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WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE. 
 
XXth CENTURY SHAKESPEARE 
 
 MACBETH 
 
 By WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE 
 
 Edited with an Introduction and Notes 
 
 BY CYRUS LAURON HOOPER 
 
 Of the North-West Division High School 
 Chicago 
 
 
 Chicago 
 
 AINSWORTH &> COMPANY 
 
 1902 
 
.An hi l 
 
 THK LIBRARY OF 
 CONGRESS 
 
 Two Copies Received 
 
 W 1902 
 
 COPYRIGHT ENTRY 
 
 V ASS O^XXq No 
 
 a a * / 3 
 
 copy g 
 
 Copyright, 1902 
 By Ainsworth & Company 
 
NOTE. 
 
 This edition of " Macbeth " is the third of the XXth Century 
 Shakespeare series ; the plan and the purpose are set forth in " Julius 
 Caesar," the first to appear. 
 
 The text is that of the Clarendon Press edition. 
 
 In the preparation of notes, the editor acknowledges obligations 
 to Furness, Rolfe, and Clark and Wright (editors of the Clarendon 
 Press series). In the preparation of the introduction, valuable help 
 was obtained from Rolfe's " Shakespeare the Boy," Guerber's " Myths 
 of Northern Lands," and Fiske's " Myths and Myth-Makers." 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 Many things have happened fortunately for the world — things 
 which the same world takes as a matter of course, unworthy of 
 comment One of these is that Shakespeare was born in an age 
 when the impress of the myths of the ancient world was not 
 wholly effaced from the plastic minds of men. Those ancient 
 people, knowing little, imagined much, ever with the intent of 
 explaining the nature and causes of phenomena ; and they be- 
 queathed to their descendants a brood of superstitions that made 
 the night a season of terror, so full was it of malign beings who 
 lay in wait to snare unhappy mortals. Let but a dog howl beneath 
 the window, and a gloom would settle over the features of those 
 who sat in the firelight ; they would look into one another's faces, 
 their imaginations peopling the air about the doomed house with 
 the dark powers of the unseen world, for they believed that the 
 howl was a sure sign that one of the family circle would soon be 
 called to wander forth alone into the undiscovered land of Death ; 
 and with silent fear they wondered, Which? As late as 1584, 
 Reginald Scot, in his Discoverie of Witchcraft, found it neces- 
 sary to combat the superstitions of his time, so firmly grounded in 
 the popular mind was their influence ; and not only in the popular 
 mind, but even in that of scholars ; for James I. condemned the 
 book and ordered it burned by the hangman. Even the clergymen, 
 so tenacious a grip had the pagan world upon them, attacked Scot 
 for his disbelief in magic and witchcraft. Doubtless, Shakespeare, 
 when a boy, knew no better than his king and the divines : we can 
 fancy him, when returning at night from some expedition afield, 
 slipping along stealthily by the hedges, or shooting past the dark 
 corners and alleys of Stratford, clutching his amulets and mut- 
 tering charms, lest a loud footfall might awaken the anger of some 
 warlock, or bring upon him the blighting glance of a witch's evil 
 
 v 
 
vi INTRODUCTION. 
 
 eye. Had he not felt these fears he could not have written " Mac- 
 beth," the tragedy of that dark age when the powers of darkness 
 lay heavily upon the minds of men. 
 
 The master judge of human hearts realized how deep these 
 beliefs were grounded in the popular mind, and appealed so 
 strongly to them that we, too, of this later age, are made believers 
 as we read. We cannot criticise the great drama as Carlyle crit- 
 icised " Tarn O'Shanter," saying it was only a brilliant piece of 
 rhetoric, utterly failing to carry the reader back to the time when 
 warlocks and witches were believed in ; we do not pause over the 
 prophecies of the weird women, or even over the apparitions that 
 arise from their flaming cauldron, and say, " This cannot be ; " we 
 read and believe ; are impressed scarcely less than Shakespeare ; 
 scarcely less than Macbeth ; and not until we lay down the book, 
 or see the curtain fall, do we realize that we are prosaic moderns, 
 bereft of the tingle of the supernatural. 
 
 The English are a northern race : they formerly held strange 
 beliefs concerning the powers that made the world — beliefs an- 
 ciently born in Germany and about the fiords of Scandinavia. 
 Wodensday, Wednesday, the day of Odin, is our reminder of the 
 greatest of these ancient gods, about whom centers a cycle of giant 
 myths. Seated in his dragon throne-chair, with two ravens, Hugin, 
 thought, and Munin, memory, on his shoulders, he listens to their 
 tales of what they have seen and heard in their daily flight through 
 the world. At his feet lie two hounds, or wolves, who accompany 
 him when he goes to wander over the earth. The ancient peoples, 
 when they heard the wind roaring through countless leagues of 
 forest on the mountain sides, listened breathlessly, for this to them 
 was Odin on his Wild Hunt, riding his eight-footed horse, Sleipnir, 
 by whom coursed the baying hounds. It is difficult for us to fancy 
 the awe inspired by the coming of this god — the wide-open eyes, 
 the muffled heart-beats, the long-held breaths : but to those ancient 
 pagans, the occasion was one of terror ; for Odin was the god who 
 carried away the souls of the dead ; the baying of his hounds was 
 a sure sign of death, as the howling of a dog was in Shakespeare's 
 time, and is to-day among the superstitious. To this Wild Hunt, 
 too, we owe the oldest of northern riddles : " Who are the two 
 who ride to the Thing? Three eyes have they together, ten feet, 
 and one tail ; and thus they travel through the lands." 
 
THE WEIRD WOMEN. vii 
 
 Of the three eyes, Sleipnir possessed two, and Odin one ; for 
 once, wishing to attain knowledge commensurate with his divinity, 
 Odin went on a long journey to the abode of Mimir, who lived by 
 a spring or well, in whose clear deeps were mirrored all things, even 
 the events of the future, and asked for a look into it. But Mimir, 
 guarding his treasure jealously, would permit Odin to look only on 
 condition that the god would give him one of his eyes. With divine 
 courage, Odin plucked out an eye, and with the other looked long 
 and deeply into Mimir's fountain. The old writings say he went 
 away saddened forever ; for the future had only destruction for all 
 things, even for the gods themselves. 
 
 Odin knew the future : but there was a mysterious Three who 
 did more than know — the Norns, goddesses of Destiny; the three 
 spinners of the web of Fate. Daily they sat under the ever-green, 
 world-shadowing ash tree, \ggdrasil, the symbol of Life, where they 
 sang a tragic song as they span. Urd, Verdandi, and Skuld, they 
 were called : Urd, old and ominous, living in memory of times gone 
 by, ever looked backward; Verdandi, young and hopeful, gazed 
 ahead; Skuld, veiled and mysterious, holding a rolled scroll in her 
 hand, turned her head away from Urd, and dwelt on days to come : 
 thus they typified past, present, and future. At times they wove a 
 web so great that one sat on a mountain in the far east, and an- 
 other retreated into the western sea. Sometimes the shuttle, as it 
 shot to and fro, carried a black thread, omen of death. These three 
 determined the lives of gods and men ; not from caprice, but rather 
 in obedience to a law higher and mightier than themselves, typified 
 in Orlog, the god of Fate, whose commands no power could recall. 
 
 These time-rooted beliefs descended to the tribes that crossed the 
 German Ocean, displaced the Celts, and dwelt on the Isle of Brit- 
 ain ; gradually the ancient significance of gods and Norns was lost. 
 The Wild Hunt became Herlathing, from the mythical king, Herla, 
 its leader ; the myth of Odin's dogs dwindled into a mere super- 
 stition, with little or no connection with the old story ; the Norns 
 became the weird women, or witches, whom Holinshed describes as 
 meeting Macbeth and Banquo as they journeyed toward Forres — 
 " three women in strange and wild apparel, resembling creatures of 
 elder world." These beings, having lost their former world-power, 
 now worked mischief upon mortal men, winning them with honest 
 trifles to betray them in deepest consequence. 
 
viii INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Such was the history, doubtless, of the weird women whom 
 Shakespeare set upon Macbeth to nourish the seed of infamy within 
 him. Fancy them meeting him on the blasted heath, a man ripe for 
 the cultivation of evil. Would they not rejoice in their demoniac 
 way, like a hunter who finds, after long search, some rare bird or 
 beast to make a victim for his arrow ? Macbeth offered them an 
 unusual opportunity, one worth their while. Of royal blood, already 
 cherishing secret designs against the throne, anxious for incite- 
 ment, he was a prize to those spirits who lay in wait to snare the 
 human soul. The shadow of these wild beliefs of the northland 
 lay over the poet, and he could see deep into the deeper shadow 
 of Macbeth's darker age, and know the power of the prophecy, " All 
 hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter," on the half-savage, 
 half-Christianized thane; a power that only a great poet, and he 
 living in an age when the ancient beliefs were not yet dead, could 
 wholly understand. 
 
 Macbeth, then, had no firm basis of moral conduct. As in the 
 Arthurian -legends, where the power of Christ's church contests 
 with the power of Merlin's magic, so in Macbeth's time, did Chris- 
 tian teaching meet pagan belief. Macbeth had heard the command, 
 " Thou shalt not kill ; " but he was willing to forget it, to " jump 
 the life to come," when he felt that the weird women's command 
 was, Thou shalt kill. What feeble light of morality burned in his 
 soul was quickly snuffed out ; no love of the God-given life of the 
 king moved him ; he feared no divine displeasure, but only the con- 
 sequences upon this earth. The ambition stirred by the prophecy of 
 the old pagan divinities held sway for a time over his fear of the 
 wrath to come. To this strong motive for crime was added the 
 urging of his wife, that ambition-warped nature. He could not 
 resist her imputation of vacillation and cowardice ; even his natural 
 disinclination to plunge a knife into the flesh of a sleeping, un- 
 guarded fellow mortal, could not withstand her fierce encouragement. 
 Banquo's nature could have withstood all ; but not Macbeth's. 
 Banquo could have withstood because he was Banquo ; Macbeth 
 failed because he was Macbeth. Power without was greater than 
 resistance within. His course of life was irrevocably fixed by the 
 great law of the universe — by Orlog, whose decrees were not to 
 be recalled. Having no power to choose, Macbeth stained his 
 daggers in the blood of his king. 
 
THE WEIRD WOMEN. ix 
 
 This hard compulsion of burning desires from within and deceit- 
 ful hopes from without, was the burden of much of Shakespeare's 
 song. His feeling of man's inability to reach the land of heart's 
 desire within the center of life's labyrinth, weighed upon him in 
 his creations of Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth, as it weighed upon 
 the old Greek dramatists, as it has weighed upon the great poets 
 of all ages. Little matter whether the heart's desire be good or 
 evil : an unrelenting influence from without thwarts the will, and 
 turns the blind feet where they would not go. 
 
 As in the other plays in which the hero's destiny is not of his 
 own choosing, in " Macbeth " there is a conflict between inner and 
 outer forces ; the inner, ambition and moral cowardice ; the outer, 
 the weird women and a strong-willed wife. 
 
 Macbeth's imagination, doubtless, had long played with visions of 
 crown and scepter. The low-born subject has no dreams of royalty ; 
 but he who is next the throne is liable to the fiercest desires by day 
 and night. It is a cruel Fate that has placed him. by a trivial acci- 
 dent of birth, one step below the top. The cup of Tantalus is ever 
 before him, with nothing to keep it from him but so frail a thing 
 as a human life. This situation was too strong for Macbeth's mo- 
 rality ; in an evil moment he broke the enterprise to his wife : from . 
 that instant the seed of evil within him had fertile soil and rain 
 and sunshine. And with the meeting on the blasted heath, the seed 
 sprang into luxuriant life, whose growth Macbeth was powerless 
 to stop. 
 
 Yet effort was not lacking, though from an unworthy motive 
 that was deep-rooted in his moral cowardice : casting aside thoughts 
 of God's vengeance, he found the fear of man's vengeance against 
 the taking of the meek king's life too strong an impediment against 
 his o'erleaping ambition. This restraining thought was, as he knew, 
 too base to confide even to his wife, and he attempted to withdraw 
 his resolution on the ground that he would wear his new-won 
 golden opinions in their newest gloss. But the keen-witted woman 
 knew the fear unspoken, in spite of the lie ; taunted him with a 
 cowardly shrinking from what he had determined to do, and shamed 
 him back to half-resolution — resolution made complete by a plan 
 to throw guilt upon the grooms, and thus escape what he had 
 Lared, the vengeance of man. 
 
 Eanquo, we say, who could beseech the merciful powers to 
 
x INTRODUCTION. 
 
 restrain him from the unwelcome dreams that came to him in 
 sleep, whose long course of choosing the right instead of the wrong 
 in small matters had given him the power to choose the right in 
 matters of great moment, could have resisted ; this, because he 
 was not Macbeth : Macbeth yielded because he was the man he 
 was — ambitious, and without moral strength. Had he had, before 
 his life began, knowledge of the benefit of moral strength, and the 
 power to choose it for himself, doubtless he would have chosen it ; 
 but he was at birth what he was, and was compelled to fight out 
 his destiny with what feeble morality lay within him. In the fight 
 he lost ; the instruments of darkness, aided by a woman's taunts 
 of cowardice and plans for escape from vengeance, were his de- 
 struction. 
 
 A peculiarity of Macbeth's crime was the absence of all attempt 
 to excuse his own culpability. He was no common criminal, fanning 
 a flame of resentment against a fancied wrong, euphemizing the 
 name of his crime to soothe a wounded conscience : with a heroic 
 frankness he said, — 
 
 "' False face must hide what the false heart doth know." 
 
 So his deed was a Titan-like stroke at the harmony of Nature ; and 
 at once all the powers of Nature began to give the punishment. 
 
 With stealthy steps he returns from the chamber of death, fear- 
 ing the sound of his own footfalls ; frightened at the distant cry 
 of an owl, and the ominous foreboding of a cricket ; rehearsing his 
 tale of murder, of his inability to pray, and of the voice that cried, 
 " Sleep no more." Not all the encouragement of Lady Macbeth, 
 who can conceal from him, not from herself, her fears of ultimate 
 madness, not all her assumption of contempt when she returns from 
 smearing the sleeping grooms with blood, saying with blanched face 
 and hoarse voice, — 
 
 "My hands are of your color; but I shame 
 To wear a heart so white," 
 
 can free him from the punishment which Nature has doomed him 
 to, can give him again the " balm of hurt minds " which the murder 
 of Duncan has taken from him. There is one restorative alone — 
 confession and voluntary atonement. 
 
THE WEIRD WOMEN. xi 
 
 But these are forever impossible. The royal mind is not given 
 to confession ; kings do not of free will lower their proud necks 
 to the headsman, Justice ; they give, not seek, atonement. And the 
 ambitious Macbeth, thirsting for power, having the weird women's 
 promise of it in its fullness, is of all men the last to sink his 
 hope of royalty into oblivion for a few days of restored tranquillity 
 before an outraged kingdom's stroke of vengeance. The time for 
 yielding has gone. The blood of Duncan has provided its own in- 
 centive for more blood ; and from this time on, Macbeth needs no 
 taunts of cowardice to drive him on ; the fear of evil ahead is 
 greater than the dread of the deed that is done. 
 
 If, then, Macbeth was in the grip of the instruments of dark- 
 ness before his crime, he was even more so afterward. The logical 
 outcome of his deed of blood, was more deeds of blood ; so Banquo's 
 gashed body was cast into a ditch in a dark wood, and his wraith 
 wandered for a space to shake its gory head at the king, to remind 
 him that he could no more eat his meal in peace than he could sleep 
 without the nightly affliction of terrible dreams. Macbeth must 
 have realized the blind, unrelenting cruelty of Nature in punishing 
 him for a deed to which he had been driven by circumstances that 
 encompassed him within and without — circumstances that so bound 
 him in as to make disentanglement impossible, and further entangle- 
 ment inevitable. 
 
 Pursuing his determination to find out by the worst means the 
 worst, Macbeth sought the weird women in their cavern, where 
 they brewed a new hell-broth, from which arose new hopes and 
 fears. Strange that the forces that lead us on to destruction, mingle 
 enough promises with their warnings to make us accept them even 
 while we curse them, and curse ourselves for dupes. Even so with 
 Macbeth. 
 
 "Infected be the air zvherecn they ride; 
 And damn'd all those that trust them." 
 
 It is plain that the guilty king, at this point, felt the fatal hour 
 impending. Banquo's words about the instruments of darkness that 
 win us with honest trifles to betray us in deepest consequence, must 
 have burned in his mind. Yet with a desperation born of the con- 
 sciousness that turning back was forever impossible, he resolved 
 
xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 that the firstlings of his heart should bt; the firstlings of his hand, 
 and gave to the sword the unfortunate souls that Macduff held 
 dearest. Here was a battle with Fate indeed, and with the cer- 
 tainty of defeat. But it is the nature of men in the grasp of destiny 
 to keep up the fight, hoping that to them will come the victory never 
 won by mortal. The greatest dramas of the world reveal the sad- 
 ness of this hopeless struggle. 
 
 The final result can be but little longer delayed. Lady Macbeth, 
 fallen into the madness she foresaw when Macbeth told her of the 
 voice that cried, " Sleep no more," wanders from her bed, rubbing 
 her hands and moaning, " Yet here's a spflt." Her worn body 
 yields to exhaustion, but her mind, that can yield its activity only 
 to death, lives in the fatal night when she made her hands the color 
 of Macbeth's. " Yet who would have thought the old man to have 
 had so much blood in him?" The troubled life burns on a few 
 more days, flickers, and we hear Seyton, with low voice and bowed 
 head, say, " The queen, my lord, is dead." 
 
 A moment's time to curse yesterdays and to-morrows, and Mac- 
 beth is brought face to face with the equivocation of the fiends that 
 lie like truth. Birnam wood comes to Dunsinane : Macduff was 
 not born of woman. In the end there is but a moment of yield- 
 ing : the challenge to Fate is fought to the uttermost. The weird 
 women have entrapped a human being into permitting the develop- 
 ment of the worst that lay within him. The moral forces of Nature 
 have inflicted the punishment. The great dramatist has shown us 
 the vital moments in this Titanic experience. 
 
