THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

Contents
ACT I
Scene I. An open Place.
Scene II. A Camp near Forres.
Scene III. A heath.
Scene IV. Forres. A Room in the Palace.
Scene V. Inverness. A Room in MacbethÕs Castle.
Scene VI. The same. Before the Castle.
Scene VII. The same. A Lobby in the Castle.
ACT II
Scene I. Inverness. Court within the Castle.
Scene II. The same.
Scene III. The same.
Scene IV. The same. Without the Castle.
ACT III
Scene I. Forres. A Room in the Palace.
Scene II. The same. Another Room in the Palace.
Scene III. The same. A Park or Lawn, with a gate leading to the Palace.
Scene IV. The same. A Room of state in the Palace.
Scene V. The heath.
Scene VI. Forres. A Room in the Palace.
ACT IV
Scene I. A dark Cave. In the middle, a Cauldron Boiling.
Scene II. Fife. A Room in MacduffÕs Castle.
Scene III. England. Before the KingÕs Palace.
ACT V
Scene I. Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle.
Scene II. The Country near Dunsinane.
Scene III. Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle.
Scene IV. Country near Dunsinane: a Wood in view.
Scene V. Dunsinane. Within the castle.
Scene VI. The same. A Plain before the Castle.
Scene VII. The same. Another part of the Plain.
Scene VIII. The same. Another part of the field.
Dramatis Person¾
DUNCAN, King of Scotland.
MALCOLM, his Son.
DONALBAIN, his Son.
MACBETH, General in the KingÕs Army.
BANQUO, General in the KingÕs Army.
MACDUFF, Nobleman of Scotland.
LENNOX, Nobleman of Scotland.
ROSS, Nobleman of Scotland.
MENTEITH, Nobleman of Scotland.
ANGUS, Nobleman of Scotland.
CAITHNESS, Nobleman of Scotland.
FLEANCE, Son to Banquo.
SIWARD, Earl of Northumberland, General of the English Forces.
YOUNG SIWARD, his Son.
SEYTON, an Officer attending on Macbeth.
BOY, Son to Macduff.
An English Doctor.
A Scottish Doctor.
A Soldier.
A Porter.
An Old Man.
LADY MACBETH.
LADY MACDUFF.
Gentlewoman attending on Lady Macbeth.
HECATE, and three Witches.
Lords, Gentlemen, Officers, Soldiers, Murderers, Attendants and Messengers.
The Ghost of Banquo and several other Apparitions.
SCENE: In the end of the Fourth Act, in England; through the rest of the Play, in Scotland; and chiefly at MacbethÕs Castle.
ACT I
SCENE I. An open Place.
Thunder and Lightning. Enter threeÊWitches.
FIRST WITCH.
When shall we three meet again?
In thunder, lightning, or in rain?
SECOND WITCH.
When the hurlyburlyÕs done,
When the battleÕs lost and won.
THIRD WITCH.
That will be ere the set of sun.
FIRST WITCH.
Where the place?
SECOND WITCH.
Upon the heath.
THIRD WITCH.
There to meet with Macbeth.
FIRST WITCH.
I come, Graymalkin!
SECOND WITCH.
Paddock calls.
THIRD WITCH.
Anon.
ALL.
Fair is foul, and foul is fair:
Hover through the fog and filthy air.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE II. A Camp near Forres.
Alarum within. EnterÊKing Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, Lennox,Êwith Attendants, meeting a bleedingÊCaptain.
DUNCAN.
What bloody man is that? He can report,
As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt
The newest state.
MALCOLM.
This is the sergeant
Who, like a good and hardy soldier, fought
ÕGainst my captivity.ÑHail, brave friend!
Say to the King the knowledge of the broil
As thou didst leave it.
SOLDIER.
Doubtful it stood;
As two spent swimmers that do cling together
And choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald
(Worthy to be a rebel, for to that
The multiplying villainies of nature
Do swarm upon him) from the Western Isles
Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied;
And Fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling,
ShowÕd like a rebelÕs whore. But allÕs too weak;
For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name),
Disdaining Fortune, with his brandishÕd steel,
Which smokÕd with bloody execution,
Like ValourÕs minion, carvÕd out his passage,
Till he facÕd the slave;
Which neÕer shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseamÕd him from the nave to the chops,
And fixÕd his head upon our battlements.
DUNCAN.
O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!
SOLDIER.
As whence the sun Õgins his reflection
Shipwracking storms and direful thunders break,
So from that spring, whence comfort seemÕd to come
Discomfort swells. Mark, King of Scotland, mark:
No sooner justice had, with valour armÕd,
CompellÕd these skipping kerns to trust their heels,
But the Norweyan lord, surveying vantage,
With furbishÕd arms and new supplies of men,
Began a fresh assault.
DUNCAN.
DismayÕd not this
Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo?
SOLDIER.
Yes;
As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.
If I say sooth, I must report they were
As cannons overchargÕd with double cracks;
So they
Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe:
Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,
Or memorize another Golgotha,
I cannot tellÑ
But I am faint, my gashes cry for help.
DUNCAN.
So well thy words become thee as thy wounds:
They smack of honour both.ÑGo, get him surgeons.
[ExitÊCaptain,Êattended.]
EnterÊRossÊandÊAngus.
Who comes here?
MALCOLM.
The worthy Thane of Ross.
LENNOX.
What a haste looks through his eyes! So should he look
That seems to speak things strange.
ROSS.
God save the King!
DUNCAN.
Whence camÕst thou, worthy thane?
ROSS.
From Fife, great King,
Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky
And fan our people cold.
Norway himself, with terrible numbers,
Assisted by that most disloyal traitor,
The Thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict;
Till that BellonaÕs bridegroom, lappÕd in proof,
Confronted him with self-comparisons,
Point against point, rebellious arm Õgainst arm,
Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude,
The victory fell on us.
DUNCAN.
Great happiness!
ROSS.
That now
Sweno, the NorwaysÕ king, craves composition;
Nor would we deign him burial of his men
Till he disbursed at Saint ColmeÕs Inch
Ten thousand dollars to our general use.
DUNCAN.
No more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceive
Our bosom interest. Go pronounce his present death,
And with his former title greet Macbeth.
ROSS.
IÕll see it done.
DUNCAN.
What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE III. A heath.
Thunder. Enter the threeÊWitches.
FIRST WITCH.
Where hast thou been, sister?
SECOND WITCH.
Killing swine.
THIRD WITCH.
Sister, where thou?
FIRST WITCH.
A sailorÕs wife had chestnuts in her lap,
And mounchÕd, and mounchÕd, and mounchÕd. ÒGive me,Ó quoth I.
ÒAroint thee, witch!Ó the rump-fed ronyon cries.
Her husbandÕs to Aleppo gone, master oÕ thÕÊTiger:
But in a sieve IÕll thither sail,
And, like a rat without a tail,
IÕll do, IÕll do, and IÕll do.
SECOND WITCH.
IÕll give thee a wind.
FIRST WITCH.
ThÕart kind.
THIRD WITCH.
And I another.
FIRST WITCH.
I myself have all the other,
And the very ports they blow,
All the quarters that they know
IÕ the shipmanÕs card.
I will drain him dry as hay:
Sleep shall neither night nor day
Hang upon his pent-house lid;
He shall live a man forbid.
Weary sevÕn-nights nine times nine,
Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine:
Though his bark cannot be lost,
Yet it shall be tempest-tost.
Look what I have.
SECOND WITCH.
Show me, show me.
FIRST WITCH.
Here I have a pilotÕs thumb,
WrackÕd as homeward he did come.
[Drum within.]
THIRD WITCH.
A drum, a drum!
Macbeth doth come.
ALL.
The Weird Sisters, hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land,
Thus do go about, about:
Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine,
And thrice again, to make up nine.
Peace!Ñthe charmÕs wound up.
EnterÊMacbethÊandÊBanquo.
MACBETH.
So foul and fair a day I have not seen.
BANQUO.
How far isÕt callÕd to Forres?ÑWhat are these,
So witherÕd, and so wild in their attire,
That look not like the inhabitants oÕ thÕ earth,
And yet are onÕt?ÑLive you? or are you aught
That man may question? You seem to understand me,
By each at once her choppy finger laying
Upon her skinny lips. You should be women,
And yet your beards forbid me to interpret
That you are so.
MACBETH.
Speak, if you can;Ñwhat are you?
FIRST WITCH.
All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
SECOND WITCH.
All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
THIRD WITCH.
All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter!
BANQUO.
Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear
Things that do sound so fair?ÑIÕ thÕ name of truth,
Are ye fantastical, or that indeed
Which outwardly ye show? My noble partner
You greet with present grace and great prediction
Of noble having and of royal hope,
That he seems rapt withal. To me you speak not.
If you can look into the seeds of time,
And say which grain will grow, and which will not,
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear
Your favours nor your hate.
FIRST WITCH.
Hail!
SECOND WITCH.
Hail!
THIRD WITCH.
Hail!
FIRST WITCH.
Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.
SECOND WITCH.
Not so happy, yet much happier.
THIRD WITCH.
Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:
So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!
FIRST WITCH.
Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!
MACBETH.
Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more.
By SinelÕs death I know I am Thane of Glamis;
But how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives,
A prosperous gentleman; and to be king
Stands not within the prospect of belief,
No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence
You owe this strange intelligence? or why
Upon this blasted heath you stop our way
With such prophetic greeting?ÑSpeak, I charge you.
[WitchesÊvanish.]
BANQUO.
The earth hath bubbles, as the water has,
And these are of them. Whither are they vanishÕd?
MACBETH.
Into the air; and what seemÕd corporal,
Melted as breath into the wind.
Would they had stayÕd!
BANQUO.
Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?
MACBETH.
Your children shall be kings.
BANQUO.
You shall be king.
MACBETH.
And Thane of Cawdor too; went it not so?
BANQUO.
To the selfsame tune and words. WhoÕs here?
EnterÊRossÊandÊAngus.
ROSS.
The King hath happily receivÕd, Macbeth,
The news of thy success, and when he reads
Thy personal venture in the rebelsÕ fight,
His wonders and his praises do contend
Which should be thine or his: silencÕd with that,
In viewing oÕer the rest oÕ thÕ selfsame day,
He finds thee in the stout Norweyan ranks,
Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make,
Strange images of death. As thick as tale
Came post with post; and everyone did bear
Thy praises in his kingdomÕs great defence,
And pourÕd them down before him.
ANGUS.
We are sent
To give thee from our royal master thanks;
Only to herald thee into his sight,
Not pay thee.
ROSS.
And, for an earnest of a greater honour,
He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor:
In which addition, hail, most worthy thane,
For it is thine.
BANQUO.
What, can the devil speak true?
MACBETH.
The Thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me
In borrowÕd robes?
ANGUS.
Who was the Thane lives yet,
But under heavy judgement bears that life
Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was combinÕd
With those of Norway, or did line the rebel
With hidden help and vantage, or that with both
He labourÕd in his countryÕs wrack, I know not;
But treasons capital, confessÕd and provÕd,
Have overthrown him.
MACBETH.
[Aside.] Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor:
The greatest is behind. [To Ross and Angus.] Thanks for your pains.
[To Banquo.] Do you not hope your children shall be kings,
When those that gave the Thane of Cawdor to me
PromisÕd no less to them?
BANQUO.
That, trusted home,
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,
Besides the Thane of Cawdor. But Õtis strange:
And oftentimes to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths;
Win us with honest trifles, to betrayÕs
In deepest consequence.Ñ
Cousins, a word, I pray you.
MACBETH.
[Aside.] Two truths are told,
As happy prologues to the swelling act
Of the imperial theme.ÑI thank you, gentlemen.Ñ
[Aside.] This supernatural soliciting
Cannot be ill; cannot be good. If ill,
Why hath it given me earnest of success,
Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor:
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair,
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,
Against the use of nature? Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings.
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man
That function is smotherÕd in surmise,
And nothing is but what is not.
BANQUO.
Look, how our partnerÕs rapt.
MACBETH.
[Aside.] If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me
Without my stir.
BANQUO.
New honours come upon him,
Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould
But with the aid of use.
MACBETH.
[Aside.] Come what come may,
Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.
BANQUO.
Worthy Macbeth, we stay upon your leisure.
MACBETH.
Give me your favour. My dull brain was wrought
With things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, your pains
Are registerÕd where every day I turn
The leaf to read them.ÑLet us toward the King.Ñ
Think upon what hath chancÕd; and at more time,
The interim having weighÕd it, let us speak
Our free hearts each to other.
BANQUO.
Very gladly.
MACBETH.
