Secrets of the Wee Free Men and Discworld (9 page)
Read Secrets of the Wee Free Men and Discworld Online
Authors: Linda Washington
The Play's the Thing
The play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king.
âHamlet,
act 2, scene ii, lines 633-34
act 2, scene ii, lines 633-34
Where There's a Will(iam Shakespeare), There's a Way
When you read Shakespeare, what do you think of besides descriptions like
clever
or
boring
or memories of the fifth-period English teacher or college prof who nauseated you? Depends on the play, right? If you read
Macbeth
(“the Scottish play”âsee the sidebar
here
) or saw it performed, maybe you remember certain lines, especially since many of them are quoted in fantasy books or scripts as disparate as old
Star Trek
(the “classic” series) reruns or
Harry Potter
films. If you read
Hamlet,
or even if you didn't, you can probably recall some of the “to be or not to be” soliloquy, since it's quoted often. And if you read
A Midsummer's Night Dream
or saw the 1999 movie of the same name that starred Christian Bale, Kevin Kline,
Rupert Everett, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sophie Marceau, and Calista Flockhart, well, who knows what you probably thought during that!
clever
or
boring
or memories of the fifth-period English teacher or college prof who nauseated you? Depends on the play, right? If you read
Macbeth
(“the Scottish play”âsee the sidebar
here
) or saw it performed, maybe you remember certain lines, especially since many of them are quoted in fantasy books or scripts as disparate as old
Star Trek
(the “classic” series) reruns or
Harry Potter
films. If you read
Hamlet,
or even if you didn't, you can probably recall some of the “to be or not to be” soliloquy, since it's quoted often. And if you read
A Midsummer's Night Dream
or saw the 1999 movie of the same name that starred Christian Bale, Kevin Kline,
Rupert Everett, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sophie Marceau, and Calista Flockhart, well, who knows what you probably thought during that!
For Pratchett, reading Shakespeare was the catalyst to a Discworld plot or some aspect of Discworld mythology. But not just Shakespeare. There's also Andrew Lloyd Webber (
The Phantom of the Opera
), Richard Wagner (the Ring Cycle), and other composers and authors.
The Phantom of the Opera
), Richard Wagner (the Ring Cycle), and other composers and authors.
DISC-CLAIMER:
Plot spoilers ahead. Read at your own risk.
Just As You Like It: A Big MacMess with a Side Order of Ham(let)
If you read
Wyrd Sisters
and some of the other Lancre witch novels (
Maskerade,
for example), you revisited some aspects of the plot and some of the lines of
Macbeth
. But not just
Macbeth.
There's also a smattering of
As You Like It,
one of Shakespeare's comedies, and
Hamlet
âprobably his most well-known tragedy. You knowâit's the one where Hamlet learns that his mother's new husband, Claudius, killed Hamlet's father. (A therapy session just waiting to happen.)
Wyrd Sisters
and some of the other Lancre witch novels (
Maskerade,
for example), you revisited some aspects of the plot and some of the lines of
Macbeth
. But not just
Macbeth.
There's also a smattering of
As You Like It,
one of Shakespeare's comedies, and
Hamlet
âprobably his most well-known tragedy. You knowâit's the one where Hamlet learns that his mother's new husband, Claudius, killed Hamlet's father. (A therapy session just waiting to happen.)
The plot of
Macbeth,
in short, is this: After three witches (the weird sisters) predict that Macbeth, thane of Glamis and lately of Cawdor, will become king of Scotland (and that his friend Banquo will be the father of kings), the henpecked Macbeth is encouraged by his wife to “screw his courage to the sticking-place”
70
âa line Gaston sang in
Beauty and the Beast
âand murder Duncan (the king, a guest in their castle), thus taking over the throne of Scotland. Lady Macbeth plants the daggers on the king's servants. But
when Macduff, yet another thane, visits and discovers the murder, Macbeth murders the servants.