 A Titanic experience, truly ; fit only for Titans. These two peo- 
 ple, Macbeth and his lady, did a deed of transcendent wickedness ; 
 and unlike the common run of men, who dabble feebly and fearfully 
 in sin, and shift the blame upon others, they laid the responsibility 
 upon their own hearts. Though driven by the powers of the evil 
 world, and spurred on by his wife, Macbeth cursed no one but 
 himself for yielding to the weird incitement; and had no word of 
 reproach for her who in her ambition for him had led him to 
 scorn Fate, and even to defy the life to come. And Lady Macbeth ! 
 After the giant effort of will that led to the death of Duncan had 
 passed, and her woman's nature had asserted itself, she uttered no 
 
THE WEIRD WOMEN. xiii 
 
 word of blame, but kept in silent concealment within her the fear 
 of the worm that dieth not and the fire that is not quenched. 
 
 In the witch's kitchen, Mephistopheles explains the strange incan- 
 tations to the disgusted Faust by saying that the witch must play 
 off some hocus-pocus that the brew she makes may work well on 
 him. So Shakespeare, that the people of his day might understand, 
 gave to the weird women, at times, the character of common witches 
 — consorts of paddock and graymalkin, posters of the blasted heath, 
 brewers of hell-broth. But essentially they were the goddesses of 
 Destiny, that harm the soul rather than the body — the dread Norns 
 that sat under the great ash tree, Yggdrasil, and wove a web in 
 accordance with the eternal law. To such a height do they rise at 
 the utterance of the triple prophecy. 
 
 The compromise was a necessary one ; for at the poet's time, 
 the Twilight of the Gods had long since passed away, the dawn of 
 Christianity was well advanced, and the myths of the pagan world 
 were but fading memories — memories whose revival was possible 
 only to the greatest poet, and he living in a time when the old 
 beliefs yet lingered. The writing of such another drama is forever 
 impossible. 
 
 The final word concerning any tragedy of Shakespeare is a 
 statement of the moral law that reigns throughout the universe. 
 True, the poet did not write to point the moral ; neither is any 
 tragic episode in life sent to point a moral : but the moral is not- 
 withstanding there. There are certain deeds that disturb the uni- 
 versal harmony of things ; these deeds all things conspire to punish : 
 in Shakespeare, as in life, is the law worked out. 
 
MACBETH. 
 
 DRAMATIS PERSON/E. 
 
 Duncan, king of Scotland. 
 Malcolm, | , - 
 
 DONALBA.N, [ HlS S ° nS - 
 
 Ba A nq B uJ, H ' [s eneraIs of the kin S' s arm y- 
 Macduff, ] 
 Lennox, j 
 
 Ross, i noblemen of Scotland. 
 
 Menteith, j 
 Angus, 
 Caithness, J 
 Fleance, son of Banquo. 
 Siwakd, Earl of Northumberland, gen- 
 eral of the English forces. 
 Young Siward, his son. 
 Seyton, an officer attending on Macbeth. 
 Boy, son to Macduff. 
 
 An English Doctor. 
 
 A Scotch Doctor. 
 
 A Soldier. 
 
 A Porter. 
 
 An Old Man. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Lady Macduff. 
 
 Gentlewoman attending on LadyMacbeth. 
 
 Hecate. 
 Three Witches. 
 Apparitions. 
 
 Lords. Gentlemen, Officer?, Soldiers, 
 Murderers, Attendants, and Messen- 
 gers. 
 
 Scene: Scotland: England. 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 Scene I. A desert place. 
 Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches. 
 
 First Witch. When shall we three meet again 
 In thunder, lightning, or in rain? 
 
 Second Witch. When the hurlyburly's done, 
 When the battle's 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. 
 
2 MACBETH. 
 
 Third Witch. Anon. 10 
 
 All. Fair is foul, and foul is fair: 
 Hover through the fog and filthy air. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. A camp near Forres. 
 
 Alarum within. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, 
 
 Donalbain, Lennox, with Attendants, 
 
 meeting a bleeding Sergeant. 
 
 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 
 'Gainst my captivity. Hail, brave friend ! 
 Say to the king the knowledge of the broil 
 As thou didst leave it. 
 
 Sergeant. 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 10 
 
 The multiplying villanies of nature 
 Do swarm upon him — from the western isles 
 Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied ; 
 And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, 
 Show'd like a rebel's whore : but all's too weak : 
 For brave Macbeth — well he deserves that name — 
 Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel, 
 Which smoked with bloody execution, 
 
ACT I. SCENE II. 3 
 
 Like valor's minion carved out his passage 
 Till he faced the slave; 20 
 
 Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, 
 Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps, 
 And fix'd his head upon our battlements. 
 
 Duncan. O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman! 
 
 Sergeant. 'As whence the sun 'gins his reflection 
 Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break, 
 So from that spring whence comfort seenrd to come 
 Discomfort swells/ Mark, king of Scotland, mark : 
 No sooner justice had with valor arnrd 
 Compell'd these skipping kerns to trust their heels, 30 
 
 But the Norweyan lord, surveying vantage, 
 With furbish'd arms and new supplies of men 
 Began a fresh assault. 
 
 Duncan. Dismay'd not this 
 
 Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo? 
 
 Sergeant. Yes ; 
 
 As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion. 
 If I say sooth, I must report they were 
 As cannons overcharged with double cracks, so they 
 Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe : 
 Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds, 
 Or memorize another Golgotha, 40 
 
 I cannot tell — 
 But I am faint, my gashes cry for help. 
 
 Duncan. So well thy words become thee as thy wounds ; 
 They smack of honor both. Go get him surgeons'. 
 
 [Exit Sergeant, attended. 
 Who comes here? 
 
4 MACBETH. 
 
 Enter Ross. 
 
 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 earnest thou, worthy thane? 
 
 Ross. From Fife, great king; 
 
 Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky 
 And fan our people cold. Norway himself, 50 
 
 With terrible numbers, 
 Assisted by that most disloyal traitor 
 The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict; 
 Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof, 
 Confronted him with self -comparisons, 
 Point against point rebellious, arm 'gainst arm, 
 Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude, 
 The victory fell on us. 
 
 Duncan. Great happiness ! 
 
 Ross. That now 
 
 Sweno, the Norways' king, craves composition ; 
 Nor would we deign him burial of his men 60 
 
 Till he disbursed at Saint Colme's 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. I'll see it done. 
 
 Duncan. What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
ACT I. SCENE III. 5 
 
 Scene III. A heath near Forres. 
 Thunder. Enter the three Witches. 
 
 First Witch. Where hast thou been, sister? 
 
 Second Witch. Killing swine. 
 
 Third Witch. Sister, where thou? 
 
 First Witch. A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap, 
 And munch'd, and munch'd, and munch'd. ' Give me,' 
 
 quoth I : 
 'Aroint thee, witch ! ' the rump-fed ronyon cries. 
 Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger: 
 But in a sieve I'll thither sail, 
 And, like a rat without a tail, 
 I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do. 10 
 
 Second Witch. I'll give thee a wind. 
 
 First Witch. Thou'rt 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 
 I' the shipman's card. 
 I will drain him dry as hay : 
 Sleep shall neither night nor day 
 
 Hang upon his pent-house lid ; 20 
 
 He shall live a man forbid : 
 Weary se'nnights nine times nine 
 Shall he dwindle, peak and pine: 
 Though his bark cannot be lost, 
 Yet it shall be tempest-tost. 
 
6 MACBETH. 
 
 Look what I have. 
 
 Second Witch. Show me, show me. 
 
 First Witch. Here I have a pilot's thumb, 
 Wreck'd as homeward he did come. [Drum within. 
 
 Third Witch. A drum, a drum ! 30 
 
 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 ! the charm's wound up. 
 
 Enter Macbeth and Banouo 
 
 Macbeth. So foul and fair a day I have not seen. 
 
 Banqno. How far is't call'd to Forres? What are 
 these 
 So wither'd arid so wild in their attire, 40 
 
 That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth, 
 And yet are on't? Live 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 : what are you ? 
 
 First Witch. All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane 
 of Glamis ! 
 
ACT I. SCENE III. 7 
 
 Second Witch. All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane 
 
 of Cawdor! 
 Third Witch. All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king 
 hereafter ! 50 
 
 Banquo. Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear 
 Things that do sound so fair ? V the name of truth, 
 Are ve 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 60 
 
 Your favors 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 : 70 
 By Sinel's 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, 
 
8 MACBETH. 
 
 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? Speak, I charge you 
 
 [Witches vanish. 
 
 Banquo. The earth hath bubbles as the water has, 
 And these are of them. Whither are they vanish'd? 80 
 
 Macbeth. Into the air; and what seem'd corporal 
 melted 
 As breath into the wind. Would they had stay'd ! 
 
 Banquo. Were such things here as we do speak about? 
 Or have we eaten .on th e 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. Who's here ? 
 
 Enter Ross and Angus. 
 
 Ross. The king hath happily received, Macbeth, 
 The news of thy success ; and when he reads 90 
 
 Thy personal venture in the rebels' fight, 
 His wonders and his praises do contend 
 Which should be thine or his : silenced with that, 
 In viewing o'er the rest o' the selfsame day, 
 He finds thee in the stout Norweyan ranks, 
 Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make, 
 Strange images of death. As thick as hail 
 Came post with post ; and every one did bear 
 
ACT I. SCENE III. 9 
 
 Thy praises in his kingdom's great defence, 
 And pour'd them down before him. 
 
 Angus. We are sent 100 
 
 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 honor, 
 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 borrow'd robes? 
 
 Angus. Who was the thane lives yet, 
 
 But under heavy judgement bears that life no 
 
 Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was combined 
 With those of Norway, or did line the rebel 
 With hidden help and vantage, or that with both 
 He labor d in his country's wreck, I know not; 
 But treasons capital, confess' d and proved, 
 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 
 Promised no less to them? 
 
io MACBETH. 
 
 Banquo. That trusted home 120 
 
 Might yet enkindle you unto the crown, 
 Besides the thane of Cawdor. But 'tis strange : 
 And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, 
 The instruments of darkness tell us truths, 
 Win us with honest trifles, to betray's 
 In deepest consequence. 
 Cousins, a word, I pray you. 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside] Two truths are told, 
 
 As happy prologues to the swelling act 
 Of the imperial theme. — I thank you, gentlemen. 
 [Aside] This supernatural soliciting 130 
 
 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 suggestio 
 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 140 
 
 Is smother'd in surmise, and nothing is 
 But what is not. 
 
 Banquo. Look how our partner's rapt. 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside] If chance will have me king, why, 
 Without my stir. [chance may crown me, 
 
 Banquo. New honors come upon him, 
 
 Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould 
 
ACT I. SCENE IV. n 
 
 But with the aid of use. 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside] Come what come may, 
 
 Time and the hour runs through the roughest day. 
 Banqito. Worthy Macbeth, we stay upon your leisure. 
 Macbeth. Give me your favor: my dull brain was 
 wrought 
 With things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, your pains 150 
 Are register'd where every day I turn 
 The leaf to read them. Let us toward the king. 
 Think upon what hath chanced, and at more time, 
 The interim having weigh'd it, let us speak 
 / Our free'hearts each to other. o^A C 
 
 ^- Banqno. Very gladly. 
 
 Macbeth. Till then, enough. Come, friends. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene IV. Forres. The palace. 
 Flourish. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, 
 Lennox, and Attendants. 
 
 Duncan. Is execution done on Cawdor? Are not 
 Those in commission yet return'd? 
 
 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 confess'd his treasons, 
 Implored your highness' pardon and set forth 
 A deep repentance : (nothing in his life ^a^uv/v— 
 
 Became him like the leaving it ; he died 
 As one that had been studied in his death 
 
12 MACBETH. 
 
 To throw away the dearest thing he owed 10 
 
 As 'twere a careless trifle, j 
 
 Duncan. There's no art 
 
 To find the mind's construction in the face: 
 He was a gentleman on whom I built 
 An absolute trust. 
 
 Enter Macbeth, Banouo, Ross, and Angus. 
 
 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 deserved, 
 That the proportion both of thanks and payment 
 Might have been mine ! only I have left to say, 20 
 
 More is thy due than more than all can pay. 
 
 Macbeth. The service and the loyalty I owe 
 In doing it, pays itself. Your highness' 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 every thing 
 Safe toward your love and honor. 
 
 Duncan. Welcome hither : 
 
 I have begun to plant thee, and will labor /yviP^Wx^ 
 To make thee full of growing. Noble BanquoJ 
 That hast no less deserved, nor must be known 30 
 
 No less to have done so : let me infold thee 
 And hold thee to my heart. 
 
 
ACT I. SCENEIV. _ ^ ... '3, ,^\ 
 
 c 
 
 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. Sons, 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 honor must 
 Not unaccompanied invest him only; 40 
 
 But signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shine 
 On all deservers. From hence to Inverness, 
 And bind us further to you. 
 
 Macbeth. The rest is labor, which is not used for 
 you : 
 I'll 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! that 
 is a step 
 On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap, ] 
 For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires ; 50 
 
 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. Let's after him, 
 
 u* 4 - 
 
i 4 MACBETH. 
 
 '...Whose care is gone before to bid us welcome : 
 
 \ It is a peerless kinsman! [Flourish. Exeunt. 
 
 Scene V. Inverness. Macbeth s castle. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth, reading a letter. 
 Lady Macbeth. k They met me in the day of success : 
 and I have learned by the perfectest 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 " Thane of Cawdor ; " by which title, before, 
 these weird sisters saluted me, and referred me to the 
 coming on of time, with "Hail, king that shalt be!" 
 This have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest 
 partner of greatness, that thou mightst not lose the dues 
 of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is 
 promised thee. Lay it to thy heart, and farewell.' 
 Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt be 
 What thou art promised : yet do I fear thy nature; 
 It is too full o' the 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, 20 
 And yet wouldst wrongly win: thouidst have, great 
 
 Glamis, 
 That which cries ' Thus thou must do, if thou have it ' ; 
 And that which rather thou dost fear to do 
 
ACT I. SCENETSp i 5 
 
 Than wishest should be undone. Hie thee hither, 
 That I may pour my spirits in thine ear; 
 And chastise with the valor of my tongue 
 All that impedes thee from the golden round 
 Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem 
 To have thee crown'd withal. 
 
 j Enter a Messenger. 
 
 What is your tidings ? 
 
 Messenger. The king comes here to-night. 
 
 Lady Macbetli. Thou'rt mad to say it : 
 
 Is not thy master with him? who, were't so, 31 
 
 Would have inform'd 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. [Exit Messenger. 
 
 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, 40 
 
 And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full 
 Of direst cruelty ! make thick my blood ; 
 Stop up the access and passage to remorse, 
 That no compunctious visitings of nature 
 Shake my fell purpose, nor keef) peace between 
 
1 6 MACBETH. 
 
 The effect and it ! Come to my woman's breasts, 
 And take my milk for gall, yon murdering ministers, 
 Wherever in your sightless substances 
 Yon wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night, 
 And pall thee in the dnnnest smoke of hell, 50 
 
 That my keen knife see not the wound it makes, 
 Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark, 
 To cry ' Hold, hold ! ' 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 
 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 to-night. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. And when goes hence? 
 
 Macbeth. To-morrow, as he purposes. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. O, never 
 
 Shall sun that morrow see ! 60 
 
 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 under't. He that's coming 
 Must be provided for: and you shall put 
 This night's great business into my dispatch ; 
 Which shall to all our nights and days to come 
 
\fr 
 
 ACT L SCENE VI. 17 
 
 Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom. 
 
 Macbeth. We will speak further. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Only look up clear; 
 
 To alter favor ever is to fear : 71 
 
 Leave all the rest to me. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene VI. Before Macbeth' s castle. 
 Hautboys and torches. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Don- 
 
 ALBAIN, BANOUO, LENNOX, MACDUFF, R.OSS, ANGUS, 
 
 and 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 heaven's breath 
 Smells wooingly here: no jutty, frieze. 
 Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird 
 Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle : 
 Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed 
 The air is delicate. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Duncan. See, see, our honor'd hostess! 10 
 
 The love that follows us sometime is our trouble, 
 Which still we thank as love. Herein I teach you 
 How you shall bid God lid us for your pains 
 And thank us for vour trouble. 
 
1 8 MACBETH. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. All our service 
 
 In every point twice done and then done double 
 Were poor and single business to contend 
 Against those honors deep and broad wherewith 
 Your majesty loads our house: for those of old, 
 And the late dignities heap'd up to them, 
 We rest your hermits. 
 
 Duncan. Where's the thane of Cawdor? 
 
 We coursed him at the heels, and had a purpose 21 
 
 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 to-night. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Your servants ever 
 
 Have theirs, themselves, and what is theirs, in compt, 
 To make their audit at your highness' 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 toward him. 30 
 
 By your leave, hostess. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene VII. Macbeth' s castle. 
 
 Hautboys and torches. Enter a Sewer, and divers Serv- 
 ants with dishes and service, and pass over the stage. 
 Then enter Macbeth. 
 
 Macbeth. \ s \£ it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere 
 well 
 
 It were done quickly : if the assassination 
 
ACT I. SCENE VII. 19 
 
 Could trammel up the consequence, and catch 
 
 With his surcease success ; that but this blow 
 
 Might be the be-all and the end-all here, 
 
 But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, 
 
 We'ld 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 the inventor: this even-handed justice 10 
 
 Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice 
 
 To our own lips. He's 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; 20 
 
 And pity, like a naked new-born babe, 
 
 Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsed 
 
 Upon the sightless couriers of the air, 
 
 Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, 
 
 That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur 
 
 To prick the sides of my intent, but only 
 
 Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself 
 
 And falls on the other. 
 
 J 
 
2o MACBETH. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 How now ! what news ? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. He has almost supp'd : why have you 
 left the chamber? 
 
 Macbeth. Hath he ask'd for me? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Know you not he has? 30 
 
 Macbeth.i We will proceed no further in this business : 
 He hath honor'd 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 dress'd 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 valor 40 
 
 As thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have that 
 Which thou esteenrst the ornament of life, 
 And live a coward in thine own esteem, 
 Letting ' I dare not ' wait upon l I would,' 
 Like the poor cat i' the adage ? 
 