Till then, enough.ÑCome, friends.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE IV. Forres. A Room in the Palace.
Flourish. EnterÊDuncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, LennoxÊand Attendants.
DUNCAN.
Is execution done on Cawdor? Are not
Those in commission yet returnÕd?
MALCOLM.
My liege,
They are not yet come back. But I have spoke
With one that saw him die, who did report,
That very frankly he confessÕd his treasons,
ImplorÕd your HighnessÕ pardon, and set forth
A deep repentance. Nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving it; he died
As one that had been studied in his death,
To throw away the dearest thing he owÕd
As Õtwere a careless trifle.
DUNCAN.
ThereÕs no art
To find the mindÕs construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.
EnterÊMacbeth, Banquo, RossÊandÊAngus.
O worthiest cousin!
The sin of my ingratitude even now
Was heavy on me. Thou art so far before,
That swiftest wing of recompense is slow
To overtake thee. Would thou hadst less deservÕd;
That the proportion both of thanks and payment
Might have been mine! only I have left to say,
More is thy due than more than all can pay.
MACBETH.
The service and the loyalty I owe,
In doing it, pays itself. Your HighnessÕ part
Is to receive our duties: and our duties
Are to your throne and state, children and servants;
Which do but what they should, by doing everything
Safe toward your love and honour.
DUNCAN.
Welcome hither:
I have begun to plant thee, and will labour
To make thee full of growing.ÑNoble Banquo,
That hast no less deservÕd, nor must be known
No less to have done so, let me infold thee
And hold thee to my heart.
BANQUO.
There if I grow,
The harvest is your own.
DUNCAN.
My plenteous joys,
Wanton in fulness, seek to hide themselves
In drops of sorrow.ÑSons, kinsmen, thanes,
And you whose places are the nearest, know,
We will establish our estate upon
Our eldest, Malcolm; whom we name hereafter
The Prince of Cumberland: which honour must
Not unaccompanied invest him only,
But signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine
On all deservers.ÑFrom hence to Inverness,
And bind us further to you.
MACBETH.
The rest is labour, which is not usÕd for you:
IÕll be myself the harbinger, and make joyful
The hearing of my wife with your approach;
So, humbly take my leave.
DUNCAN.
My worthy Cawdor!
MACBETH.
[Aside.] The Prince of Cumberland!ÑThat is a step
On which I must fall down, or else oÕerleap,
For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires!
Let not light see my black and deep desires.
The eye wink at the hand, yet let that be,
Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see.
[Exit.]
DUNCAN.
True, worthy Banquo! He is full so valiant;
And in his commendations I am fed.
It is a banquet to me. LetÕs after him,
Whose care is gone before to bid us welcome:
It is a peerless kinsman.
[Flourish. Exeunt.]
SCENE V. Inverness. A Room in MacbethÕs Castle.
EnterÊLady Macbeth,Êreading a letter.
LADY MACBETH.
ÒThey met me in the day of success; and I have learned by the perfectÕst report they have more in them than mortal knowledge. When I burned in desire to question them further, they made themselves air, into which they vanished. Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it, came missives from the King, who all-hailed me, ÔThane of CawdorÕ; by which title, before, these Weird Sisters saluted me, and referred me to the coming on of time, with ÔHail, king that shalt be!Õ This have I thought good to deliver thee (my dearest partner of greatness) that thou mightÕst not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is promisÕd thee. Lay it to thy heart, and farewell.Ó
Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be
What thou art promisÕd. Yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full oÕ thÕ milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great;
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it. What thou wouldst highly,
That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,
And yet wouldst wrongly win. ThouÕdst have, great Glamis,
That which cries, ÒThus thou must do,Ó if thou have it;
And that which rather thou dost fear to do,
Than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither,
That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,
And chastise with the valour of my tongue
All that impedes thee from the golden round,
Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem
To have thee crownÕd withal.
Enter aÊMessenger.
What is your tidings?
MESSENGER.
The King comes here tonight.
LADY MACBETH.
ThouÕrt mad to say it.
Is not thy master with him? who, wereÕt so,
Would have informÕd for preparation.
MESSENGER.
So please you, it is true. Our thane is coming.
One of my fellows had the speed of him,
Who, almost dead for breath, had scarcely more
Than would make up his message.
LADY MACBETH.
Give him tending.
He brings great news.
[ExitÊMessenger.]
The raven himself is hoarse
That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
Under my battlements. Come, you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-full
Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood,
Stop up thÕ access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
ThÕ effect and it! Come to my womanÕs breasts,
And take my milk for gall, your murdÕring ministers,
Wherever in your sightless substances
You wait on natureÕs mischief! Come, thick night,
And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell
That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,
Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark
To cry, ÒHold, hold!Ó
EnterÊMacbeth.
Great Glamis, worthy Cawdor!
Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter!
Thy letters have transported me beyond
This ignorant present, and I feel now
The future in the instant.
MACBETH.
My dearest love,
Duncan comes here tonight.
LADY MACBETH.
And when goes hence?
MACBETH.
Tomorrow, as he purposes.
LADY MACBETH.
O, never
Shall sun that morrow see!
Your face, my thane, is as a book where men
May read strange matters. To beguile the time,
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,
Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower,
But be the serpent underÕt. He thatÕs coming
Must be provided for; and you shall put
This nightÕs great business into my dispatch;
Which shall to all our nights and days to come
Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.
MACBETH.
We will speak further.
LADY MACBETH.
Only look up clear;
To alter favour ever is to fear.
Leave all the rest to me.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE VI. The same. Before the Castle.
Hautboys. Servants ofÊMacbethÊattending.
EnterÊDuncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, Banquo, Lennox, Macduff, Ross, AngusÊand Attendants.
DUNCAN.
This castle hath a pleasant seat. The air
Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself
Unto our gentle senses.
BANQUO.
This guest of summer,
The temple-haunting martlet, does approve,
By his loved mansionry, that the heavenÕs breath
Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze,
Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird
hath made his pendant bed and procreant cradle.
Where they most breed and haunt, I have observÕd
The air is delicate.
EnterÊLady Macbeth.
DUNCAN.
See, see, our honourÕd hostess!Ñ
The love that follows us sometime is our trouble,
Which still we thank as love. Herein I teach you
How you shall bid God Õild us for your pains,
And thank us for your trouble.
LADY MACBETH.
All our service,
In every point twice done, and then done double,
Were poor and single business to contend
Against those honours deep and broad wherewith
Your Majesty loads our house: for those of old,
And the late dignities heapÕd up to them,
We rest your hermits.
DUNCAN.
WhereÕs the Thane of Cawdor?
We coursÕd him at the heels, and had a purpose
To be his purveyor: but he rides well;
And his great love, sharp as his spur, hath holp him
To his home before us. Fair and noble hostess,
We are your guest tonight.
LADY MACBETH.
Your servants ever
Have theirs, themselves, and what is theirs, in compt,
To make their audit at your HighnessÕ pleasure,
Still to return your own.
DUNCAN.
Give me your hand;
Conduct me to mine host: we love him highly,
And shall continue our graces towards him.
By your leave, hostess.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE VII. The same. A Lobby in the Castle.
Hautboys and torches. Enter, and pass over, a Sewer and divers Servants with dishes and service. Then enterÊMacbeth.
MACBETH.
If it were done when Õtis done, then Õtwere well
It were done quickly. If thÕ assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-allÑhere,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
WeÕd jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgement here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which being taught, return
To plague thÕ inventor. This even-handed justice
Commends thÕ ingredience of our poisonÕd chalice
To our own lips. HeÕs here in double trust:
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heavenÕs cherubin, horsÕd
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind.ÑI have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which oÕerleaps itself
And falls on thÕ otherÑ
EnterÊLady Macbeth.
How now! what news?
LADY MACBETH.
He has almost suppÕd. Why have you left the chamber?
MACBETH.
Hath he askÕd for me?
LADY MACBETH.
Know you not he has?
MACBETH.
We will proceed no further in this business:
He hath honourÕd me of late; and I have bought
Golden opinions from all sorts of people,
Which would be worn now in their newest gloss,
Not cast aside so soon.
LADY MACBETH.
Was the hope drunk
Wherein you dressÕd yourself? Hath it slept since?
And wakes it now, to look so green and pale
At what it did so freely? From this time
Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard
To be the same in thine own act and valour
As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that
Which thou esteemÕst the ornament of life,
And live a coward in thine own esteem,
Letting ÒI dare notÓ wait upon ÒI would,Ó
Like the poor cat iÕ thÕ adage?
MACBETH.
PrÕythee, peace!
I dare do all that may become a man;
Who dares do more is none.
LADY MACBETH.
What beast wasÕt, then,
That made you break this enterprise to me?
When you durst do it, then you were a man;
And, to be more than what you were, you would
Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place
Did then adhere, and yet you would make both:
They have made themselves, and that their fitness now
Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know
How tender Õtis to love the babe that milks me:
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have pluckÕd my nipple from his boneless gums
And dashÕd the brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this.
MACBETH.
If we should fail?
LADY MACBETH.
We fail?
But screw your courage to the sticking-place,
And weÕll not fail. When Duncan is asleep
(Whereto the rather shall his dayÕs hard journey
Soundly invite him), his two chamberlains
Will I with wine and wassail so convince
That memory, the warder of the brain,
Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reason
A limbeck only: when in swinish sleep
Their drenched natures lie as in a death,
What cannot you and I perform upon
ThÕ unguarded Duncan? what not put upon
His spongy officers; who shall bear the guilt
Of our great quell?
MACBETH.
Bring forth men-children only;
For thy undaunted mettle should compose
Nothing but males. Will it not be receivÕd,
When we have markÕd with blood those sleepy two
Of his own chamber, and usÕd their very daggers,
That they have doneÕt?
LADY MACBETH.
Who dares receive it other,
As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar
Upon his death?
MACBETH.
I am settled, and bend up
Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.
Away, and mock the time with fairest show:
False face must hide what the false heart doth know.
[Exeunt.]
ACT II
SCENE I. Inverness. Court within the Castle.
EnterÊBanquoÊandÊFleanceÊwith a torch before him.
BANQUO.
How goes the night, boy?
FLEANCE.
The moon is down; I have not heard the clock.
BANQUO.
And she goes down at twelve.
FLEANCE.
I takeÕt, Õtis later, sir.
BANQUO.
Hold, take my sword.ÑThereÕs husbandry in heaven;
Their candles are all out. Take thee that too.
A heavy summons lies like lead upon me,
And yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers,
Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature
Gives way to in repose!
EnterÊMacbethÊand a Servant with a torch.
Give me my sword.ÑWhoÕs there?
MACBETH.
A friend.
BANQUO.
What, sir, not yet at rest? The KingÕs abed:
He hath been in unusual pleasure and
Sent forth great largess to your offices.
This diamond he greets your wife withal,
By the name of most kind hostess, and shut up
In measureless content.
MACBETH.
Being unpreparÕd,
Our will became the servant to defect,
Which else should free have wrought.
BANQUO.
AllÕs well.
I dreamt last night of the three Weird Sisters:
To you they have showÕd some truth.
MACBETH.
I think not of them:
Yet, when we can entreat an hour to serve,
We would spend it in some words upon that business,
If you would grant the time.
BANQUO.
At your kindÕst leisure.
MACBETH.
If you shall cleave to my consent, when Õtis,
It shall make honour for you.
BANQUO.
So I lose none
In seeking to augment it, but still keep
My bosom franchisÕd, and allegiance clear,
I shall be counsellÕd.
MACBETH.
Good repose the while!
BANQUO.
Thanks, sir: the like to you.
[ExeuntÊBanquoÊandÊFleance.]
MACBETH.
Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready,
She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed.
[Exit Servant.]
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee:Ñ
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshallÕst me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools oÕ the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest: I see thee still;
And on thy blade and dudgeon, gouts of blood,
Which was not so before.ÑThereÕs no such thing.
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes.ÑNow oÕer the one half-world
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtainÕd sleep. Witchcraft celebrates
Pale HecateÕs offÕrings; and witherÕd murder,
AlarumÕd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howlÕs his watch, thus with his stealthy pace,
With TarquinÕs ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost.ÑThou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it.ÑWhiles I threat, he lives.
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
[A bell rings.]
I go, and it is done. The bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.
[Exit.]
SCENE II. The same.
EnterÊLady Macbeth.
LADY MACBETH.
That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold:
What hath quenchÕd them hath given me fire.ÑHark!ÑPeace!
It was the owl that shriekÕd, the fatal bellman,
Which gives the sternÕst good night. He is about it.
