Bonus Episode - Shakespeare/Terry Pratchett Reading

Surprise! I'm here again! Just in time to start your Friday! This bonus episode is a reading of the opening scene of Shakespeare's Macbeth and the opening scene of Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters. I hope you enjoy this short and fun episode. See you again next week. Have a fantastic weekend! First, Macbeth: ACT I SCENE I A desert place. [Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches] First Witch: When shall we three meet again. In thunder, lightning, or in rain? Second Witch: When the hurlyburly's done, When the battle's lost and won. Third Witch: That will be ere the set of sun. First Witch: Where the place? Second Witch: Upon the heath. Third Witch: There to meet with Macbeth. First Witch: I come, graymalkin! Second Witch: Paddock calls. Third Witch: Anon! ALL: Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air. [Exeunt] More here. Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters The wind howled. Lightning stabbed at the earth erratically, like an inefficient assassin. thunder rolled back and forth across the dark, rain-lashed hills. The night was as black as the inside of a cat. It was the kind of night, you could believe, on which gods moved men as though they were pawns on the chessboard of fate. In the middle of this elemental storm a fire gleamed among the dripping furze bushes like the madness in a weasel's eye. It illuminated three hunched figures. As the cauldron bubbled an eldritch voice shrieked: 'When shall we three meet again?' There was a pause. Finally another voice said, in far more ordinary tones: 'Well, I can do next Tuesday.' The book here. Audio book here. Shakespeare's Vocabulary Hurlyburly - an uproar or tumultuous disturbance In this case it means 'when all the drama is over!' Heath - often a high area covered in heather and bogs, sometimes used to describe large park areas, such as Hampstead Heath. I come, graymalkin! - it turns out that 'graymalkin' is used to describe a grey cat, often these days we think of black cats as witches cats in Western culture, but it turns out in the 1600's witches cats were grey! So she's saying 'I'm coming cat!' (extra 'grey' and 'gray' are exactly the same (although 'Gray' is often a surname) apparently 'grey' is more commonly used in the UK for the colour, and 'gray' is more commonly used in America.) Paddock calls. - No wonder I was confused! (I studied Macbeth in school, but I've forgotten everything I think!) 'A paddock' is a small field, but in this case the witch is referring to her animal, a toad, who's name is 'Paddock'. So one witch has a cat and the other has a toad and on stage you would hear both noises (sound effects!) before the actors spoke these lines. Anon - an old fashioned way to say 'goodbye' Terry's Vocabulary Erratically - randomly and without system or plan Inefficient - not very good at what they do Rain-lashed - We sometimes say 'the rain was lashing against the windows' it means the really heavy rain that hits the windows hard. So here it means the hills are kind of being beaten by the rain coming so heavily. Pawn - the least powerful chess piece Pawns are the little ones that stand in front of the King Elemental - showing the strong power of nature, often related to the occult Gleamed - to shimmer and shine like light on gold Furze - a kind of bush Weasel - a small British animal Hunched - to sit with your back rounded, in a crouching way Taken from the British Museum website. Cauldron - a large pot (usually black) used over fire, traditionally related to witches and potions Eldritch - strange and frightening, weird and ghostly Shriek - a loud, high voice, similar to a scream Additional Vocabulary Shakespeare buff - we can use the word 'buff' to describe someone who really likes something and has spent a lot of time studying it and knows a lot about it. (I am definitely a Discworld buff!)