 Macbeth. Prithee, peace: 
 
 I dare do all that may become a man ; 
 Who dares do more is none. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What beast was't then 
 
 That made you break this enterprise to me ? 
 When you durst do it, then you were a man ; 
 
ACT I. SCENE VII. 21 
 
 And, to be more than what you were, you would 50 
 
 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 'tis to love the babe that milks me : 
 I would, while it was smiling in my face, 
 Have pluck 'd my nipple from his boneless gums 
 And dash'd 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, 60 
 
 And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep — 
 
 - 
 
 Whereto the rather shall his day's 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 limbec only : when in swinish sleep 
 Their drenched natures lie as in a death, 
 What cannot you and I perform upon 
 The unguarded Duncan ? what not put upon 70 
 
 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. W T ill it not be received, 
 When we have mark'd with blood those sleepy two 
 
22 MACBETH. 
 
 Of his own chamber and used their very daggers, 
 That they have done't? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Who dares receive it other, 
 
 As we shall make our griefs and clamor roar 
 Upon his death? 
 
 Macbeth. I am settled, and bend up 
 
 Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. 80 
 
 Away, and mock the time with fairest show : 
 False face must hide what the false heart doth know. 
 
 [Exeunt 
 ACT II. 
 
 Scene I. Court of Macbeth 3 s castle. 
 
 Enter Banquo, and Fleance bearing a torch before him. 
 
 Danquo. 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 take't, 'tis later, sir. 
 
 Banquo. Hold, take my sword. There's 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 ! 
 
 Enter Macbeth, and a Servant with a torch. 
 
 Give me my sword. 
 Who's there? 10 
 
ACT II. SCENE I. 23 
 
 Macbeth. A friend. 
 
 Banquo. What, sir, not yet at rest? The king's a-bed : 
 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 unprepared, 
 
 Our will became the servant to defect ; 
 Which else should free have wrought. 
 
 Banquo. All's well. 
 
 I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters : 20 
 
 To you they have show'd 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 kind'st leisure. 
 
 Macbeth. If you shall cleave to my consent, when 'tis, 
 It shall make honor for you. 
 
 Banquo. So I lose none 
 
 In seeking to augment it, but still keep 
 My bosom franchised and allegiance clear, 
 I shall be counsell'd. 
 
 Macbeth. Good repose the while! 
 
 Banquo. Thanks, sir : the like to you ! 30 
 
 [Exeunt Banquo and Fleancc. 
 
 Macbeth. Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready, 
 She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed. [Exit Servant. 
 
24 MACBETH. 
 
 Is this a dagger which I see before me, 
 
 The handle toward my hand ? Come, let me clutch thee. 
 
 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 40 
 
 As this which now I draw. 
 
 Thou marshalFst me the way that I was going; 
 
 And such an instrument I was to use. 
 
 Mine eyes are made the fools o' 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. There's no such thing : 
 
 It is the bloody business which informs 
 
 Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one half-world 
 
 Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse 50 
 
 The curtain'd sleep ; witchcraft celebrates 
 
 Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder, 
 
 Alarum'd by his sentinel the wolf, 
 
 Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace, 
 
 With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design 
 
 Moves like a ghost. Thou 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. Whiles I threat he lives : 60 
 
 Words to the heat of deeds too cool breath gives. 
 
 [A bell rings. 
 
ACT II. SCENE II. 25 
 
 I go, and it is clone; 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. 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Lady MacbethX-^hat which hath made them drunk 
 
 hath made me bold Q 
 What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. Hark ! 
 
 Peace ! 
 
 It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman, 
 Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it : 
 The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms 
 Do mock their charge with snores : I have drugg'd their 
 
 possets, 
 That death and nature do contend about them, 
 Whether they live or die. 
 -Macbeth. [Within.] Who's there? what, ho! 
 
 w Lady Macbeth. Alack, I am afraid they have awaked, 
 AntT-'tis not done. The attempt and not the deed 10 
 
 Confounds us. Hark ! I laid their daggers ready ; 
 He could not miss 'era. Had he not resembled 
 My father as he slept, I had done't. 
 
 s^-~- Enter Macbeth. 
 
 My husband ! 
 Macbeth. I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a 
 noise ? 
 
26 MACBETH. 
 
 Lady M. 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 ! 
 Who lies i' the second chamber? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Donalbain. 
 
 Macbeth. This is a sorry sight. [Looking on his 
 hands. 20 
 
 Lady Macbeth. A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight. 
 
 Macbeth. There's one did laugh in's sleep, and one 
 cried ' Murder ! ' 
 That they did wake each other : I stood and heard them : 
 But they did say their prayers, and address'd them 
 Again to sleep. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. There are two lodged together. 
 
 Macbeth. One cried ' God bless us ! ' and 'Amen ' the 
 other ; 
 As they had seen me with these hangman's hands : 
 Listening their fear, I could not say ' Amen,' 
 When they did say ' God bless us ! ' 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Consider it not so deeply. 30 
 
 Macbeth. But wherefore could not I . pronounce 
 'Amen ' ? 
 I had most need of blessing, and ' Amen ' 
 Stuck in my throat. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. These deeds must not be thought 
 
ACT II. SCENE II. 27 
 
 After these ways ; so, it will make us mad. 
 
 Macb. Qvfethought I heard a voice cry ' Sleep no more ! 
 Macbeth doth murder sleep,' the innocent sleep, 
 Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care, 
 The death of each day's life, sore labor's bath, 
 Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course, 
 Chief nourisher in life's feast, — 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What do you mean? 40 
 
 Macbeth. Still it cried ' Sleep no more ! ' to all the 
 house : 
 ' Glamis hath murder'd sleep, and therefore Cawdor 
 Shall sleep no more ; Macbeth shall sleep no morejj 
 
 Lady M. 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. 
 Why did you bring these daggers from the place ? 
 They must lie there : go carry them, and smear 
 The* sleepy grooms with blood. 
 
 Macbeth. I'll go no more: 50 
 
 I am afraid to think what I have done; 
 Look on't again I dare not. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Infirm of purpose ! 
 
 Give me the daggers: the sleeping and the dead 
 Are but as pictures: 'tis the eye of childhood 
 That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, 
 I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal; 
 For it must seem their guilt. [Exit. Knocking within. 
 
28 MACBETH. 
 
 Macbeth. Whence is that knocking? 
 
 How is't with me, when every noise appals me? 
 What hands are here ? ha ! they pluck out mine eyes. 
 Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood 60 
 
 Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather 
 The multitudinous seas incarnadine, 
 Making the green one red. 
 
 Re-enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. My hands are of your color; but I 
 shame \ 
 To wear a heart so white. [Knocking within.] I hear a 
 
 knocking / 
 
 At the south entry : retire we to our chamber : 
 A little water clears us of this deed ; 
 How easy is it, then ! Your constancy 
 Hath left you unattended. [Knocking within.] Hark! 
 
 more knocking. 
 Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us 70 
 
 And show us to be watchers. Be not lost 
 So poorly in your thoughts. 
 Macbeth. To know my deed, 'twere best not know 
 myself. [Knocking within. 
 
 Wake Duncan with thy knocking ! I would thou couldst ! 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 Scene III. The same. 
 
 Knocking within. Enter a Porter. 
 
 Porter. Here's a knocking indeed ! If a man were 
 porter of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key. 
 
ACT II. SCENE III. 29 
 
 [Knocking within,] Knock, knock, knock ! Who's there, 
 i' the name of Beelzebub? Here's a farmer, that hanged 
 himself on the expectation of plenty : come in time ; have 
 napkins enow about you ; here you'll sweat for't. 
 [Knocking within.] Knock, knock! Who's there, in the 
 other devil's name? Faith, here's an equivocator, that 
 could swear in both the scales against either scale ; who 
 committed treason enough for God's sake, yet could not 
 equivocate to heaven : O come in, equivocator. [Knock- 
 ing within.] Knock, knock, knock! Who's there? 
 Faith, here's an English tailor come hither, for stealing 
 out of a French hose : come in, tailor ; here you may roast 
 your goose. [Knocking within.] Knock, knock; never 
 at quiet! What are you? But this place is too cold for 
 hell. I'll devil-porter it no further: I had thought to 
 have let in some of all professions, that go the prim- 
 rose way to the everlasting bonfire. [Knocking within.] 
 Anon, anon ! I pray you, remember the porter. 20 
 
 [Opens the gate. 
 
 Enter Macduff and Lennox. 
 
 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. 
 Macduff. Is thy master stirring? 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 Our knocking has awaked him ; here he comes. 
 Ecnnox. Good morrow, noble sir. 
 
30 MACBETH. 
 
 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 slipp'd the hour. 
 
 Macbeth. Til bring you to him. 
 
 Macduff. I know this is a joyful trouble to you; 30 
 But yet 'tis one. 
 
 Macbeth. The labor we delight in physics pain. 
 This is the door. 
 
 Macduff. I'll make so bold to call, 
 
 For 'tis my limited service. [Exit. 
 
 Lennox. Goes the king hence to-day? 
 
 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 i' the air, strange screams of death, 
 And prophesying with accents terrible 
 Of dire combustion and confused events 40 
 
 New hatch'd to the woeful time: the obscure bird 
 Clamor'd the livelong night: some say, the earth 
 Was feverous and did shake. 
 
 Macbeth. 'Twas a rough night. 
 
 Lennox. My young remembrance cannot parallel 
 A fellow to it. 
 
 Re-enter Macduff. 
 
 Macduff. O horror, horror, horror ! Tongue nor heart 
 Cannot conceive nor rmjne thee ! 
 
ACT II. SCENE III. 31 
 
 Macbeth. ) „» , , 
 
 What's the matter? 
 Lennox. \ 
 
 Macduff. Confusion now hath made his masterpiece! 
 Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope 
 The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence 50 
 
 The life o' the building. 
 
 Macbeth. ■ What is't 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. [Exeunt Macbeth and 
 Lennox. 
 
 Awake, awake ! 
 Ring the alarum-bell. Murder and treason ! 
 Banquo and Donalbain ! Malcolm ! awake ! 
 Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit, 
 And look on death itself! up, up, and see 
 The great doom's image ! Malcolm ! Banquo ! 60 
 
 As from your graves rise up, and walk like sprites, 
 To countenance this horror. Ring the bell. [Bell rings. 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What's the business, 
 That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley 
 The sleepers of -the house? speak, speak! 
 
 Macduff. O gentle lady, 
 
 'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak : 
 The repetition, in a woman's ear, 
 Would murder as it fell. 
 
 x 
 
3 2 MACBETH. 
 
 Enter Banquo. 
 
 O Banquo, Banquo ! 
 Our royal master's murder'd. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Woe, alas ! 
 
 What, in onr house ? 
 
 Banquo. Too cruel any where. 70 
 
 Dear Duff, I prithee, contradict thyself, 
 And say it is not so. 
 
 Re-enter Macbeth and Lennox. 
 
 Macbeth. Had I but died an hour before this chance, 
 I had lived a blessed time ; for from this instant 
 There's 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. 
 
 Enter Malcolm and Donaleain. 
 
 Donalbain. What is amiss? 
 
 Macbeth. You are, and do not know't : 
 
 The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood 80 
 
 Is stopp'd ; the very source of it is stopp'd. 
 
 Macduff. Your royal father's murder'd. 
 
 Malcolm. O, by whom? 
 
 Lennox. Those of his chamber, as it seem'd, had 
 done't : 
 Their hands and faces were all badged with blood ; 
 So were their daggers, which unwiped we found 
 Upon their pillows : 
 
€i 
 
 CT II. SCENE III. 33 
 
 They stared, and were distracted ; no man's 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? 90 
 
 Macbeth. Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and 
 furious, 
 Loyal and neutral, in a moment ? No man : 
 The expedition of my violent love 
 Outrun the pauser reason. Here lay Duncan, 
 His silver skin laced with his golden blood, 
 And his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in nature 
 For ruin's wasteful entrance : there, the murderers, 
 Steep'd in the colors of their trade, their daggers 
 Unmannerly breech' d with gore : who could refrain, 
 That had a heart to love, and in that heart 100 
 
 Courage to make's love known? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Help me hence, ho ! 
 
 Macduff. Look to the lady. 
 
 Malcolm. [Aside to Don.} Why do we hold our 
 tongues, 
 That most may claim this argument for ours? 
 
 Don. [Aside to Mai] What should be spoken here, 
 where our fate 
 Hid in an auger-hole, may rush, and seize us? 
 Let's away; 
 Our tears are not yet brew'd. 
 
 Malcolm. [Aside to Don.] Nor our strong sorrow 
 Upon the foot of motion. 
 3 
 
34 MACBETH. 
 
 Banquo. Look to the lady: 
 
 [Lady Macbeth is carried out. 
 And when we have onr naked frailties hid, 
 That suffer in exposure, let us meet, no 
 
 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 undivulged pretence I fight 
 Of treasonous malice. 
 
 Macduff. And so do I. 
 
 AIL So all. 
 
 Macbeth. Let's briefly put on manly readiness, 
 And meet i' the hall together. 
 
 All Well contented. 
 
 [Exeunt all but Malcolm and Donalbain. 
 
 Malcolm. What will you do? Let's not consort with 
 them : 
 To show an unfelt sorrow in an office 
 Which the false man does easy. I'll to England. 120 
 
 Donalbain. To Ireland, I ; our separated fortune 
 Shall keep us both the safer : where we are, 
 There's daggers in men's smiles : the near in blood, 
 The nearer bloody. 
 
 Malcolm. This murderous shaft that's 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: there's warrant in that theft 
 Which steals itself when there's no mercv left. [Exeunt. 
 
ACT II. SCENE IV. 35 
 
 Scene IV. Outside Macbeth' s castle. 
 Enter Ross and an old 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. Ah, good father, 
 
 Thou seest, the heavens, as troubled with man's act 
 Threaten his bloody stage : by the clock 'tis day, 
 And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp: 
 Is't night's predominance, or the day's shame, 
 That darkness does the face of earth entomb, 
 When living light should kiss it? 
 
 Old Man. 'Tis unnatural, 10 
 
 Even like the deed that's done. On Tuesday last, 
 A falcon, towering in her pride of place, 
 Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd. 
 
 Ross. And Duncan's horses — a thing most strange 
 and certain — 
 Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, 
 Turn'd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out, 
 Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make 
 War with mankind. 
 
 Old Man. 'Tis said they eat each other. 
 
 Ross. They did so, to the amazement of mine eyes 
 That look'd upon't. 
 
36 MACBETH. 
 
 Enter Macduff. 
 
 Here comes the good Macduff. 20 
 How goes the world, sir, now? 
 
 Macduff. Why, see you not? 
 
 Ross. Is't 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 subonrd : 
 
 Malcolm and Donalbain, the king's two sons, 
 Are stol'n away and fled, which puts upon them 
 Suspicion of the deed. 
 
 Ross. 'Gainst nature still : 
 
 Thriftless ambition, that wilt ravin up 
 Thine own life's means ! Then 'tis most like 
 The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth. 30 
 
 Macduff. He is already named, and gone to Scone 
 To be invested. 
 
 Ross. Where is Duncan's body? 
 
 Macduff. Carried to Colme-kill, 
 The sacred storehouse of his predecessors 
 And guardian of their bones. 
 
 Ross. Will you to Scone? 
 
 Macduff. No, cousin, I'll 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 ! 
 
ACT III. SCENE I. 37 
 
 • 
 
 Ross. Farewell, father. 39 
 
 Old Man. God's benison go with you, and with those 
 That would make good of bad, and friends of foes ! 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 Scene I. Forres. The palace: 
 
 Enter Banquo. 
 
 Banquo. Thou hast it now : king, Cawdor, Glamis, all, 
 As the weird women promised, and, I fear, 
 Thou play'dst most foully for't: 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. 10 
 
 Sennet sounded. Enter Macbeth as king; Lady 
 
 Macbeth as queen; Lennox, Ross, Lords, 
 
 Ladies, and Attendants. 
 
 Macbeth. Here's 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. To-night we hold a solemn supper, sir, 
 And I'll request your presence. 
 
3 8 * MACBETH. 
 
 • 
 
 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. 19 
 
 Macbeth. We should have else desired your good 
 advice, 
 Which still hath been both grave and prosperous. 
 In this day's council; but we'll take to-morrow. 
 Is't far you ride? 
 
 Banquo. As far, my lord, as will fill up the time 
 'Twixt 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 bestow'd 
 In England and in Ireland, not confessing J 30 
 
 Their cruel parricide, filling their hearers 
 With strange invention : but of that to-morrow, 
 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 upon's. 
 
 Macbeth. I wish your horses swift and sure of foot ; 
 And so I do commend you to their backs. 
 Farewell. [Exit Banquo. 
 
 Let every man be master of his time 40 
 
 Till seven at night : to make society 
 
/ 
 
 ACT III. SCENE I. .39 
 
 The sweeter welcome, we will keep ourself 
 
 Till supper-time alone : while then, God be with you ! 
 
 [Exeunt all but Macbeth and an Attendant. 
 Sirrah, a word with you : attend those men 
 Our pleasure? 
 
 Attendant. They are, my lord, without the palace gate. 
 
 Macbeth. Bring them before us. [Exit Attendant. 
 
 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 fear'd : 'tis much he dares, 50 
 And, to that dauntless temper of his mind, 
 He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor 
 To act in safety. There is none but he 
 Whose being I do fear : and under him 
 My Genius is rebuked, as it is said 
 Mark Antony's 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 hail'd him father to a line of kings : 
 Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, 60 
 
 And put a barren sceptre in my gripe, 
 Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand, 
 No son of mine succeeding. I ft be so, 
 For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind ; 
 For them the gracious Duncan have I murder d ; 
 Put rancors 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 : 
 
4 o MACBETH. 
 
 Rather than so, come, fate, into the list, 70 
 
 And champion me to the utterance! Who's there? 
 
 Re-enter Attendant, with two Murderers. 
 
 Now go to the door, and stay there till we call. 
 
 [Exit Attendant. 
 Was it not yesterday we spoke together? 
 
 First Murderer. It was, so please your highness. 
 
 Macbeth. Well then, now 
 
 Have you consider'd 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, pass'd in probation with you, 79 
 How you were borne in hand, how cross'd, the instru- 
 ments, 
 Who wrought with them, and all things else that might 
 To half a soul and to a notion crazed 
 Say ' Thus did Banquo.' 
 
 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 gospell'd * 
 To pray for this good man and for his issue, 
 Whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave 
 And beggar' d yours for ever ? 
 
