Macbeth 1.1 What the Critics Say

The video explores different perspectives on Shakespeare's portrayal of witches in Macbeth. Samuel Johnson, an Enlightenment figure, believed that if Macbeth were written in his time, Shakespeare would have been dismissed for promoting superstition. In contrast, Romantic critics like Coleridge and Hazlitt appreciated the witches for their emotional and imaginative impact. AC Bradley, a 20th-century scholar, argued that Shakespeare's witches were not supernatural but rather depicted as real women accused of witchcraft.

What period is known as the Enlightenment or the Age of Reason, and how did it affect beliefs in witchcraft?

How did Samuel Johnson view Shakespeare's witches in relation to the time he lived in?

In what way did the Romantic period react against the Enlightenment, particularly in relation to Shakespeare's work?

What role do the witches play in revealing Macbeth's character according to the text?

What characteristics did AC Bradley attribute to the witches in Macbeth?