Although readers dispute whether or not the Weird Sisters actually know the future, or if they simply manipulate Macbeth into believing that they do and, in this way, coerce him to commit unscrupulous behaviors, it is clear that the witches do have at least some real supernatural ability. After they confront Macbeth and Banquo, and Macbeth commands them, "Speak, I charge you," they do vanish (1.3.81). Certainly, their ability to vanish indicates that they are, truly, witches who are capable of some measure of witchcraft. Further, later, in Act Four, they do conjure (with Hecate's help) some apparitions which do provide some information about Macbeth's future. This information is confusingly worded and designed to make him feel secure, but it does contain some truth: Birnam Wood will come to Dunsinane, Macbeth should beware of Macduff, Banquo's issue will reign in Scotland, and so forth. Then, afterward, the witches vanish; they should move past Lennox to leave, but Lennox never sees them (4.1.154). Therefore, again, the sisters seem capable of some witchcraft.
Does anybody know the etymology of the phrase "sweet dreams"? I tried googling but did not find anything satisfying. Is this a relatively new phrase of the modern world or has this been in use for some time? I think it's the latter one. Answer The OED has the interjection as "a farewell to someone going to bed" from the 20th century: 1908 Sears Roebuck Catal. 198/1 Tenor Solos..Good Bye, Sweet Dreams, Good Bye. But it goes back until at least the 19th and possibly 18th centuries. John Wolcot, writing under the pseudonym of Peter Pindar, used it in his poem "Orson and Ellen; A Legendary Tale" published in 1801: Also from 1801 in The infernal Quixote (Page 287) by Charles Lucas: In the March 1776 of The Universal Magazine was published "The Serenade. A Pastoral Tale. From the German of Gesner" , where the shepherd Daphnis watches over his beloved as she sleeps and sings: The same tale appears in 1776's as Idyl XI, " Daphnis ...
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