Macbeth Act 4 - Riddles and Images!

Riddle # 1

Please click on the image to see a larger version.

Image sources: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk8jzlKT6lggKdqHwyirq_Y4c3wRxx4ZcdhobF7fnBD1ZAgzf28Y31cjNNns61AhDrYSTmTb57jIiOMqkk8GmnLMjB0XNdxAkix3fg-dcC5V7EHpaK7hiJPp2JBk2XYOH7IKTcMTwX31E/s400/macbeth3.jpg and http://image.toutlecine.com/photos/m/a/c/macbeth-1948-08-g.jpg

For this riddle, what I've shown is the three witches telling Macbeth their latest prophecy: that he should "beware Macduff." Because the witches have always come to tell him something very quickly and then disappeared right away, the comic shows how Macbeth feels lost and wants to know more. Why won't the witches give him a better explanation? What is coming next? He knows that what the witches have told him in the past has been true, so maybe they can see his future and are only giving him a small hint. In my comic, Macbeth would rather see the witches stay a little longer to tell him all they know, so he can figure out his next steps. Of course he wants to know what Macduff has to do with his future, and how he can change his own destiny! Macbeth wants to try to maintain control of his spiraling life, but we can all guess that Macduff will have something to do with Macbeth's downfall.

Riddle # 2

Image sources: http://www.doctormacro.com/Images/Welles,%20Orson/Annex/Annex%20-%20Welles,%20Orson%20(Macbeth)_01.jpg, http://folgereducation.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/welles-11.jpg, and http://www.hollowaypages.com/images/macbeth1.JPG

For the second riddle, I wanted to show how confident Macbeth is in himself. When he remembers what the witches have told him, saying that no man born of woman shall harm Macbeth, he thinks about it for a minute. He comes to the conclusion that he must therefore be invincible, since all men are born to women. Of course, what he doesn't know at this point is that Macduff was not born 'naturally', but through a caesarian section, which is brought to light in the last act of the play: “Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripp’d” (Act V, Scene 8, lines 16-17). This comic shows how Macbeth is so caught up in himself, thinking that he is untouchable, and believes his own interpretations of what the witches tell him. He sets his mind at ease when really, he should be pretty worried by now!

Riddle # 3

Image sources: http://poems-dialogues.blogspot.ca/2012/10/macbeth-act-iv-scene-i-round-about.html and  http://www.longoverdue.co.uk/Macbeth-Soldiers.jpg

In the third riddle, the witches are saying that the only way to get rid of Macbeth is when the forest approaches the hills, which could be never in anyone’s lifetime. In my own interpretation, it appears like there is no hope for the soldiers, shown above while trying to think of other ways to go about their duty to vanquish Macbeth. They wonder if they really must go ahead with it, because they will probably fail anyway, based on what the witches have said. We, as readers, know that it is Macduff who defeats Macbeth in the end but it is everyone’s own take on the meaning of the witches’ words that makes the story unique to the reader. I tried to make it funny by showing all of the different excuses and questions that the soldiers might have to try to get out of the task of getting rid of Macbeth.