What is Civitas? 

Civitas is a robust, real-time analytics dashboard that allows users the ability to make sense of student data coming from Banner and D2L. Predictors and filters can be used to review data and develop insights into student success and help identify appropriate engagement opportunities and timing.

Using the information, departments, . . .  read more

Lady Macbeth can be seen as a strong female character in Macbeth, in fact she’s one of the strongest female characters in all of Shakespeare’s plays. Her influence in Macbeth’s bloody plan to become king can make some people think that she’s a feminist character. Although she’s proved to be stronger than Macbeth in some scenes, I believe . . .  read more

According to the English Oxford Dictionary an optical illusion is: “something that deceives the eye by appearing to be other than it is”. The image I used as an example seems to be a painting of a mans head, however this is an illusion. The painting is not just a mans head. The big picture is a man and women on a prairie with two houses behind them. The women’s hat is the ear, the man is the nose, while the eyes are two houses in the background. Not everyone sees the head first like I did, some may see the man and women, but the point is people see what they want to see first. Big pictures can be hard to recognize when the brain is being tricked. This very much reminds me of Macbeth in Shakespeare’s famous play, The Tragedy of Macbeth. The true tragedy, in my opinion, is that, like this optical illusion, Macbeth was tricked into showing his true colors and he was not who he thought he was.

The illusion was guided by three witches, and the first encounter was simple. They approach Macbeth with confidence saying: “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!” Macbeth was not thane only thane of Glamis. Then the third witch says: “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!” Macbeth and Banquo, who was with Macbeth, had so many questions, but the three witches vanished. Moments later messengers from the king arrived with this message:

And, for an earnest of a greater honor,

He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor:

In which addition, hail, most worthy thane,

For it is thine.

This instantly proved that the three witches were telling the truth, and somehow they could predict
the future. Macbeth is left with so many questions and has another encounter with the witches to get
more information. But first the witches mistress becomes angry at the three witches for helping Macbeth because he has shown to be such an evil person and devises a plan to trick Macbeth:

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Shakespeare frequently uses nature imagery, and Macbeth, especially, is full of animal symbolism. Nature, in general, plays a significant role in the play. Each time the witches appear, they are accompanied by lightning and thunder. When Macbeth decides to murder Duncan, the human world is thrown into disorder. The natural world follows suit and strange events begin to occur. The weather becomes stormy and animals wild,

“Duncan’s horses (a thing most strange and certain), 

Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, 

Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out, 

Contending ‘gainst obedience, as they would make 

War with mankind.”

Nature parallels the chaos in the human world. There are three important animal symbols, in particular, in the play: the cat, the raven or crow, and the owl.

The Cat

The black cat may be the one animal most closely associated with superstition. During the persecution of practicers of witchcraft, and in medieval Europe, black cats were considered demonic animals or even demons in disguise. Women who owned cats were assumed to be witches using the animals for witchcraft. One of the witches’ familiars in Macbeth is called “grimalkin,” an archaic term for “cat.” The Scottish legend of the grimalkin featured an evil, magical cat living in the highlands. The term itself is a combination of “grey,” the animal’s color, and “malkin,” a term which unsurprisingly meant “low-class woman.” While Black cats most often appear in folklore as bad omens, some cultures consider them signs of good luck. In Welsh folklore, black cats can predict the weather. In Ancient Egypt, they were even seen as holy creatures and the goddesses Bastet and Sekhmet took the form of cats.

Cats appear often in paintings of Biblical scenes. According to The Guardian, Ghirlandaio’s painting of the last supper features a cat, sitting at the feet of Judas as “a symbol of betrayal and a sign of the devil’s presence at Christ’s last meal.”

The Raven/Crow

Ravens have traditionally represented chaos and death. In many cultures, they act as messengers from the afterlife or between the supernatural and the natural worlds. In Norse mythology, the ravens Huginn and Muninn brought messages to Odin, and in Japanese Shintoism, the crow is the messenger of the gods. The “Morrígan” was a goddess of war from Celtic mythology who appeared as a crow. She was also the keeper of fate and prophecy. Ravens and crows have been associated with death in countless ancient mythologies. One possible explanation for this could be the scavenging of dead bodies.

“The raven himself is hoarse

That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan”

-Lady Macbeth

Because ravens are bad omens, the raven’s being hoarse signifies an abundance of bad news. Lady Macbeth interprets this cawing as a prediction of Duncan’s death but later, in act three, the crow reappears. Macbeth is tormented by the guilt of his murder. He has seen Duncan’s ghost and fears that “blood will have blood.” Macbeth also believes in the “augures,” or predictions, of the black bird. However, this time it is clear that the prediction is about him:

“Augures and understood relations have 

By maggot-pies and choughs (crows) and rooks brought forth 

The secret’st man of blood.”

The Owl

The owl is a symbol of death and is used in many instances to portray evil and darkness. During the Middle Ages, owls were seen as evil helpers of witches. In folklore, owls are often representations of wisdom. It was thought their shrieks were bad omens, warning of future events. Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, is regularly associated with an owl. In many of the paintings by Hieronymus Bosch, the owl symbolizes both knowledge and evil. 

Bosch’s work famously depicted Hell, and in his representations, “knowledge” served as a reminder of mankind’s fall from grace in Genesis.

In Macbeth, the sound of the owl’s shriek marks the death of Duncan, alarming Lady Macbeth that her husband has already committed the deed. On the night Macbeth murders Duncan, Lady Macbeth is first alerted by the owl,

“It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman, 

Which gives the sternest good-night”

Then, in act two, the Old Man remarks, 

“‘Tis unnatural, 

Even like the deed that’s done. On Tuesday last, 

A falcon, towering in her pride of place, 

Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed.”

Falcons are much larger than owls, which normally go after smaller rodents and insects. An owl killing such a large predator symbolizes Macbeth’s killing of the more powerful king. The owl represents Macbeth and the falcon represents Duncan. When Macbeth hears the prophecy that he will become king, he decides to actively pursue it. Instead of letting this happen honorably, he and Lady Macbeth decide to tempt fate. The animals in Macbeth represent how unnatural it is to have knowledge of the future.

Works Cited

“The Devil’s Advocate.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 9 Aug. 2002, https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2002/aug/10/shopping.homes.

Eason, Cassandra. Fabulous Creatures, Mythical Monsters, and Animal Power Symbols: A Handbook. Greenwood Press, 2008.

Lewis, Anthony J. “The Dog, Lion, and Wolf in Shakespeare’s Descriptions of Night.”

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During Jill’s presentation, she discussed “doing the next right thing” and “when you start doing things differently, people will challenge you.” How can you remain committed to these principles without sacrificing integrity and authenticity?

In a time in which gender roles were wildly steadfast, it’s no surprise that the expectations and limitations set on people caused some internal crises, often exploding into external
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