Riddle 3

This riddle is probably the most difficult to decipher out of the three. However, the message is surprisingly simple. The witches tell Macbeth to be proud and not to worry, for he cannot be harmed "until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him" (IV.i.90-94). My first impression is that of confusion since a forest cannot pick itself up and walk over, leading me to think that there is a metaphorical meaning to it. Finally, reading on, I realize that the witches' words are to be taken quite literally. While the actual trees did not suddenly become human, the army disguises themselves as the forest and descends upon Macbeth's castle. Once again, Macbeth fails to understand the witches' implications and he naively believes that he can not be defeated. In my picture, I displayed the scene as it is, where soldiers, camouflaged by the forest, advance towards Macbeth's castle, where he is just starting to realize the witches' deception.