Macbeth,
in short, is this: After three witches (the weird sisters) predict that Macbeth, thane of Glamis and lately of Cawdor, will become king of Scotland (and that his friend Banquo will be the father of kings), the henpecked Macbeth is encouraged by his wife to “screw his courage to the sticking-place”
70
âa line Gaston sang in
Beauty and the Beast
âand murder Duncan (the king, a guest in their castle), thus taking over the throne of Scotland. Lady Macbeth plants the daggers on the king's servants. But
when Macduff, yet another thane, visits and discovers the murder, Macbeth murders the servants.
The late king's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, flee to England and Ireland respectively and are suspected of the deed. But Macduff suspects Macbeth. During his exile from Scotland, Macduff resolves to bring one of the king's sons back to rule.
Meanwhile back at the ranch, or rather, castle, Macbeth then hires two murderers to off Banquo and his son, Fleance, who escapes. Banquo's ghost makes a guest appearance at Macbeth's home. Macbeth then visits the three witches, and hears a ghost prophesy that none of woman born will harm him. Ha, ha! No one should ever trust that line, as the Witch King in
Return of the King
could tell you. Wait. He can't. Eowyn finished him off, thanks to a similar prophecy.
Return of the King
could tell you. Wait. He can't. Eowyn finished him off, thanks to a similar prophecy.
Back to
Macbeth
: The witches also tell him that he'll be defeated if forces unite at Birnam Wood. Macbeth then sends the murderers to deal with Macduff. But he's not home. Just so the trip isn't a total loss, they murder Macduff's family and servants.
Macbeth
: The witches also tell him that he'll be defeated if forces unite at Birnam Wood. Macbeth then sends the murderers to deal with Macduff. But he's not home. Just so the trip isn't a total loss, they murder Macduff's family and servants.
The guilt over the murder of Duncan and subsequent crimes sends Lady Macbeth over the edge. She later dies, undoubtedly by her own hand.
Malcolm brings forces from England to usurp the throne. During the war, Macduff, who fights on Malcolm's side, kills Macbeth. Before doing so, Macduff smugly announces that he was taken from his mother's womb earlier than normal (possibly by Caesarean). Another prophecy is fulfilled.
In
Wyrd Sisters
(an obvious play on “weird sisters” or the Fates), Duke Felmet and his lady are, of course, the Macbeth and Lady Macbeth of the story. By murdering King Verence, Duke Felmet usurps the throne of Lancre. But Granny Weatherwax, Magrat Garlick, and Nanny Ogg take on the roles of the three witches as well as of Macduff when they rescue the king's son (Tomjon) and try to get his throne back for him.
Wyrd Sisters
(an obvious play on “weird sisters” or the Fates), Duke Felmet and his lady are, of course, the Macbeth and Lady Macbeth of the story. By murdering King Verence, Duke Felmet usurps the throne of Lancre. But Granny Weatherwax, Magrat Garlick, and Nanny Ogg take on the roles of the three witches as well as of Macduff when they rescue the king's son (Tomjon) and try to get his throne back for him.
The duke is a little more insane and the duchess a lot less so than are the couple in Macbeth. And Felmet's wife is much more calculating and vicious, with no moral guilt.
The opening line of
Macbeth,
spoken by the First Witch (“When shall we three meet again?”), appears at the beginning of
Maskerade
and
Wyrd Sisters.
(Well, in
Maskerade,
“we two” appear, instead of three.) The “rule of three” witches that Granny enforces in
Maskerade
harks back to
Macbeth
's three witches as well as to the three archetypes of women: the maiden, the mother, and the crone, and the three Fates in Greek mythologyâClotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Three witches are deemed more powerful together than one.
Macbeth,
spoken by the First Witch (“When shall we three meet again?”), appears at the beginning of
Maskerade
and
Wyrd Sisters.
(Well, in
Maskerade,
“we two” appear, instead of three.) The “rule of three” witches that Granny enforces in
Maskerade
harks back to
Macbeth
's three witches as well as to the three archetypes of women: the maiden, the mother, and the crone, and the three Fates in Greek mythologyâClotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Three witches are deemed more powerful together than one.
