Wikipedia

Wyrd Sisters

This article is about the novel. For the characters from William Shakespeare's Macbeth, see Weird Sisters. For the band, see Wyrd Sisters (band).
Not to be confused with Weird Sisters.

Wyrd Sisters is Terry Pratchett's sixth Discworld novel, published in 1988. It re-introduces Granny Weatherwax of Equal Rites.[1]

Wyrd Sisters
First edition
AuthorTerry Pratchett
Cover artistJosh Kirby
LanguageEnglish
Series
Subject
GenreFantasy
Published10 November 1988 (1988-11-10) Victor Gollancz Ltd
AwardsCame 135th in the Big Read
ISBN0-575-04363-6
Preceded bySourcery 
Followed byPyramids 

Plot

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Wyrd Sisters features three witches: Granny Weatherwax; Nanny Ogg, matriarch of a large tribe of Oggs and owner of the most evil cat in the world; and Magrat Garlick, the junior witch, who firmly believes in occult jewelry, covens, and bubbling cauldrons, much to the annoyance of the other two.

King Verence I of Lancre is murdered by his cousin, Duke Felmet, after his ambitious wife persuades him to do so. The King's crown and child are given by an escaping servant to the three witches. The witches hand the child to a troupe of travelling actors, and hide the crown in the props box. They acknowledge that destiny will eventually take its course and that the child, Tomjon, will grow up to defeat Duke Felmet and take his rightful place as king.

However, the kingdom is angry about the way the new King is mistreating the land and his subjects. The witches realise that it will be at least 15 years until Tomjon is able to return and save the kingdom, but by then irreparable damage will have been done. Granny Weatherwax, with help from the other two witches, manages to cast a spell over the entire kingdom to send it forward in time by 15 years. Meanwhile, the duke has decided to have a play written and performed that portrays him in a favourable light and the witches in a negative light. He thinks this will cause the witches to lose their power, and the people will like him. He sends the court Fool to Ankh-Morpork to recruit the same acting company that Tomjon was given to, which now resides in the Dysk Theatre on the river Ankh.

The company make their way to Lancre, and perform the play for the King as asked. However, Hwel, the playwright, maintains that there is something wrong with the plot of the play, something that just doesn't feel right. The witches cast a spell in the middle of the play that causes the actors to portray the killing of the king truthfully, and the audience sees that the Duke and Duchess are guilty of killing Verence I. Felmet finally succumbs to insanity and stabs several people with a retracting stage dagger, before tripping and falling to his death in the Lancre Gorge. The Duchess is imprisoned but manages to escape, only to be killed by a collection of various forest animals who want revenge for the poor treatment of the land.

Granny Weatherwax explains that Tomjon is the rightful king, and he is due to be crowned. However, Tomjon does not want to be king; he is an extremely talented actor and wishes to continue his career with his adopted father, Vitoller. Instead Granny Weatherwax tells the town that the Fool is in fact the king's son from another mother, and Tomjon's half-brother, and he is crowned King Verence II of Lancre. Later on, Granny and Nanny reveal to Magrat that the previous fool is actually Tomjon's and Verence II's father. The status of Magrat and Verence II, who have been awkwardly courting throughout the story, is not fully explained at the conclusion.[2]

Characters

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  • Esme Weatherwax
  • Nanny Ogg
  • Magrat Garlick
  • King Verence
  • Leonal Felmet and Lady Felmet
  • The Fool
  • Tomjon Vitoller
  • Olwyn Vitoller
  • Hwel
  • DEATH
  • Actor 2

Outside references

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The text makes overt references to the Marx Brothers, The Tramp of Charlie Chaplin, and Laurel and Hardy, as well as the life and works of William Shakespeare. It borrows themes and sayings from Macbeth, including "when shall we three meet again", the "dagger of the mind", "out damned spot", the three witches, and the title of the novel itself; from Hamlet, including the ghost of the dead King and the play within a play; "all the world's a stage" from As You Like It; and Duke Felmet descending into madness in the company of his Fool, derived from King Lear. In addition, the company of actors includes a playwright by the name of "Hwel" or "Will", and, at Tomjon's instigation, the company is building a theatre called The Dysk in Ankh-Morpork, a reference to the Globe Theatre in London. Hwel wants to write plays that are more than just "stabbing and shouting". A speech he wrote merely to cover a scene change resembles the "Band of Brothers" speech from Henry V. Tomjon declaims it in The Mended Drum tavern, quieting a brawl in progress. Tomjon reads some of Hwel's rejected ideas, which echo pantomime dialogue, the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Waiting for Godot.

Adaptations

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Further information: Wyrd Sisters (TV series)
 
A scene from the play Wyrd Sisters performed by the amateur theatre group Thorpe Players in Surrey, UK

There are numerous adaptations, including:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Pratchett, Terry (1988). Wyrd sisters. Gollancz. ISBN 0575043636. OCLC 18070625.
  2. ^ Pratchett, Terry (1988). Wyrd Sisters. Hartourch. ISBN 0061020664.
  3. ^ "Studio Theatre Club". www.studiotheatreclub.com. Archived from the original on 16 June 2006.
  4. ^ Pratchett, Terry (1997). Wyrd sisters : the illustrated screenplay. Corgi. ISBN 9780552145756. OCLC 223333913.
  5. ^ "Terry Pratchett's Wyrd Sisters cast and crew credits". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 9 February 2021.
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Reading order guide
Preceded by 6th Discworld Novel Succeeded by
Preceded by 2nd Witches Story
Published in 1988 		Succeeded by
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