 First Murderer. We are men, my liege. 90 
 
 Macbeth. Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men ; 
 
ACT III. SCENE I. 41 
 
 As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, 
 
 Shoughs, water-rugs and demi-wolves, are clept 
 
 All by the name of dogs : the valued file 
 
 Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle, 
 
 The housekeeper, the hunter, every one 
 
 According to the gift which bounteous nature 
 
 Hath in him closed, whereby he does receive 
 
 Particular addition, from the bill 
 
 That writes them all alike : and so of men. 100 
 
 Now if you have a station in the file, 
 
 Not i' the worst rank of manhood, say't; 
 
 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 
 Have so incensed that I am reckless what 
 I do to spite the world. 
 
 First Murderer. And I another no 
 
 So weary with disasters, tugg'd with fortune, 
 That I would set my life on any chance, 
 To mend it or be rid on't. 
 
 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 near'st of life : and though I could 
 With barefaced power sweep him from my sight 
 
42 MACBETH. 
 
 And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not, 
 
 For certain friends that are both his and mine, 120 
 
 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 lives — 
 
 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 o' the time, 
 The moment on't; for't must be"done to-night, 130 
 
 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 father's, must embrace the fate 
 Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart : 
 I'll come to you anon. 
 
 Both Murderers. We are resolved, my lord 
 
 Macbeth. I'll call upon you straight : abide within. 
 
 [Exeunt Murderers. 
 It is concluded : Banquo, thy soul's flight, 140 
 
 If it find heaven must find it out to-night. [Exit. 
 
ACT III. SCENE II. 43 
 
 Scene II. The palace. 
 Enter Lady Macbeth and a Servant. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Is Banquo gone from court? 
 
 Servant. Ay, madam, but returns again to-night. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Say to the king, I would attend his 
 leisure 
 For a few words. 
 
 Servant. Madam,. I will. [Exit. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Nought's had, all's spent, 
 
 Where our desire is got without content : 
 Tis safer to be that which we destroy 
 Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. ) 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 
 How now, my lord ! why do you keep alone, 
 
 Of sorriest fancies your companions making; 
 
 Using those thoughts which should indeed have died 10 
 
 With them they think on? Things without all remedy 
 
 Should be without regard : what's done is done. 
 
 Macbeth. We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it : 
 She'll 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, 20 
 Than on the torture of the mind to lie 
 In restless ecstasv. Duncan is in his grave ; 
 
44 MACBETH. 
 
 After life's 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 ; 
 
 Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks ; 
 Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night. 
 
 Macbeth. So shall I, love ; and so, I pray, be you : 
 Let your remembrance apply to Banquo; 30 
 
 Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue: 
 Unsafe the while, that we 
 
 Must lave our honors in these flattering streams 
 And make our faces visards to our hearts, 
 Disguising what they are. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. You must leave this. 
 
 Macbeth. O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife ! 
 Thou know'st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. But in them nature's copy's not eterne. 
 
 Macbeth. There's comfort yet ; they are assailable ; 
 Then be thou jocund : ere the bat hath flown 40 
 
 His cloister'd flight, ere to black Hecate's summons 
 The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums 
 Hath rung night's yawning peal, there shall be done 
 A deed of dreadful note. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What's 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 
 
ACT III. SCENE III. 45 
 
 Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond 
 
 Which keeps me pale ! Light thickens, and the crow 50 
 
 Makes wing to the rooky wood : ( 
 
 Good things of day begin to droop and drowse ; 
 
 Whiles night's black agents to their preys do rouse. 
 
 Thou marvell'st at my words : but hold thee still : 
 
 Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill. 
 
 So, prithee, go with me. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene III. A park near the palace. 
 Enter three Murderers. 
 
 First Murderer. But who did bid thee join with us? 
 
 Third Murderer. Macbeth. 
 
 Sec. Murd. He needs not our mistrust, since he de- 
 livers 
 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 'tis he : the rest 
 
 That are within the note of expectation 10 
 
 Already are i' the court. 
 
 First Murderer. His horses go about. 
 
 Third Murderer. Almost a mile: but he does usually, 
 
46 MACBETH. 
 
 So all men do, from hence to the palace gate 
 Make it their walk. 
 
 Second Murderer. A light, a light ! 
 
 Enter Banquo, and Fleance with a torch. 
 
 Third Murderer. Tis he. 
 
 First Murderer. Stand to 't. 
 
 Bauquo. It will be rain to night. 
 
 First Murderer. Let it come down. 
 
 [They set upon Banquo. 
 
 Banquo. O, treachery ! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly ! 
 Thou mayst revenge. O slave ! [Dies. Fleance escapes. 
 
 Third Murderer. Who did strike out the light? 
 
 First Murderer. Was't not the way? 
 
 Third Murd. There's but one down ; the son is fled. 
 
 Second Murderer. We have lost 
 
 Best half of our affair. 21 
 
 First Murd. Well, let's away, and say how much is 
 done. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene IV. Hall in the palace. 
 
 A banquet prepared. Enter Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, 
 Ross, Lennox, Lords, 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 
 
ACT III. SCENE IV. 47 
 
 We will require her welcome. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Pronounce it for me, sir, to all our 
 friends ; 
 For my heart speaks they are welcome. 
 
 First Murderer appears at the door. 
 Macbeth. See, they encounter thee with their heart's 
 thanks. 
 Both sides are even: here I'll sit i' the midst: 10 
 
 Be large in mirth ; anon we'll drink a measure 
 The table round. [Approaching the door.] There's blood 
 upon thy face. 
 Murderer. 'Tis Banquo's then. ^ 
 
 fiS^MS^MacbcthK 'Tis better thee without than he within. 
 is lie dispatch'd ? 
 
 Murderer. My lord, his throat is cut; that I did for 
 
 him. 
 Macb. Thou art the best o' the cut-throats : yet he's 
 good 
 That did the like for Fleance : if thou didst it, 
 Thou art the nonpareil. 
 
 Murderer. Most royal sir, 
 
 Fleance is 'scaped. 20 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside.] 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 cabin'd, cribb'd, confined, bound in 
 To saucy doubts and fears. — But Banquo's safe? 
 
 Murderer. Ay, my good lord : safe in a ditch he bides, 
 
48 MACBETH. 
 
 With twenty trenched gashes on his head. 
 The least a death to nature. 
 
 Macbeth. Thanks for that. 
 
 [Aside.] There the grown serpent lies; the worm that's 
 
 fled 
 Hath nature that in time will venom breed, 30 
 
 No teeth for the present. — Get thee gone: to-morrow 
 We'll hear ourselves again. [Exit Murderer. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. My royal lord, 
 
 You do not give the cheer ; the feast is sold 
 That is not often vouch'd, while 'tis a-making, 
 'Tis given with welcome : to feed were best at home ; 
 From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony ; 
 Meeting were bare without it. 
 
 Macbeth. Sweet remembrancer ! 
 
 Now good digestion wait on appetite, 
 And health on both! 
 
 Lennox. May't please your highness sit. 
 
 The Ghost of Banqito enters, and sits in Macbcth's 
 place. 
 
 Macbeth. Here had we now our country's honor 
 roof'd, 40 
 
 Were the graced 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. Please't your highness 
 To grace us with your royal company. 
 
 Macbeth. The table's full. 
 
ACT III. SCENE IV. 49 
 
 Lennox. Here is a place reserved, sir. 
 
 Macbeth. Where ? 
 
 Lennox. Here, my good lord. What is't 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 50 
 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. Are you a man ? 
 
 Macbeth. Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that 
 Which might appal the devil. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. O proper stuff ! 60 
 
 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 woman's story at a winter's fire, 
 Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself! 
 Why do you make such faces ? When all's done, 
 You look but on a stool. 
 
 Macbeth. Prithee, see there ! behold ! look ! lo ! how say 
 you? 
 
5° 
 
 MACBETH. 
 
 Why, what care I ? If thou canst nod, speak too. 70 
 
 If charnel-houses and our graves must send 
 
 Those that we bury back, our monuments 
 
 Shall be the maws of kites. [Ghost vanishes. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What, quite unmann'd in folly? 
 
 Macbeth. If I stand here, I saw him. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Fie, for shame ! 
 
 Macbeth. Blood hath been shed ere now, i' the olden 
 time, 
 Ere humane statute purged the gentle weal ; 
 Ay, and since too, murders have been perform'd 
 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, 80 
 
 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. 
 
 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 I'll sit down. Give me some wine, fill full. 
 I drink to the general joy o' the whole table, 
 And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss ; 90 
 
 Would he were here ! to all and him we thirst, 
 And all to all. 
 
 Lords. Our duties, and the pledge. 
 
ACT III. SCENE IV. 51 
 
 . 
 
 Re-enter Ghost. 
 
 Macb. A vaunt! 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 : 'tis no other ; 
 Only it spoils the pleasure of the time. 
 
 Macbeth. What man dare, I dare : 
 Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, 100 
 
 The arm'd rhinoceros, or the 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 mockery, hence! [Ghost vanishes. 
 
 Why, so : being gone, 
 I am a man again. Pray you, sit still. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. You have displaced the mirth, broke 
 the good meeting, 
 With most admired disorder. 
 
 Macbeth. Can such things be, no 
 
 And overcome us like a summer's 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, 
 
52 MACBETH. 
 
 And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks, 
 When mine is blanch'd with fear. 
 
 Ross. What sights, my lord ? 
 
 Lady M. I pray you, speak not ; he grows worse and 
 Question enrages him. At once, good night : [worse ; 
 Stand not upon the order of your going, 
 But go at once. 
 
 Lennox. Good night; and better health 120 
 
 Attend his majesty! 
 
 Lady Macbeth. A kind good night to all ! 
 
 [Exeunt all but Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Macbeth. It will have blood : they say blood will have 
 blood : 
 Stones have been known to move and trees to speak; 
 Augures and understood relations have 
 By maggot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth 
 The secret'st man of blood. What is the night? 
 
 Lady M. Almost at odds with morning, which is which. 
 
 Macbeth. How say'st thou, that Macduff denies his 
 At our great bidding? [person 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Did you send to him, sir? 
 
 Macbeth. I hear it by the way, but I will send: 130 
 There's not a one of them but in his house 
 I keep a servant fee'd. I will to-morrow, 
 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 
 Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, 
 
ACT III. SCENE V. 53 
 
 Returning were as tedious as go o'er: 
 Strange things I have in head that will to hand, 
 Which must be acted ere they may be scann'd. 140 
 
 Lady Macbeth. You lack the season of all natures, 
 
 sleep. 
 Macbeth. Come, we'll 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. A heath. 
 Thunder. Enter the three Witches, meeting Hecate. 
 
 Firs* 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 call'd to bear my part, 
 Or show the glory of our art ? 
 
 And, which is worse, all you have done 10 
 
 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 i' the morning: thither he 
 
54 MACBETH. 
 
 Will come to know his destiny : 
 
 Yonr vessels and your spells provide, 
 
 Your charms and every thing beside. 
 
 I am for the air; this night I'll spend 20 
 
 Unto a dismal and a fatal end : 
 
 Great business must be wrought ere noon : 
 
 Upon the corner of the moon 
 
 There hangs a vaporous drop profound ; 
 
 I'll catch it ere it come to ground : 
 
 And that, distill'd 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 30 
 
 His hopes 'bove wisdom, grace and fear : 
 
 And you all know security 
 
 Is mortals' chiefest enemy. 
 
 [Music and a song within: 'Come away, come away/ 
 Hark ! I am call'd ; my little spirit, see, [&c. 
 
 Sits in a foggy cloud, and stays for me. [Exit. 
 
 First Witch. Come, let's make haste ; she'll soon be 
 back again. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene VI. Forres. The palace. 
 Enter Lennox and another Lord. 
 
 Lennox. My former speeches have but hit your 
 thoughts, 
 Which can interpret farther : only I say 
 Things have been strangely borne. The gracious Duncan 
 
ACT III. SCENE VI. 55 
 
 Was pitied of Macbeth : marry, he was dead : 
 
 And the right-valiant Banquo walk'd too late, 
 
 Whom, you may say, if't please you, Fleance kill'd, 
 
 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 ! 10 
 
 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 'twould have anger'd any heart alive 
 
 To hear the men deny't. So that, I say, 
 
 He has borne all things well : and I do think 
 
 That had he Duncan's sons under his key — 
 
 As, an't please heaven, he shall not — they should find 
 
 What 'twere to kill a father ; so should Fleance. 20 
 
 But, peace ! for from broad words and 'cause he fail'd 
 
 his presence at the tyrant's 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 received 
 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 30 
 
 To wake Northumberland and warlike Siward ; 
 
56 MACBETH. 
 
 That by 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 honors : 
 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 ' Sir, not I,' 40 
 The cloudy messenger turns me his back, 
 And hums, as who should say ' You'll rue the time 
 That clogs me with this answer.' 
 
 Lennox. And that well might 
 
 Advise him to a caution, to 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 accursed ! 
 
 Lord. I'll send my prayers with him. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 Scene I. A cavern. In the middle, a boiling cauldron. 
 Thunder. Enter the three Witches. 
 
 First Witch. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd. 
 Second Witch. Thrice and once the hedge-pig whined.. 
 
A0T IV. S9ESE I. 57 
 
 Third Witch. Harpier cries, ' 'Tis time, 'tis time.' 
 
 First Witch. Round about the cauldron go ; 
 In the poison'd entrails throw. 
 Toad, that under cold stone 
 Days and nights has thirty one 
 Swelter'd venom sleeping got, 
 Boil thou first i' the charmed pot. 
 
 All. Double, double toil and trouble ; 10 
 
 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, 
 Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting, 
 Lizard's leg and howlet's 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, 
 Witches' mummy, maw and gulf 
 Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark, 
 Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark, 
 Liver of blaspheming Jew, 
 Gall of goat, and slips of yew 
 Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse, 
 Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips, 
 
 Finger of birth-strangled babe $o 
 
 Ditch-deliver'd by a drab, 
 
5§ MACBETH. 
 
 Make the gruel thick and slab: 
 Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, 
 For the ingredients of our cauldron. 
 
 All. Double, double toil and trouble ; 
 Fire burn and cauldron bubble. 
 
 Second Witch. Cool it with a baboon's blood, 
 Then the charm is firm and good. 
 
 Enter Hecate to the other three Witches. 
 
 Hecate. O, well done ! I commend your pains ; 
 And every one shall share i' the gains : - 40 
 
 And now about the cauldron sing, 
 
 Like elves and fairies in a ring, 
 
 Enchanting all that you put in. 
 
 [Music and a song: ' Black spirits,' &c. Hecate retires. 
 
 Second Witch. By the pricking of my thumbs, 
 Something wicked this way comes. 
 Open, locks, 
 Whoever knocks ! 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 
 Macbeth. How now, you secret, black, and midnight 
 hags! 
 What is't you do? 
 
 All. A deed without a name. 
 
 Macbeth. I conjure you, by that which you profess, 50 
 Howe'er 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; 
 
ACT IV. SCENE I. 
 
 59 
 
 Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down; 
 
 Though castles topple on their warders' heads ; 
 
 Though palaces and pyramids do slope 
 
 Their heads to their foundations ; though the treasure 
 
 Of nature's germens tumble all together, 
 
 Even till destruction sicken; answer me 60 
 
 To what I ask you. 
 
 First Witch, Speak. 
 
 Second Witch. Demand. 
 
 Third Witch. We'll answer. 
 
 First W. Say, if thou'dst rather hear it from our 
 mouths, 
 Or from our masters ? 
 
 Macbeth. Call 'em ; let me see 'em. 
 
 First Witch. Pour in sow's blood, that hath ea*ten 
 Her nine farrow ; grease that's sweaten 
 From the murderer's gibbet throw 
 Into the flame. 
 
 All, Come, high or low; 
 
 Thyself and office deftly show ! 
 
 Thunder. First Apparition : an armed Head. 
 
 Macbeth, Tell me, thou unknown power, — 
 First Witch. He knows thy thought : 
 
 Hear his speech, but say thou nought. 70 
 
 First App. Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! beware 
 Macduff ; 
 Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me : enough. 
 
 [Descends. 
 
60 MACBETH. 
 
 Macbeth. Whate'er thou art, for thy good caution 
 thanks ; 
 Thou hast harp'd my fear aright : but one word more, — 
 
 First Witch. He will not be commanded: here's an- 
 More potent than the first. [other, 
 
 Thunder. Second Apparition: a bloody Child. 
 
 Second Apparition. Macbeth ! Macbeth ! Macbeth ! 
 
 Macbeth. Had I three ears, I'ld hear thee. 
 
 Second Apparition. Be bloody, bold, and resolute; 
 laugh to scorn 
 The power of man, for none of woman born 79 
 
 Shall harm Macbeth. [Descends. 
 
 Macbeth. Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of 
 thee ? 
 But yet I'll 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. Third Apparition : a Child crowned, with a 
 tree in his hand. 
 
 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 to't. 
 
 Third App. Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care 
 Who chafes, who frets, or where conspircrs are : 
 
ACT IV. SCENE I. 61 
 
 Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until 91 
 
 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 ! 
 Rebellion's head, rise never, till the wood 
 Of Birnam rise, and our high-placed Macbeth 
 Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath 
 To time and mortal custom. Yet my heart 
 Throbs to know one thing : tell me, if your art 100 
 
 Can tell so much : shall Banquo's 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! no 
 
 A show of eight Kings, the last with a glass in his hand; 
 Banquo's Ghost following. 
 
 Macbeth. Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo ; 
 down ! 
 Thy crown does sear mine eye-balls. And thy hair, 
 Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first. 
 
62 MACBETH. 
 
 A third is like the former. Filthy hags ! 
 Why do you show me this ? A fourth ! Start, eyes ! 
 What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom ? 
 Another yet ! A seventh ! I'll see no more : 
 And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glass 
 Which shows me many more ; and some I see 
 That two-fold balls and treble sceptres carry: 120 
 
 Horrible sight ! Now I see 'tis true ; 
 For the blood-bolter'd Banquo smiles upon me, 
 And points at them for his. [Apparitions vanish. 
 
 What, is this so ? 
 
 First Witch. Ay, sir, all this is so : but why 
 Stands Macbeth thus amazedly? 
 Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites, 
 And show the best of our delights : 
 I'll charm the air to give a sound, 
 While you perform your antic round, 
 That this great king may kindly say, 130 
 
 Our duties did his welcome pay. 
 [Music. The Witches dance, and then vanish, with Hecate. 
 
 Macbeth. Where are they ? Gone ? / Let this perni- 
 cious hour 
 Stand aye accursed in the calendar ! 
 Come in, without there ! 
 
 Enter Lennox. 
 
