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11 December, 2018
Curses in Shakespeare
Over the semester the course has covered Othello, Macbeth, Richard III, King Lear, and
Hamlet. In all of these plays, there has been a leading factor of a curse that drives the plot of the
play forward. However, despite these tragedies all sharing a curse as a similar encounter and
driving force of the play, the curses function differently between the different plays. In
Shakespeare’s plays Richard III and Othello the curses function quite differently. The curse in
Richard III is seen as a supernatural curse and the curse in Othello
Curses are an important aspect of Shakespearean plays. A curse is often presented in a
Shakespearean tragedy and is a critical piece of what makes a tragedy a tragedy. According to
Skwire’s analyzation of curses in Shakespeare, “It is in keeping with early modern
preoccupations to see curses used as they are here. And Shakespeare’s plays are filled with
moments where the weak use the power of language to seek justice from the strong.”...
“Shakespeare’s plays embody several contradictory views of curses and swearing: some are
efficacious, such as the curses in Richard III, and others are profane and insulting” . . .
“Shakespeare thus dramatizes the question [of] whether curses are efficacious. Shakespeare has
turned [drama] into a tool of justice capable of drawing out hidden motives, enforcing the
genuine curse of divine judgment where human curses fail” (Skwire 4). Shakespeare uses curses
to tell what will happen in the play as a direct foreshadowing within the play. However, the way
that curses can be used can widely differentiate between the different plays.
The curse in Richard III is the driving factor that leads to Richard III and other
characters’ downfall in the play. Richard III ends with Richard having an unfortunate end.
Richard is driven to madness as the curse of Queen Margaret comes to fruition. Margaret’s curse
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outlines many of the ending events of the play and the downfall of many of the characters.
According to Skwire “the subversion of the curse is a highly dramatic and linguistically rich
moment in a play that has been marked, from its unique beginning,1 as a play with a strong
interest in dramatic reversals and verbal games” (Skwire 1). Shakespeare places Margaret in a
position where her curse is heard by all of the characters that it will effect.
Margaret’s curse is a sign of power for a woman who would not have remaining power.
Margaret has lost her title of Queen due to war and now she is in a position. Richard calls
Margaret “Have done thy charm, thou hateful, withered hag” (1.3.225). Richard calling a woman
who use to be a queen a hag shows how much power she had lost. However, despite losing her
power, Margaret “manages to exercise power and resistance in opposition to Richard through
the powerful curse she directs at Richard and others, which does, in fact, take effect and control
the movement of the play towards not only the mental and physical destruction of Richard”
(Ramin 60). Margaret’s curse is used to anoint power over those she had cursed. The curse still
serves as a method to drive the play forward as Margaret reveals the method in which each of the
characters will downfall, similar to the curse in Macbeth.
Margaret’s curse is used as both a hateful spell and a warning prophecy to those she
curses. Margaret curse tells that King Edward IV will time, Queen Elizabeth will outlive her
children and see another woman crowned queen, a warning to Buckingham not to be involved
with Richard, Rivers, Dorset, and Hastings will die early, and Richard will be betrayed by his
allies and have sleepless nights. Margaret’s curse states that “Long mayst thou live to wail thy
children’s death / And see another, as I see thee now,” (1.3.214-215). This part of the curse refers
to Queen Elizabeth and the death of her children. Queen Elizabeth is doomed to outlive her
children and see another woman crowned queen once her husband is dead. Margaret cursed
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Queen Elizabeth out of anger and spite while Margaret’s curse towards Buckingham was a
warning.
Margaret’s curse towards Buckingham is a warning and not an evil spell. Margaret begins
with “Thy garments are not spotted with our blood, / Nor thou within the compass of my curse”
(1.3.301-302). These lines reveal that Margaret is not cursing Buckingham because he was not
involved with the death of her family. Unlike her curse among the others, Margaret does not
curse Buckingham in anger but rather she is warning him of what will come and hopes that he
will not be cursed. Margaret continues to say “O Buckingham, take heed of yonder dog! / Look
when he fawns, he bites; and when he bites, / His venom tooth will rankle to the death. / Have
not to do with him. Beware of him. / Sin, death, and hell have set their marks on him, / And all
their ministers attend on him (1.3.307-312). Margaret warns Buckingham that if he continues to
follow Richard then Buckingham will be betrayed and fall with Richard. Margaret is trying to
warn Buckingham instead of letting him suffer like the other involved in the curse because to
him, the curse is to serve as a warning, not an absolute future event. Buckingham has a chance to
change the outcome of the events towards himself, unlike Richard, Queen Elizabeth, Rivers,
Dorset, and Hastings.
Margaret curse acts as an evil spell, a warning, and as a way to make Richard fall.
Margaret ensures that Rivers, Dorset, and Hastings will be betrayed and die. Margaret states
“Thy friends suspect for traitors while thou liv’st, And take deep traitors for thy dearest friends”
(1.3.234-235). While this curse is directed towards Richard it does make Richard suspicious of
his friends, Rivers, Dorset, and Hastings in which he then betrays them. Richard becomes
suspicious of his friends as Margaret’s curse begins to unfold and because of this suspicion,
Richard has his friends executed. This suspicion of his allies turns those he trusted against him
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and at the end of the play, those he had betrayed help his enemy defeat Richard. The fear of
betrayal leads Richard to make decisions that were not in his best interest. The curse was a
notable reason for Richard’s fall for both the supernatural elements around the accuracy of the
curse and the self-fulfilling elements of the prophecy that Richard completed due to his suspicion
and fear.
