“Something wicked this way comes.” I have always thought that this phrase is elegant – alarming and scary for sure, but elegant nonetheless. Compare it to “Here comes something wicked” or any other more mundane turn of the phrase. The line is original to Macbeth: “By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes”, spoken by by the witches (Act 4, Scene 1). The line is a very striking piece of verse, not only because of it phrasing, but also because of its ominous announcement of an approaching evil, some monster coming into the moment. In its hearing Macbeth has no idea that he is the monster that is coming, or rather becoming. Continue reading →