A Slovene Perspective on Magic in Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Danes sta magija in čarovništvo ohranjena le še delno, medtem ko sta bili v zgodnji moderni dobi realnost. Prebivalstvo tistega časa je verjelo v vile, volkodlake, vampirje in duhove. Vendar nobena izmed teh oblik vraževerja ni bila tako strah vzbujajoča in popularna kot čarovništvo. To verovanje se je kazalo v literaturi tistega časa. Eno najbolj znamenitih angleških del je Shakespearov Macbeth, kjer tri čarovnice združujejo klasične, folklorne in socialno-politične elemente angleške zgodnje moderne dobe. Pri raziskovanju te slavne trojice čarovnic iz slovenskega vidika vraževerja, je postalo jasno, da obstaja izvirno čarovniško vraževerje, ki se je iz srednje Evrope med drugim razširilo tudi v Slovenijo in Anglijo ter prevzelo ustrezno krajevno interpretacijo. Nekatere izmed podobnosti med slovenskim in angleškim prepričanjem so: zmožnost preobrazbe v živali, prerokovanje, moč nad vremenom, fizične karakteristike in čarovniški pomočniki. Omeniti je treba vpliv cerkve, ki je bistveno spremenila podobo čarovnice v zgodnji moderni dobi in jo povezala z hudičem. Poglavitna razlika pri pojmovanju čarovnic v Angliji in Sloveniji je ta, da razlikujemo v slovenskem vraževerju štiri vrste čarovnic: sosedska čarovnica, vaška čarovnica, vedeževalka, nočna čarovnica (Mencej 39), v angleškem pa so vse te lastnosti združene v eni podobi. Na ta način tudi Shakespearove tri čarovnice združujejo različne lastnosti, ki izvirajo iz srednje evropskega vraževerja. Shakespeare je tako ustvaril sijajno igro, ki zbudi zanimanje vsake generacije.Magic and witchcraft are today only fragmentarily preserved, but in the early modern era they were reality. The population of those times believed in fairies, werewolves, vampires, ghosts etc., but of all the forms of superstition, none was as awe-inspiring and popular as witchcraft. These beliefs are reflected in the literary writings. In England one of the most notable pieces of evidence is Shakespeare’s Macbeth, where the three Weird Sisters combine classical, folkloric, and socio-political elements of early modern England. By examining this famous witch trio through the lens of Slovene superstition it became evident that there existed one original witchcraft superstition. It spread from central Europe amongst other countries also to England and Slovenia, where adequate local interpretations developed. Some similarities between the Slovene and English beliefs are the power of taking shape of animals, the power of prophecy, the power over the weather, the physical characteristics, and the familiars that the witches of the early modern period kept. Here also the influence of the church has to be mentioned, which created the association of the devil with the image of the early modern witch. A significant difference is that in Slovene superstition four kinds of witches are distinguished: a village witch, a neighbourhood witch, a counter witch, and a night witch (Mencej 39), in contrast to English superstition, where all the different characteristics are combined in one image. In this manner, in Shakespeare’s Weird Sisters diverse characteristics originating in central Europe are meld. Shakespeare created a brilliant play that can intrigue and tackle the imagination of every generation and time