Shakespeare is a superstitious fool
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A thesis statement about superstition should indicate that superstition weakens our view of the character. Remember, in "Huck Finn" Jim is portrayed as superstitious. This trait indicates that Jim is uneducated and sometimes foolish. Jim's greatness comes out when he is not superstitious, when he is just being a man. Here are some examples of thesis statements about some of Shakespeare's foolishness.
We have to give poor old Bill a little room for staying stupid. Remember, Columbus and Spain had invaded the Americas by the time Shakespeare started writing. But Galileo and Francis Bacon were contemporaries of big Bill. I don't know if James Joyce or Faulkner were fans of Einstien but I do know that their art reflects the theory of relativity. Because of the way the world works Shakespeare may not have know about Bacon or Galileo. However and a big However, Shakespeare should have known about the lurking suspiscions. I do not expect Shakespeare to be a scientist but if he is a great thinker he should move thinking forward not backward. This he does not do. The Americas had been invaded. Notions about how the world worked were changing. The scientific method was gaining support. None of this forward thinking mattered to the superstitious fool Shakespeare.
Have you seen a ghost? No because they do not exist. Yet Mr. Macbeth sees a ghost and reacts. Why should we respect anything this person says. When someone calls up a radio station and says that they have seen a ghost we giggle at the persons foolishness. When watching any Shakespeare play with a ghost just try not to laugh out loud there are still some believers out there. Another Shakespeare looney with ghosts is Hamlet.
Do what you will with Mid-Summer Nights Dream. Shakespeare is full of examples of superstitions use them to destroy him. Would you accept a teacher that promotes superstitions?
