Thursday, December 6, 2018

Macduff or Macbeth? Come on, people!

Okay, this is just a little bit pathetic. There's an error in the footnotes of Macbeth, which has been around for what, how long? Well, if it was written in 1606, and it's 2018 now...  That's 412 years in which someone could have fixed this error! Now, I know we didn't start putting footnotes until the play was read over by experts long after Shakespeare was dead, but still, there's a huge error in one of the footnotes on the second scene of act one. It says, and I quote from the book itself, "There the king of Norway, along with the thane of Cawdor, met Macbeth (described as the husband of Bellona, the goddess of war). Macbeth, in heavy armor (proof), challenged the enemy and achieved victory." Now, let's break this down. First of all, Macbeth and Macduff were in completely different places while this footnote is taking place. To make things worse, they're both fighting their own battles! Last I checked, Macbeth can't teleport, nor can he fight two battles at once. Already, this footnote doesn't make sense. Secondly, let's take a look at Macbeth vs Macduff's fighting styles. Macbeth is described as being a savage fighter, while Macduff is said to be strong, but fair. That's another weird detail that makes this footnote confusing. I believe this is what confused whoever wrote this footnote - after all, you would expect Bellona's bridegroom to be rather savage, correct? This could have been where they went wrong. Even factoring that in, though, there's still one big detail we can't look over. If Bellona's bridegroom defeated the thane of Cawdor, then why is Macbeth shocked when he's given the title? Shouldn't he already know he defeated the thane of Cawdor, if he had been the one to do it? It's all just so obvious. Change your footnote, people! Come on!

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