Macbeth Letter to Lady Macbeth
My dearest love,
Tis with a swell in my heart that I am able to report to you our victory over the Norweigans. The day of the battle was so foul a day that ever there was; the ground was all mud and mire, yet we Scottish warriors fought like starved lions for our king, and the foreigners were no match for us.
It was on the way back to camp that the strangest of things happened, so odd that I felt compelled to write to you in some haste. I still know not if I dreamt it. I pray thee sit before you read my news.......
Banquo and I were alone on the moor when at once the clouds darkened, and a blanket of blackness surrounded us. It was then that three weird sisters appeared, seemingly from nowhere. Such 'persons' I have never seen afor in my life, so grotesque and foul were they.
The first came forward. She was female, but the most monstrous of women with gnarled fingers and a lump of foul deformity on her back.
She addressed me, "All hail Macbeth, Thane of Cawdor" and vanished into the mist! A second witch stood up. "All hail Macbeth, King of Scotland!" and vanished into the mist. Banquo and I were astounded - what was this they spoke of?! It was sure that they spoke untruths, but both hags spoke with such authority and conviction.
Next, they turned their attentions to Banquo. Hovering like a ghostly apparition, the third sister unveiled herself. When her hood fell back on her shoulders, we both recoiled at her image and the stench. Down one side of her face, her skin was a mass of boils and warts so swollen and infected with a no not what. She could barely speak but then declared that Banquo's own children would be kings!
This made no sense at all, for indeed how could his children be kings if I were to be king?
Suddenly, in a flash of light, the sisters reappeared together but then all three were gone and there was not a soul or sound on the heath.
I would not have believed their nonsense, but for Lennox's news. He arrived at camp this very night and informed me that I had been made.....Thane of Cawdor!!!!!
I know not how or wh, but I am now proud thane of two fiefdoms and these three witches knew it would happen!
Lady Macbeth to Macbeth 1
Intro
My dearest Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, my Scottish warrior,
How merry it made me to hear of your success in battle and of the title so justly bestowed upon you by our noble king. To be thane of one kingdom is great indeed, but thane of two...why I marvel at our good fortune! How this news shalt sting the Lady Macduff's ears!
Version A
Of these weird sisters and their prophecies, I almost dare not write. How can three women be so clever and gifted as to know events in our lives before they have been played out? If it were not for the truth in the visions so far, I would dismiss this as silliness as a prank of sorts by misguided, mischievous women, seeking to spook two weary warriors, and yet.......they spoke the truth in both the first and second assertions, so why would their third be a falsehood? It is not beyond the realms of my imagination that you should rise so high, and indeed that it be fated so.
Version B
I cannot but laugh at the weird sisters' active imaginations! A happy coincidence or clever guesswork I would wager at thee named Thane of Cawdor, for I could have predicted this myself, and I know not magic.
And yet, if the final prophecy were true, imagine this:
How ridiculous would it be if the mighty Thane of Fife, Macduff were to kneel at your little feet?! How dull it would be for you, my love, to sit while skilled artists made impressions of your face to preserve for all eternity? How tiresome you would find it to hunt and feast and bathe your days away while others did your bidding in all matters...
Oh no Macbeth, we are our king's lowly, loyal servants and indeed his Royal Highness (for now at least - I jest!) will dine with us tonight. I have had the castle prepared to the highest standard, so that we may, together, be more hospitable than ever before....
Your loving wife,
Lady Macbeth
K McCallam©
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