Was the Witch-King based on Macbeth?

[Gurthang]

A bit of rambling about that line...

Being still in High School, I am forced to study those works that are considered by most to be "classics". Fortunately, we are in the middle of MacBeth, so maybe I can offer some insight.

It is the three witches who say, "Fair is foul, and foul is fair". They were reffering to their own evilness. They stated that everything that was truly fair, they thought was foul. And anything that was really foul, they enjoyed.

Since this case goes to the bad side of the line's possible interpretations, I doubt Tolkien used this to describe Aragorn.


As far as the witch king is concerned, he was boasting about his own strength. MacBeth, on the other hand, was counting on the witches prophecies. They had told him something to the effect of "no man born of woman shall harm thee". In the end it turns out to be a riddle (or so my teacher says,... haven't got that far myself yet.), but he was assuming that no man could kill him. So the similarities are there, but I don't think its enough to say Shakespeare influenced Tolkien.

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by Gurthang

As far as the witch king is concerned, he was boasting about his own strength. MacBeth, on the other hand, was counting on the witches prophecies.

Actually, there was a prophecy concerning the Witch-King's fate. Following the defeat of the forces of Angmar, Glorfindel holds back Earnur from pursuing the Witch-king, saying:

Do not pursue him! He will not return to this land. Far of yet is his doom, and not by the hand of man will he fall. (Appendix A)

Whether the Witch-King was aware of this prophecy, or whether he was just boasting of his invincibility, is not clear.

[Encaitare]

Thanks for explaining that, Gurthang.

[Gurthang]

Ah, very true Saucepan Man. I hadn't remembered that prophecy. Thank you for pointing that out.

By the way, that's another similarity: the prophecy about the witch-king's death and the one about MacBeth's death.