Supernatural elements constitute a significant dimension of Shakespeare's plays, contributing to their dramatic power and intrigue: ghosts haunt political spaces and internal psyches; witches foresee the future and disturb the present; and a magus conjures a tempest from the elements. This volume combines the historical contexts of the supernatural in Shakespearean drama with contemporary approaches to performance on stage, screen and in popular culture.


Although written and performed for early modern audiences, for whom the supernatural was still part of the fabric of everyday life, the plays' supernatural elements continue to enthral us and maintain their ability to raise questions of control, agency, and power in contemporary contexts. Through an analysis of five key themes: the supernatural and embodiment; haunted spaces; supernatural utterance and haunted texts; magic, music and gender; and contemporary transformations, this volume provides new insights on the construction of the supernatural through language and how mystical dimensions create challenges of representation and meaning for critics and creators.