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The article examines the dissociation of ravens from witchcraft and witches during the time of poet and playwright William Shakespeare, such as the raven's feather of the Sycorax in "The Tempest." Topics discussed include the magic power of the raven's feather in popular imagination, small and domestic animals as devilish companions and not ravens, crows as witchcraft-related black birds rather than ravens, and ravens as ominous harbinger of death rather than instrument of witchcraft.

As early as the fifteenth century, and since the publication of the Malleus maleficarum, in 1482, the fundamentally feminine character of witchcraft was emphasized by the Inquisition. No further argument was tolerated: women are predisposed to occult powers, and, being essentially evil, they have to be domesticated, civilized, and controlled if they are to conform to social norms. In this respect, the figure of the witch is eminently symbolic: witches are countercultural because they reject the rules, and they are against nature because they contravene the natural order of the world; thus, they are at the margins of dualistic thought, and create a path and a voice of emancipation. This article focuses on figures of contemporary witches in works by French-speaking authors who reflect on the differences between women and men; writers such as Nancy Huston, Maryse Condé, Anne Hébert, and S. Corinna Bille, who refuse a dualistic and autotelic approach, and force us to rethink the way we see witches. When contemporary feminist writers turn their attention to witches, they succeed in blurring gender boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores possible literary origins for the motif of the walking forest in the play "Macbeth," by William Shakespeare. The author reflects on the elements of ancient Celtic culture in Shakespeare's work. Emphasis is given to the scholarship of authors Christian-J. Guyonvarc'h and Pierre Le Roux on topics such as witches as druids and the appropriation of mythology.

This article examines the character of the fowle Witch Sycorax in the play "The Tempest," written by William Shakespeare. It presents a description of Sycorax, speculations on the derivation for Sycorax's name, the significance of the term "hoop" as referring to age and posture, and emphasis on the hoopish cyclical elements of the play.

De lamiis et pythonicis mulieribus, ‘On Witches and Female Soothsayers’, is a witchcraft treatise written in 1489 by Ulrich Molitor. In a dialogue of ten chapters, Molitor, his patron Sigismund, Archduke of Austria, and Conrad Schatz, chief magistrate of Constance discuss the powers of witches, ultimately concluding that they are generally products of demonic illusion. De lamiis was the first illustrated treatise on witchcraft, but its images do not always correspond with the dialogue’s content because they drew on contemporary visual sources and acquired independence. Thus, Molitor’s woodcuts also shed light on the developing witch stereotypes in both word and image. Remarkably, forty-three editions of De lamiis were printed in the period 1489–1669—more editions than the extensively-studied Malleus Maleficarum. After 1460, all but two editions of the Malleus were published in anthologies containing De lamiis. This raises questions about the significance of the Malleus and other demonological treatises in witchcraft history, and allows us to explore the ways in which witchcraft treatises were read and understood. This article presents the first comprehensive study of De lamiis’s printed history. Although historians tend to interpret demonological treatises as fixed representations of learned attitudes to witchcraft, De lamiis shows that no work was immutable. The forty-two editions of De lamiis reveal a constantly changing set of ideas and images, both reflecting and influencing witchcraft beliefs. This holistic approach allows us to study the demonological treatise in a new light. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Points out allusions to Seneca's `Medea' in William Shakespeare's portrayal of Lady Macbeth in the play `Macbeth.' Recapitulation of Medea's revenge on Jason for taking a second wife; Paralellism with Lady Macbeth's reference to wanton destruction of children.

The article discusses critiques of the novel "Ethan Frome," by Edith Wharton. It highlights the essay "The Morality of Inertia," by Lionel Trilling, which explains why such an immoral novel could not be lectured in a boy's school. It also explores the negative interpretation by Elizabeth Ammons of the novel, particularly its character named Zenobia Frome who is regarded as a witch.

The article discusses a curse associated with the play "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, based on the play's characters of the three witches. The author presents information on the common superstitious belief that productions of "Macbeth" are unlucky and that quotations from the play outside of performances bring a curse upon the individual. Superstitious associations with the play's musical scores, including one by composer Richard Leveridge, are discussed, as well as the theatrical superstitions of 19th-century actress Sarah Bernhardt.