The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-14
THE EVIL EYE.
shaISespeare's AIIusfOn to 1t in
Orchard III"
From Notes and Queries.


From Notes and Queries.
There are several passages in Shake
speare's play of Richard III which,
taken in connection with one another. and
taken in connection with an ancient su-
persution rife in the England of Eliza
beth-indeed, still hourishing in many
parts of the continent and even lingering
here and there in our own land yet
seem TO indicate a probability that the
dramatist meant US to understand that
Richard, as conceived by him, possessed
the power Of fascination" through the
evil eye. 1t is true that Shakespeare does
not say this in so many words but the
tact OF the prevalence of the belief in the
evil eye in his day would render it unne-
cessary for him to do more than hint at or
suggest 1t; and far stronger argument
In explanation OF his not making the state
menJ dlrect would be found in the COM
mon persuasion that attaches to so many
folklore superstitiOns, that it is danger
Gus to mention supernatural or uncanny
things by name. We are not obliged 10
assume in consequence of this that Shake
speare himself believed in the evil eve
and for the present purpose it does not
matter whether he did or not; but we do
know, as he knew that most of those who
formed his audiences believed in it, For
his ends the notion would have a striking
dramatic value, and it would also help
to explain the extraordinary way in which
Richard fascinated" first Ann, and then
EuNdDGLQ, Immediately after having
wrought them grevous injury
To turn to the passage in question, in l.
II, 40 (Globe text, Ann Nevil says, with
reference to Gloucester: Mortal eyes
cannot endure the devil The word de
viz here would have in this case, not a
general, but special appropriateness,
since possessors of the evil eye were sup
posed to have acquired that mischievous
organ, with its powers of beWitchment,
through compact with Satan. l. H. rs,
contains the word infection" applied
by Ann to Gloucester term regularly
used OF the evil eye In 1, ii, 80, we find
the phrase "deVilish slave" used to GlOu-
cester by Ann. This, viewed in the light
OF the other passages we are dealing with,
may allude to GIOuceSterS pact with the
devil, whereby he became his agent or
"hells factor to buy souls CIV, iV, To- in
pursuit of which business the evil eye
bestowed on him by Satan would be in
valuable in attracting and fascinating
at Gloucester. 1t is needless to remark
that from the earliest times, in all ages,
ana among all peoples, one of the COM
moneSt anudotes to fascination" (the
eyel, or other evils, was despuere nahum.
In l, H. 149. We have the accusation again
hurled at Gloucester by Ann "Out of my
sight! thou dost infect mine eyes" In I,
Margaret, who, speaking to Gloucester,
says, That deadly eye of thine" In ~,
!, So, the Duchess of York, his mother,
chimes in as a third accuser with the
words addressed TO herself in reproach
for having brought into the world such
a monster as Richard): "a cockatrice
hast thou hatch'd to the world whose
unavoided eye is murderous" The beliefs
about the fatal glance of the cockatrice
are too well known to enter into, and in
themselves outside the scope of this note
but should not be forgotten that this beast
also injected the air around II.