The doors are open; and the surfeited grooms
Do mock their charge with snores: I have druggÕd their possets,
That death and nature do contend about them,
Whether they live or die.
MACBETH.
[Within.] WhoÕs there?Ñwhat, ho!
LADY MACBETH.
Alack! I am afraid they have awakÕd,
And Õtis not done. ThÕ attempt and not the deed
Confounds us.ÑHark!ÑI laid their daggers ready;
He could not miss Õem.ÑHad he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had doneÕt.ÑMy husband!
EnterÊMacbeth.
MACBETH.
I have done the deed.ÑDidst thou not hear a noise?
LADY MACBETH.
I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry.
Did not you speak?
MACBETH.
When?
LADY MACBETH.
Now.
MACBETH.
As I descended?
LADY MACBETH.
Ay.
MACBETH.
Hark!ÑWho lies iÕ thÕ second chamber?
LADY MACBETH.
Donalbain.
MACBETH.
This is a sorry sight.
[Looking on his hands.]
LADY MACBETH.
A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight.
MACBETH.
ThereÕs one did laugh inÕs sleep, and one cried, ÒMurder!Ó
That they did wake each other: I stood and heard them.
But they did say their prayers, and addressÕd them
Again to sleep.
LADY MACBETH.
There are two lodgÕd together.
MACBETH.
One cried, ÒGod bless us!Ó and, ÒAmen,Ó the other,
As they had seen me with these hangmanÕs hands.
ListÕning their fear, I could not say ÒAmen,Ó
When they did say, ÒGod bless us.Ó
LADY MACBETH.
Consider it not so deeply.
MACBETH.
But wherefore could not I pronounce ÒAmenÓ?
I had most need of blessing, and ÒAmenÓ
Stuck in my throat.
LADY MACBETH.
These deeds must not be thought
After these ways; so, it will make us mad.
MACBETH.
Methought I heard a voice cry, ÒSleep no more!
Macbeth does murder sleep,ÓÑthe innocent sleep;
Sleep that knits up the ravellÕd sleave of care,
The death of each dayÕs life, sore labourÕs bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great natureÕs second course,
Chief nourisher in lifeÕs feast.
LADY MACBETH.
What do you mean?
MACBETH.
Still it cried, ÒSleep no more!Ó to all the house:
ÒGlamis hath murderÕd sleep, and therefore Cawdor
Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more!Ó
LADY MACBETH.
Who was it that thus cried? Why, worthy thane,
You do unbend your noble strength to think
So brainsickly of things. Go get some water,
And wash this filthy witness from your hand.Ñ
Why did you bring these daggers from the place?
They must lie there: go carry them, and smear
The sleepy grooms with blood.
MACBETH.
IÕll go no more:
I am afraid to think what I have done;
Look onÕt again I dare not.
LADY MACBETH.
Infirm of purpose!
Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead
Are but as pictures. ÕTis the eye of childhood
That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed,
IÕll gild the faces of the grooms withal,
For it must seem their guilt.
[Exit. Knocking within.]
MACBETH.
Whence is that knocking?
How isÕt with me, when every noise appals me?
What hands are here? Ha, they pluck out mine eyes!
Will all great NeptuneÕs ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.
EnterÊLady Macbeth.
LADY MACBETH.
My hands are of your color, but I shame
To wear a heart so white. [Knocking within.] I hear knocking
At the south entry:Ñretire we to our chamber.
A little water clears us of this deed:
How easy is it then! Your constancy
Hath left you unattended.Ñ[Knocking within.] Hark, more knocking.
Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us
And show us to be watchers. Be not lost
So poorly in your thoughts.
MACBETH.
To know my deed, Õtwere best not know myself. [Knocking within.]
Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!
[Exeunt.]
SCENE III. The same.
Enter aÊPorter.ÊKnocking within.
PORTER.
HereÕs a knocking indeed! If a man were porter of hell gate, he should have old turning the key. [Knocking.] Knock, knock, knock. WhoÕs there, iÕ thÕ name of Belzebub? HereÕs a farmer that hanged himself on the expectation of plenty: come in time; have napkins enow about you; here youÕll sweat forÕt. [Knocking.] Knock, knock! WhoÕs there, iÕ thÕ other devilÕs name? Faith, hereÕs an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale, who committed treason enough for GodÕs sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven: O, come in, equivocator. [Knocking.] Knock, knock, knock! WhoÕs there? Faith, hereÕs an English tailor come hither, for stealing out of a French hose: come in, tailor; here you may roast your goose. [Knocking.] Knock, knock. Never at quiet! What are you?ÑBut this place is too cold for hell. IÕll devil-porter it no further: I had thought to have let in some of all professions, that go the primrose way to thÕ everlasting bonfire. [Knocking.] Anon, anon! I pray you, remember the porter.
[Opens the gate.]
EnterÊMacduffÊandÊLennox.
MACDUFF.
Was it so late, friend, ere you went to bed,
That you do lie so late?
PORTER.
Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second cock; and drink, sir, is a great provoker of three things.
MACDUFF.
What three things does drink especially provoke?
PORTER.
Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and urine. Lechery, sir, it provokes and unprovokes; it provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance. Therefore much drink may be said to be an equivocator with lechery: it makes him, and it mars him; it sets him on, and it takes him off; it persuades him, and disheartens him; makes him stand to, and not stand to; in conclusion, equivocates him in a sleep, and giving him the lie, leaves him.
MACDUFF.
I believe drink gave thee the lie last night.
PORTER.
That it did, sir, iÕ the very throat on me; but I requited him for his lie; and (I think) being too strong for him, though he took up my legs sometime, yet I made a shift to cast him.
MACDUFF.
Is thy master stirring?
EnterÊMacbeth.
Our knocking has awakÕd him; here he comes.
LENNOX.
Good morrow, noble sir!
MACBETH.
Good morrow, both!
MACDUFF.
Is the King stirring, worthy thane?
MACBETH.
Not yet.
MACDUFF.
He did command me to call timely on him.
I have almost slippÕd the hour.
MACBETH.
IÕll bring you to him.
MACDUFF.
I know this is a joyful trouble to you;
But yet Õtis one.
MACBETH.
The labour we delight in physics pain.
This is the door.
MACDUFF.
IÕll make so bold to call.
For Õtis my limited service.
[ExitÊMacduff.]
LENNOX.
Goes the King hence today?
MACBETH.
He does. He did appoint so.
LENNOX.
The night has been unruly: where we lay,
Our chimneys were blown down and, as they say,
Lamentings heard iÕ thÕ air, strange screams of death,
And prophesying, with accents terrible,
Of dire combustion and confusÕd events,
New hatchÕd to the woeful time. The obscure bird
ClamourÕd the live-long night. Some say the earth
Was feverous, and did shake.
MACBETH.
ÕTwas a rough night.
LENNOX.
My young remembrance cannot parallel
A fellow to it.
EnterÊMacduff.
MACDUFF.
O horror, horror, horror!
Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee!
MACBETH, LENNOX.
WhatÕs the matter?
MACDUFF.
Confusion now hath made his masterpiece!
Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope
The LordÕs anointed temple, and stole thence
The life oÕ thÕ building.
MACBETH.
What isÕt you say? the life?
LENNOX.
Mean you his majesty?
MACDUFF.
Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight
With a new Gorgon. Do not bid me speak.
See, and then speak yourselves.
[ExeuntÊMacbethÊandÊLennox.]
Awake, awake!Ñ
Ring the alarum bell.ÑMurder and treason!
Banquo and Donalbain! Malcolm! awake!
Shake off this downy sleep, deathÕs counterfeit,
And look on death itself! Up, up, and see
The great doomÕs image. Malcolm! Banquo!
As from your graves rise up, and walk like sprites
To countenance this horror!
[Alarum-bell rings.]
EnterÊLady Macbeth.
LADY MACBETH.
WhatÕs the business,
That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley
The sleepers of the house? Speak, speak!
MACDUFF.
O gentle lady,
ÕTis not for you to hear what I can speak:
The repetition, in a womanÕs ear,
Would murder as it fell.
EnterÊBanquo.
O Banquo, Banquo!
Our royal masterÕs murderÕd!
LADY MACBETH.
Woe, alas!
What, in our house?
BANQUO.
Too cruel anywhere.Ñ
Dear Duff, I prÕythee, contradict thyself,
And say it is not so.
EnterÊMacbethÊandÊLennoxÊwithÊRoss.
MACBETH.
Had I but died an hour before this chance,
I had livÕd a blessed time; for, from this instant
ThereÕs nothing serious in mortality.
All is but toys: renown and grace is dead;
The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees
Is left this vault to brag of.
EnterÊMalcolmÊandÊDonalbain.
DONALBAIN.
What is amiss?
MACBETH.
You are, and do not knowÕt:
The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood
Is stoppÕd; the very source of it is stoppÕd.
MACDUFF.
Your royal fatherÕs murderÕd.
MALCOLM.
O, by whom?
LENNOX.
Those of his chamber, as it seemÕd, had doneÕt:
Their hands and faces were all badgÕd with blood;
So were their daggers, which, unwipÕd, we found
Upon their pillows. They starÕd, and were distracted;
No manÕs life was to be trusted with them.
MACBETH.
O, yet I do repent me of my fury,
That I did kill them.
MACDUFF.
Wherefore did you so?
MACBETH.
Who can be wise, amazÕd, temperate, and furious,
Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man:
ThÕ expedition of my violent love
Outrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan,
His silver skin lacÕd with his golden blood;
And his gashÕd stabs lookÕd like a breach in nature
For ruinÕs wasteful entrance: there, the murderers,
SteepÕd in the colours of their trade, their daggers
Unmannerly breechÕd with gore. Who could refrain,
That had a heart to love, and in that heart
Courage to makeÕs love known?
LADY MACBETH.
Help me hence, ho!
MACDUFF.
Look to the lady.
MALCOLM.
Why do we hold our tongues,
That most may claim this argument for ours?
DONALBAIN.
What should be spoken here, where our fate,
Hid in an auger hole, may rush, and seize us?
LetÕs away. Our tears are not yet brewÕd.
MALCOLM.
Nor our strong sorrow
Upon the foot of motion.
BANQUO.
Look to the lady:Ñ
[Lady MacbethÊis carried out.]
And when we have our naked frailties hid,
That suffer in exposure, let us meet,
And question this most bloody piece of work
To know it further. Fears and scruples shake us:
In the great hand of God I stand; and thence
Against the undivulgÕd pretence I fight
Of treasonous malice.
MACDUFF.
And so do I.
ALL.
So all.
MACBETH.
LetÕs briefly put on manly readiness,
And meet iÕ thÕ hall together.
ALL.
Well contented.
[Exeunt all butÊMalcolmÊandÊDonalbain.]
MALCOLM.
What will you do? LetÕs not consort with them:
To show an unfelt sorrow is an office
Which the false man does easy. IÕll to England.
DONALBAIN.
To Ireland, I. Our separated fortune
Shall keep us both the safer. Where we are,
ThereÕs daggers in menÕs smiles: the near in blood,
The nearer bloody.
MALCOLM.
This murderous shaft thatÕs shot
Hath not yet lighted; and our safest way
Is to avoid the aim. Therefore to horse;
And let us not be dainty of leave-taking,
But shift away. ThereÕs warrant in that theft
Which steals itself, when thereÕs no mercy left.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE IV. The same. Without the Castle.
EnterÊRossÊand anÊOld Man.
OLD MAN.
Threescore and ten I can remember well,
Within the volume of which time I have seen
Hours dreadful and things strange, but this sore night
Hath trifled former knowings.
ROSS.
Ha, good father,
Thou seest the heavens, as troubled with manÕs act,
Threatens his bloody stage: by the clock Õtis day,
And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp.
IsÕt nightÕs predominance, or the dayÕs shame,
That darkness does the face of earth entomb,
When living light should kiss it?
OLD MAN.
ÕTis unnatural,
Even like the deed thatÕs done. On Tuesday last,
A falcon, towering in her pride of place,
Was by a mousing owl hawkÕd at and killÕd.
ROSS.
And DuncanÕs horses (a thing most strange and certain)
Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race,
TurnÕd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out,
Contending Õgainst obedience, as they would make
War with mankind.
OLD MAN.
ÕTis said they eat each other.
ROSS.
They did so; to the amazement of mine eyes,
That lookÕd uponÕt.
Here comes the good Macduff.
EnterÊMacduff.
How goes the world, sir, now?
MACDUFF.
Why, see you not?
ROSS.
IsÕt known who did this more than bloody deed?
MACDUFF.
Those that Macbeth hath slain.
ROSS.