 Lennox. What's your grace's will ? 
 
 Macbeth. Saw you the weird sisters? 
 
 Lennox, No, my lord. 
 
ACT IV. SCENE II. 63 
 
 Macbeth. Came they not by you? 
 
 Lennox. No indeed, my lord. 
 
 Macbeth. Infected be the air whereon they ride ; 
 And damn'd all those that trust them ! I did hear 
 The galloping of horse : who was't came by? 139 
 
 Lennox. Tis two or three, my lord, that bring you 
 word 
 Macduff is fled to England. 
 
 Macbeth. Fled to England ! 
 
 Lennox. Ay, my good lord. 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside.'] Time, thou anticipatest my dread 
 exploits : 
 The flighty purpose never is o'ertook 
 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 the edge o' the sword 150 
 
 Flis wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls 
 That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool ; 
 This deed I'll do before this purpose cool. 
 But no more sights ! — Where are these gentlemen ? 
 Come, bring me where they are. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. Fife. Macduff's castle. 
 Enter Lady Macduff, her Son, and Ross. 
 
 Lady Macduff. What had he done, to make him fly 
 the land? 
 
64 MACBETH. 
 
 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, 10 
 
 Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. 
 All is the Tear 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 o' the season. I dare not speak much further ; 
 But cruel are the times, when we are traitors 
 And do not know ourselves ; when we hold rumor 
 From what we fear, yet know not what we fear, 20 
 
 But float upon a wild and violent sea 
 Each way and move. I take my leave of you : 
 Shall not be long but I'll be here again : 
 Things at the worst will cease, or else climb upward 
 To what they were before. My pretty cousir 
 Blessing upon you ! 
 
ACT IV. SCENE II. 65 
 
 Lady Macduff. Father'd he is, and yet he's 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 father's dead : 30 
 
 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 M. Poor bird ! thou 'ldst never fear the net nor 
 lime, 
 The pitfall 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 M. 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. 40 
 
 Son. Then you'll buy 'em to sell again. 
 
 Lady M. Thou speak'st with all thy wit, and yet, i' 
 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? 
 5 
 
66 MACBETH. 
 
 Lady Macduff. Every one that does so is a traitor, and 
 must be hanged. 50 
 
 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? 59 
 
 Son. If he were dead, yoivld 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 talk'st ' 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Messenger. Bless you, fair dame ! I am not to you 
 known, 
 Though in your state of honor I am perfect. 
 I doubt some danger does approach you nearly: 
 If you will take a homely man's 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, 70 
 
 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 
 
ACT IV. SCENE III. 67 
 
 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? 
 
 Enter Murderers. 
 
 What are these faces ? 
 First Murderer. Where is your husband ? 
 Lady Macduff. I hope, in no place so unsanctified 80 
 Where such as thou mayst find him. 
 
 First Murderer. He's a traitor. 
 
 Son. Thou liest, thou shag-hair'd villain ! 
 First Murderer. What, you egg\ 
 
 [Stabbing him. 
 Young fry of treachery ! 
 
 Son. He has kill'd me, mother: 
 
 Run away, I pray you ! [Dies. 
 
 [Exit Lady Macduff, crying 'Murder!' 
 Exeunt Murderers, following her. 
 
 Scene III. England. Before the King's palace. 
 Enter Malcolm and Macduff. 
 
 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-fall'n birthdom : each new morn 
 
68 MACBETH. 
 
 New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows 
 Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds 
 As if it felt with Scotland and yell'd out 
 Like syllable of dolor. 
 
 Malcolm. What I believe, I'll wail, 
 
 What know, believe ; and what I can redress, 
 As I shall find the time to friend, I will. 10 
 
 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 touch'd 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 ; 20 
 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? I pray you, 
 Let not my jealousies be your dishonors, 
 
ACT IV. SCENE III. 69 
 
 But mine own safeties. You may be rightly just, 30 
 
 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 affeer'd. Fare thee well, lord : 
 I would not be the villain that thou think'st 
 For the whole space that's in the tyrant's 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 40 
 
 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 tyrant's 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 50 
 All the particulars of vice so grafted 
 That, when they shall be open'd, black Macbeth 
 Will seem as pure as snow, and the poor state 
 Esteem him as a lamb, being compared 
 
70 MACBETH. 
 
 With my confineless harms. 
 
 Macduff. Not in the legions 
 
 Of horrid hell can come a devil more damn'd 
 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 there's no bottom, none, 60 
 
 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 o'erbear 
 That did oppose my will : better Macbeth 
 Than such an one to reign. 
 
 Macduff. Boundless intemperance 
 
 In nature is a tyranny; it hath been 
 The untimely emptying of the happy throne 
 And fall of many kings. But fear not yet 
 To take upon you what is yours : you may 70 
 
 Convey your pleasures in a spacious plenty, 
 And yet seem cold, the 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 inclined. 
 
 Malcolm. With this there grows 
 
 In my most ill-composed affection such 
 A stanchless avarice that, were I king, 
 I should cut off the nobles for their lands, 
 
ACT IV. SCENE III. 71 
 
 Desire his jewels and this other's house: 80 
 
 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 weiglrd. 90 
 
 Malcolm. But I have none : the king-becoming graces, 
 As justice, verity, temperance, 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! 100 
 
 Malcolm. If such a one be fit to govern, speak: 
 1 am as I have spoken. 
 
 Macduff. Fit to govern! 
 
 No, not to live. O nation miserable, 
 With an untitled tyrant bloody-scepter'd, 
 When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again, 
 
72 MACBETH. 
 
 Since that the truest issue of thy throne 
 
 By his own interdiction stands accursed, 
 
 And does blaspheme his breed? Thy royal father 
 
 Was a most sainted king: the queen that bore thee, 
 
 Oftener upon her knees than on her feet, no 
 
 Died every day she lived. Fare thee well ! 
 
 These evils thou repeat'st upon thyself 
 
 Have banish'd me from Scotland. O my breast, 
 
 Thy hope ends here ! 
 
 Malcolm. Macduff, this noble passion, 
 
 Child of integrity, hath from my soul 
 Wiped the black scruples, reconciled my thoughts 
 To thy good truth and honor. 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 120 
 
 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 130 
 Was this upon myself : what I am truly, 
 Is thine and my poor country's to command: 
 Whither indeed before thy here-approach, 
 
ACT IV. SCENE III. 73 
 
 Old Siward, with ten thousand warlike men, 
 Already at a point, was setting forth. 
 Now we'll together; and the chance of goodness 
 Be like our warranted quarrel! Why are you silent? 
 Macduff. Such welcome and unwelcome things at 
 once 
 Tis hard to reconcile. 
 
 Enter a Doctor. 
 
 Malcolm. Well ; more anon. Comes the king forth, I 
 pray you? 14° 
 
 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. [Exit Doctor. 
 
 Macduff. What's the disease he means? 
 
 Malcolm. 'Tis call'd 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, 150 
 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 'tis spoken, 
 To the succeeding royalty he leaves 
 The healing benediction. With this strange virtue, 
 
74 MACBETH. 
 
 He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy, 
 
 And sundry blessings hang about his throne 
 
 That speak him full of grace. 
 
 Enter Ross. 
 
 Macduff. See, who conies here? 
 
 Malcolm. My countryman; but yet I know him not. 
 
 Macduff. My ever-gentle cousin, welcome hither. 161 
 
 Malcolm. I know him now. Good God, betimes re- 
 move 
 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 call'd our mother, but our grave; where nothing, 
 But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile ; 
 Where sighs and groans and shrieks that rend the air 
 Are made, not mark'd ; where violent sorrow seems 
 A modern ecstasy : the dead man's knell 170 
 
 Is there scarce ask'd for who ; and good men's lives 
 Expire before the flowers in their caps, 
 Dying or ere they sicken. 
 
 Macduff. O relation 
 
 Too nice, and yet too true ! 
 
 Malcolm. What's the newest grief? 
 
 Ross. That of an hour's age doth hiss the speaker ; 
 Each minute teems a new one. 
 
 Macduff. How does my wife? 
 
ACT IV. SCENE III. 75 
 
 Ross. Why, well. 
 
 Mocduff. And all my children? 
 
 Ross. Wdl toa 
 
 Macduff. The tyrant has not batter'd at their peace? 
 Ross. No ; they were well at peace when I did leave 
 
 'ern. 
 Macduff. Be not a niggard of your speech: how 
 
 goes't? l8 ° 
 
 Ross. When I came hither to transport the tidings, 
 Which I have heavily borne, there ran a rumor 
 Of many worthy fellows that were out ; 
 Which was to my belief witness'd the rather, 
 For that I saw the tyrant's power a-foot : 
 Now is the time of help ; your eye in Scotland 
 Would create soldiers, make our women fight, 
 To doff their dire distresses. 
 
 Malcolm. Be't their comfort 
 
 We are coming thither: gracious England hath 
 Lent us good Siward and ten thousand men; 190 
 
 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 howl'd 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 that's honest 
 
76 MACBETH. 
 
 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. 200 
 
 Ross. Let not your ears despise my tongue for ever, 
 Which shall possess them with the heaviest sound 
 That ever yet they heard. 
 
 Macduff. Hum! I guess at it. 
 
 Ross. Your castle is surprised ; your wife and babes 
 Savagely slaughter'd : to relate the manner, 
 Were, on the quarry of these murder'd deer, 
 To add the death of you. 
 
 Malcolm. Merciful heaven ! 
 
 What, man ! ne'er pull your hat upon your brows ; 
 Give sorrow words : the grief that does not speak 
 Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break. 210 
 
 Macduff. My children too? 
 
 Ross. Wife, children, servants, all 
 
 That could be found. 
 
 Macduff. And I must be from thence! 
 
 My wife kill'd too? 
 
 Ross. I have said. 
 
 Malcolm. Be comforted : 
 
 Let's make us medicines of our great revenge, 
 To cure this deadly grief. 
 
 Macduff. He has no children. All my pretty ones? 
 Did you say all ? O hell-kite ! All ? 
 What, all my pretty chickens and their dam 
 At one fell swoop? 
 
ACT IV. SCENE III. 
 
 77 
 
 Malcolm. Dispute it like a man. 
 
 Macduff. I shall do so ; 220 
 
 But I must also feel it as a man : 
 I cannot but remember such things were, 
 That were most precious to me. Did 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. 229 
 
 Macduff. O, I could play the woman with mine eyes, 
 And braggart with my tongue! But, gentle heavens, 
 Cut short all intermission; front to front 
 Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself; 
 Within my sword's length set him; if he 'scape, 
 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. 240 
 
 {Exeunt. 
 
78 MACBETH. 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 Scene I. Diinsinane. Ante-room In the castle. 
 Enter a Doctor of Physic and a Waiting-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 eloset, take forth paper, fold it, 
 write upon't, read it, afterwards seal it, and again return 
 to bed ; yet all this while in a most fast sleep. 8 
 
 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 'tis most meet you should. 
 
 Gentlewoman. Neither to you nor any one. having no 
 witness to confirm my speech. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth, with a taper. 
 
 Lo you, here she comes ! This is her very guise ; and, 
 upon my life, fast asleep. Observe her ; stand close. 20 
 Doctor. How came she by that light? 
 
ACT V. SCENE I. 79 
 
 Gentlewoman. Why, it stood by her : she has light by 
 her continually ; 'tis her command. 
 
 Doctor. You see, her eyes are open. 
 
 Gentlewoman. Ay, but their sense is shut. 
 
 Doctor. What is it she docs 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 con- 
 tinue in this a quarter of an hour. 30 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Yet here's 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 'tis time to do't. — 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? 40 
 
 Doctor. Do you mark that? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. The thane of Fife had a wife : where 
 is she now ? — What, will these hands ne'er be clean ? 
 
 — No more o' that, my lord, no more o' 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. Here's the smell of the blood still : all 
 
80 MACBETH. 
 
 the perfumes qf Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. 
 Oh, oh, oh ! 52 
 
 Doctor. What a sigh is there ! The heart is sorely 
 charged. 
 
 Gentlezvoman. I would not have such a heart in my 
 bosom for the dignity of the whole body. 
 
 Doctor. Well, well, well, — 
 
 Gentlezvoman. 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. 61 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Wash your hands, put on your night- 
 gown ; look not so pale. — I tell you yet again, Banquo's 
 buried ; he cannot come out on's grave. 
 
 Doctor. Even so? 
 
 Lady Macbeth, To bed, to bed! there's knocking at 
 the gate: come, come, come, come, give me your hand. 
 What's done cannot be undone. To bed, to bed, to bed ! 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Doctor. Will she go now to bed? 
 
 Gentlezvoman, Directly. 70 
 
 Doctor. Foul whisperings 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. 
 God, God forgive us all ! Look after her ; 
 ^Remove from her the means of all annoyance, J 
 *~And still keep eyes upon her. So, good night: 
 
ACT V. SCENE II. 81 
 
 My mind she has mated, and amazed my sight. 
 I think, but dare not speak. 
 
 Gentlewoman. Good night, good doctor. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. The country near Dunsinane. 
 
 Drums and Colors. Enter Menteith, Caithness, 
 Angus, Lennox, and Soldiers. 
 
 Mentcith. The English power is near, led on by Mal- 
 colm, 
 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 Siward's son, 
 And many un rough youths, that even now 10 
 
 Protest their first of manhood. 
 
 Menteith. What does the tyrant? 
 
 Caithness. Great Dunsinane he strongly fortifies: 
 Some say he's mad ; others that lesser hate him 
 Do call it valiant fury : but, for certain, 
 He cannot buckle his distemper'd cause 
 Within the belt of rule. 
 
 Angus. Now does he feel 
 
 6 
 
82 MACBETH. 
 
 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 20 
 
 Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe 
 
 Upon a dwarfish thief. 
 
 Menteith. Who then shall blame 
 
 His pesterd senses to recoil and start, 
 When ail that is within him does condemn 
 Itself for being there? 
 
 Caithness. Well, march we on, 
 
 To give obedience where 'tis truly owed : 
 Meet we the medicine of the sickly weal, 
 And with him pour we in our country's purge 
 Each drop of us. 
 
 Lennox. Or so much as it needs, 
 
 To dew the sovereign flower and drown the weeds. 30 
 
 Make we our march towards Birnam. [Exeunt marching. 
 
 Scene III. Dunsinanc. A room in the castle. 
 Enter Macbeth, Doctor, and Attendants. 
 
 Macbeth. Bring me no more reports ; let them fly all : 
 Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane, 
 I cannot taint with fear. What's the boy Malcolm? 
 Was he not born of woman? The spirits that know 
 All mortal consequences have pronounced me thus : 
 Tear not, Macbeth; no man that's born of woman 
 Shall e'er have power upon thee.' Then fly, false thanes, 
 And mingle with the English epicures: 
 
ACT V. SCENE III. 83 
 
 The mind I sway by and the heart I bear 
 
 Shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear. 10 
 
 Enter a Servant. 
 
 The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon ! 
 Where got'st thou that goose look? 
 
 Servant. There is ten thousand — 
 
 Macbeth. Geese, villain? 
 
 Servant. Soldiers, sir. 
 
 Macbeth. Go prick thy face, and over-red thy fear, 
 Thou lily-liver'd 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 ! — I am sick at heart, 
 When I behold — Seyton, I say ! — This push 20 
 
 Will cheer me ever, or disseat me now. 
 ffjiave lived long enough : ' my way of life 
 Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow leaf; 
 And that which should accompany old age, 
 As honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, 
 
 must not look to have ; but, in their stead, 
 Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honor, breath, 
 Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. J 
 c eyton ! 
 
 Enter Seyton. 
 
 Seyton. What's your gracious pleasure? 
 
 Macbeth, What news more ? 30 
 
84 MACBETH. 
 
 Seyton. All is confirm'd, my lord, which was reported. 
 
 Macbeth. I'll fight till from my bones my flesh be 
 hack'd. 
 Give me my armor. 
 
 Seyton. 'Tis not needed yet. 
 
 Macbeth. I'll put it on. 
 Send out moe horses; skirr the country round; 
 Hang those that talk of fear. Give me mine armor. 
 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. 
 
 LXanst thou not minister to a mind diseased, 40 
 
 Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, 
 Raze out the written troubles of the brain, 
 
 /And with some sweet oblivious antidote 
 Cleanse the stuff'd bosom of that perilous stuff 
 Which weighs upon the heart? 7 
 
 Doctor. Therein the patient 
 
 Must minister to himself. 
 
 Macbeth. Throw physic to the dogs, I'll none of it. 
 Come, put mine armor on ; give me my staff. 
 Seyton, send out. Doctor, the thanes fly from me. 
 Come, sir, dispatch. If thou couldst, doctor, cast 50 
 
 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. Pull 't off, I say. 
 
ACT V. SCENE IV. 85 
 
 What rhubarb, senna, or what purgative drug, 
 Would scour these English hence? Hear'st thou of 
 them ? 
 
 Doctor. Ay, my good lord ; your royal preparation 
 Makes us hear something. 
 
 Macbeth. Bring it after me. 
 
 I will not be afraid of death and bane 
 Till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane. 60 
 
 Doctor. [Aside.] Were I from Dunsinane away and 
 clear, 
 Profit again should hardly draw me here. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene IV. Country near Birnam wood. 
 
 Drum and colors. Enter Malcolm, old Siward and his 
 Son, Macduff,, Menteith, Caithness, Angus, Len- 
 nox, Ross, and Soldiers, marching. 
 
 Malcolm. Cousins, I hope the days are near at hand 
 That chambers will be safe. 
 
 Mcnteiih. We doubt it nothing. 
 
 Sizvard. What wood is this before us? 
 
 Mcnteiih. The wood of Birnam. 
 
 Malcolm. Let every soldier hew him down a bough 
 And bear't before him : thereby shall we shadow 
 The numbers of our host, and make discovery 
 Err in report of us. 
 
 Soldiers. It shall be done. 
 
 Sizvard. We learn no other but the confident tyrant 
 Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure 
 Our setting down before 't. 
 
86 MACBETH. 
 
 Malcolm. Tis his main hope : 10 
 
 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 onr 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 : 20 
 
 Towards which advance the war. [Exeunt marching. 
 
 Scene V. Dunsinane. Within the castle. 
 
 Enter Macbeth, Seyton, and Soldiers, with 
 
 drum and colors. 
 
