Editing Geas (section)

===Parallels in English literature===
Prohibitions and taboos similar to ''{{lang|ga|geasa|italic=no}}'' are also found in more recent [[English literature]], though they are not described as ''{{lang|ga|geasa|italic=no}}'' in those texts.  For example, in [[William Shakespeare]]'s play ''[[Macbeth]]'', the title character believes he is safe because "no man of woman born shall harm Macbeth". However, his nemesis [[Macduff (Macbeth)|Macduff]] was "from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd" (i.e., born by [[Caesarean section]]), and was therefore not "of woman born".

Another example is the Witch-King of Angmar from [[Tolkien's legendarium]], who has a ''{{lang|ga|geas|italic=no}}''-like prophecy described by the [[Elves in Middle-earth|Elven]] hero, [[Glorfindel]]: "Far off yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man shall he fall." The meaning is then quite literal, for the Witch-king eventually falls at the hands of [[Éowyn]] and [[Merry Brandybuck|Meriadoc]], one a shieldmaiden of [[Rohan, Middle-earth|Rohan]], and thus not a man but a woman, and the other a [[hobbit]], and thus not a Man as in species.