Similar to Richard III, Shakespeare’s play Othello has a curse but the curse in Othello
works rather differently than the curse in Richard III. The curse in Othello surrounds a
handkerchief that Othello gives Desdemona. The handkerchief becomes a symbol of betrayal
through the text. Othello gives Desdemona a handkerchief as a wedding gift. The handkerchief
was said to be his mother’s and very powerful. In Othello, it is stated that if the handkerchief is
lost “to lose ’t or give ’t away were such perdition / As nothing else could match” (3.4.78-79).
This section explains that the handkerchief holds a curse that if it is lost the marriage will not
prevail. This curse is both similar and different to the curse in Richard III. Both curses are used
as a method to drive the plot of the plays forward. In Othello, Iago has Emilia take the
handkerchief from Desdemona once she drops it. Emilia then gives Iago the handkerchief. Iago
plants the handkerchief in the room of Roderigo. Iago then leads Othello to believe that
Desdemona is cheating on him. Othello believes Iago after being given proof of the affair by
hearing that Roderigo has the handkerchief.
Othello does try to confront Desdemona but asks her to present the handkerchief. When
Desdemona is asked about the handkerchief she does not tell Othello that she has lost it but
instead becomes defensive about the handkerchief. Othello reminds Desdemona of the curse
upon the handkerchief. Othello states that the handkerchief “‘Twould make her amiable, and
subdue my father / Entirely to her love; but if she lost it, / Or make gift of it, my father’s eye /
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Should hold her loathed, and his spirits should hunt / After new fancies” (3.4.56-60). The
prophecy that Othello reveals here is that if the handkerchief is lost or given away then the
marriage will fail but if Desdemona does not lose the handkerchief then she and Othello will
have a happy marriage. As is seen in Othello, Desdemona does lose the handkerchief. Othello
then believes that she is being unfaithful. The curse of the handkerchief states that if the
handkerchief is lost then someone in the relationship would then be unfaithful. Othello believes
that Desdemona is unfaithful which leads to Othello killing Desdemona, as well as a number of
others.
The handkerchief is not supernatural in itself. The handkerchief is just that, a
handkerchief. It is the actions of Othello lead by the words of Iago that lead to the demise of the
characters in the play. The Handkerchief is often seen as a symbol for Desdemona and her
virginity rather than a cursed item. Scholars often analyze the handkerchief to mean something
similar to the following analyzation; “‘spotted’” handkerchief “is potent as visible proof of
Desdemona’s adultery largely because it subconsciously evokes for Othello the blood-stained
sheets of the wedding-bed and his wife’s loss of virginity” (Smith 1). The handkerchief is often
not seen to be the supernatural downfall of the characters but is rather used as a plot device,
similar to the curse in Richard III, to foreshadow the ending of the play and drive the plot
forward. However, the curse in Othello still comes true despite the elements of the curse coming
true because of suspicion and not by supernatural elements like the curse in Richard III.
The curse in Othello and Richard III are very different type of curses. While the curse in
Richard III is supernatural, the curse in Othello shows less supernatural elements and more
human intervention. The curse in Richard III calls for unnatural elements to occur that wouldn’t
be possible unless the curse was supernatural. The specific part of the curse that is fulfilled
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through supernatural elements is when Richman is attacking Richard’s forces, Richman is lead
by the spirit of those that Richard had killed. It was prophesied that Richard would “Thy friends
suspect for traitors while thou liv’st, / And take deep traitors for thy dearest friends (1.3.234235). Richard would be betrayed by those he considered friends and while he is not betrayed in
the life of his friends, his friends betray him in death by helping Richman defeat Richard. The act
of ghost coming back to help the enemy of the one who killed them is definitely supernatural
while the curse in Othello is not. Othello is suspicious of Desdemona until Iago makes him
suspicious. The curse in Othello is brought on by the actions of the characters while the curse in
Richard III is brought on by the words of Margaret with the actions to follow.
In conclusion, the curses in Othello and Richard III share similarities and differences.
The two curses are similar because they drive the plot forward and they foreshadow the ending
of the play to the audience. This technique was a literary stylistic choice of the time and often
appear in Shakespearean tragedies. The main difference between Othello and Richard III is that
the curse in Othello is brought on by the actions of the characters while the curse in Richard III
is brought on by the words of Queen Margaret.
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Work Cited:
Ramin, Zohreh. “Shakespeare’s Richard III and Macbeth: A Foucauldian Reading.” K@ta, vol.
15, no. 2, Dec. 2013, pp. 57–65. EBSCOhost.
Shakespeare, William Othello Ed. Greenblatt, Stephen, et al. The Norton Shakespeare.
3rd ed., W.W. Norton, 2015.
Shakespeare, William Tragedy of King Richard III. Ed. Greenblatt, Stephen, et al. The
Norton Shakespeare. 3rd ed., W.W. Norton, 2015.
Skwire Sarah. “Curse, Interrupted: Richard III, Jacob and Esau, and the Elizabethan Succession
Crisis.” Religions, Vol 9, Iss 11, p 331 (2018), no. 11, 2018, p. 331. EBSCOhost.
Smith, Ian. “Othello’s Black Handkerchief.” Shakespeare Quarterly, vol. 64, no. 1, 2013, pp. 1–
25. EBSCOhost.