The Wit and Wisdom of Discworld: Wyrd Sisters

The three witches (L-R) Magrat, Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg. Image taken from http://fantasy-faction.com/2013/discovering-discworld. Original drawing by Paul Kidby.

Wyrd sisters is about a trio of witches, Granny Weatherwax, Nanny Ogg and Magrat with the addition of Nanny Ogg’s evil cat Grebbo. The book makes many references to Shakespeare, particularly Macbeth and Hamlet. For example, the book begins with ‘When shall we three meet again?’ Many lines have been influenced by Macbeth whilst the plot is parallel to Hamlet (in which the king is murdered by his cousin.) A complete breakdown of these influences has been written in other blogs by individuals who will know the story better than myself. There has even been a thesis written entitled ‘An Analysis of Terry Pratchett’s Wyrd Sisters’.

I love the witches – they are strong a unique characters who each have their own role in play within their group.

Blurb:

Witches are not by nature gregarious, and they certainly don’t have leaders. Granny Weatherwax was the most high regarded of the leaders they didn’t have. But even she found that meddling in royal politics was a lot more difficult than certain playwrights would have you believe:

Quotes:

– Granny Weatherwax paused with a second scone halfway to her mouth. ‘Something comes,’ she said.

‘Can you tell by the pricking of your thumbs?’ said Magrat earnestly. Magrat had learned a lot about witchcraft from books.

‘The pricking of my ears,; said Granny

– The best you could say for Magrat was that she was decently plain and well-scrubbed and as flat-chested as an ironing board with a couple of peas on it.

– Nanny Ogg was also out early. She hadn’t been able to get any sleep anyway, and besides, she was worried about Greebo. Greebo was one of her few blind spots. While intellectually she would concede that he was indeed a fat, cunning, evil-smelling multiple rapist, she nevertheless instinctively pictured him as the small fluffy kitten he had been decades before. The fact that he had once chased a female wolf up a tree and seriously surprised a she-bear who had been innocently digging for roots didn’t stop her worrying that something bad might happen to him. It was generally considered by everyone else in the kingdom that the one thing that might slow Greebo dow was a direct meteorite strike.

– Vitoller shifted uneasily. ‘I already owe Chrystophrase the Troll more than I should.’

‘He’s the one that has people’s limbs torn off!’ said Tomjon.

‘How much do you owe him?’ said Hwel.

‘An arm a nd a leg.’

– Nanny…leaned towards the empty seat. ‘Walnut?’

‘No, thank you,’ said King Verence [a ghost], waving a spectral hand. ‘They go straight through me, you know.’