Plays written by Hwel (shades of Will?) the dwarf, a friend of Tomjon, are parodied lines from
Macbeth
and
As You Like It.
Macbeth
and
As You Like It.
| PRATCHETT | SHAKESPEARE |
|---|---|
King: Is this a dagger see before me, its handle pointing at my hand?71 | I Macbeth: Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? ( Macbeth, act II, scene i, lines 33-34) |
| All the Disc it is but an Theater, Ane alle men and wymmen are but Players. 72 | All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely play ers. ( As You Like It, act II, scene vii, lines 139-43) |
| The very soil cries out at tyranny. 73 | Macduff: Bleed, bleed, poor country: Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure ( Macbeth, act IV, scene iii, line 38) |
The title of one of Hwel's playsâ
Please Yourself
âis an allusion to
As You Like It
âa romantic comedy concerning love at first sight (Orlando for Rosalind), banishment (Orlando and Rosalind again), cross-dressing (uh, Rosalind), and betrayal (Rosalind again; just kiddingâthis time it's usurping brother Frederick against his brother, Duke Senior). Love wins out, of course.
Please Yourself
âis an allusion to
As You Like It
âa romantic comedy concerning love at first sight (Orlando for Rosalind), banishment (Orlando and Rosalind again), cross-dressing (uh, Rosalind), and betrayal (Rosalind again; just kiddingâthis time it's usurping brother Frederick against his brother, Duke Senior). Love wins out, of course.
The duchess's suggestion to use a play to cause the people of Lancre to hate the witches reminds us of Hamlet's hope that a play will “catch the conscience” of his murderous uncle, Claudius. A more direct allusion to Hamlet comes when Vitoller (theater manager and surrogate father of Tomjon) says, “The pay's the thing” but then switches to “the play's the thing.”
74
74
An earlier allusion to
Hamlet
(possibly) comes when Granny, Nanny, and Magrat attend a play in the hopes of choosing a surrogate family for Verence's son, whom they rescued from a murderous guard. During the play, Granny is appalled by and confused about the scene she seesâa murder and the murderer's speech concerning his sorrow over the murder. Could this be an allusion to Hamlet's murder of Polonius in act III, scene iv of
Hamlet
?
Hamlet
(possibly) comes when Granny, Nanny, and Magrat attend a play in the hopes of choosing a surrogate family for Verence's son, whom they rescued from a murderous guard. During the play, Granny is appalled by and confused about the scene she seesâa murder and the murderer's speech concerning his sorrow over the murder. Could this be an allusion to Hamlet's murder of Polonius in act III, scene iv of
Hamlet
?
Since we're on the subject of foolish behavior, let's move on to fools. Even though there is a Fools and Joculators guild in Ankh-Morpork, Verence's profession as a fool harks back to Touchstone the fool in
As You Like It,
as well as to lines spoken by Jaques, a depressed character. A fool's capering lightens Jaques's mood, as he describes in act II, scene vii. Also, the fact that Verence (or the Fool, as he is known for much of
Wyrd Sisters
) constantly uses the language of the day (“marry,” “prithee”) fits the Shakespearean mode.
As You Like It,
as well as to lines spoken by Jaques, a depressed character. A fool's capering lightens Jaques's mood, as he describes in act II, scene vii. Also, the fact that Verence (or the Fool, as he is known for much of
Wyrd Sisters
) constantly uses the language of the day (“marry,” “prithee”) fits the Shakespearean mode.
A Slumber Party, Lords and Ladies
Next up in the playbill:
Lords and Ladies
(
LL
). While Pratchett's
LL
is not a parody of
A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Shakespeare's tale of erroneous match-ups among lovers, it has some similarities. Verence II, the king of Lancre, and Magrat Garlick are on the eve of their wedding (one that will take place on Midsummer Day), just as Duke Theseus (yes, that Theseusâthe Greek hero) and Hippolyta in
Dream
are. There's even to be a special play that takes place on Midsummer's Eve to commemorate the wedding of Verence and Magrat. And whaddya knowâa play is held at the wedding feast of Theseus and Hippolyta in
Dream.