 Macbeth. Hang out our banners on the outward 
 walls ; 
 The cry is still ' They come ' : our castle's strength 
 Will laugh a siege to scorn : here let them lie 
 Till famine and the ague eat them up : 
 Were they not forced 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 : 
 
ACT V. SCENE V. 87 
 
 The time has been, my senses would have cool'd 10 
 
 To hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair 
 
 Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir 
 
 As life were in't : I have supp'd full with horrors ; 
 
 Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts, 
 
 Cannot once start me. 
 
 Re-enter Seyton. 
 
 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. 
 To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, 
 Creeps in this petty pace from day to day 20 
 
 To the last syllable of recorded time, 
 And all our yesterdays have lighted fools 
 The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle ! 
 Life's 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 a Messenger. 
 
 Thou comest to use thy tongue ; thy story quickly. 
 
 Messenger. Gracious my lord, 30 
 
 I should report that which I say I saw, 
 But know not how to do it. 
 
 Macbeth. Well, say, sir. 
 
 Messenger. As I did stand my watch upon the hill, 
 
88 MACBETH. 
 
 1 
 I look'd toward Birnam, and anon, methought, 
 The wood began to move. 
 
 Macbeth. Liar and slave! 
 
 Messenger. Let me endure your wrath, if 't be not so : 
 Within this three mile may you see it coming; 
 I say, a moving grove. 
 
 Macbeth. If thou speak'st false, 
 
 Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive 
 Till famine cling thee : if thy speech be sooth, 40 
 
 I care not if thou dost for me as much. 
 I pull in resolution and begin 
 To doubt the equivocation of the fiend 
 That lies like truth ; ' Fear not, till Birnam wood 
 Do come to Dunsinane : ' and now a wood 
 Comes toward Dunsinane. Arm, arm, and out ! 
 If this which he avouches does appear, 
 There is nor flying hence nor tarrying here. 
 I 'gin to be aweary of the sun, 
 
 And wish the estate o' the world were now undone. 50 
 Ring the alarum-bell ! Blow, wind ! come, wrack ! 
 At least we'll die with harness on our back. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene VI. Dunsinane. Before the castle. 
 
 Drum and colors. Enter Malcolm, old Si ward, Mac- 
 duff, and their Army, with boughs. 
 
 Malcolm. Now near enough : your leavy screens 
 throw down, 
 And show like those vou are. You, worthy uncle, 
 
ACT V. SCENE VII. 89 
 
 Shall with my cousin, your right-noble son, 
 Lead our first battle: worthy Macduff and we 
 Shall take upon's what else remains to do, 
 According to our order. 
 
 Siward. Fare you well. 
 
 Do we but find the tyrant's power to-night, 
 Let us be beaten, if we cannot fight. 
 
 Macd. Make all our trumpets speak; give them all 
 breath, 
 Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death. [Exeunt. 
 Scene VII. Another part of the Held. 
 Alarums. Enter Macbeth. 
 
 Macbeth. They have tied me to a stake ; I cannot fly, 
 But, bear-like, I must fight the course. What's he 
 That was not born of woman ? Such a one 
 Am I to fear, or none. 
 
 Enter young Siward. 
 Young Sizu. What is thy name? 
 
 Macbeth. Thou'lt be afraid to hear it. 
 
 Young Sizu. No ; though thou call'st thyself a hotter 
 name 
 Than any is in hell. 
 
 Macbeth. My name's Macbeth. 
 
 Young Sizu. The devil himself could not pronounce a 
 title 
 More hateful to mine ear. 
 
 Macbeth. No, nor more fearful. 9 
 
9 o MACBETH. 
 
 Young Siw. Thou liest, abhorred tyrant; with my 
 sword 
 I'll prove the lie thou speak' St. 
 
 [They fight, and young Siward is slain. 
 Macbeth. Thou wast burn of woman. 
 
 But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, 
 Brandish' d by man that's of a woman born. [Exit. 
 
 Alarums. Enter Macduff. 
 
 Macduff. That way the noise is. Tyrant, show thy 
 face! 
 If thou be'st slain and with no stroke of mine, 
 My wife and children's 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 unbatter'd edge 
 1 sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be ; 20 
 By this great clatter, one of greatest note 
 Seems bruited. Let me find him, fortune ! 
 And more I beg not. [Exit. Alarums. 
 
 Enter Malcolm and old Siward. 
 
 Siward. This way, my lord ; the castle's gently ren- 
 der'd : 
 The tyrant's 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 
 
ACT V. SCENE VIII. 91 
 
 That strike beside us. 
 
 Siward. Enter, sir, the castle. 
 
 [Exeunt. Alarum. 
 
 Scene VIII. Another part of the field. 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 
 Macbeth. Why should I play the Roman fool, and die 
 On mine own sword ? whiles I see lives, the gashes 
 Do better upon them. 
 
 Enter Macduff. 
 
 Macduff. Turn, hell-hound, turn ! 
 
 Macbeth. Of all men else I have avoided thee : 
 But get thee back ; my soul is too much charged 
 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 ! [Thcv fight. 
 
 Macbeth. Thou losest labor : 
 
 As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air 
 With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed : 10 
 
 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 served 
 Tell thee, Macduff was from his mother's womb 
 Untimely ripp'd. 
 
 MacbetJi. Accursed be that tongue that tells me so, 
 For it hath cow'd my better part of man ! 
 
9 2 MACBETH. 
 
 And be these juggling fiends no more believed, 
 
 That palter with us in a double sense ; 20 
 
 That keep the word of promise to our ear, 
 
 And break it to our hope. I'll not fight with thee. 
 
 Macduff. Then yield thee, coward, 
 And live to be the show and gaze o' the time : 
 We'll have thee, as our rarer monsters are, 
 Painted upon a pole, and underwrit, 
 ' Here may you see the tyrant.' 
 
 Macbeth. I will not yield, 
 
 To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet 
 And to be baited with the rabble's curse. 
 Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane, 30 
 
 And thou opposed, being of no woman born, 
 Yet I will try the last. Before my body 
 I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff, 
 And damn'd be him that first cries ' Hold, enough ! ' 
 
 [Exeunt, fighting. Alarums. 
 
 Retreat. Flourish. Enter, with drum and colors, Mal- 
 colm, old Siward, Ross, the other Thanes, and 
 Soldiers. 
 
 Malcolm. I would the friends we miss were safe ar- 
 rived. 
 
 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 soldier's debt : 
 He only lived but till he was a man ; 40 
 
ACT V. SCENE VIII. 93 
 
 The which no sooner had his prowess confirm'd 
 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 measured by his worth, for then 
 It hath no end. 
 
 Siward. Had he his hurts before? 
 
 Ross. Ay, on the front. 
 
 Sizuard. Why then, God's soldier be he ! 
 
 Had I as many sons as I have hairs, 
 I would not wish them to a fairer deafti: 
 And so his knell is knoll'd. 
 
 Malcolm. He's worth more sorrow, 50 
 
 And that I'll spend for him. 
 
 Siward. He's worth no more : 
 
 They say he parted well and paid his score: 
 AM so God be with him ! Here comes newer comfort. 
 
 Re-enter Macduff, with Macbeth's head. 
 
 Macduff. Hail, king! for so thou art: behold, where 
 stands 
 The usurper's cursed head : the time is free : 
 I see thee compass'd with thy kingdom's pearl, 
 That speak my salutation in their minds; 
 Whose voices I desire aloud with mine: 
 Hail, King of Scotland ! 
 
 All. Hail, King of Scotland ! [Flourish. 
 
 Malcolm. We shall not spend a large expense of time 
 
94 MACBETH. 
 
 Before we reckon with your several loves, 61 
 
 And make us even with you. My thanes and kinsmen, 
 
 Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland 
 
 In such an honor named. What's more to do, 
 
 Which would be planted newly with the time, 
 
 As calling home our exiled friends abroad 
 
 That iled the snares of watchful tyranny ; 
 
 Producing forth the cruel ministers 
 
 Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen, 
 
 Who, as 'tis thpught, by self and violent hands 70 
 
 Took off her life ; this, and what needful else 
 
 That calls upon us, by the grace of Grace 
 
 We will perform*m measure, time and place : 
 
 So, thanks to all at once and to each one, 
 
 Whom we invite to see us crown'd at Scone. 
 
 [Flourish. Exeunt. 
 
NOTES AND QUESTIONS, 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 Scene I. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. A moorland of unspeakable desolation, 
 near Forres, Scotland. The declining sun is obscured by thick 
 clouds. There is but light enough to reveal the stretches of wet 
 heather and a pool of dark water, with a clump of whins at its edge. 
 The cross lightning splits the sky, and the thunder follows, peal 
 on peal. Into this tumult of nature come three weird women, " in 
 strange and wild apparell, resembling creatures of elder world." 
 They come mysteriously from the air, as if born from the fury 
 of the elements ; they hold hands, and circle about in a strange 
 dance, adding their unearthly, monotonous cries to the loud voices 
 of the sky. Between volleys of thunder we hear them speak their 
 short, abrupt lines. No sooner is the word " Macbeth " pronounced 
 than the long-drawn cry of a cat is heard across the moorland; the 
 first witch waves her hand, and cries, " I come, Graymalkin." The 
 frogs call in their quavering voices from the distant bogs ; " Paddock 
 calls," says the second witch, thus signifying, like her sister, her 
 connection with the invisible world. Again they circle, and utter 
 in concert their ominous couplet ; a peal of thunder follows, and the 
 weird women are gone. 
 
 i. How should "again" be pronounced? Most actors make a 
 mistake in the very first line. 
 
 2. "Or" might be changed to and; why? 
 
 3. The line contains an example of onomatopoeia ; explain. 
 
 4. Why does the line awaken interest ? 
 
 5. Show that the line indicates the swiftness with which the play 
 is to progress. 
 
 6. How should "heath " be pronounced? 
 
 8. " Graymalkin," a gray cat. 
 
 9. " Paddock," a toad. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Why is Macbeth mentioned in the 
 scene? 2. Sometimes there is an interruption in line 7. After "with" 
 the first witch says, "Whom," in a long-drawn tone; and the second 
 witch replies, " Macbeth." Why is this done? 3. The play was 
 evidently written rapidly, under strong inspiration ; and it is likely 
 
 95 
 
96 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 that some other hand than Shakespeare's wrote some of it. One 
 critic (Seymour) says, " The witches seem to be introduced for no 
 other purpose than to tell us they are to meet again ; and as I can- 
 not discover any advantage resulting from such anticipation, but 
 on the contrary, think it injurious, I conclude the scene is not 
 genuine." Prove this to be a wrong judgment. 4. Why has the 
 scene so much dramatic force? Give several particulars. 5. The 
 weird women in Sir Henry Irving's presentation of the play are 
 men ; is this good or bad taste ? 6. Sometimes the weird women are 
 dressed in short, ragged skirts, carry crooked sticks from the forest 
 as staves, and are, in short, repulsive old hags ; should they be so 
 represented? 7. Should their movements be quick or slow, angular 
 or graceful ? By what movements can they give the air of mystery 
 and of the supernatural ? 8. Notice as the play progresses, that the 
 word " witch " appears in the stage directions, but only once or 
 twice in the lines ; here is a confusion that must be explained, if 
 possible. What power have weird women that witches have not? 
 (See Introduction.) 9, Coleridge says, " The true reason for the 
 first appearance of the witches is to strike the keynote of the whole 
 drama." What is the keynote? 10. What characteristic of the 
 weird women is shown in the last two lines? What do these lines 
 mean? 11. Why are witches usually represented as associated with 
 such creatures as cats and toads? 12. What is the meter of this 
 scene ? Why is it not blank verse like the main body of the play ? 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. A military camp near Forres. In the fore- 
 ground at the left is the king's tent ; before its entrance two spears 
 are stuck into the ground, and at one side stands a rude chair. 
 About the rest of the stage, the soldiers are seated on the ground in 
 little groups, playing games. Others stand, talking earnestly to- 
 gether. They are clad in ancient Highland costume — the bonnet, 
 the belted plaid, perhaps a short coat, the sporran, and stockings 
 reaching above the calf of the leg, leaving the knee bare. An 
 officer wearing a shirt of ring mail, and carrying a battle-ax over 
 his shoulder, stands near the king's tent. A soldier, fully armed, 
 paces to and fro on guard. The quiet of the scene is suddenly 
 broken by the blare of a trumpet. The soldiers spring to their feet, 
 seize their arms — battle-axes, spears, claymores, dirks, and small, 
 round targets covered with bull's hide and studded with heavy nails. 
 Loud words of command are heard ; the soldiers form lines, as if 
 expecting attack. The king, his sons Malcolm and Donalbain, 
 accompanied by Lennox and others, come hurriedly out of the tent. 
 Over his Highland costume the king wears a long robe ; his gray 
 hair hangs down over his shoulders. The alarm seems causeless, 
 
\y 
 
 ACT I. SCENE II. 97 
 
 for there enter only four men, of Duncan's army, carrying a wounded 
 sargeant, whom Malcolm at once recognizes, and who raises himself 
 on his elbow, and with difficulty addresses his king. 
 
 i. It has been remarked that the word " bloody" appears more 
 frequently in this play than in any other of Shakespeare's. 
 
 3. The third line is divided between Duncan and Malcolm; 
 scan it, giving three syllables to " sargeant." 
 
 5. Scan. Do you prefer to consider a short syllable lacking or 
 to make two syllables of " Hail " ? 
 
 6. Show that " broil " has changed somewhat in meaning since 
 Shakespeare's time. 
 
 7. Pope inserted "long" after "doubtful"; why? 
 
 9. " Choke " formerly had the sense of drown. The " spent 
 swimmers " are two who are swimming a race ; as they near the 
 goal, they seize one another, each striving to retard his rival ; and 
 thus they endanger their lives. 
 
 10. The sense may be made clearer by supplying end, after 
 " that." 
 
 13. " Of," with. "Kerns" were light-armed troops, carrying 
 darts and daggers ; they are described as " the very drosse and 
 scum of the country, a generation of villaines not worthy to live." 
 " Gallowglasses " were heavy-armed troops, clad in mail, and carry- 
 ing battle-axes and swords. 
 
 14. " Quarrel " has been much discussed. Perhaps it means the 
 "harvest of spoil" (Strutt) which the rebel was reaping in the 
 battle. 
 
 15. " Show'd," appeared. "All's," all was. 
 
 18. Scan. 
 
 19. "Minion," darling. Notice the force of "carved out his 
 passage." 
 
 21. Shaking hands is a ceremony of parting. The meaning is, 
 Macbeth did not leave him until, etc. 
 
 22. " Nave," navel ; " chaps," jaws, or the flesh on the jaws. 
 There is probably a mistake here, as the upward stroke described 
 is hardly possible. " Nape " has been suggested for " nave." 
 
 24. Duncan's and Macbeth's mothers were sisters. 
 
 25-28. The meaning is, — As unwelcome storms sometimes come 
 from the east, the same direction whence the welcome sunrise 
 appears, so from victory came defeat. 
 
 30. Would " skipping " as suitably describe the motion of " gal- 
 lowglasses "? 
 
 31. " Surveying vantage." perceiving his advantage. 
 
 34. " Captains ; " Shakespeare probably wrote it capitaynes. 
 Scan. 
 
 36. " Sooth," truth. 
 
 37. There is prolepsis (anticipation) in this line. The cannon 
 were not charged with " cracks," but with that which made the 
 
98 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 " cracks." Another example of the figure is, — He married a wife. 
 Of course, she was not a wife until he married her. 
 
 38. Explain the force of the line. It has been conjectured that 
 this scene is not all Shakespeare's. Compare the line with Act IV, 
 Scene I, line 82. What does the comparison indicate? 
 
 40. " Memorize," make memorable. " Golgotha," the place of 
 the skull. See Mark. xv. 22. 
 
 41. Why a short line? 
 
 43. " So," as, as we would say. 
 
 45. "Thane," a title ranking immediately below that of earl. 
 
 46. What figure in the line ? 
 
 47. Ross kneels as he says, " God save the king." 
 
 49. " Flout," mock. The idea is not clear. Perhaps it means, — 
 The Norweyan banners, having been taken by our troops, flap about 
 in the wind, as if mocking the sky, and seem to cool the ardor of 
 our people after their victory. The objection to the explanation is 
 that the banners of a conquered army would not mock anything. If 
 the sentence were in the past tense, it would mean, — The Norweyan 
 banners seemed to mock even the sky, and struck fear into the 
 hearts of our men. In this case the sense would be more apparent. 
 
 53. To whom was the conflict "dismal"? Why? 
 
 54. Bellona was the Roman goddess of war. Who is meant by 
 her "bridegroom"? " Lapp'd in proof," clad in armor. 
 
 55. The line probably means, — faced him as an equal in arms and 
 strength. 
 
 56. The line probably means that the two men were armed alike, 
 weapon for weapon. 
 
 57. Whr.t is the sense of " lavish "? 
 
 58. " That," in the sense of so that. 
 
 59. " Composition," terms of peace. 
 
 61. " Saint Colme's Inch," an island in the Firth of Forth. The 
 modern name is Inchcolm. 
 
 62. The line contains an anachronism. The dollar (Thaler) 
 was first coined in Bohemia, in the Valley (Thai) of St. Joachim, 
 about 1 5 18. 
 
 64. " Bosom," close, confidential. " Present," immediate. 
 
 66, 67. The scene ends with a rime ; why ? 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. What that is necessary to the story 
 does the scene set forth? 2. Is it a scene of action or of narration? 
 3. Is it strong from a dramatic standpoint? 4. Does it tax the 
 powers of the actors? 5. What does the scene reveal concerning 
 the character of Macbeth ? 6. Is anything to be inferred positively 
 concerning the character of Duncan from the fact that he was not 
 in the battle? 7. It is conjectured that after Shakespeare sold his 
 interest in the Globe Theater, and with it his manuscripts, some 
 other writer changed them in parts. " Macbeth " probably suffered 
 more in this way than any other play ; and the present scene is 
 
ACT I. SCENE III. 99 
 
 said to be one of those that have been changed. One reason is 
 that parts of it are bombastic. Point out these parts. Another rea- 
 son is the defective meter. Point out these defects. Another 
 reason is that lines 52 and 53 contradict lines 72, 73, and 112, in 
 Scene III. Explain. A final reason is that Shakespeare would not 
 have committed the absurdity of sending a wounded soldier to 
 carry the news of battle. 8. On the whole, is the scene a good 
 one from a dramatic and a poetic standpoint? 
 