Alas, the day!
What good could they pretend?
MACDUFF.
They were subornÕd.
Malcolm and Donalbain, the KingÕs two sons,
Are stolÕn away and fled; which puts upon them
Suspicion of the deed.
ROSS.
ÕGainst nature still:
Thriftless ambition, that will ravin up
Thine own lifeÕs means!ÑThen Õtis most like
The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth.
MACDUFF.
He is already namÕd; and gone to Scone
To be invested.
ROSS.
Where is DuncanÕs body?
MACDUFF.
Carried to Colmekill,
The sacred storehouse of his predecessors,
And guardian of their bones.
ROSS.
Will you to Scone?
MACDUFF.
No, cousin, IÕll to Fife.
ROSS.
Well, I will thither.
MACDUFF.
Well, may you see things well done there. Adieu!
Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!
ROSS.
Farewell, father.
OLD MAN.
GodÕs benison go with you; and with those
That would make good of bad, and friends of foes!
[Exeunt.]
ACT III
SCENE I. Forres. A Room in the Palace.
EnterÊBanquo.
BANQUO.
Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,
As the Weird Women promisÕd; and, I fear,
Thou playÕdst most foully forÕt; yet it was said
It should not stand in thy posterity;
But that myself should be the root and father
Of many kings. If there come truth from them
(As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine)
Why, by the verities on thee made good,
May they not be my oracles as well,
And set me up in hope? But hush; no more.
Sennet sounded. EnterÊMacbethÊas King,ÊLady MacbethÊas Queen;ÊLennox, Ross,ÊLords, and Attendants.
MACBETH.
HereÕs our chief guest.
LADY MACBETH.
If he had been forgotten,
It had been as a gap in our great feast,
And all-thing unbecoming.
MACBETH.
Tonight we hold a solemn supper, sir,
And IÕll request your presence.
BANQUO.
Let your Highness
Command upon me, to the which my duties
Are with a most indissoluble tie
For ever knit.
MACBETH.
Ride you this afternoon?
BANQUO.
Ay, my good lord.
MACBETH.
We should have else desirÕd your good advice
(Which still hath been both grave and prosperous)
In this dayÕs council; but weÕll take tomorrow.
IsÕt far you ride?
BANQUO.
As far, my lord, as will fill up the time
ÕTwixt this and supper: go not my horse the better,
I must become a borrower of the night,
For a dark hour or twain.
MACBETH.
Fail not our feast.
BANQUO.
My lord, I will not.
MACBETH.
We hear our bloody cousins are bestowÕd
In England and in Ireland; not confessing
Their cruel parricide, filling their hearers
With strange invention. But of that tomorrow,
When therewithal we shall have cause of state
Craving us jointly. Hie you to horse: adieu,
Till you return at night. Goes Fleance with you?
BANQUO.
Ay, my good lord: our time does call uponÕs.
MACBETH.
I wish your horses swift and sure of foot;
And so I do commend you to their backs.
Farewell.Ñ
[ExitÊBanquo.]
Let every man be master of his time
Till seven at night; to make society
The sweeter welcome, we will keep ourself
Till supper time alone: while then, God be with you.
[ExeuntÊLady Macbeth,ÊLords, &c.]
Sirrah, a word with you. Attend those men
Our pleasure?
SERVANT.
They are, my lord, without the palace gate.
MACBETH.
Bring them before us.
[Exit Servant.]
To be thus is nothing,
But to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo
Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature
Reigns that which would be fearÕd: Õtis much he dares;
And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,
He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour
To act in safety. There is none but he
Whose being I do fear: and under him
My genius is rebukÕd; as, it is said,
Mark AntonyÕs was by Caesar. He chid the sisters
When first they put the name of king upon me,
And bade them speak to him; then, prophet-like,
They hailÕd him father to a line of kings:
Upon my head they placÕd a fruitless crown,
And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,
Thence to be wrenchÕd with an unlineal hand,
No son of mine succeeding. IfÕt be so,
For BanquoÕs issue have I filÕd my mind;
For them the gracious Duncan have I murderÕd;
Put rancours in the vessel of my peace
Only for them; and mine eternal jewel
Given to the common enemy of man,
To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!
Rather than so, come, fate, into the list,
And champion me to thÕ utterance!ÑWhoÕs there?Ñ
EnterÊServantÊwith twoÊMurderers.
Now go to the door, and stay there till we call.
[Exit Servant.]
Was it not yesterday we spoke together?
FIRST MURDERER.
It was, so please your Highness.
MACBETH.
Well then, now
Have you considerÕd of my speeches? Know
That it was he, in the times past, which held you
So under fortune, which you thought had been
Our innocent self? This I made good to you
In our last conference, passÕd in probation with you
How you were borne in hand, how crossÕd, the instruments,
Who wrought with them, and all things else that might
To half a soul and to a notion crazÕd
Say, ÒThus did Banquo.Ó
FIRST MURDERER.
You made it known to us.
MACBETH.
I did so; and went further, which is now
Our point of second meeting. Do you find
Your patience so predominant in your nature,
That you can let this go? Are you so gospellÕd,
To pray for this good man and for his issue,
Whose heavy hand hath bowÕd you to the grave,
And beggarÕd yours forever?
FIRST MURDERER.
We are men, my liege.
MACBETH.
Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men;
As hounds, and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs,
Shoughs, water-rugs, and demi-wolves are clept
All by the name of dogs: the valuÕd file
Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle,
The housekeeper, the hunter, every one
According to the gift which bounteous nature
Hath in him closÕd; whereby he does receive
Particular addition, from the bill
That writes them all alike: and so of men.
Now, if you have a station in the file,
Not iÕ thÕ worst rank of manhood, sayÕt;
And I will put that business in your bosoms,
Whose execution takes your enemy off,
Grapples you to the heart and love of us,
Who wear our health but sickly in his life,
Which in his death were perfect.
SECOND MURDERER.
I am one, my liege,
Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world
Hath so incensÕd that I am reckless what
I do to spite the world.
FIRST MURDERER.
And I another,
So weary with disasters, tuggÕd with fortune,
That I would set my life on any chance,
To mend it or be rid onÕt.
MACBETH.
Both of you
Know Banquo was your enemy.
BOTH MURDERERS.
True, my lord.
MACBETH.
So is he mine; and in such bloody distance,
That every minute of his being thrusts
Against my nearÕst of life; and though I could
With barefacÕd power sweep him from my sight,
And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not,
For certain friends that are both his and mine,
Whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall
Who I myself struck down: and thence it is
That I to your assistance do make love,
Masking the business from the common eye
For sundry weighty reasons.
SECOND MURDERER.
We shall, my lord,
Perform what you command us.
FIRST MURDERER.
Though our livesÑ
MACBETH.
Your spirits shine through you. Within this hour at most,
I will advise you where to plant yourselves,
Acquaint you with the perfect spy oÕ thÕ time,
The moment onÕt; forÕt must be done tonight
And something from the palace; always thought
That I require a clearness. And with him
(To leave no rubs nor botches in the work)
Fleance his son, that keeps him company,
Whose absence is no less material to me
Than is his fatherÕs, must embrace the fate
Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart.
IÕll come to you anon.
BOTH MURDERERS.
We are resolvÕd, my lord.
MACBETH.
IÕll call upon you straight: abide within.
[ExeuntÊMurderers.]
It is concluded. Banquo, thy soulÕs flight,
If it find heaven, must find it out tonight.
[Exit.]
SCENE II. The same. Another Room in the Palace.
EnterÊLady MacbethÊand aÊServant.
LADY MACBETH.
Is Banquo gone from court?
SERVANT.
Ay, madam, but returns again tonight.
LADY MACBETH.
Say to the King, I would attend his leisure
For a few words.
SERVANT.
Madam, I will.
[Exit.]
LADY MACBETH.
NaughtÕs had, allÕs spent,
Where our desire is got without content:
ÕTis safer to be that which we destroy,
Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.
EnterÊMacbeth.
How now, my lord, why do you keep alone,
Of sorriest fancies your companions making,
Using those thoughts which should indeed have died
With them they think on? Things without all remedy
Should be without regard: whatÕs done is done.
MACBETH.
We have scorchÕd the snake, not killÕd it.
SheÕll close, and be herself; whilst our poor malice
Remains in danger of her former tooth.
But let the frame of things disjoint,
Both the worlds suffer,
Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep
In the affliction of these terrible dreams
That shake us nightly. Better be with the dead,
Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,
Than on the torture of the mind to lie
In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave;
After lifeÕs fitful fever he sleeps well;
Treason has done his worst: nor steel, nor poison,
Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing
Can touch him further.
LADY MACBETH.
Come on,
Gently my lord, sleek oÕer your rugged looks;
Be bright and jovial among your guests tonight.
MACBETH.
So shall I, love; and so, I pray, be you.
Let your remembrance apply to Banquo;
Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue:
Unsafe the while, that we
Must lave our honours in these flattering streams,
And make our faces vizards to our hearts,
Disguising what they are.
LADY MACBETH.
You must leave this.
MACBETH.
O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!
Thou knowÕst that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives.
LADY MACBETH.
But in them natureÕs copyÕs not eterne.
MACBETH.
ThereÕs comfort yet; they are assailable.
Then be thou jocund. Ere the bat hath flown
His cloisterÕd flight, ere to black HecateÕs summons
The shard-born beetle, with his drowsy hums,
Hath rung nightÕs yawning peal, there shall be done
A deed of dreadful note.
LADY MACBETH.
WhatÕs to be done?
MACBETH.
Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,
Till thou applaud the deed. Come, seeling night,
Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day,
And with thy bloody and invisible hand
Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond
Which keeps me pale!ÑLight thickens; and the crow
Makes wing to thÕ rooky wood.
Good things of day begin to droop and drowse,
Whiles nightÕs black agents to their preys do rouse.
Thou marvellÕst at my words: but hold thee still;
Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill.
So, prÕythee, go with me.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE III. The same. A Park or Lawn, with a gate leading to the Palace.
Enter threeÊMurderers.
FIRST MURDERER.
But who did bid thee join with us?
THIRD MURDERER.
Macbeth.
SECOND MURDERER.
He needs not our mistrust; since he delivers
Our offices and what we have to do
To the direction just.
FIRST MURDERER.
Then stand with us.
The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day.
Now spurs the lated traveller apace,
To gain the timely inn; and near approaches
The subject of our watch.
THIRD MURDERER.
Hark! I hear horses.
BANQUO.
[Within.] Give us a light there, ho!
SECOND MURDERER.
Then Õtis he; the rest
That are within the note of expectation
Already are iÕ thÕ court.
FIRST MURDERER.
His horses go about.
THIRD MURDERER.
Almost a mile; but he does usually,
So all men do, from hence to the palace gate
Make it their walk.
EnterÊBanquoÊandÊFleanceÊwith a torch.
SECOND MURDERER.
A light, a light!
THIRD MURDERER.
ÕTis he.
FIRST MURDERER.
Stand toÕt.
BANQUO.
It will be rain tonight.
FIRST MURDERER.
Let it come down.
[AssaultsÊBanquo.]
BANQUO.
O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!
Thou mayst revengeÑO slave!
[Dies.ÊFleanceÊescapes.]
THIRD MURDERER.
Who did strike out the light?
FIRST MURDERER.
WasÕt not the way?
THIRD MURDERER.
ThereÕs but one down: the son is fled.
SECOND MURDERER.
We have lost best half of our affair.
FIRST MURDERER.
Well, letÕs away, and say how much is done.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE IV. The same. A Room of state in the Palace.
A banquet prepared. EnterÊMacbeth, Lady Macbeth, Ross, Lennox,ÊLords and Attendants.
MACBETH.
You know your own degrees, sit down. At first
And last the hearty welcome.
LORDS.
Thanks to your Majesty.
MACBETH.
Ourself will mingle with society,
And play the humble host.
Our hostess keeps her state; but, in best time,
We will require her welcome.
LADY MACBETH.
Pronounce it for me, sir, to all our friends;
For my heart speaks they are welcome.
Enter firstÊMurdererÊto the door.
MACBETH.
See, they encounter thee with their heartsÕ thanks.
Both sides are even: here IÕll sit iÕ thÕ midst.
Be large in mirth; anon weÕll drink a measure
The table round. ThereÕs blood upon thy face.
MURDERER.
ÕTis BanquoÕs then.
MACBETH.
ÕTis better thee without than he within.
Is he dispatchÕd?
MURDERER.
My lord, his throat is cut. That I did for him.
MACBETH.
Thou art the best oÕ thÕ cut-throats;
Yet heÕs good that did the like for Fleance:
If thou didst it, thou art the nonpareil.