Unlike “the story of the Queen of the Fairies”
75
that Jason Ogg describes in
LL,
in
Dream
a group of Athenian laborersâQuince the carpenter, Snug the joiner, Bottom the weaver, Starveling the tailor, Snout the tinker, and Flute the bellows-menderâperform the love story of Pyramus and Thisbe, a reference to a story in
Metamorphoses
by Ovid and one that parallels the situation with Lysander and Hermia.
Lords and Ladies
(
LL
). While Pratchett's
LL
is not a parody of
A Midsummer Night's Dream,
Shakespeare's tale of erroneous match-ups among lovers, it has some similarities. Verence II, the king of Lancre, and Magrat Garlick are on the eve of their wedding (one that will take place on Midsummer Day), just as Duke Theseus (yes, that Theseusâthe Greek hero) and Hippolyta in
Dream
are. There's even to be a special play that takes place on Midsummer's Eve to commemorate the wedding of Verence and Magrat. And whaddya knowâa play is held at the wedding feast of Theseus and Hippolyta in
Dream.
Unlike “the story of the Queen of the Fairies”
75
that Jason Ogg describes in
LL,
in
Dream
a group of Athenian laborersâQuince the carpenter, Snug the joiner, Bottom the weaver, Starveling the tailor, Snout the tinker, and Flute the bellows-menderâperform the love story of Pyramus and Thisbe, a reference to a story in
Metamorphoses
by Ovid and one that parallels the situation with Lysander and Hermia.
Of course, we can't help comparing the list of these laborers to the Lancre Morris Men in
LL
. Pratchett mentions Carter the baker, Weaver the thatcher, Baker the weaver, Tailor “the other weaver,” Carpenter the poacher, Thatcher the carter, Tinker the tinker, and Jason Ogg the blacksmith, who call themselves “Rude Mechanicals” (
LL,
page 140)âan allusion to Puck's description of the Athenian laborers in
Dream
: “a crew of patches, rude mechanicals that work for bread upon Athenian stalls.”
76
LL
. Pratchett mentions Carter the baker, Weaver the thatcher, Baker the weaver, Tailor “the other weaver,” Carpenter the poacher, Thatcher the carter, Tinker the tinker, and Jason Ogg the blacksmith, who call themselves “Rude Mechanicals” (
LL,
page 140)âan allusion to Puck's description of the Athenian laborers in
Dream
: “a crew of patches, rude mechanicals that work for bread upon Athenian stalls.”
76
“The fair folk”âthe elves/fairies or “lords and ladies” as Granny
and Nanny call themâalmost ruin “the course of true love” (
Dream,
act I, i, 136) with their antics, just as in
Dream.
In
LL,
the Fairy Queen's desire for a mortal husband (even though she already has an immortal one) mirrors Titania's flirting, as Oberon her King of the Fairies husband, would attest. The Long Man, the husband of the Fairy Queen, has to help set things right, just as Oberon has to do in
Dream.
and Nanny call themâalmost ruin “the course of true love” (
Dream,
act I, i, 136) with their antics, just as in
Dream.
In
LL,
the Fairy Queen's desire for a mortal husband (even though she already has an immortal one) mirrors Titania's flirting, as Oberon her King of the Fairies husband, would attest. The Long Man, the husband of the Fairy Queen, has to help set things right, just as Oberon has to do in
Dream.
Even though he has antlers, the Long Man reminds us of Pan, the Greek god of shepherds and flocks, who had goat horns and hooves. (If you saw
Pan's Labyrinth,
an Oscar-winning film from 2006, directed by Guillermo del Toro, you've seen a portrayal of Pan.) But the name is an allusion to the Long Man of Wilmington, the male figure carved into Windover Hill in Sussex, England. No one knows who carved the figure, which is outlined by painted concrete blocks. It may have been done in the twelfth century.
Pan's Labyrinth,
an Oscar-winning film from 2006, directed by Guillermo del Toro, you've seen a portrayal of Pan.) But the name is an allusion to the Long Man of Wilmington, the male figure carved into Windover Hill in Sussex, England. No one knows who carved the figure, which is outlined by painted concrete blocks. It may have been done in the twelfth century.