 Scene III. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The same as that of Scene I. The storm 
 is over, and the obscured sun has sunk low towards his setting. 
 As the three sisters engage in their weird conversation, the sound of 
 a drum is heard near by on the moorland, and the loud voices of 
 officers giving commands. A line of soldiers passes across the 
 stage for a few minutes, when Macbeth and Banquo, clad in hel- 
 mets and mail, and carrying battle-axes, enter, walking beside their 
 troops. As they reach the center of the stage, the clouds part, and 
 the sun shines in one blaze of parting glory. Macbeth pauses to 
 observe, and Banquo stops near him. The soldiers pass on ; the two 
 generals remain behind. Macbeth takes off his helmet, shakes the 
 rain drops from it, strikes his shirt of mail to relieve its netted 
 links of the water : then, turning to the front, looks up at the sky, 
 and utters his first line, — 
 
 " So foul and fair a day I have not seen." 
 
 Weary of the long march, Banquo asks how far it is to Forres, but 
 suddenly perceiving the weird women, puts his hand on his com- 
 panion's shoulder, directs his attention to them, and asks, " What 
 are these, etc. ? " Macbeth has now met the strange creatures 
 whose fatal influence over him has already begun. 
 
 2. Witches were supposed to have a great aversion to swine, and 
 frequently killed them by their magic art in return for insults from 
 their owners. 
 
 6. " 'Aroint.' " Many conjectures, some of them wide of the 
 mark, doubtless, have been made concerning this word. Nares 
 says, "A word of aversion to a witch or infernal spirit. ... A lady 
 well acquainted with the dialect of Cheshire informed me that it is 
 still in use there. For example, if a cow press too close to the 
 maid who is milking her, she will give the animal a push, saying 
 at the same time, ' Roint thee!' by which she means, Stand off. 
 To this the cow is so well used that even the word is sufficient, the 
 cow being in this instance more learned than the commentators 
 on Sh." " Rump-fed," probably fed on the best parts of the beef ; 
 luxurious. " Ronyon," a disrespectful term for a woman. 
 
 7. In a book of Shakespeare's time is an account of a ship called, 
 the Tiger going on a voyage to Aleppo. 
 
 LofC. 
 
ioo NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 9, 10. It was a common belief that a witch could turn herself 
 into any animal, but she would lack the tail. The witch in the play 
 threatens to turn herself into a rat and gnaw through the sides of 
 the ship, a thing that the common rat is said not to do. 
 
 14. " Other," others. 
 
 17. " Shipman's card," the card on which the points of the com- 
 pass are marked. 
 
 -20. A " pent-house " is a sloping roof or shed over a door or 
 a window. The " pent-house lid " is the eyelid. 
 
 21. " Forbid," cursed. 
 
 22. " Se'nnights," seven nights, weeks. 
 
 23. Witches caused people to " dwindle " by melting waxen 
 images of them before the fire. 
 
 32. In the folics the word " weyward " appeared instead of 
 " weird ; " but Theobald, on consulting Holinshed, from whom Shakes- 
 peare took most of the material of the play, found that the three 
 women were called " the Weird Sisters, that is, as ye would say, 
 the Goddesses of Destiny." He concluded, therefore, that the copy- 
 ists had made a mistake. These strange creatures were doubtless 
 the same as the Scandinavian Norns, or Fates. The word weird 
 comes from the Anglo-Saxon wyrd, fate. The Norns were said 
 to sit under the great ash called Yggdrasil, the Tree of Life, near 
 the Urdar fountain, where they wove the web of Fate. Their names 
 were Urd (the past), Verdandi (the present), and Skuld (the fu- 
 ture). It was said their purpose was to warn the gods of evil to 
 come. The following is from Henderson's translation of the 
 Voluspa : — 
 
 " Thence come the maids, 
 Who much do know; 
 Three from the hall 
 Beneath the tree; 
 One they named Was, 
 And Being next, 
 The third Shall Be." 
 
 Evidently here were three god-like beings, full of power and mys- 
 tery ; very unlike the vulgar 'witches who killed swine and worked 
 mischief upon an unoffending sailor. Shakespeare seems to have 
 mingled the qualities of the two. 
 
 33. " Posters," couriers. 
 
 38. " Foul and fair ; " note the antithesis. The whole play is a 
 war between good and evil. 
 
 43. " That man may question," that man may ask questions of, 
 speak to. That is, are you flesh and blood, or mere spirits ? 
 
 44. " Choppy," the same as chappy. 
 53. " Fantastical," imaginary. 
 
ACT I. SCENE HI. 10 1 
 
 54. " Show," appear. 
 
 55, 56. A double construction; rearranged it stands thus, — pres- 
 ent grace of noble having and great prediction of royal hope. 
 
 57. Toward the end of the seventeenth century Sir William 
 Davenant rewrote " Macbeth," and endeavored to improve it. Thus, 
 " That he seems rapt withal," he changed to, " With which he seems 
 surpriz'd." Was the change an improvement? Give reason. 
 
 60, 61. Another double construction; rearrange. 
 
 65, 66, 67. More antitheses ; the play is full of them. Have 
 they not the effect to heighten the mystery? 
 
 69. This line is a repetition of the preceding. What is the effect 
 of it? Why is the order changed? 
 
 70. What is the sense of " imperfect " ? 
 
 71. " Sinel " was Macbeth's father. 
 
 72. 73. Compare the statement made in Scene II, 52 and 53. Is 
 there a contradiction ? 
 
 77. What word in the line is especially picturesque? 
 
 80. Why is " vanish'd " a better word here than any other, as 
 disappeared ? 
 
 81. " Corporal," corporeal. What is the emphatic word? 
 
 82. Macbeth is thinking of the breath on a frosty day. 
 84. " Insane root," probably henbane. 
 
 92, 93. " His wonders etc." The meaning is that there is a 
 contention in the king's mind : he wishes to praise Macbeth, but his 
 wonder at Macbeth's deed is so great that he is speechless. 
 
 97. What were the " strange images of death " that Macbeth 
 made? In some editions the word " tale " appears instead of " hail." 
 " Tale " means counting ; it has an interesting etymology. Milton 
 uses it in this sense in his " L' Allegro : " — 
 
 "And every shepherd tell his tale 
 Under the haw t home in the dale." 
 
 100. What is the emphatic word? 
 
 104. "Earnest," promise; money given at the conclusion of a 
 bargain as assurance of good faith. 
 
 106. "Addition," title. There is reason to believe that Shake- 
 speare intended Ross to put upon Macbeth a robe as significant of 
 his new title. In this case Macbeth speaks literally in lines 108 
 and 109. 
 
 112. "Line," support. 
 
 113. See Scene II, lines 52 and 53; and this scene, lines 72 and 
 73. The comparison will show supposed evidence that some other 
 writer rewrote some of the play after Shakespeare sold his interest 
 in the theater and went back to Stratford. 
 
 113. "Vantage," advantage, opportunity. 
 
 120. " Trusted home," trusted wholly. 
 
 121. What word in the line has the most meaning? 
 
102 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 124. Who are the " instruments of darkness"? 
 
 125. What are the " honest trifles "? 
 
 126. For " in deepest consequence," Davenant wrote, " in things 
 of high concern." Show that " consequence " has more meaning 
 than " concern." 
 
 127-129. The meaning is, — Two prophecies, which lead to the 
 greatest one, that I shall be king, have been told. Shakespeare here, 
 uses a figure taken from his own profession ; explain. 
 
 130. " Soliciting," incitement of ambition. Macbeth seems to 
 know that the weird women are tempting him. 
 
 131. Are " ill " and " good " used in the sense of untruthful and 
 truthful, or of wicked and righteous ? 
 
 132. " Earnest," promise. 
 
 134. "Suggestion," temptation. What is the temptation? 
 
 135. " Unfix my hair," make it stand on end. 
 
 136. " Seated," firmly fixed. 
 
 137. " Use," custom. 
 
 137-142. The meaning is, — The fear that one feels at the moment 
 of doing a crime is actually less than that he feels when he imagines 
 himself doing the crime. My mind is now so wrought up over the 
 murder that is as yet only in my imagination, that all my faculties 
 are violently disturbed, that I lose the power of action, and that 
 I see nothing but the horrible picture that is before my eyes. 
 
 145. " Strange," new. 
 
 147. The meaning is that time will bring the matter to a con- 
 clusion, however much Macbeth may be puzzled about it at present. 
 
 148. " Stay," wait. 
 
 149. " Favor," pardon. 
 
 149, 150. For " my dull brain etc." Davenant wrote, " I was 
 reflecting upon past transactions." There could scarcely be a better 
 proof that it is folly to tamper with Shakespeare's lines. 
 
 153. To whom does Macbeth speak here? 
 
 154. There is personification in the line; explain. 
 Shakespeare took most of the play from Holinshed's Chronicle. 
 
 By studying the following quotation the pupil will see how the poet 
 put dramatic life into the story : — 
 
 " It fortuned as Makbeth and Banquho iournied towards Fores, 
 where the king then laie, they went sporting by the waie togither 
 without other companie, saue onelie themselues, passing thorough the 
 woods and fields, when suddenlie in the middest of a laund, there 
 met them three women in strange and wild apparell, resembling- 
 creatures of elder world, whome when they attentiuelie beheld, woon- 
 dering much at the sight, the first of them spake and said ; All haile 
 Makbeth, thane of Glammis (for he had latelie entered into that 
 dignitie and office by the death of his father Sinell.) The second 
 of them said ; Haile Makbeth thane of Cawder. But the third 
 said ; All haile Makbeth that heereafter shalt be king of Scotland. 
 
ACT I. SCENE III. 103 
 
 " Then Banquho ; What manner of women (saith he) are 
 you, that seeme so little favourable vnto me, whereas to my fellow 
 heere, besides high offices, ye assigne also the kingdome, appoint- 
 ing foorth nothing for me at all? Yes (saith the first of them) we 
 promise greater benefits vnto thee, than vnto him, for he shall reigne 
 in deed, but with an vnluckie end : neither shall he leaue anie issue 
 behind him to succeed in his place, where contrarilie thou in deed 
 shalt not reigne at all, but of thee those shall be borne which shall 
 gouern the Scotish kingdome by long order of continuall descent. 
 Herewith the foresaid women vanished immediatlie out of their 
 sight. This was reputed at the first but some vaine fantasticall 
 illusion by Mackbeth and Banquho, insomuch that Banquho would 
 call Mackbeth in iest, king of Scotland ; and Mackbeth againe would 
 call him in sport likewise, the father of manie kings. But afterward 
 the common opinion was, that these women were either the weird 
 sisters, that is (as ye would say) the . goddesses of destinie, or 
 else some nymphs or feiries, indued with knowledge of prophesie 
 by their necromanticall science, bicause euerie thing came to passe 
 as they had spoken." 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Account for the great importance 
 of the scene. 2. What does it gain from being preceded by a scene 
 in which little happens? 3. Inasmuch as we are here made pretty 
 well acquainted with the weird women, might the first scene be 
 dispensed with? 4. For what reason did the weird women intend 
 to do so much mischief to the " master o' the Tiger"? 5. Does this 
 show that they were workers of good or of evil ? 6. The first witch 
 has a " pilot's thumb " to conjure with ; would the thumb of a man 
 of some other occupation, as a baker or a farmer, have done as 
 well ? 7. What feeling does the sound of the drum awaken in the 
 audience ? 8. Explain fully the action of the weird women as they 
 repeat the lines beginning with line 32. 9. What is the signifi- 
 cance of the fact that Macbeth's first speech contains an expression 
 that the weird women used in the first scene? 10. Does this speech 
 refer to the weather or to the battle, or both? 11. What hints of 
 the action of the weird women in Banquo's first speech? 12. Ex- 
 plain, in the same speech, Banquo's sudden change from the second 
 to the third person. 13. With what tone and manner does Mac- 
 beth address the weird women (line 47)? 14. As each witch speaks 
 in turn, she points her long arm at Macbeth, and for a moment all 
 three stand so. Show that this heightens the effect. 15. Where 
 may an effective pause be made in line 50? 16. In line 51, 
 Banquo asks Macbeth why he " starts " at so pleasant a prophecy ; 
 why did he start? 17. Would it not be good "stage business" for 
 Banquo to touch one of the weird women as he asks whether they 
 are "fantastical"? 18. What words of Banquo throw light on 
 the manner in which the weird women should be represented? 19. 
 In- lines 62 to 67 the long arms go out to Banquo. What gestures 
 
104 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 accompany the next two lines? 20. Was Macbeth truthful in saying 
 that it did not stand " within the prospect of belief " for him to be 
 king ? Did he have any reason for being untruthful about the 
 matter? 21. Are the weird women implanting an evil intent in 
 Macbeth's mind, or are they working on such an intent that is 
 already there ? Do they provide the inner as well as the outer 
 influence that leads him on to his destruction ? 22. Why did the 
 poet select this particular scene in which to inflame Macbeth with 
 ambition for the crown ? 23. What are Macbeth's attitude and tone 
 as he says, " Would they had stay'd " (line 82) ? 24. What other 
 speeches require much the same tone? 25. Show the difference be- 
 tween the effect of the prophecies upon Macbeth and upon Banquo. 
 26. Where in the scene is a distinct warning given to Macbeth to 
 beware the weird women ? 27. Show where in the scene Macbeth 
 hopes to get the crown without the commission of a crime. 28. 
 Is there anything to show whether Macbeth was a man of strong 
 or of weak imagination ? 29. Fancy Macbeth's action as he speaks 
 line 149. 30. What difference does the scene reveal between the 
 character of Macbeth and that of Banquo? 31. Is Macbeth a " free 
 moral agent " in this scene ? Can he overcome the temptation to 
 get the crown by fair means or foul ? or is he in the grip of inner 
 and outer forces from which he cannot escape? 32. Pick out the 
 most effective words, phrases, and figures in the scene. 33. Com- 
 pare the figure in lines 58 and 59 with that in Scene II, lines 25 
 and 28 inclusive. Which is the better? Why? 34. Compare the 
 scene with the quotation from Holinshed, given at the end of the 
 notes, and consider why the former is superior to the latter. 
 
 Scene IV. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. A cold and somewhat bare room in the 
 castle at Forres. The rough stone walls are blackened with the 
 smoke which rises from a reredos in the middle of the room. Near 
 at hand' sits the king in a great state chair, wearing robe and crown ; 
 about him, clad in their ancient Highland costumes, are his sons and 
 other attendants. 
 
 2-1 1. Steevens says that the description of the death of the 
 Thane of Cawdor corresponds exactly with that of the Earl of 
 Essex, the dearest friend of Southampton, Shakespeare's patron. 
 9. " Studied " is a stage term ; explain. 
 
 10. " Owed," owned. 
 
 17. Insert too after " is." 
 
 18-20. The king means that he wishes he had the means to give 
 Macbeth a sufficient portion of payment for his services. 
 
 21. The line means that more is due Macbeth than all the king's 
 entire possessions would pay, 
 
ACT I. SCENE IV. 105 
 
 22, 23. Macbeth means that he gets enough reward in the mere 
 doing of services for the king. 
 
 24, 25. Another double construction ; rearrange. 
 
 26, 27. The meaning probably is, — which are doing but their 
 expected duty when they do everything that is loyal to you. 
 
 34. " Wanton," unrestrained. 
 
 35. "Drops of sorrow;" what are these? 
 
 39. Scotland was not always a hereditary kingdom. The fol- 
 lowing quotation from Holinshed explains : — 
 
 " But shortlie after that it chanced that king Duncane, hauing 
 two sonnes by his wife which was the daughter of Siward earle of 
 Northumberland, he made the elder of them called Malcolme prince 
 of Cumberland, as it were thereby to appoint him his successor in 
 the kingdome, immediatlie after his decease. Mackbeth sore troubled 
 herewith, for that he saw by this means his hope sore hindered 
 (where, by the old lawes of the realme, the ordinance was, that if 
 he that should succeed were not of able age to take the charge vpon 
 himselfe, he that was next of bloud vnto him should be admitted) 
 he began to take counsell how he might vsurpe the kingdome by 
 force, hauing a just quarrel so to doo (as he tooke the matter) 
 for that Duncane did what in him lay to defraud him of all maner 
 of title and claime, which he might in time to come, pretend vnto 
 the crowne." 
 
 42. After " hence," zve go is understood. 
 
 44. A polite but hypocritical speech, such as Macbeth has used 
 before. He means that although he is going home to rest after 
 the battle, yet it would be uneasy rest if he should not use it for 
 his king. 
 
 45. " Harbinger," an official who went ahead of the king to 
 provide lodging. He was accompanied by an officer called the 
 purveyor, whose duty it was to buy food for the royal party. See 
 Scene VI of this act, line 22. 
 
 48, 50. See note, and quotation from Holinshed, line 39. 
 50. Does the word " stars " indicate that this scene occurs at 
 night ? 
 
 52. Supply let at the beginning of the line. 
 58." It " is a mark of affection. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. What necessary step of the story 
 appears in the scene ? 2. In what way is the curiosity of the 
 audience bound over to a later scene? 3. Compare the scene and 
 the two preceding it with respect to dramatic force. 4. Describe 
 the greeting of the king and the two generals, Macbeth and Banquo. 
 5. What is the difference in the manner of the two men toward the 
 king? 6. What significance is there in the fact that Banquo ex- 
 
io6 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 presses nimself more simply than Macbeth? 7. What is there in 
 the scene to indicate that Duncan was or was not a good judge of 
 character? 8. As Duncan pronounces lines 38 and 39, Malcolm 
 kneels and removes his bonnet ; why ? 9. How is Duncan engaged 
 when Macbeth speaks the soliloquy begun in line 48? 10. What, 
 on the whole, is your impression of Duncan? 11. Why did Shake- 
 speare select this particular scene in which to announce Malcolm's 
 future succession? 12. Where in the scene does Banquo seem to 
 be giving, though perhaps unintentionally, some aid to Macbeth ? 
 13. What is the best passage of poetry in the scene? 
 
