The play's the thing wherein my laughter will be caught.

[seajules]

I can't believe I keep forgetting to share this link, but when she learned that I was taking Shakespeare this term, Eliza hooked me up with the youtube version of a show she'd seen in London: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). It's difficult to pick out a favorite bit, though as we're currently wading through Hamlet in the

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[sovay]

which means the Witches could as much be representations of the Norns as the Morrigu, if I can find any substantiation that Will knew about either).

It would be convincing if he had. The three witches even divide neatly along the same lines of past/present/future as Urðr/Verðandi/Skuld, greeting him in chronological turn: "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!"-"All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!"-"All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!" The play is very clear about the meaning of this triple address-at the time when he's hailed by the witches, he believes himself Thane of Glamis, but in fact he has already been appointed Thane of Cawdor and learns as much immediately following his encounter with the "weird sisters"; the prophecy of kingship is the substance of the rest of the plot. On the other hand, you could get the same tripartite division if your model was the Greek Fates. I suppose I just feel like the word "weird" shouldn't be in there for nothing, if in fact it's the word Shakespeare chose.

[edit] I'm sorry, I really do love the supernatural in this play. It's otherwise not one of my favorites, but it's a great world of bindings and hauntings and people making terrible decisions, as people tend to do when interpreting fates for themselves. Seriously, nobody ever thinks adynata through.