The Three Riddles

Comic of the Three Riddles:

http://Pixton.com/ic:vqqxu9oy

Explanation of Each Riddle:
Riddle 1. For my first picture for the riddle, I had the quote, “Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware Macduff; Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough," (IV, I, l. 81-82). I made a comic to explain all of the riddles. In my picture, I had Macbeth and the armoured helmet. The head with the armoured helmet is telling Macbeth who he should keep an eye on. In this picture, I have the helmet saying the riddle, and Macbeth is answering how he feels about it. The riddle is telling Macbeth to be careful of Macduff, the thane of Fife. Macbeth answers saying that he knew that Macduff was a threat to him. In the picture I’m trying to show Macbeth’s worried and nervous face because of Macduff. I thought that this riddle should not be considered a riddle because it is very straightforward. It tells Macbeth that he should be wary of Macduff, and there is no secret meaning behind his words. This riddle is the easiest to understand of the three riddles. I feel that this riddle is very accurate because I know that Macduff will be finding Macbeth to kill him because Macbeth killed anyone that had a relation to Macduff.

Riddle 2. In the next picture, I have Macbeth and the bloody child. The quote in this picture is, “Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scorn The power of man, for none of woman born Shall harm Macbeth,” (IV, I, l.90-92). This quote is harder to understand than the first riddle. The bloody child is telling Macbeth to be a tyrant by being violent, bold, and firm. The bloody child is telling Macbeth to laugh at the power of other men because anyone that is born by a woman will never hurt Macbeth. Everyone is born by a woman though because women are the only ones that can give birth. This makes Macbeth arrogant because he then feels like no one can stop him. The bloody child also makes Macbeth feel like he is superior, so he should laugh at others because no one is as powerful as he is. This builds up Macbeth’s ego, and he feels that he does not need to kill Macduff in order to remain king. This is because Macduff is just another man, and the bloody child says that no one will harm him. In my picture, I have Macbeth with an arrogant expression because he feels like he is above everyone. I am trying to show Macbeth’s self-admiration by his face expression and body language. Although this riddle was harder to understand than the last, it was still pretty straightforward. The bloody child is telling Macbeth how to rule, and how no one born by a woman will hurt him. This riddle is ruining Macbeth’s life because it is telling him how to rule as an execrable king. This is the whole point, but it is ruining Macbeth’s life because no one will want him as king when he is like this.


Riddle 3. This is the last riddle that the witches give Macbeth, and the apparition is of a child with a crown on his head and a tree in his hand. I have a picture of a young boy with a crown and a tree sticking out from his hand. I have Macbeth with an expression that is even more arrogant than the last because this last riddle, “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, l. 103-107). This tells Macbeth that he should be brave like a lion and proud. The child also tells Macbeth that he should not care about what people think of him because he will never be defeated until the trees from the Birnam wood goes to Dunsinane hill to fight Macbeth. The child is telling Macbeth to be proud of himself and to not care about what other people think or say about him. This builds up his ego farther, which is hurting no only himself, but everyone he is ruling. Macbeth then says that the trees will never get up and kill him because trees cannot move. This makes him think that he will never be defeated. This riddle is the hardest to understand of the three. This is because people of today are not very familiar to Shakespearean language, and they may think that by writing the "wood" and "hill," Shakespeare is talking about something else. This riddle is not as direct as the other riddles were. This is a true riddle that the other two were not. Still, it is a pretty simple riddle and easy to understand.