And what of the elves? They are mischievous like Puck in
A Midsummer Night's Dream
. But their mischief goes beyond flinging a love potion or giving someone a donkey's head. We've more to say about that in
chapter 12
. They only look like Legolas and the other noble elves of
Lord of the Rings
because of the glamour they cast on unsuspecting humansâthe belief that they are beautiful.
A Midsummer Night's Dream
. But their mischief goes beyond flinging a love potion or giving someone a donkey's head. We've more to say about that in
chapter 12
. They only look like Legolas and the other noble elves of
Lord of the Rings
because of the glamour they cast on unsuspecting humansâthe belief that they are beautiful.
If you're into Brian Froud at all, you know that he illustrated a number of books on fairy creatures (
Giants
;
Faeries
, co-illustrated with Alan Lee;
Good Faeries/Bad Faeries
). Pratchett's elves would fall under the bad faeries category. Pratchett's Fairy Queen, like Titania, is self-centered but less pliable than Titania. Unlike Gloriana, the fairy queen of Edmund Spenser's epic,
The Faerie Queen,
Pratchett's queen is iceberg-cold emotionally, colder than Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen. In
The Wee Free Men,
where we meet her again (first in
Lords and Ladies
), she at least has some maternal instincts, as shown through her kidnapping of children (another allusion to the Snow Queen). But she really doesn't understand children
and thinks nothing of ordering her elves to shoot to kill any humans who get in her way. Can't imagine Galadriel doing that!
Giants
;
Faeries
, co-illustrated with Alan Lee;
Good Faeries/Bad Faeries
). Pratchett's elves would fall under the bad faeries category. Pratchett's Fairy Queen, like Titania, is self-centered but less pliable than Titania. Unlike Gloriana, the fairy queen of Edmund Spenser's epic,
The Faerie Queen,
Pratchett's queen is iceberg-cold emotionally, colder than Hans Christian Andersen's Snow Queen. In
The Wee Free Men,
where we meet her again (first in
Lords and Ladies
), she at least has some maternal instincts, as shown through her kidnapping of children (another allusion to the Snow Queen). But she really doesn't understand children
and thinks nothing of ordering her elves to shoot to kill any humans who get in her way. Can't imagine Galadriel doing that!
Hwel the playwright makes a guest appearance in a footnote at the end of
LL
with the mention of two titles for the same play:
The Taming of the Vole
and
Things That Happened on a Midsummer Night.
We don't have to tell you that these titles are allusions to Shakespeare's
The Taming of the Shrew
and
A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Whoops. Guess we already did.
LL
with the mention of two titles for the same play:
The Taming of the Vole
and
Things That Happened on a Midsummer Night.
We don't have to tell you that these titles are allusions to Shakespeare's
The Taming of the Shrew
and
A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Whoops. Guess we already did.
This is a great opportunity to take a ten-minute intermission. We expect you back in your seats when the lights flash.
I
n some theatrical circles, actors perform “the Scottish play,” rather than Macbeth. This is all due to the Macbeth superstitionâthe fear that performing the play will cause horrible things to happen to the actors or others on the set. In particular, those who even say the name of the play or use the words of the witches' chant (act IV, scene I) could have an accident or die.
n some theatrical circles, actors perform “the Scottish play,” rather than Macbeth. This is all due to the Macbeth superstitionâthe fear that performing the play will cause horrible things to happen to the actors or others on the set. In particular, those who even say the name of the play or use the words of the witches' chant (act IV, scene I) could have an accident or die.
Rumors of terrible things that happened to theatrical companies caused this superstition to flourish. So, how did this superstition begin?
Many companies on the wane would perform Macbeth at the end of their season, hoping to stay in business, knowing that the crowds loved the play. But even the ticket sales for Macbeth couldn't keep them afloat. So they closed, thus inspiring the fear that performing Macbeth would cause terrible things to happen.
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