“By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes…”

All this cool weather and the newly emerged, resplendent autumn colors have been putting me in the Halloween spirit lately. And it has also got me thinking: What about Shakespeare and Halloween? What connections are there between the two, and what was this holiday like in Elizabethan England? I was inspired to do a little research and come up with a few notes on witches, warlocks, and William Shakespeare.

First, a (very) brief history lesson: Halloween has its origins in the Celtic harvest festival of Samhain, a time when the ancient Celts believed the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead blurred, and the dead returned to earth. Later, when Christianity spread to the British Isles, the Catholic Church overlaid many of their holidays onto pagan holidays in order to lessen the gap between religions. One of these holidays was All Saints’ Day, also known as All-Hallows, on November 1st. Thus, October 31st became known as All-Hallows' Eve, which was, in turn, eventually shortened to Halloween. And there you have it. For a more detailed (and humorous) account of this whole, tedious process, visit this blog of another local Staunton historian.

The modern Halloween which we are familiar with, however, did not actually come into existence until the nineteenth century. During Shakespeare’s day, one may see the roots of our contemporary celebrations, yet, at this time, All-Hallows' Eve was still a highly religious-centric holiday. This was a world where ghouls and goblins weren’t the stuff of campfire ghost stories but were, instead, very real and ever-present in daily life. Men and women lived in fear of getting on these malevolent spirits’ bad sides, and they turned to a combination of the Church and old superstitions to protect themselves. Rather than going trick-or-treating, an Elizabethan child might have gone “a-souling,” or traveled door to door asking for “soul cakes” in return for prayers for souls of the dead. Shakespeare even references this practice in The Two Gentlemen of Verona when Speed, page to Valentine, tells his lord that a sure sign of love is that Valentine speaks whiningly, or “puling, like a beggar at Hallowmas” (II.i.25-26). To avoid being recognized by any ghosts who might be out and about, these Elizabethans would have worn masks – a predecessor of today’s costumes. The original jack-o-lanterns were actually turnips (pumpkins being native to the Americas), which were carved and placed in front of the home to ward off evil spirits.

Shakespeare would have been familiar with these traditions, and instances of the supernatural abound in his writing. The most famous probably occur in Macbeth, which was, many believe, written to cater to the interests of England’s reigning monarch, James I (previously James VI of Scotland). James had a particular fascination with witchcraft, even publishing his own book on the subject, the Daemonologie. Witchraft, of course, plays an integral role in the story of Macbeth in the form of the three Weird Sisters. The witches in this play are undeniably present, visible and powerful; they begin the play and set the plot in motion. Yet the whole play is awash in eerie, paranormal vibes. Lady Macbeth summons spirits to possess her, ghosts seat themselves at banquet tables, and ethereal daggers hover in midair. The veil between earth and the realm of the fantastic seems practically non-existent.

Some other particularly famous ghost cameos in Shakespeare include the appearance of the ghost of Hamlet’s father in Hamlet. Like the witches of Macbeth, this ghost “bodes some strange eruption to our state” (I.i.69), in that its appearance sets about a chain of events which alters fate of the kingdom. The ghost of the ex-king, however, is much more economical and somber of speech than the gleefully wicked Weird Sisters. He is a spirit come from the fires of hell, and he manifests in setting which feels far more ordered and Christian than the wild and gothic moors of Scotland. In addition, a multitude of ghosts are present in Richard III. The spirits of his past victims appear in a grisly parade before Richard on the eve of the Battle of Bosworth Field, reminding him of all his evil deeds. This ghostly army promises to fight on the site of Henry, Earl of Richmond (soon to be King Henry VII): “Be cheerful, Richmond, for the wronged souls of butchered princes fight in thy behalf,” intones the ghost of young Prince Edward (V.iii.121-122). Little Edward and his younger brother Richard, the Duke of York, are still said to haunt the Tower of London, scene of their supposed murder by their uncle Richard III. And then, of course, there’s the ghost of Caesar, who shows up to haunt Brutus in Julius Caesar and whose appearance most likely gave birth to the exclamation, “Great Caesar’s ghost!”

These are just a couple of examples; Shakespeare’s plays are packed full of magic, witches and wizards, mischief-making spirits, ghosts, and “murder most foul.” This All-Hallows' Eve, why not get in touch with Shakespeare’s spooky side? On closer inspection, he might be the perfect representative of the Halloween spirit.

Natalie A.

Also, if you want to forgo a more modern Halloween of Twilight costumes and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in favor of something more Shakespearean, here’s a nifty recipe for soul cakes from HistoricalFoods.

“And since I am dead, I can take off my head
To recite Shakespearean quotations!”

-Jack, the Pumpkin King
Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas

Adventures in Cacozelia

My work at the ASC continues, and I have moved on in my research to rhetoric – a term at once so broad and yet so focused that figuring out how to approach it has been a daunting task. This little word comes with a legion of ludicrously technical terms, all Greek or Latin in origin, with names like “synathroesmus” (a conglomeration of many words and expressions either with similar meaning or not) or “prozeugma” (a series of clauses in which the verb employed in the first is implied in the others). Some of these tongue-twisting terms (alliteration!) are familiar to us – words like sarcasm, intimation, and irony – but some seem like alien words sent from another planet (simile!). Plus, there are about a million of them, all, clearly, impossible to memorize (hyperbole!). But, after all, nothing ventured, nothing gained (apothegm!); I knew that I’d have to start somewhere. This was a tiny word of epic proportions (oxymoron!).

