Comments | kellyrfineman: By the pricking of my thumbs -- a Poetry Friday post

kellyrfineman

By the pricking of my thumbs -- a Poetry Friday post

Oct 26, 2007 07:42

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essays, macbeth, poetry friday, shakespeare, poems

Comments 21

trick or treat, indeed! slatts October 26 2007, 14:59:22 UTC

What a stew!

With that collection of ingredients, I think I'll eat at Debbi's today -- the tomato soup looks good!

Re: trick or treat, indeed! kellyrfineman October 26 2007, 15:14:54 UTC

Her soup looks far better than any of the stuff mentioned here sounds!

Re: trick or treat, indeed! slatts October 26 2007, 15:20:05 UTC

I've certainly heard the "chorus" to this poem a million times...and even some of the ingredients....but to read all you posted...a Witches' Brew, for sure!

anonymous October 26 2007, 15:05:10 UTC

It was intereseting to read this again, many years after studying Macbeth in high school--the only part of this that I remember reliably is "eye of newt and toe of frog" (so benign compared to the third witch's bit, which I obviously repressed for good reason)...and I certainly didn't remember live elves and fairies dancing around at the end :)!

Charlotte

kellyrfineman October 26 2007, 15:14:33 UTC

I only remember the "double double toil and trouble" with any certainty. Perhaps even the newt and frog were too much for me? And even though I read it today, and did copious coding to post it, the presence of live elves and fairies didn't register until you said something about them!

TadMack says: anonymous October 26 2007, 15:49:59 UTC

Oh, THIS is so much fun. We did it at grad school -- in costume -- with props -- just because we could, for our Shakespeare course. The undergrads were a little alarmed, I think, because we were having WAY too much fun. Cackling and all.

The liver of the Jewish person thing, though -- that we all had to kind of go, "What!?"

Re: TadMack says: kellyrfineman October 26 2007, 15:52:08 UTC

It has bits of Turks and Tartars as well. And to be fair, they did require a blaspheming Jew, which is to say, one who had sinned. The Turks and Tartars appear to have been presumed bad all on their own!

christy_lenzi October 26 2007, 15:50:38 UTC

Heeeheee! Cackle, cackle.

I've never heard the tidbits about the theater superstitions. Why is it, do you think, that there were so many superstitions among theater folk--could it be they thought there was something magical in acting--"becoming" someone they were not?

kellyrfineman October 26 2007, 15:53:12 UTC

Dunno. Athletes have the same kinds of superstitions, involving hair growth, bathing and the changing of apparel, among other things. I'm not quite sure why, though. Did you watch the video?

christy_lenzi October 26 2007, 17:55:16 UTC

I love the Simpsons! I do recall that episode. :)

anonymous October 26 2007, 15:55:06 UTC

I saw a fabulous performance of "the Scottish play" by the Alabama Shakespeare Festival company several years ago. It surprises me how Shakespeare can scare me out of my wits after so much familiarity and so many years. I think it's because all the real evil, as you say, lies in his humans. The combination of the naked look at human evil with the glorious language of his poetry rivets me every time.

Sara Lewis Holmes

kellyrfineman October 26 2007, 16:00:47 UTC

The witches, horrible as their chant are, are closer to comedic relief in some ways. The real evil is in Macbeth and his Lady. And oh, the wonderful, wonderful quotes that come from this play. Not just "out, out, damn spot" but "'Tis a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" and on and on.