ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the power of the malediction—a curse created by the willful holding of air in the body to the point of necessary, explosive, damaging discharge. It focuses on Queen Margaret, William Shakespeare's near master over the curse, which is to say over the elements and their motions. Margaret recognizes that many bodies are unfit, unwilling, or unable to direct the powers of nature to achieve the long-term goal of cursing. The Duke of Suffolk, Queen Margaret's lover, is an apt example. The potential for the curse to damage its host was not lost on Margaret. Although she turns Suffolk away from his rage, she fully exploits her own. As Margaret sees it, Suffolk has indeed become the unfired cannon, the "overcharged gun" or "sun" reflected to an infinitely greater brightness in a mirror, blinding the viewer. Queen Elizabeth joins with the Duchess of York in a discussion of Margaret's prescription.
