"Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware
Macduff; beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough."(IV.i.71-72)
When Macbeth comes to ask the witches
about his prophecies, the witches tell him that “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware
Macduff; beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough."(IV.i.71-72) The
witches are trying to tell Macbeth to beware Macduff whom may come back to
Scotland and overcome his throne. Since Macbeth knows that he cannot murder
Macduff himself, he murders Macduff’s child and wife instead for his own
feeling of security. When Macduff hears about the news that Macbeth has
murdered his entire family, he strongly desires revenge on Macbeth. As a
result, he allies himself with Malcolm to avenge his family and to take the
throne back from Macbeth. The comic I drew shows two tigers with crowns on
their heads fighting each other for the position of King of Scotland. One tiger
is Macduff, the Thane of Fife, and the other one is Macbeth, King of Scotland.
Macduff is trying to overthrow Macbeth for his power and status. As a result of
the fight, Macduff is on top of Macbeth to illustrate that Macduff overthrows
Macbeth’s position as a king. Macbeth has gone too far to fulfill his ambition
– killing Macduff’s family being an example of that. Therefore, I think Macduff
is someone who will challenge Macbeth’s ruthless actions, made for the sake of
his over-ambition. The riddle, told by the witches, is trying to warn Macbeth
that someone is coming after him and so he should be aware of it and stop it
from going any further.
"Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn The power of
man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth.” (IV.i.79-81)
Instead of giving Macbeth a direct prophecy, the
witches give Macbeth this riddle by saying "Be bloody, bold, and resolute;
laugh to scorn / The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth."
(IV.i.79-81) Macbeth interprets this prophecy as being that no one can threaten
his crown, since everyone is of woman born. This leads him to become more
cold-blooded and ruthless, since no one can threaten him. He believes he can now
do whatever he wants and nobody can do anything about it. However, the reality
is that Macbeth bloody ways make him a tyrant. He eventually puts his crown in jeopardy
due to the fact that after he murders Macduff’s family. Macduff ends up furious
which fuels his aggressiveness against Macbeth and his kingship. I think the
main point of this riddle is to trick Macbeth into exposing his ruthless self.
As a result, he ends up as a tyrant, which gains him more hatred throughout
Scotland. The comic that I drew is a lion with armor and a weapon. The weapon
and armor can defend Macbeth from any harm. Moreover, I draw Macbeth as a lion
because lion symbolizes the king of the animal kingdom; therefore, no other
animal can harm the lion. It is the same with Macbeth’s because he has a lot of
power, hence nobody can harm him.
"Be lion-mettled, proud; and take no care Who chafes, who
frets, or where conspirers are: Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great
Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him." (IV.i.90-94)
The witches tell Macbeth
to “be lion-mettled, proud; and take no care Who chafes, who frets, or where
conspirers are: Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to
high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him." (IV.i.90-94) This riddle is
telling Macbeth to be strong like a lion, and careless about citizens and
nobles around him who conspire against him. He will never be defeated by anyone
until Great Birnam come against him. Although the witches tell him that he will
never be defeated by anyone until Great Birnam come against him, he still feels
relieved since no one can harm him nor take way his crown. Due to his over
self-confidence, he collapses gradually which puts his crown and power in
danger. I think the riddle is attempting to make Macbeth aware that he should
care more about the citizens in Scotland instead of focusing in protecting his
crown. Also he should be cautious and thoughtful for everything he is doing
instead of being proud and careless. Because of his pride, he gets defeated at
the end. I drew two lions in my cartoon. The lion with the “I never vanquished”
caption is Macbeth, and lion with the “Great Birnam Wood to Dunsinane Hill Come”
caption is Macduff, who has to come to defeat Macbeth. In the comic, these
lions are powerful and Great Birnam is approaching Macbeth’s palace to overthrow
him.
