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The Crack of Doom is an old term used for the Christian Day of Judgement, referring in particular to the blast of trumpets signalling the end of the world in Chapter 8 of the Book of the Apocalypse. A "crack" had the sense of any loud noise, preserved in the phrase "crack of thunder", and Doom
Doom (painting)

Doom is the medieval English term for a painting in a church that depicts the Last Judgment, an event in Christian Christian eschatology belief....
 was a term for the Last Judgement, as Doomsday
Doomsday

Doomsday may refer to:...
 still is.

The phrase is famously used in the Day of Judgement sense by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 in Macbeth
Macbeth

Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest Shakespearean tragedy and is believed to have been written some time between 1603 and 1606, with 1607 being the very latest possible date....
, where on the heath the Three Witches
Three Witches

The Three Witches are characters in Shakespeare's Macbeth . Their origin lies in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of the British Isles. Other possible sources influencing their creation include British folklore, contemporary treatises on witchcraft, Scandinavian legends of the Norns, Moirae and Parcae myths concerning the Fates, and t...
 show Macbeth
Macbeth (character)

Macbeth is the main character in Shakespeare?s Macbeth . The character was based upon accounts found in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of Britain....
 the line of kings that will issue from Banquo
Banquo

Banquo is a character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play Macbeth. Banquo is at first an ally to Macbeth, his co-captain in the battle against the rebels, and they are together when they meet the Three Witches....
:






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The Crack of Doom is an old term used for the Christian Day of Judgement, referring in particular to the blast of trumpets signalling the end of the world in Chapter 8 of the Book of the Apocalypse. A "crack" had the sense of any loud noise, preserved in the phrase "crack of thunder", and Doom
Doom (painting)

Doom is the medieval English term for a painting in a church that depicts the Last Judgment, an event in Christian Christian eschatology belief....
 was a term for the Last Judgement, as Doomsday
Doomsday

Doomsday may refer to:...
 still is.

The phrase is famously used in the Day of Judgement sense by William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English people poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist....
 in Macbeth
Macbeth

Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest Shakespearean tragedy and is believed to have been written some time between 1603 and 1606, with 1607 being the very latest possible date....
, where on the heath the Three Witches
Three Witches

The Three Witches are characters in Shakespeare's Macbeth . Their origin lies in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of the British Isles. Other possible sources influencing their creation include British folklore, contemporary treatises on witchcraft, Scandinavian legends of the Norns, Moirae and Parcae myths concerning the Fates, and t...
 show Macbeth
Macbeth (character)

Macbeth is the main character in Shakespeare?s Macbeth . The character was based upon accounts found in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of Britain....
 the line of kings that will issue from Banquo
Banquo

Banquo is a character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play Macbeth. Banquo is at first an ally to Macbeth, his co-captain in the battle against the rebels, and they are together when they meet the Three Witches....
:
'Why do you show me this? A fourth! Start, eyes!
What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?
Another yet! A seventh! I'll see no more:'


(Act 4, scene 1, 112–117)- meaning that Banquo's line will endure until the Judgement Day, flattery for King James I
James I of England

James VI and I was List of monarchs of Scotland as James VI, and List of English monarchs and King of Ireland as James I. He ruled in Kingdom of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567, when he was only one year old, succeeding his mother Mary I of Scotland....
, who claimed descent from Banquo.

In J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, Order of the British Empire was an English people English literature, poetry, Philology, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion....
's fantasy
Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of Plot , Theme , and/or Setting . Fantasy is generally distinguished from science fiction and horror by the expectation that it steers clear of technological and macabre themes, respectively, though there is a great deal of overlap between the three ....
 world of Middle-earth
Middle-earth

Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J. R. R. Tolkien take place. These stories include The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings....
, the Professor of Old English plays upon the phrase to provide the literal Crack(s) of Doom, physical cracks — fissures within the great volcano
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
 of Orodruin, also known as Mount Doom.

In the Time Tunnel episode, "The Crack of Doom", Tony and Doug try to convince scientists studying the volcano Krakatoa
Krakatoa

Krakatoa , also spelled Krakatao, is a Island#Oceanic islands in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island , and the volcano as a whole....
, that it is about to erupt cataclysmically.

In the Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Alfred Hitchcock Presents

Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an anthology television series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured both mystery fiction and melodramas....
 episode, "Crack of Doom", a poker player finds himself digging deeper and deeper towards ruin.

See also

The Crack of Doom (1989 Addison-Wesley Software Adventure computer game)