(5) Why Jew??

A great movie by Steven Spielberg..

holocaust during Nazi's era.

Honestly, I’m still struggling to really understand the story of Macbeth, I know the storyline, the synopsis of the Macbeth, but I never go through with the original text. But, Something struck my mind, if I’m not go all out with Macbeth today, when is it?, Tomorrow? I guess no, better fight the battle today rather than say sorry tomorrow.  

In order to avoid me from getting confuse and bored with such outer space language, I go through the chapters that I feel I want to read by referring to SparkNotes no fear Shakespeare. Last night I have read the act 4 scene 1.

I’m very interested with the ingredients of potions by the 3 filthy witches, what attract me is the words “Jew”. I assumed Jew in this chapter refer to a particular race, or in Malay, “yahudi”. If it’s refer to something else, another special terms for something, I guess this whole post is rubbish.

Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,

Witches' mummy, maw and gulf

Of the ravined salt-sea shark,

Root of hemlock digged i' th' dark,

Liver of blaspheming Jew,

Gall of goat and slips of yew

Slivered in the moon’s eclipse,

Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips,

Finger of birth-strangled babe

Ditch-delivered by a drab,

Make the gruel thick and slab.

Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron,

For the ingredients of our cauldron.

I guess it’s nothing, maybe Shakespeare try to make the line rhythmic, Jew with yew or something, but why Jew??..

Liver of blaspheming Jew?.

I wonder whether the people during Shakespeare time against Jew?, just like Hitler during Nazi era?

It must be a reason why is that a particular race is among others filthy ingredient, as we can read from the texts, all of the ingredients is based on dirty thing, so I guess, by placing the words Jew there - if Jew here really meant for particular race- so, Shakespeare portrayed Jew as a filthy thing?

Again, it just my wild thought, maybe it’s nothing..... Maybe it just a super small issues in the whole text of Macbeth.

I don’t know.

Adios....

Che Mohd Nazrin 153914