MURDERER.
Most royal sir,
Fleance is ÕscapÕd.
MACBETH.
Then comes my fit again: I had else been perfect;
Whole as the marble, founded as the rock,
As broad and general as the casing air:
But now I am cabinÕd, cribbÕd, confinÕd, bound in
To saucy doubts and fears. But BanquoÕs safe?
MURDERER.
Ay, my good lord. Safe in a ditch he bides,
With twenty trenched gashes on his head;
The least a death to nature.
MACBETH.
Thanks for that.
There the grown serpent lies; the worm thatÕs fled
Hath nature that in time will venom breed,
No teeth for thÕ present.ÑGet thee gone; tomorrow
WeÕll hear, ourselves, again.
[ExitÊMurderer.]
LADY MACBETH.
My royal lord,
You do not give the cheer: the feast is sold
That is not often vouchÕd, while Õtis a-making,
ÕTis given with welcome. To feed were best at home;
From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony;
Meeting were bare without it.
The Ghost of Banquo rises, and sits in MacbethÕs place.
MACBETH.
Sweet remembrancer!Ñ
Now, good digestion wait on appetite,
And health on both!
LENNOX.
MayÕt please your Highness sit.
MACBETH.
Here had we now our countryÕs honour roofÕd,
Were the gracÕd person of our Banquo present;
Who may I rather challenge for unkindness
Than pity for mischance!
ROSS.
His absence, sir,
Lays blame upon his promise. PleaseÕt your Highness
To grace us with your royal company?
MACBETH.
The tableÕs full.
LENNOX.
Here is a place reservÕd, sir.
MACBETH.
Where?
LENNOX.
Here, my good lord. What isÕt that moves your Highness?
MACBETH.
Which of you have done this?
LORDS.
What, my good lord?
MACBETH.
Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake
Thy gory locks at me.
ROSS.
Gentlemen, rise; his Highness is not well.
LADY MACBETH.
Sit, worthy friends. My lord is often thus,
And hath been from his youth: pray you, keep seat;
The fit is momentary; upon a thought
He will again be well. If much you note him,
You shall offend him, and extend his passion.
Feed, and regard him not.ÑAre you a man?
MACBETH.
Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that
Which might appal the devil.
LADY MACBETH.
O proper stuff!
This is the very painting of your fear:
This is the air-drawn dagger which you said,
Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws, and starts
(Impostors to true fear), would well become
A womanÕs story at a winterÕs fire,
AuthorisÕd by her grandam. Shame itself!
Why do you make such faces? When allÕs done,
You look but on a stool.
MACBETH.
PrÕythee, see there!
Behold! look! lo! how say you?
Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too.Ñ
If charnel houses and our graves must send
Those that we bury back, our monuments
Shall be the maws of kites.
[Ghost disappears.]
LADY MACBETH.
What, quite unmannÕd in folly?
MACBETH.
If I stand here, I saw him.
LADY MACBETH.
Fie, for shame!
MACBETH.
Blood hath been shed ere now, iÕ thÕ olden time,
Ere humane statute purgÕd the gentle weal;
Ay, and since too, murders have been performÕd
Too terrible for the ear: the time has been,
That, when the brains were out, the man would die,
And there an end; but now they rise again,
With twenty mortal murders on their crowns,
And push us from our stools. This is more strange
Than such a murder is.
LADY MACBETH.
My worthy lord,
Your noble friends do lack you.
MACBETH.
I do forget.Ñ
Do not muse at me, my most worthy friends.
I have a strange infirmity, which is nothing
To those that know me. Come, love and health to all;
Then IÕll sit down.ÑGive me some wine, fill full.Ñ
I drink to the general joy oÕ thÕ whole table,
And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss:
Would he were here.
Ghost rises again.
To all, and him, we thirst,
And all to all.
LORDS.
Our duties, and the pledge.
MACBETH.
Avaunt! and quit my sight! let the earth hide thee!
Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;
Thou hast no speculation in those eyes
Which thou dost glare with!
LADY MACBETH.
Think of this, good peers,
But as a thing of custom: Õtis no other,
Only it spoils the pleasure of the time.
MACBETH.
What man dare, I dare:
Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear,
The armÕd rhinoceros, or thÕ Hyrcan tiger;
Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves
Shall never tremble: or be alive again,
And dare me to the desert with thy sword;
If trembling I inhabit then, protest me
The baby of a girl. Hence, horrible shadow!
Unreal mockÕry, hence!
[Ghost disappears.]
Why, so;Ñbeing gone,
I am a man again.ÑPray you, sit still.
LADY MACBETH.
You have displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting
With most admirÕd disorder.
MACBETH.
Can such things be,
And overcome us like a summerÕs cloud,
Without our special wonder? You make me strange
Even to the disposition that I owe,
When now I think you can behold such sights,
And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks,
When mine are blanchÕd with fear.
ROSS.
What sights, my lord?
LADY MACBETH.
I pray you, speak not; he grows worse and worse;
Question enrages him. At once, good night:Ñ
Stand not upon the order of your going,
But go at once.
LENNOX.
Good night; and better health
Attend his Majesty!
LADY MACBETH.
A kind good night to all!
[Exeunt all Lords and Attendants.]
MACBETH.
It will have blood, they say, blood will have blood.
Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak;
Augurs, and understood relations, have
By magot-pies, and choughs, and rooks, brought forth
The secretÕst man of blood.ÑWhat is the night?
LADY MACBETH.
Almost at odds with morning, which is which.
MACBETH.
How sayÕst thou, that Macduff denies his person
At our great bidding?
LADY MACBETH.
Did you send to him, sir?
MACBETH.
I hear it by the way; but I will send.
ThereÕs not a one of them but in his house
I keep a servant feeÕd. I will tomorrow
(And betimes I will) to the Weird Sisters:
More shall they speak; for now I am bent to know,
By the worst means, the worst. For mine own good,
All causes shall give way: I am in blood
SteppÕd in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go oÕer.
Strange things I have in head, that will to hand,
Which must be acted ere they may be scannÕd.
LADY MACBETH.
You lack the season of all natures, sleep.
MACBETH.
Come, weÕll to sleep. My strange and self-abuse
Is the initiate fear that wants hard use.
We are yet but young in deed.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE V. The heath.
Thunder. Enter the threeÊWitchesÊmeetingÊHecate.
FIRST WITCH.
Why, how now, Hecate? you look angerly.
HECATE.
Have I not reason, beldams as you are,
Saucy and overbold? How did you dare
To trade and traffic with Macbeth
In riddles and affairs of death;
And I, the mistress of your charms,
The close contriver of all harms,
Was never callÕd to bear my part,
Or show the glory of our art?
And, which is worse, all you have done
Hath been but for a wayward son,
Spiteful and wrathful; who, as others do,
Loves for his own ends, not for you.
But make amends now: get you gone,
And at the pit of Acheron
Meet me iÕ thÕ morning: thither he
Will come to know his destiny.
Your vessels and your spells provide,
Your charms, and everything beside.
I am for thÕ air; this night IÕll spend
Unto a dismal and a fatal end.
Great business must be wrought ere noon.
Upon the corner of the moon
There hangs a vapÕrous drop profound;
IÕll catch it ere it come to ground:
And that, distillÕd by magic sleights,
Shall raise such artificial sprites,
As, by the strength of their illusion,
Shall draw him on to his confusion.
He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear
His hopes Õbove wisdom, grace, and fear.
And you all know, security
Is mortalsÕ chiefest enemy.
[Music and song within, ÒCome away, come awayÓ &c.]
Hark! I am callÕd; my little spirit, see,
Sits in a foggy cloud and stays for me.
[Exit.]
FIRST WITCH.
Come, letÕs make haste; sheÕll soon be back again.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE VI. Forres. A Room in the Palace.
EnterÊLennoxÊand anotherÊLord.
LENNOX.
My former speeches have but hit your thoughts,
Which can interpret farther: only, I say,
ThingÕs have been strangely borne. The gracious Duncan
Was pitied of Macbeth:Ñmarry, he was dead:Ñ
And the right valiant Banquo walkÕd too late;
Whom, you may say, ifÕt please you, Fleance killÕd,
For Fleance fled. Men must not walk too late.
Who cannot want the thought, how monstrous
It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain
To kill their gracious father? damned fact!
How it did grieve Macbeth! did he not straight,
In pious rage, the two delinquents tear
That were the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep?
Was not that nobly done? Ay, and wisely too;
For Õtwould have angerÕd any heart alive,
To hear the men denyÕt. So that, I say,
He has borne all things well: and I do think,
That had he DuncanÕs sons under his key
(As, andÕt please heaven, he shall not) they should find
What Õtwere to kill a father; so should Fleance.
But, peace!Ñfor from broad words, and Õcause he failÕd
His presence at the tyrantÕs feast, I hear,
Macduff lives in disgrace. Sir, can you tell
Where he bestows himself?
LORD.
The son of Duncan,
From whom this tyrant holds the due of birth,
Lives in the English court and is receivÕd
Of the most pious Edward with such grace
That the malevolence of fortune nothing
Takes from his high respect. Thither Macduff
Is gone to pray the holy king, upon his aid
To wake Northumberland, and warlike Siward
That, by the help of these (with Him above
To ratify the work), we may again
Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights;
Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives,
Do faithful homage, and receive free honours,
All which we pine for now. And this report
Hath so exasperate the King that he
Prepares for some attempt of war.
LENNOX.
Sent he to Macduff?
LORD.
He did: and with an absolute ÒSir, not I,Ó
The cloudy messenger turns me his back,
And hums, as who should say, ÒYouÕll rue the time
That clogs me with this answer.Ó
LENNOX.
And that well might
Advise him to a caution, tÕ hold what distance
His wisdom can provide. Some holy angel
Fly to the court of England, and unfold
His message ere he come, that a swift blessing
May soon return to this our suffering country
Under a hand accursÕd!
LORD.
IÕll send my prayers with him.
[Exeunt.]
ACT IV
SCENE I. A dark Cave. In the middle, a Cauldron Boiling.
Thunder. Enter the threeÊWitches.
FIRST WITCH.
Thrice the brinded cat hath mewÕd.
SECOND WITCH.
Thrice, and once the hedge-pig whinÕd.
THIRD WITCH.
Harpier cries:ÑÕTis time, Õtis time.
FIRST WITCH.
Round about the cauldron go;
In the poisonÕd entrails throw.Ñ
Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
SwelterÕd venom sleeping got,
Boil thou first iÕ thÕ charmed pot!
ALL.
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and cauldron, bubble.
SECOND WITCH.
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt, and toe of frog,
Wool of bat, and tongue of dog,
AdderÕs fork, and blind-wormÕs sting,
LizardÕs leg, and howletÕs wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL.
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and cauldron, bubble.
THIRD WITCH.
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
WitchÕs mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravinÕd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock diggÕd iÕ thÕ dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
SliverÕd in the moonÕs eclipse,
Nose of Turk, and TartarÕs lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliverÕd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tigerÕs chaudron,
For thÕ ingredients of our cauldron.
ALL.
Double, double, toil and trouble;
Fire, burn; and cauldron, bubble.
SECOND WITCH.
Cool it with a baboonÕs blood.
Then the charm is firm and good.
EnterÊHecate.
HECATE.
O, well done! I commend your pains,
And everyone shall share iÕ thÕ gains.
And now about the cauldron sing,
Like elves and fairies in a ring,
Enchanting all that you put in.
[Music and a song: ÒBlack Spirits,Ó &c.]
[ExitÊHecate.]
SECOND WITCH.
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.
Open, locks,
Whoever knocks!
EnterÊMacbeth.
MACBETH.
How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!
What isÕt you do?
ALL.
A deed without a name.
MACBETH.
I conjure you, by that which you profess,
(HoweÕer you come to know it) answer me:
Though you untie the winds, and let them fight
Against the churches; though the yesty waves
Confound and swallow navigation up;
Though bladed corn be lodgÕd, and trees blown down;
Though castles topple on their wardersÕ heads;
Though palaces and pyramids do slope
Their heads to their foundations; though the treasure
Of natureÕs germens tumble all together,
Even till destruction sicken, answer me
To what I ask you.
FIRST WITCH.
Speak.
SECOND WITCH.
Demand.
THIRD WITCH.
WeÕll answer.
FIRST WITCH.
Say, if thouÕdst rather hear it from our mouths,
Or from our masters?
MACBETH.
Call Õem, let me see Õem.
FIRST WITCH.