Still, rather than slog my way through this swamp of advanced concepts (metaphor!), I decided that I preferred the more loose definition of rhetoric simply as the effective and elegant use of language. While Shakespeare’s writing is indeed full of anthimerias (the substitution of one part of speech for another) and onomatopoeias (the use of words to imitate natural sounds), it is his skill in crafting masterful phrases with the English language which sticks most with modern audiences (emphasis!). That is to say (exepegisis!), many of the rhetorical devices which he employs are intuitive. An audience member does not need to be aware of the word “malapropism” to understand that Dogberry, the bumbling constable in Much Ado about Nothing, is a master of them. They simply see the humor in his confusion of “salvation” and “damnation” (III.iii.2), or laugh when he takes it as a compliment to be called “tedious” by the venerable Leonato, and to proclaim, “But truly, for mine own part, if I were as tedious as a king, I could find in my heart to bestow it all of your worship” (III.v.16-17).

By the same token, a person certainly needn’t be familiar with “asteismus” to enjoy Beatrice and Benedick’s competition utilizing this concept in the following exchange, each twisting the other’s words and throwing them back at them (Much Ado about Nothing, I..i..126-137):

BEATRICE I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swear he loves me.

BENEDICK God keep your ladyship still in that mind, so some gentleman or other shall scape a predestinate scratched face.

BEATRICE Scratching could not make it worse, and ‘twere such a face as yours were.

BENEDICK Well, you are a rare parrot-teacher.

BEATRICE A bird of my tongue is better than a beast of yours.

BENEDICK I would my horse had the speed of your tongue, and so good a continuer.

Without knowing precisely what name to give the rhetorical content, one may still marvel (thaumasmus!) at Shakespeare’s wit in constructing such passages. In my opinion, it is possible to loathe the very idea of English grammar and its study (apodioxis!) and still to get great enjoyment from the way in which Shakespeare plays with words. Thus, while exploring the more intricate points of rhetoric may be fun and interesting, as I’ve discovered, there’s no need to worry about confusing one’s brachylogia and bdelygmia, or prodiorthosis and prosapodosis, to truly love Shakespeare.

Natalie A.

PS. If anyone wishes to become an expert on Classical or Renaissance rhetoric (or just memorize one or two especially crazy terms to impress people with at parties – parenthesis!), I recommend this extensive dictionary of rhetorical terms, the Silva Rhetoricae: http://rhetoric.byu.edu/.

Thoughts of a new intern...

Greetings! My name is Natalie Anderson, and I am the newest intern in the Education Department here at the American Shakespeare Center. Let’s see…I am a native of Brownsburg, VA (a teeny tiny village about half an hour south of Staunton), and I graduated from Guilford College in Greensboro, NC in May 2009, where I majored in History and minored in Medieval and Early Modern Studies, as well as Anthropology and German Language. I have been obsessed with medieval history and culture since I was in seventh grade (read: geek), and studying the Renaissance has certainly long held allure for me as well. Since graduating, my travels have taken me to some interesting places. I worked as an archaeologist for almost a year at Montpelier, the home of James Madison, and I spent this past summer studying Medieval Latin at the University of Toronto. But, that whole time, I was constantly searching all over the US for some sort of internship where I could indulge my love of all things medieval and Renaissance. Unfortunately, these proved highly elusive. I’d almost given up when it suddenly occurred to me: there is the perfect resource practically in my own backyard. So, here I am, back in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley researching Renaissance theatre – life is pretty good right now.

My internship here in Staunton involves working on a project entitled “Rehearsal Tools of the ASC.” This basically means that I have a list of terms – rhetoric, stage directions, costumes, props, fight choreography, etc. – which I spend my time investigating. My job is to find out as much as I can about what these terms meant in the realm of early modern theatre, and how acting companies of the time dealt with each item. What were their rehearsal schedules like? What did their costumes look like? How did they choreograph fights and dances? The second part of this project entails comparing the original practices to how things are done at the ASC and in Blackfriars today. So far, it’s been a blast. Each simple word, I’m discovering, is like the tiniest of windows which opens up into this immense, fascinating world of the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Sometimes, of course, the torrent of information opening such a window can unleash is overwhelming. Yet sorting everything out, while challenging, is also exciting. I’ve started with dance and fight choreography, and I often find myself lost in fencing manuals or reading about the types and style of dance popular in the Elizabethan court. I recently spent a day at Mary Baldwin’s Grafton Library, tracking down primary sources and taking advantage of their incredible selection of Shakespeare-related works. Honestly, while it isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, I truly enjoy historical research – losing myself in a different time, bringing words back to life across centuries, the thrill of the hunt – and I’m looking forward to everything that is to come.

In addition, last Thursday I spoke with Colleen Kelly, the ASC’s Director of Training, who provided me with some fascinating insights into Shakespearean theatre and the plethora of ways in which production companies interpret these complex conditions for modern audiences. This made me think: the acts of dancing and fighting, particularly, are signposts of their times. Thus, the way in actors present these elements in the theatre help to set the tone of a play in a major way. After all, a duel with rapier and dagger present a very different image from, say, a shootout or a street-fight with switchblades. Yet Shakespeare’s plays leave themselves open for any of these interpretations. These are the sort of things one gets to mull over as an intern at the ASC. Already I’ve have numerous “Aha!” moments – those electrifying times when, all of a sudden, my brain connects two dots it has never thought to connect before, and I learn something totally new.

The final goal is for my research to appear on the ASC website, in order that it might help students, educators, or simply anybody who is interested in the various topics. Hopefully the end result will be well-made and useful, but, for me, the most fun will be in the creation.

Natalie A.