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Eunice Cho
Walker (3)
English III
28 October 2010
You’re Very Superstitious and You Should’ve Said No
Although people in 21st century do not speak Shakespeare’s language, common
themes from his plays can be depicted in many modern day song lyrics. For example, in
his popular tragedy, Macbeth, the songs “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder and “Should’ve
Said No” by Taylor Swift incorporate Macbeth’s inner struggles with superstition, which
occurred throughout the play. The themes of greed, evil, and witchcraft can not only be
found in Macbeth, but are also present in modern day songs.
The song “Superstition” starts with the words, “Very superstitious, writing’s on
the wall” (Wonder). When something is written on a wall, it means that it will happen
and that it cannot be changed or erased, which ties with the three witches, who foretell
Macbeth’s future. They use witchcraft and foretell that Macbeth will become Thane of
Cawdor then King of Scotland. He believes in the supernatural powers of the witches,
which introduces the next line of the song, “Very superstitious, ladder’s bout’ to fall”
(Wonder). After the first prophecy came true, Macbeth grows even more superstitious,
which ultimately leads to his fall. The ladder that he climbs is one to the throne, which
eventually collapses with his own death. Macduff is the only person who is able to kill
Macbeth because he was “for none of woman born” (136). This idea of an unordinary
baby connects back to the song, “Thirteen month old baby, broke the lookin’ glass”
(Wonder). The baby that breaks the glass is Macduff. Since he was taken from his
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mother, he was not technically born to a woman. Macbeth had bad luck because believed
he was safe from Macduff, when he actually was not. When the lyrics say “broke the
lookin’ glass”, it means that Macduff ended Macbeth’s indestructible power. When the
Romans first created glass, they believed that this glass reflected who you were; a broken
mirror meant a broken soul. Though Macbeth thought that he was invincible and had a
perfect glass, the unordinary baby, Macduff, broke both.
Another downfall that Macbeth experiences is his fall from innocence. In the
lyrics of “Should’ve Said No,” the last line of the first verse writes, “It was a moment of
weakness and you said yes” (Swift). Macbeth’s moments of weakness were believing in
the witches’ prophecies, and listening to his wife’s persuasions to kill Duncan. After he
murders Duncan, Macbeth feels guilty and paranoid. He says, “I’ll go no more: I am
afraid to think what I have done’ Look on’t again I dare not” (58). Because Macbeth fell
from innocence, he and Banquo became detached from each other. The beginning of
“Should’ve Said No” starts with happy memories, explaining “smiles, flowers, and
everything” (Swift). This is like the easy and good friendship that Banquo and Macbeth
shared. However, this friendship changes when Macbeth discovers the three witches. This
corresponds back to the song which says, “I found out about you” (Swift). The change in
their relationship is apparent and can be seen in the next line, “Even now just looking at
you: feels wrong” (Swift). Macbeth feels threatened by Banquo because he is aware of
Macbeth’s heinous actions. Macbeth says, “Which in his death were perfect” (92). He
would not feel wrong around Banquo or feel threatened by him if he were dead; Macbeth
therefore has him killed.
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The chorus of “Superstition” links to Macbeth’s guilt after the murders he had
committed. The very first line of the chorus, “wash your face and hands, rid me of the
problem.” (Wonder), shows Macbeth’s first feeling of guilt. After he kills Duncan, he
says, “(looking at his hands) This is a sorry sight.” (56) He also says, “Will all great
Neptune’s ocean wash this blood Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather The
multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red” (60). Macbeth feels that he
cannot wash the guilt off his hands as easily as he can wash blood off his hands. He then
wishes, “Keep me in a daydream” (Wonder). Macbeth wants to be free of the guilt and
nightmares he has. He also says, “To know my deed ‘twere best not know myself” (60).
Macbeth is aware of what he has done and says these things as a result of his guilt, and
also as a result of the evilness that corrupted him.
Macbeth’s guilt grew even stronger after he killed Banquo; he even started
seeing Banquo’s ghost. Lady Macbeth reassures Macbeth and says, “O proper stuff! This
is the very painting of your fear” (112). When Macbeth had first feared Banquo, he killed
him. However, his ghost comes back, showing that Banquo can not be simply erased.
Shakespeare creates this ghost to remind Macbeth of his guilt and show the path that he
did not take. Banquo, unlike Macbeth, remained loyal to King Duncan, and did not allow
the witches’ prophecies to disturb his rectitude. This contrast, in their responses to the
witches, connects to the chorus of “Should’ve Said No.” The chorus is written in a way
that shows what Banquo would have said to Macbeth at his dinner party. It says, “You
should’ve said no, you should’ve gone home. You Should’ve thought twice before you
let it all go. You should’ve known that word, ‘bout what you did with her would get back
to me…You should’ve said no and you might still have me.. It was a moment of
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weakness and you said yes” (Swift). Banquo would be telling Macbeth that he should
have never listened to the witches’ predictions. He also would be saying that Macbeth
should have known that what he plotted with Lady Macbeth would not only kill Banquo,
but also would kill himself. He therefore should have thought twice before he let his
friends and life go; otherwise he would still have Banquo as his friend. However, because
he listened to the witches’ prophecies, he lost everything. More warnings that Banquo
would have said to Macbeth are in the song “Superstition”. He would have warned
Macbeth, “When you believe in things that you don’t understand, then you suffer,
superstition ain’t the way” (Wonder). Macbeth did not understand the witches’
prophecies and believed that he would be invincible to Macduff. However, because he
was superstitious, he suffered death. This all happened because of his inner struggle with
greed. He was desperate for power and he did anything to meet that goal.
The last things Banquo would have asked Macbeth is, “tell me this, was it
worth it?” (Swift). Banquo would want to know whether or not being superstitious and
murdering everyone was worth becoming king. This question is answered when Macbeth
is punished for all the bad deeds he had committed. Also, both songs answer this question
by ending the song with “no, no, no” (Wonder, Swift). Each “no” represents the three
motifs of Macbeth- greed, evil, and witchcraft. None of these were worth becoming king
and all were the result of Macbeth’s death.
Many of the motifs of Macbeth, greed, evil, and witchcraft can be depicted in
modern day song lyrics. In particular, “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder and “Should’ve
Said No” by Taylor Swift contain numerous amounts of connections to the themes of this
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popular tragedy. It is as if both artists read this play before they wrote the songs and were
inspired to sing about the common themes of Macbeth.
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Works Cited
Swift, Taylor. Should’ve Said No. 2008. Wikipedia. Web. 28 Oct. 2010.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Should%27ve_Said_No>.
Wonder, Stevie. Superstition. 1972. Wikipedia. Web. 28 Oct. 2010.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition_(song)>.
Crowther, John, ed. “No Fear Macbeth.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2005. Web.
28 Oct. 2010.