Pour in sowÕs blood, that hath eaten
Her nine farrow; grease thatÕs sweaten
From the murdererÕs gibbet throw
Into the flame.
ALL.
Come, high or low;
Thyself and office deftly show!
[Thunder. An Apparition of an armed Head rises.]
MACBETH.
Tell me, thou unknown power,Ñ
FIRST WITCH.
He knows thy thought:
Hear his speech, but say thou naught.
APPARITION.
Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff;
Beware the Thane of Fife.ÑDismiss me.ÑEnough.
[Descends.]
MACBETH.
WhateÕer thou art, for thy good caution, thanks;
Thou hast harpÕd my fear aright.ÑBut one word more.
FIRST WITCH.
He will not be commanded. HereÕs another,
More potent than the first.
[Thunder. An Apparition of a bloody Child rises.]
APPARITION.
Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth!
MACBETH.
Had I three ears, IÕd hear thee.
APPARITION.
Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.
[Descends.]
MACBETH.
Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee?
But yet IÕll make assurance double sure,
And take a bond of fate. Thou shalt not live;
That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies,
And sleep in spite of thunder.
[Thunder. An Apparition of a Child crowned, with a tree in his hand, rises.]
What is this,
That rises like the issue of a king,
And wears upon his baby brow the round
And top of sovereignty?
ALL.
Listen, but speak not toÕt.
APPARITION.
Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care
Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are:
Macbeth shall never vanquishÕd be, until
Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill
Shall come against him.
[Descends.]
MACBETH.
That will never be:
Who can impress the forest; bid the tree
Unfix his earth-bound root? Sweet bodements, good!
Rebellious head, rise never till the wood
Of Birnam rise, and our high-placÕd Macbeth
Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath
To time and mortal custom.ÑYet my heart
Throbs to know one thing: tell me, if your art
Can tell so much, shall BanquoÕs issue ever
Reign in this kingdom?
ALL.
Seek to know no more.
MACBETH.
I will be satisfied: deny me this,
And an eternal curse fall on you! Let me know.
Why sinks that cauldron? and what noise is this?
[Hautboys.]
FIRST WITCH.
Show!
SECOND WITCH.
Show!
THIRD WITCH.
Show!
ALL.
Show his eyes, and grieve his heart;
Come like shadows, so depart!
[A show of eight kings appear, and pass over in order, the last with a glass in his hand; Banquo following.]
MACBETH.
Thou are too like the spirit of Banquo. Down!
Thy crown does sear mine eyeballs:Ñand thy hair,
Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first.
A third is like the former.ÑFilthy hags!
Why do you show me this?ÑA fourth!ÑStart, eyes!
What, will the line stretch out to thÕ crack of doom?
Another yet!ÑA seventh!ÑIÕll see no more:Ñ
And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glass
Which shows me many more; and some I see
That twofold balls and treble sceptres carry.
Horrible sight!ÑNow I see Õtis true;
For the blood-bolterÕd Banquo smiles upon me,
And points at them for his.ÑWhat! is this so?
FIRST WITCH.
Ay, sir, all this is so:Ñbut why
Stands Macbeth thus amazedly?Ñ
Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites,
And show the best of our delights.
IÕll charm the air to give a sound,
While you perform your antic round;
That this great king may kindly say,
Our duties did his welcome pay.
[Music. The Witches dance, and vanish.]
MACBETH.
Where are they? Gone?ÑLet this pernicious hour
Stand aye accursed in the calendar!Ñ
Come in, without there!
EnterÊLennox.
LENNOX.
WhatÕs your GraceÕs will?
MACBETH.
Saw you the Weird Sisters?
LENNOX.
No, my lord.
MACBETH.
Came they not by you?
LENNOX.
No, indeed, my lord.
MACBETH.
Infected be the air whereon they ride;
And damnÕd all those that trust them!ÑI did hear
The galloping of horse: who wasÕt came by?
LENNOX.
ÕTis two or three, my lord, that bring you word
Macduff is fled to England.
MACBETH.
Fled to England!
LENNOX.
Ay, my good lord.
MACBETH.
Time, thou anticipatÕst my dread exploits:
The flighty purpose never is oÕertook
Unless the deed go with it. From this moment
The very firstlings of my heart shall be
The firstlings of my hand. And even now,
To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done:
The castle of Macduff I will surprise;
Seize upon Fife; give to thÕ edge oÕ thÕ sword
His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls
That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool;
This deed IÕll do before this purpose cool:
But no more sights!ÑWhere are these gentlemen?
Come, bring me where they are.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE II. Fife. A Room in MacduffÕs Castle.
EnterÊLady MacduffÊherÊSonÊandÊRoss.
LADY MACDUFF.
What had he done, to make him fly the land?
ROSS.
You must have patience, madam.
LADY MACDUFF.
He had none:
His flight was madness: when our actions do not,
Our fears do make us traitors.
ROSS.
You know not
Whether it was his wisdom or his fear.
LADY MACDUFF.
Wisdom! to leave his wife, to leave his babes,
His mansion, and his titles, in a place
From whence himself does fly? He loves us not:
He wants the natural touch; for the poor wren,
The most diminutive of birds, will fight,
Her young ones in her nest, against the owl.
All is the fear, and nothing is the love;
As little is the wisdom, where the flight
So runs against all reason.
ROSS.
My dearest coz,
I pray you, school yourself: but, for your husband,
He is noble, wise, judicious, and best knows
The fits oÕ thÕ season. I dare not speak much further:
But cruel are the times, when we are traitors,
And do not know ourselves; when we hold rumour
From what we fear, yet know not what we fear,
But float upon a wild and violent sea
Each way and moveÑI take my leave of you:
Shall not be long but IÕll be here again.
Things at the worst will cease, or else climb upward
To what they were before.ÑMy pretty cousin,
Blessing upon you!
LADY MACDUFF.
FatherÕd he is, and yet heÕs fatherless.
ROSS.
I am so much a fool, should I stay longer,
It would be my disgrace and your discomfort:
I take my leave at once.
[Exit.]
LADY MACDUFF.
Sirrah, your fatherÕs dead.
And what will you do now? How will you live?
SON.
As birds do, mother.
LADY MACDUFF.
What, with worms and flies?
SON.
With what I get, I mean; and so do they.
LADY MACDUFF.
Poor bird! thouÕdst never fear the net nor lime,
The pit-fall nor the gin.
SON.
Why should I, mother? Poor birds they are not set for.
My father is not dead, for all your saying.
LADY MACDUFF.
Yes, he is dead: how wilt thou do for a father?
SON.
Nay, how will you do for a husband?
LADY MACDUFF.
Why, I can buy me twenty at any market.
SON.
Then youÕll buy Õem to sell again.
LADY MACDUFF.
Thou speakÕst with all thy wit;
And yet, iÕ faith, with wit enough for thee.
SON.
Was my father a traitor, mother?
LADY MACDUFF.
Ay, that he was.
SON.
What is a traitor?
LADY MACDUFF.
Why, one that swears and lies.
SON.
And be all traitors that do so?
LADY MACDUFF.
Every one that does so is a traitor, and must be hanged.
SON.
And must they all be hanged that swear and lie?
LADY MACDUFF.
Every one.
SON.
Who must hang them?
LADY MACDUFF.
Why, the honest men.
SON.
Then the liars and swearers are fools: for there are liars and swearers enow to beat the honest men and hang up them.
LADY MACDUFF.
Now, God help thee, poor monkey! But how wilt thou do for a father?
SON.
If he were dead, youÕld weep for him: if you would not, it were a good sign that I should quickly have a new father.
LADY MACDUFF.
Poor prattler, how thou talkÕst!
Enter aÊMessenger.
MESSENGER.
Bless you, fair dame! I am not to you known,
Though in your state of honour I am perfect.
I doubt some danger does approach you nearly:
If you will take a homely manÕs advice,
Be not found here; hence, with your little ones.
To fright you thus, methinks, I am too savage;
To do worse to you were fell cruelty,
Which is too nigh your person. Heaven preserve you!
I dare abide no longer.
[Exit.]
LADY MACDUFF.
Whither should I fly?
I have done no harm. But I remember now
I am in this earthly world, where to do harm
Is often laudable; to do good sometime
Accounted dangerous folly: why then, alas,
Do I put up that womanly defence,
To say I have done no harm? What are these faces?
EnterÊMurderers.
FIRST MURDERER.
Where is your husband?
LADY MACDUFF.
I hope, in no place so unsanctified
Where such as thou mayst find him.
FIRST MURDERER.
HeÕs a traitor.
SON.
Thou liest, thou shag-earÕd villain!
FIRST MURDERER.
What, you egg!
[Stabbing him.]
Young fry of treachery!
SON.
He has killÕd me, mother:
Run away, I pray you!
[Dies. ExitÊLady Macduff,Êcrying ÒMurder!Ó and pursued by the Murderers.]
SCENE III. England. Before the KingÕs Palace.
EnterÊMalcolmÊandÊMacduff.
MALCOLM.
Let us seek out some desolate shade and there
Weep our sad bosoms empty.
MACDUFF.
Let us rather
Hold fast the mortal sword, and, like good men,
Bestride our down-fallÕn birthdom. Each new morn
New widows howl, new orphans cry; new sorrows
Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds
As if it felt with Scotland, and yellÕd out
Like syllable of dolour.
MALCOLM.
What I believe, IÕll wail;
What know, believe; and what I can redress,
As I shall find the time to friend, I will.
What you have spoke, it may be so, perchance.
This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues,
Was once thought honest: you have loved him well;
He hath not touchÕd you yet. I am young; but something
You may deserve of him through me; and wisdom
To offer up a weak, poor, innocent lamb
To appease an angry god.
MACDUFF.
I am not treacherous.
MALCOLM.
But Macbeth is.
A good and virtuous nature may recoil
In an imperial charge. But I shall crave your pardon.
That which you are, my thoughts cannot transpose.
Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell:
Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace,
Yet grace must still look so.
MACDUFF.
I have lost my hopes.
MALCOLM.
Perchance even there where I did find my doubts.
Why in that rawness left you wife and child,
Those precious motives, those strong knots of love,
Without leave-taking?ÑI pray you,
Let not my jealousies be your dishonours,
But mine own safeties. You may be rightly just,
Whatever I shall think.
MACDUFF.
Bleed, bleed, poor country!
Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure,
For goodness dare not check thee! wear thou thy wrongs;
The title is affeerÕd.ÑFare thee well, lord:
I would not be the villain that thou thinkÕst
For the whole space thatÕs in the tyrantÕs grasp
And the rich East to boot.
MALCOLM.
Be not offended:
I speak not as in absolute fear of you.
I think our country sinks beneath the yoke;
It weeps, it bleeds; and each new day a gash
Is added to her wounds. I think, withal,
There would be hands uplifted in my right;
And here, from gracious England, have I offer
Of goodly thousands: but, for all this,
When I shall tread upon the tyrantÕs head,
Or wear it on my sword, yet my poor country
Shall have more vices than it had before,
More suffer, and more sundry ways than ever,
By him that shall succeed.
MACDUFF.
What should he be?
MALCOLM.
It is myself I mean; in whom I know
All the particulars of vice so grafted
That, when they shall be openÕd, black Macbeth
Will seem as pure as snow; and the poor state
Esteem him as a lamb, being comparÕd
With my confineless harms.
MACDUFF.
Not in the legions
Of horrid hell can come a devil more damnÕd
In evils to top Macbeth.
MALCOLM.
I grant him bloody,
Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful,
Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sin
That has a name: but thereÕs no bottom, none,
In my voluptuousness: your wives, your daughters,
Your matrons, and your maids, could not fill up
The cistern of my lust; and my desire
All continent impediments would oÕerbear,
That did oppose my will: better Macbeth
Than such an one to reign.
MACDUFF.
Boundless intemperance
In nature is a tyranny; it hath been
ThÕ untimely emptying of the happy throne,
And fall of many kings. But fear not yet
To take upon you what is yours: you may
Convey your pleasures in a spacious plenty,
And yet seem coldÑthe time you may so hoodwink.
We have willing dames enough; there cannot be
That vulture in you, to devour so many
As will to greatness dedicate themselves,
Finding it so inclinÕd.
MALCOLM.
With this there grows
In my most ill-composÕd affection such
A staunchless avarice, that, were I king,
I should cut off the nobles for their lands;
Desire his jewels, and this otherÕs house:
And my more-having would be as a sauce
To make me hunger more; that I should forge
Quarrels unjust against the good and loyal,
Destroying them for wealth.
MACDUFF.
