea what Shakespeare did or did not believe in. He wasn't forthcoming about his private life.

This answer is:
User Avatar

Add your answer:

Earn +20 pts
Q: In Shakespeare's time were there any superstitions about witches and fairies?
Write your answer...
Submit
Still have questions?
magnify glass
imp
Continue Learning about Performing Arts

How common were witches in shakespeares time?

There were no real witches in Shakespeare's time, because they don't exist! But, there is no exact figure as to how many women were thought to be witches. There were apparently thousands of them around! If a woman was seen to own a black cat, or if she made special herbal medicines, then she was seen as a witch. There were witch-hunts, and around 16000 (sixteen thousand) women were killed because they were thought to be witches. (They were burned at the stake, or drowned.) Hope I helped you! :)


What was Shakespeares attitude to witches and the supernatural?

In Shakespeare's time, certain people were really frightened of witches and believed that they were a clear and present danger to their country. The history of the Salem Witch Trials is an example of this kind of fear, which was only starting in Shakespeare's day. Throughout the seventeenth century, fundamentalist religion became very powerful in England and even overthrew the monarchy, and it is religious fundamentalists who generally are frightened of witches.


What job did a constable do in shakespeares time?

He was a policeman of sorts.


What would be the reaction of the Jacobean audience when faced with the witches in Macbeth?

Although the people of that era believed in witches, the witches in Macbeth were very probably not portrayed as frightening. The very silly scenes involving songs and the headwitch Hecate (which were likely not written by Shakespeare, but were written also in the Jacobean Era) make the witches sillier than the fairies in Midsummer Night's Dream, and although these scenes are never played nowadays, there is every reason to think that this was actually how the witches were played at first. This may have been the only way to get them onstage in a time when people would have been genuinely frightened of representations of real witches.


The cultural influences in William Shakespeares time?

what was the culture of the people in shakespeare time

Related questions

How were witches kelled in Shakespeares time?

If they were ever told their real name, they would instantly die. btw, only docotor who could figure that 1 out!


How common were witches in shakespeares time?

There were no real witches in Shakespeare's time, because they don't exist! But, there is no exact figure as to how many women were thought to be witches. There were apparently thousands of them around! If a woman was seen to own a black cat, or if she made special herbal medicines, then she was seen as a witch. There were witch-hunts, and around 16000 (sixteen thousand) women were killed because they were thought to be witches. (They were burned at the stake, or drowned.) Hope I helped you! :)


Where fairies real in shakespeare time?

No. Fairies were never real.


What was Shakespeares attitude to witches and the supernatural?

In Shakespeare's time, certain people were really frightened of witches and believed that they were a clear and present danger to their country. The history of the Salem Witch Trials is an example of this kind of fear, which was only starting in Shakespeare's day. Throughout the seventeenth century, fundamentalist religion became very powerful in England and even overthrew the monarchy, and it is religious fundamentalists who generally are frightened of witches.


What were the trousers called in shakespeares time?

strossers


What job did a constable do in shakespeares time?

He was a policeman of sorts.


What would be the reaction of the Jacobean audience when faced with the witches in Macbeth?

Although the people of that era believed in witches, the witches in Macbeth were very probably not portrayed as frightening. The very silly scenes involving songs and the headwitch Hecate (which were likely not written by Shakespeare, but were written also in the Jacobean Era) make the witches sillier than the fairies in Midsummer Night's Dream, and although these scenes are never played nowadays, there is every reason to think that this was actually how the witches were played at first. This may have been the only way to get them onstage in a time when people would have been genuinely frightened of representations of real witches.


Do you have pictures of real fairies?

Pictures of fairies that were not real were taken by Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths in 1917. The fairies were called the Cottingley Fairies and were made from cutouts from a book that was popular at the time.


The cultural influences in William Shakespeares time?

what was the culture of the people in shakespeare time


Who was two great explorers of shakespeares time?

donit know


What time of day were William shakespeares plays?

3:pm


Could you eat and drink in the theatre?

Yes, in Shakespeares time.