This avarice
Sticks deeper; grows with more pernicious root
Than summer-seeming lust; and it hath been
The sword of our slain kings: yet do not fear;
Scotland hath foisons to fill up your will,
Of your mere own. All these are portable,
With other graces weighÕd.
MALCOLM.
But I have none: the king-becoming graces,
As justice, verity, tempÕrance, stableness,
Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness,
Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude,
I have no relish of them; but abound
In the division of each several crime,
Acting it many ways. Nay, had I power, I should
Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell,
Uproar the universal peace, confound
All unity on earth.
MACDUFF.
O Scotland, Scotland!
MALCOLM.
If such a one be fit to govern, speak:
I am as I have spoken.
MACDUFF.
Fit to govern?
No, not to live.ÑO nation miserable,
With an untitled tyrant bloody-scepterÕd,
When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again,
Since that the truest issue of thy throne
By his own interdiction stands accusÕd,
And does blaspheme his breed? Thy royal father
Was a most sainted king. The queen that bore thee,
OftÕner upon her knees than on her feet,
Died every day she lived. Fare thee well!
These evils thou repeatÕst upon thyself
Have banishÕd me from Scotland.ÑO my breast,
Thy hope ends here!
MALCOLM.
Macduff, this noble passion,
Child of integrity, hath from my soul
Wiped the black scruples, reconcilÕd my thoughts
To thy good truth and honour. Devilish Macbeth
By many of these trains hath sought to win me
Into his power, and modest wisdom plucks me
From over-credulous haste: but God above
Deal between thee and me! for even now
I put myself to thy direction, and
Unspeak mine own detraction; here abjure
The taints and blames I laid upon myself,
For strangers to my nature. I am yet
Unknown to woman; never was forsworn;
Scarcely have coveted what was mine own;
At no time broke my faith; would not betray
The devil to his fellow; and delight
No less in truth than life: my first false speaking
Was this upon myself. What I am truly,
Is thine and my poor countryÕs to command:
Whither, indeed, before thy here-approach,
Old Siward, with ten thousand warlike men,
Already at a point, was setting forth.
Now weÕll together, and the chance of goodness
Be like our warranted quarrel. Why are you silent?
MACDUFF.
Such welcome and unwelcome things at once
ÕTis hard to reconcile.
Enter aÊDoctor.
MALCOLM.
Well; more anon.ÑComes the King forth, I pray you?
DOCTOR.
Ay, sir. There are a crew of wretched souls
That stay his cure: their malady convinces
The great assay of art; but at his touch,
Such sanctity hath heaven given his hand,
They presently amend.
MALCOLM.
I thank you, doctor.
[ExitÊDoctor.]
MACDUFF.
WhatÕs the disease he means?
MALCOLM.
ÕTis callÕd the evil:
A most miraculous work in this good king;
Which often, since my here-remain in England,
I have seen him do. How he solicits heaven,
Himself best knows, but strangely-visited people,
All swoln and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye,
The mere despair of surgery, he cures;
Hanging a golden stamp about their necks,
Put on with holy prayers: and Õtis spoken,
To the succeeding royalty he leaves
The healing benediction. With this strange virtue,
He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy;
And sundry blessings hang about his throne,
That speak him full of grace.
EnterÊRoss.
MACDUFF.
See, who comes here?
MALCOLM.
My countryman; but yet I know him not.
MACDUFF.
My ever-gentle cousin, welcome hither.
MALCOLM.
I know him now. Good God, betimes remove
The means that makes us strangers!
ROSS.
Sir, amen.
MACDUFF.
Stands Scotland where it did?
ROSS.
Alas, poor country,
Almost afraid to know itself! It cannot
Be callÕd our mother, but our grave, where nothing,
But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile;
Where sighs, and groans, and shrieks, that rent the air,
Are made, not markÕd; where violent sorrow seems
A modern ecstasy. The dead manÕs knell
Is there scarce askÕd for who; and good menÕs lives
Expire before the flowers in their caps,
Dying or ere they sicken.
MACDUFF.
O, relation
Too nice, and yet too true!
MALCOLM.
WhatÕs the newest grief?
ROSS.
That of an hourÕs age doth hiss the speaker;
Each minute teems a new one.
MACDUFF.
How does my wife?
ROSS.
Why, well.
MACDUFF.
And all my children?
ROSS.
Well too.
MACDUFF.
The tyrant has not batterÕd at their peace?
ROSS.
No; they were well at peace when I did leave Õem.
MACDUFF.
Be not a niggard of your speech: how goesÕt?
ROSS.
When I came hither to transport the tidings,
Which I have heavily borne, there ran a rumour
Of many worthy fellows that were out;
Which was to my belief witnessÕd the rather,
For that I saw the tyrantÕs power afoot.
Now is the time of help. Your eye in Scotland
Would create soldiers, make our women fight,
To doff their dire distresses.
MALCOLM.
BeÕt their comfort
We are coming thither. Gracious England hath
Lent us good Siward and ten thousand men;
An older and a better soldier none
That Christendom gives out.
ROSS.
Would I could answer
This comfort with the like! But I have words
That would be howlÕd out in the desert air,
Where hearing should not latch them.
MACDUFF.
What concern they?
The general cause? or is it a fee-grief
Due to some single breast?
ROSS.
No mind thatÕs honest
But in it shares some woe, though the main part
Pertains to you alone.
MACDUFF.
If it be mine,
Keep it not from me, quickly let me have it.
ROSS.
Let not your ears despise my tongue for ever,
Which shall possess them with the heaviest sound
That ever yet they heard.
MACDUFF.
Humh! I guess at it.
ROSS.
Your castle is surprisÕd; your wife and babes
Savagely slaughterÕd. To relate the manner
Were, on the quarry of these murderÕd deer,
To add the death of you.
MALCOLM.
Merciful heaven!Ñ
What, man! neÕer pull your hat upon your brows.
Give sorrow words. The grief that does not speak
Whispers the oÕer-fraught heart, and bids it break.
MACDUFF.
My children too?
ROSS.
Wife, children, servants, all
That could be found.
MACDUFF.
And I must be from thence!
My wife killÕd too?
ROSS.
I have said.
MALCOLM.
Be comforted:
LetÕs make us medÕcines of our great revenge,
To cure this deadly grief.
MACDUFF.
He has no children.ÑAll my pretty ones?
Did you say all?ÑO hell-kite!ÑAll?
What, all my pretty chickens and their dam
At one fell swoop?
MALCOLM.
Dispute it like a man.
MACDUFF.
I shall do so;
But I must also feel it as a man:
I cannot but remember such things were,
That were most precious to me.ÑDid heaven look on,
And would not take their part? Sinful Macduff,
They were all struck for thee! Naught that I am,
Not for their own demerits, but for mine,
Fell slaughter on their souls: heaven rest them now!
MALCOLM.
Be this the whetstone of your sword. Let grief
Convert to anger; blunt not the heart, enrage it.
MACDUFF.
O, I could play the woman with mine eyes,
And braggart with my tongue!ÑBut, gentle heavens,
Cut short all intermission; front to front,
Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself;
Within my swordÕs length set him; if he Õscape,
Heaven forgive him too!
MALCOLM.
This tune goes manly.
Come, go we to the King. Our power is ready;
Our lack is nothing but our leave. Macbeth
Is ripe for shaking, and the powers above
Put on their instruments. Receive what cheer you may;
The night is long that never finds the day.
[Exeunt.]
ACT V
SCENE I. Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle.
Enter aÊDoctor of PhysicÊand aÊWaiting-Gentlewoman.
DOCTOR.
I have two nights watched with you, but can perceive no truth in your report. When was it she last walked?
GENTLEWOMAN.
Since his Majesty went into the field, I have seen her rise from her bed, throw her nightgown upon her, unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, write uponÕt, read it, afterwards seal it, and again return to bed; yet all this while in a most fast sleep.
DOCTOR.
A great perturbation in nature, to receive at once the benefit of sleep, and do the effects of watching. In this slumbery agitation, besides her walking and other actual performances, what, at any time, have you heard her say?
GENTLEWOMAN.
That, sir, which I will not report after her.
DOCTOR.
You may to me; and Õtis most meet you should.
GENTLEWOMAN.
Neither to you nor anyone; having no witness to confirm my speech.
EnterÊLady MacbethÊwith a taper.
Lo you, here she comes! This is her very guise; and, upon my life, fast asleep. Observe her; stand close.
DOCTOR.
How came she by that light?
GENTLEWOMAN.
Why, it stood by her: she has light by her continually; Õtis her command.
DOCTOR.
You see, her eyes are open.
GENTLEWOMAN.
Ay, but their sense are shut.
DOCTOR.
What is it she does now? Look how she rubs her hands.
GENTLEWOMAN.
It is an accustomed action with her, to seem thus washing her hands. I have known her continue in this a quarter of an hour.
LADY MACBETH.
Yet hereÕs a spot.
DOCTOR.
Hark, she speaks. I will set down what comes from her, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly.
LADY MACBETH.
Out, damned spot! out, I say! One; two. Why, then Õtis time to doÕt. Hell is murky! Fie, my lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?
DOCTOR.
Do you mark that?
LADY MACBETH.
The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?ÑWhat, will these hands neÕer be clean? No more oÕ that, my lord, no more oÕ that: you mar all with this starting.
DOCTOR.
Go to, go to. You have known what you should not.
GENTLEWOMAN.
She has spoke what she should not, I am sure of that: heaven knows what she has known.
LADY MACBETH.
HereÕs the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh, oh, oh!
DOCTOR.
What a sigh is there! The heart is sorely charged.
GENTLEWOMAN.
I would not have such a heart in my bosom for the dignity of the whole body.
DOCTOR.
Well, well, well.
GENTLEWOMAN.
Pray God it be, sir.
DOCTOR.
This disease is beyond my practice: yet I have known those which have walked in their sleep, who have died holily in their beds.
LADY MACBETH.
Wash your hands, put on your nightgown; look not so pale. I tell you yet again, BanquoÕs buried; he cannot come out onÕs grave.
DOCTOR.
Even so?
LADY MACBETH.
To bed, to bed. ThereÕs knocking at the gate. Come, come, come, come, give me your hand. WhatÕs done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed.
[Exit.]
DOCTOR.
Will she go now to bed?
GENTLEWOMAN.
Directly.
DOCTOR.
Foul whispÕrings are abroad. Unnatural deeds
Do breed unnatural troubles: infected minds
To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets.
More needs she the divine than the physician.Ñ
God, God, forgive us all! Look after her;
Remove from her the means of all annoyance,
And still keep eyes upon her. So, good night:
My mind she has mated, and amazÕd my sight.
I think, but dare not speak.
GENTLEWOMAN.
Good night, good doctor.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE II. The Country near Dunsinane.
Enter, with drum and coloursÊMenteith, Caithness, Angus, LennoxÊand Soldiers.
MENTEITH.
The English power is near, led on by Malcolm,
His uncle Siward, and the good Macduff.
Revenges burn in them; for their dear causes
Would to the bleeding and the grim alarm
Excite the mortified man.
ANGUS.
Near Birnam wood
Shall we well meet them. That way are they coming.
CAITHNESS.
Who knows if Donalbain be with his brother?
LENNOX.
For certain, sir, he is not. I have a file
Of all the gentry: there is SiwardÕs son
And many unrough youths, that even now
Protest their first of manhood.
MENTEITH.
What does the tyrant?
CAITHNESS.
Great Dunsinane he strongly fortifies.
Some say heÕs mad; others, that lesser hate him,
Do call it valiant fury: but, for certain,
He cannot buckle his distemperÕd cause
Within the belt of rule.
ANGUS.
Now does he feel
His secret murders sticking on his hands;
Now minutely revolts upbraid his faith-breach;
Those he commands move only in command,
Nothing in love: now does he feel his title
Hang loose about him, like a giantÕs robe
Upon a dwarfish thief.
MENTEITH.
Who, then, shall blame
His pesterÕd senses to recoil and start,
When all that is within him does condemn
Itself for being there?
CAITHNESS.
Well, march we on,
To give obedience where Õtis truly owÕd:
Meet we the medÕcine of the sickly weal;
And with him pour we, in our countryÕs purge,
Each drop of us.
LENNOX.
Or so much as it needs
To dew the sovereign flower, and drown the weeds.
Make we our march towards Birnam.
[Exeunt, marching.]
SCENE III. Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle.
EnterÊMacbeth, DoctorÊand Attendants.
MACBETH.
Bring me no more reports; let them fly all:
Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane
I cannot taint with fear. WhatÕs the boy Malcolm?
Was he not born of woman? The spirits that know
All mortal consequences have pronouncÕd me thus:
ÒFear not, Macbeth; no man thatÕs born of woman
Shall eÕer have power upon thee.ÓÑThen fly, false thanes,
And mingle with the English epicures:
The mind I sway by, and the heart I bear,
Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear.
Enter aÊServant.
The devil damn thee black, thou cream-facÕd loon!
Where gottÕst thou that goose look?
SERVANT.
There is ten thousandÑ
MACBETH.
Geese, villain?
SERVANT.
Soldiers, sir.
MACBETH.
Go prick thy face and over-red thy fear,
Thou lily-liverÕd boy. What soldiers, patch?
Death of thy soul! those linen cheeks of thine
Are counsellors to fear. What soldiers, whey-face?
SERVANT.
The English force, so please you.
MACBETH.
Take thy face hence.
[Exit Servant.]
Seyton!ÑI am sick at heart,
When I beholdÑSeyton, I say!ÑThis push
Will cheer me ever or disseat me now.
I have livÕd long enough: my way of life
Is fallÕn into the sere, the yellow leaf;
And that which should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but, in their stead,
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath,
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.
Seyton!Ñ
EnterÊSeyton.
SEYTON.
WhatÕs your gracious pleasure?
MACBETH.
What news more?
SEYTON.
All is confirmÕd, my lord, which was reported.
MACBETH.
IÕll fight till from my bones my flesh be hackÕd.
Give me my armour.
SEYTON.
ÕTis not needed yet.
MACBETH.
IÕll put it on.
Send out more horses, skirr the country round;
Hang those that talk of fear. Give me mine armour.Ñ
How does your patient, doctor?
DOCTOR.
Not so sick, my lord,
As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies,
That keep her from her rest.
MACBETH.
Cure her of that:
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseasÕd,
Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain,
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the stuffÕd bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?
DOCTOR.
Therein the patient
Must minister to himself.
MACBETH.
Throw physic to the dogs, IÕll none of it.
Come, put mine armour on; give me my staff:
Seyton, send out.ÑDoctor, the Thanes fly from me.Ñ
Come, sir, despatch.ÑIf thou couldst, doctor, cast
The water of my land, find her disease,
And purge it to a sound and pristine health,
I would applaud thee to the very echo,
That should applaud again.ÑPullÕt off, I say.Ñ
What rhubarb, senna, or what purgative drug,
Would scour these English hence? HearÕst thou of them?
DOCTOR.
Ay, my good lord. Your royal preparation
Makes us hear something.
MACBETH.
Bring it after me.Ñ
I will not be afraid of death and bane,
Till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane.
[Exeunt all exceptÊDoctor.]
DOCTOR.
Were I from Dunsinane away and clear,
Profit again should hardly draw me here.
[Exit.]
SCENE IV. Country near Dunsinane: a Wood in view.
Enter, with drum and coloursÊMalcolm, old SiwardÊand his Son,ÊMacduff, Menteith, Caithness, Angus, Lennox, RossÊand Soldiers, marching.
MALCOLM.
Cousins, I hope the days are near at hand
That chambers will be safe.
MENTEITH.
We doubt it nothing.
SIWARD.
What wood is this before us?
MENTEITH.
The wood of Birnam.
MALCOLM.
Let every soldier hew him down a bough,
And bearÕt before him. Thereby shall we shadow
The numbers of our host, and make discovery
Err in report of us.
SOLDIERS.
It shall be done.
SIWARD.
We learn no other but the confident tyrant
Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure
Our setting down beforeÕt.
MALCOLM.
ÕTis his main hope;
For where there is advantage to be given,
Both more and less have given him the revolt,
And none serve with him but constrained things,
Whose hearts are absent too.
MACDUFF.
Let our just censures
Attend the true event, and put we on
Industrious soldiership.
SIWARD.
The time approaches,
That will with due decision make us know
What we shall say we have, and what we owe.
Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate,
But certain issue strokes must arbitrate;
Towards which advance the war.
[Exeunt, marching.]
SCENE V. Dunsinane. Within the castle.
Enter with drum and colours,ÊMacbeth, SeytonÊand Soldiers.
MACBETH.
Hang out our banners on the outward walls;
The cry is still, ÒThey come!Ó Our castleÕs strength
Will laugh a siege to scorn: here let them lie
Till famine and the ague eat them up.
Were they not forcÕd with those that should be ours,
We might have met them dareful, beard to beard,
And beat them backward home.
[A cry of women within.]
What is that noise?
SEYTON.
It is the cry of women, my good lord.
[Exit.]
MACBETH.
I have almost forgot the taste of fears.
The time has been, my senses would have coolÕd
To hear a night-shriek; and my fell of hair
Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir
As life were inÕt. I have suppÕd full with horrors;
Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts,
Cannot once start me.
EnterÊSeyton.
Wherefore was that cry?
SEYTON.
The Queen, my lord, is dead.
MACBETH.
She should have died hereafter.
There would have been a time for such a word.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
LifeÕs but a walking shadow; a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Enter aÊMessenger.
Thou comÕst to use thy tongue; thy story quickly.
MESSENGER.
Gracious my lord,
I should report that which I say I saw,
But know not how to doÕt.
MACBETH.
Well, say, sir.
MESSENGER.
As I did stand my watch upon the hill,
I lookÕd toward Birnam, and anon, methought,
The wood began to move.
MACBETH.
Liar, and slave!
MESSENGER.
Let me endure your wrath, ifÕt be not so.
Within this three mile may you see it coming;
I say, a moving grove.
MACBETH.
If thou speakÕst false,
Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive,
Till famine cling thee: if thy speech be sooth,
I care not if thou dost for me as much.Ñ
I pull in resolution; and begin
To doubt thÕ equivocation of the fiend,
That lies like truth. ÒFear not, till Birnam wood
Do come to Dunsinane;Ó and now a wood
Comes toward Dunsinane.ÑArm, arm, and out!Ñ
If this which he avouches does appear,
There is nor flying hence nor tarrying here.
I Õgin to be aweary of the sun,
And wish thÕ estate oÕ thÕ world were now undone.Ñ
Ring the alarum bell!ÑBlow, wind! come, wrack!
At least weÕll die with harness on our back.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE VI. The same. A Plain before the Castle.
Enter, with drum and colours,ÊMalcolm, old Siward, MacduffÊand their Army, with boughs.
MALCOLM.
Now near enough. Your leafy screens throw down,
And show like those you are.ÑYou, worthy uncle,
Shall with my cousin, your right noble son,
Lead our first battle: worthy Macduff and we
Shall take uponÕs what else remains to do,
According to our order.
SIWARD.
Fare you well.Ñ
Do we but find the tyrantÕs power tonight,
Let us be beaten, if we cannot fight.
MACDUFF.
Make all our trumpets speak; give them all breath,
Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death.
[Exeunt.]
SCENE VII. The same. Another part of the Plain.
Alarums. EnterÊMacbeth.
MACBETH.
They have tied me to a stake. I cannot fly,
But, bear-like I must fight the course.ÑWhatÕs he
That was not born of woman? Such a one
Am I to fear, or none.
Enter youngÊSiward.
YOUNG SIWARD.
What is thy name?
MACBETH.
ThouÕlt be afraid to hear it.
YOUNG SIWARD.
No; though thou callÕst thyself a hotter name
Than any is in hell.
MACBETH.
My nameÕs Macbeth.
YOUNG SIWARD.
The devil himself could not pronounce a title
More hateful to mine ear.
MACBETH.
No, nor more fearful.
YOUNG SIWARD.
Thou liest, abhorred tyrant. With my sword
IÕll prove the lie thou speakÕst.
[They fight, and youngÊSiwardÊis slain.]
MACBETH.
Thou wast born of woman.
But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn,
BrandishÕd by man thatÕs of a woman born.
[Exit.]
Alarums. EnterÊMacduff.
MACDUFF.
That way the noise is.ÑTyrant, show thy face!
If thou beÕst slain and with no stroke of mine,
My wife and childrenÕs ghosts will haunt me still.
I cannot strike at wretched kerns, whose arms
Are hired to bear their staves. Either thou, Macbeth,
Or else my sword, with an unbatterÕd edge,
I sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be;
By this great clatter, one of greatest note
Seems bruited. Let me find him, Fortune!
And more I beg not.
[Exit. Alarums.]
EnterÊMalcolmÊand oldÊSiward.
SIWARD.
This way, my lord;Ñthe castleÕs gently renderÕd:
The tyrantÕs people on both sides do fight;
The noble thanes do bravely in the war,
The day almost itself professes yours,
And little is to do.
MALCOLM.
We have met with foes
That strike beside us.
SIWARD.
Enter, sir, the castle.
[Exeunt. Alarums.]
SCENE VIII. The same. Another part of the field.
EnterÊMacbeth.
MACBETH.
Why should I play the Roman fool, and die
On mine own sword? whiles I see lives, the gashes
Do better upon them.
EnterÊMacduff.
MACDUFF.
Turn, hell-hound, turn!
MACBETH.
Of all men else I have avoided thee:
But get thee back; my soul is too much chargÕd
With blood of thine already.
MACDUFF.
I have no words;
My voice is in my sword: thou bloodier villain
Than terms can give thee out!
[They fight.]
MACBETH.
Thou losest labour:
As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air
With thy keen sword impress, as make me bleed:
Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests;
I bear a charmed life, which must not yield
To one of woman born.
MACDUFF.
Despair thy charm;
And let the angel whom thou still hast servÕd
Tell thee, Macduff was from his motherÕs womb
Untimely rippÕd.
MACBETH.
Accursed be that tongue that tells me so,
For it hath cowÕd my better part of man!
And be these juggling fiends no more believÕd,
That palter with us in a double sense;
That keep the word of promise to our ear,
And break it to our hope!ÑIÕll not fight with thee.
MACDUFF.
Then yield thee, coward,
And live to be the show and gaze oÕ thÕ time.
WeÕll have thee, as our rarer monsters are,
Painted upon a pole, and underwrit,
ÒHere may you see the tyrant.Ó
MACBETH.
I will not yield,
To kiss the ground before young MalcolmÕs feet,
And to be baited with the rabbleÕs curse.
Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane,
And thou opposÕd, being of no woman born,
Yet I will try the last. Before my body
I throw my warlike shield: lay on, Macduff;
And damnÕd be him that first cries, ÒHold, enough!Ó
[Exeunt fighting. Alarums.]
Retreat. Flourish. Enter, with drum and colours,ÊMalcolm, old Siward, Ross,ÊThanes and Soldiers.
MALCOLM.
I would the friends we miss were safe arrivÕd.
SIWARD.
Some must go off; and yet, by these I see,
So great a day as this is cheaply bought.
MALCOLM.
Macduff is missing, and your noble son.
ROSS.
Your son, my lord, has paid a soldierÕs debt:
He only livÕd but till he was a man;
The which no sooner had his prowess confirmÕd
In the unshrinking station where he fought,
But like a man he died.
SIWARD.
Then he is dead?
ROSS.
Ay, and brought off the field. Your cause of sorrow
Must not be measurÕd by his worth, for then
It hath no end.
SIWARD.
Had he his hurts before?
ROSS.
Ay, on the front.
SIWARD.
Why then, GodÕs soldier be he!
Had I as many sons as I have hairs,
I would not wish them to a fairer death:
And so his knell is knollÕd.
MALCOLM.
HeÕs worth more sorrow,
And that IÕll spend for him.
SIWARD.
HeÕs worth no more.
They say he parted well and paid his score:
And so, God be with him!ÑHere comes newer comfort.
EnterÊMacduffÊwith MacbethÕs head.
MACDUFF.
Hail, King, for so thou art. Behold, where stands
ThÕ usurperÕs cursed head: the time is free.
I see thee compassÕd with thy kingdomÕs pearl,
That speak my salutation in their minds;
Whose voices I desire aloud with mine,Ñ
Hail, King of Scotland!
ALL.
Hail, King of Scotland!
[Flourish.]
MALCOLM.
We shall not spend a large expense of time
Before we reckon with your several loves,
And make us even with you. My thanes and kinsmen,
Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland
In such an honour namÕd. WhatÕs more to do,
Which would be planted newly with the time,Ñ
As calling home our exilÕd friends abroad,
That fled the snares of watchful tyranny;
Producing forth the cruel ministers
Of this dead butcher, and his fiend-like queen,
Who, as Õtis thought, by self and violent hands
Took off her life;Ñthis, and what needful else
That calls upon us, by the grace of Grace,
We will perform in measure, time, and place.
So thanks to all at once, and to each one,
Whom we invite to see us crownÕd at Scone.
[Flourish. Exeunt.]