 Scene V. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. A great room in Macbeth's castle at Inver- 
 ness. At the center in the rear is a great door in the thick, massive 
 walls, opening into a hall that runs from left to right. After com- 
 ing from this hallway and advancing a few paces, one must descend 
 two steps to the main level of the room. To the right and rear, 
 opening on the higher level of the room, is a small door leading to 
 a passage ; and farther forward, on the same side, is a larger door 
 leading to Lady Macbeth's bed chamber. On the left, near the 
 front, is a large door, approached by two steps. Over it hangs an 
 antique lantern of iron work. High above is a small barred win- 
 dow. A stone bench, with a high back, and arms, stands hear the 
 front ; to the left of it, and a trifle forward, is a small table of 
 massive stone. Save for these things, the room is empty ; the walls 
 are bare, and the whole place has an air of danger and desolation. 
 Lady Macbeth, clad in a long belted robe, and a mantle fastened 
 at the breast with a golden brooch, her hair concealed in a close- 
 fitting linen cap, is discovered sitting on the stone bench, reading 
 a letter. (This stage setting is used by Madame Modjeska, and will 
 be used in several scenes of the play.) 
 
 1. See question 21 in Questions on the Scene, after Scene III. 
 
 16. " The milk of human kindness." This phrase has been the 
 subject of much discussion. Furness quotes Bodenstedt, who says, 
 " We are astonished to learn this of Macbeth, for throughout the 
 drama we find no trace of this ' milk of human kindness.' We must 
 presume that the lady has too high an opinion of her husband." 
 Professor Moulton has a different theory about the word " kind- 
 ness." As he points out, the original meaning of the word was 
 " natural, nature ; " and in Elizabeth's time the word stdl had this 
 meaning. He thinks, therefore, that " humankind-ness " would ex- 
 press the meaning better. Macbeth is not tender-hearted, but he 
 shrinks from what is not natural ; he can slay men in battle, but 
 to plunge a knife into his sleeping king is a deed from which his 
 whole nature would recoil. 
 
ACT I. SCENE V. 107 
 
 19. " Illness," evil. Supply that after " illness." " Wouldst 
 highly," wouldst wish greatly. 
 
 20, 21. Notice the antitheses of Macbeth's nature, of which this 
 is an example. 
 
 25. What is the emphatic word. 
 
 26. Scan. 
 
 27. " The golden round," the crown. 
 
 28. " Metaphysical," supernatural. 
 
 34. " Had the speed of him," outstripped him. 
 38. Scan, giving " entrance " three syllables. 
 40. " Mortal," murderous. 
 
 43. Scan. " Remorse," relenting. 
 
 44. " Compunctious visitings of nature, etc.," no natural scruples 
 shake my resolve, nor prevent my carrying out what I have deter- 
 mined to do. 
 
 48. " Sightless," invisible. 
 
 49. " Wait on nature's mischief," lie in wait to aid the wicked 
 in their evil designs. 
 
 50. " Pall," wrap. 
 
 52. Explain " blanket of the dark." 
 
 56. " This ignorant present," an allusion to the fact that we are 
 usually ignorant of what will happen in the future. 
 
 57. " Instant," present. 
 
 59. Be careful in the reading of this line. 
 
 62. " Beguile the time," deceive observers. 
 
 63. " Look like the time," be merry, as one should when enter- 
 taining a king. 
 
 64. 65. Another antithesis. 
 
 Questions on the Scene, i. Show why the play now increases 
 in intensity. 2. What difficulty confronts the plotters? 3. As Ellen 
 Terry reads the letter, she pauses after the words, " they made 
 themselves air, into which they vanished," looks up, and repeats 
 the sentence in surprise. Is there not a more striking passage to 
 be repeated thus? 4. W r hat gesture accompanies the words, "Thus 
 must thou do, etc." in line 22? 5. In line 30, Modjeska pronounces 
 the words, " Thou'rt mad to say it," very fiercely, cutting off the 
 last word guardedly, and reads the next two lines in the blandest 
 manner possible ; explain. 6. What suggests the idea of hoarseness 
 to Lady Macbeth (line 37) ? 7. The raven has always been con- 
 sidered a bird of mystery. In Norse mythology the god Odin was 
 said to have two ravens, Hugin and Munin, which flew throughout 
 the world during the day and returned at night to perch on Odin's 
 shoulder, and report what they had seen and heard. Why should 
 these superstitions gather about this bird rather than about some 
 other ? 8. With how much show of affection do Macbeth and his 
 lady greet each other? 9. What terms of affection are there in the 
 
108 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 scene, and who utters them? 10. Describe fully the tone, manner, 
 expression, and attitude of the two plotters from line 53 to the 
 end of the scene. 11. Describe in detail Lady Macbeth's analysis 
 of her husband's character. 12. What effect does the unexpected 
 opportunity have on her? On him? 13. Do you detect any signs 
 of indecision in him? 14. Do you regard her as cruel and blood- 
 thirsty? 15. In the last two lines in the scene, does Lady Macbeth 
 mean to say that Macbeth must not betray his thoughts by his 
 looks, or does she show her fear that he is weakening? 16. Is Lady 
 Macbeth ambitious for herself or for her husband? 17. Pick out 
 the best figures in the scene. 18. Where is the passion of the 
 scene strongest? 19. Are the same passages the best from a poet- 
 ical standpoint? 
 
 Scene VI. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. In the background the massive gate and 
 walls of the castle at Inverness. Before it is a deep moat, spanned 
 by the drawbridge, which has been let down by means of its heavy 
 chains. The sound of hautboys is heard, and several mounted sol- 
 diers appear. They halt and await the king, who follows on horse- 
 back with his sons and thanes. These dismount and assist the king 
 to descend from his horse. As the soldiers lead the animals away, 
 Duncan talks a moment to Banquo ; when Lady Macbeth, not the 
 fierce spirit of the previous scene, but the sweet hostess, appears 
 in the gate to welcome her unsuspecting guest. 
 
 1. " Seat," site. 
 
 3. " Gentle," calm, reposeful. 
 
 4. " Martlet," martin. " Approve," prove. 
 
 5. Meaning of " mansionry " ? 
 
 6. " Jutty," projection. 
 
 7. " Coign of vantage," corner advantageous for building. 
 
 8. " Procreant cradle," the nest in which the young are hatched. 
 11-14. The king and his hostess now exchange some very polite 
 
 speeches. Duncan says that the love his subjects give him is some- 
 times a trouble to him, for, like less distinguished guests, he prefers 
 simple entertainment ; but still he accepts her hospitality, which he 
 foresees will be lavish, as love. Thus he teaches her to bid God 
 " 'ild " (yield, reward) him for troubling her and thank him for 
 doing so. The words " 'ild " and " thank " seem to be used in a 
 kindly irony ; as if one should say to one's hostess, — I am much 
 to blame for putting you to so much trouble. 
 
 16. " Single," weak. 
 
 16, 17. " To contend against," to rival, to offset. 
 
 20. " Hermits " prayed for their benefactors. 
 
 22. See note, Scene IV, line 45 of this act. 
 
 25-28. Another polite speech. Lady Macbeth says that the sub- 
 jects of the king owe all they have to him ; and when they entertain 
 
ACT I. SCENE VII. 109 
 
 him or give him anything, they are only returning what belongs to 
 him. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. There are two theories as to this 
 scene: one that it is reposeful in its effect — a quiet between two 
 storms; the other that it is reposeful so far as the setting and the 
 action of the characters is concerned, but very intense in its effect. 
 Give the reason for the latter theory. 2. Would not a different 
 effect be required if the king were a different kind of man? 3. Do 
 you want the king killed? Be careful to distinguish between your 
 pity for him and your desire to feel a strong dramatic effect. 4. As 
 the king says, " By your leave, hostess," Ellen Terry accepts his 
 offered hand, and expresses by look and action her surprise and de- 
 light at his majesty's courtesy. 5. Shakespeare has been accused of 
 euphuism ; at the same time, he has many passages that are so 
 densely packed with metaphors that they are not easy to understand. 
 With these facts in mind, pass judgment on Banquo's first speech 
 in this scene, and also on Lady Macbeth's. Compare them both with 
 lines 25 to 28 inclusive in Scene II. 
 
 Scene VII. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The same as Scene V. The room is but 
 dimly lighted by a feeble flame in the antique lantern over the big 
 door at the left. Through the wide portal at the back one sees 
 attendants passing through the hall ; some carry torches, others play 
 on hautboys; others, servants from the kitchen, carry great dishes 
 loaded with viands, and flasks filled with wine. From the distant 
 banquet hall come shouts of revelry, loud bursts of drunken laugh- 
 ter, and hoarse voices bawling snatches of songs. Suddenly heavy 
 doors shut with a loud bang and the squeak of rusty hinges; the 
 noise of the feast is shut out; the silence of death falls upon the 
 room ; the lamp flickers fitfully. In the door at the rear, Macbeth 
 appears. He advances to the door at the left, which opens into a 
 hall leading to the king's apartments. There he lingers doubtfully 
 a moment, then turns back to the middle of the stage, where he 
 speaks. 
 
 1. Actors usually speak this line poorly; what is the meaning? 
 what word should be emphasized to bring the meaning out? Notice 
 the force of the repetition of " done " in two different senses. This 
 is one of Shakespeare's favorite modes of expression. 
 
 3. " Trammel," entangle ; a trammel is a net. What word in the 
 line follows out the metaphor? 
 
 4. " Surcease," a legal term meaning the stopping of a suit. It 
 has the sense of cessation. What is the antecedent of " his " ? 
 
 5. 6. " Here, but here," in this life. In line 6, to what does Mac- 
 beth compare life ? 
 
 7. " We'ld jump," we would risk. Thus far in the speech Mac- 
 
no NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 beth means that if he could commit the murder and by it end all 
 chance of punishment in this life, he would not consider the punish- 
 ment in the life to come. 
 
 io. " Even-handed justice," justice that punishes a criminal. 
 
 ii. "Commends," offers. 
 
 17. " Faculties," powers as king. 
 
 18. " Clear," guiltless, just, merciful. 
 
 21. Notice how well Shakespeare selects the very best figure to 
 make his meaning forcible. What could cause more pity than " a 
 naked new-born babe," exposed to the fury of the elements? 
 
 23. " Sightless couriers, etc.," the invisible winds. 
 
 25. " That tears, etc." The rain, when it falls heavily, slackens 
 the speed of the wind. 
 
 25-28. Macbeth means that he has no reason to kill Duncan, but 
 is spurred on only by his ambition, which is like one who attempts 
 to vault into his saddle, but leaps too far and falls on the other side. 
 Rowe, the first editor of the plays, put a dash after " other," to make 
 it appear that Macbeth was interrupted by the entrance of his wife. 
 
 34. " Would," should. What two words contain a metaphor 
 here? 
 
 35, 36. The metaphor is strangely mixed here — " hope " is 
 compared to a person, inasmuch as it is " drunk," and to a gar- 
 ment, inasmuch as Macbeth has dressed himself in it. However, 
 Shakespeare often combines figures in this way, and does it effec- 
 tively. " May we not coin the expression, double metaphor, to offset 
 the disparaging expression, 'mixed metaphor'? " (See note in 
 " Hamlet " of this series, Act III, Scene I, line 59.) Consider 
 whether this metaphor is double or mixed. 
 
 38, 39. " From this time, etc. ; " I will consider your love as in- 
 constant as your resolve to kill Duncan. One editor (Baiky) sug- 
 gests that Shakespeare probably wrote " liver " instead of " love ; " 
 Lady Macbeth is speaking of courage, which was formerly said to 
 reside in the liver ; to talk of love here is to break the train of 
 thought. So much for the curious conjectures of the commentators. 
 
 39, 41. "Art thou afeard, etc;" are you afraid to do the thing 
 you wish to do ? 
 
 43-45. " Wouldst thou have, etc." The meaning seems doubtful. 
 " The ornament of life " is usually understood to mean the crown. 
 With this understanding of the expression, Johnson suggested that 
 "and" (line 43) be changed to or; in which case the meaning 
 is clear. However, may not " the ornament of life " mean the 
 " golden opinions " which Macbeth wishes to wear " in their newest 
 trloss " ? 
 
 The " adage " mentioned is given in Heywood's Proverbs. " The 
 cat would eate fishe, and would not wet her feete." There is a 
 form of the same proverb in Low Latin : " Catus amat pisces, sed 
 non vult tingere plantas." Clark and Wright. 
 
 47. "Beast" should receive the emphasis; why? 
 
ACT I. SCENE VII. in 
 
 52. " Adhere," usually interpreted cohere. Capell says, " It is 
 not the coherence of lime with place; but the adherence of these 
 two with the murder of the king." 
 
 54. " Unmake " receives the emphasis to contrast with " make," 
 two lines above. Another antithesis. 
 
 59. With what emphasis should " We fail " be read? Mrs. Jame- 
 son says, " Mrs. Siddons adopted successively three different intona- 
 tions in giving the words we fail. At first as a quick, contemptuous 
 interrogation. Afterward with the note of admiration, and with an 
 accent of indignant astonishment, laying the emphasis on ' zve.' 
 Lastly, she fixed on what I am convinced is the true reading — we 
 fail, with the simple period, modulating her voice to a deep, low 
 resolute tone, which settled the issue at once — as though she had 
 said, ' If we fail, why then we fad, and all is over.' This is con- 
 sistent with the dark fatalism of the character, and the sense of 
 the line following — and the effect was sublime, almost awful." 
 
 60. The figure is probably taken from the tightening of the 
 thumb screw of a musical instrument, as a violin. 
 
 64. " Wassail," drinking, revelry. " Convince," overcome. 
 
 65. Memory was supposed, in Shakespeare's time, to be situated 
 in the cerebellum, the lowest part of the brain ; hence the suitability 
 of the figure. Notice that the figure is a natural one for a person 
 who dwelt in a castle. 
 
 66. " Receipt," receptacle. 
 
 67. " Limbec," a corruption of alembic, the part of a still into 
 which the steam rises ; hence " fume." 
 
 68. Explain " drenched." 
 
 70. " Put upon," attribute to, blame with. 
 
 71. Explain " spongy." 
 
 72. " Quell," murder. 
 
 74. " Received," believed. 
 
 77. " Other," otherwise. Modjeska has a wonderfully effective 
 way of reading this word ; her voice rises on the first syllable and 
 falls on the second, the effect being one of perfect encouragement 
 and assurance. 
 
 79. " ' Bend up ' is of course suggested by the stringing of a 
 bow." Clark and Wright. 
 
 80. " Corporal," pertaining to the body. 
 
 81. " Mock," deceive. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. In a previous scene Macbeth has 
 been incited by the weird women ; what further incitement has he 
 in this scene? 2. Give Macbeth's reasons for not wanting to kill 
 the king. 3. He gives a different reason to his wife ; why does he 
 do so? 4. In line 31 he shows that he has weakened; has he shown 
 this before? 5. By what two powerful reasons does Lady Macbeth 
 persuade him to commit the murder? 6. What is Macbeth's manner 
 
ii2 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 during his first speech? 7. As Sir Henry Irving reads the clause, 
 " We'ld jump the life to come," he throws up his arm as if ward- 
 ing off a blow. Why ? 8. With what manner does Lady Macbeth 
 enter? 9. What expression is on Macbeth's face when he sees her? 
 10. In line 35 and what follows, is Lady Macbeth fiercely, or mildly 
 and coolly scornful? 11. Modjeska reads the sentence beginning 
 in line 47 with fierce scorn ; does this indicate whether her previous 
 speech should or should not be so read ? Keep in mind the force 
 of contrast. 12. Lady Macbeth .said she would kill her own child 
 if she had sworn to do it; would she? If so, with what looks and 
 tones should she read the lines? If not, how should she read them? 
 13. How does the tone of the speech beginning in line 59 differ 
 from Lady Macbeth's preceding speech ? Would it not be suitable 
 for her to come near Macbeth and show him some sign of affection, 
 as putting her hand on his shoulder? 14. Contrast Macbeth's 
 manner in the beginning of the speech with that in the end. 15. 
 Decide upon the personal appearance of the two. Are they blonde 
 or brunette? Has Macbeth a burly form, or is he cast in an 
 ordinary mold? Is Lady Macbeth a slender, delicate woman, or a 
 large, brutal woman? 16. What effect has the contrast between the 
 two upon the dramatic force of the scene? 17. Are the speeches, 
 in the main, spoken in loud or in soft tones? 18. Has Macbeth a 
 moral character? Has Lady Macbeth? 19. What motive has Mac- 
 beth for wanting to kill Duncan ? What motive has Lady Macbeth ? 
 Are not they contrasts in the matter of selfishness? 20. Which 
 one of them wavers between good and evil ? Show a contrast here. 
 21. Do lines 46 and 47 show Macbeth to be moral or immoral? 22. 
 How does Lady Macbeth overthrow his argument here? 23. Show 
 the difficulty of speaking this speech (lines 47-58). Must not the 
 actor's manner, in a part of the speech, indicate exactly what the 
 words do not mean ? 24. What is there in the scene to indicate who 
 first suggested killing the king? 25. This suggestion is not made in 
 the play ; when must it have been made ? 26. If the other person had 
 first suggested it, would not the name of the play have been differ- 
 ent? 27. What is your feeling for Duncan during the speech begin- 
 ning in line 59? 28. Has Lady Macbeth any malice toward him? 
 
 29. Where in the scene is stated the moral lesson that the play 
 inevitably teaches, though perhaps without the intention of the poet? 
 
 30. In what respect does Lady Macbeth resemble the mother of all 
 mankind? 31. In this connection, how does Macbeth differ from 
 the father of all mankind ? 32. Is the scene remarkable from a 
 poetical standpoint? Why? 32. Count the figures. 
 
 Questions on the Act. 1. What one of the five divisions of the 
 story does the act set forth? 2. Modjeska begins the second act 
 with Scene V of this act, and continues it into the next, ending it 
 at a climax, instead of in Shakespeare's manner — on a fine speech 
 or at the end of a division of the story. As you read on, determine 
 
ACT II. SCENE I. 113 
 
 where the second act, according to Modjeska, should end. 3. Upon 
 whom does the original responsibility of the crime rest? 4. Show 
 the steps by which Macbeth's moral nature is broken up. 5. Under 
 what circumstances was he a bold man, and under what circum- 
 stances was he not bold? 6. Show the suitability of the scenes 
 to the nature of the play. 7. Show where the hand of Fate appears 
 in the act. 8. Is it at any time in Macbeth's power, considering his 
 nature and his environment, to resist the strong temptation to crime? 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 Scene I. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The same as Scenes V and VII of Act 
 I. Banquo and Fleance enter, the latter carrying a torch. The 
 father rests his hand affectionately on the son's shoulder, and as 
 they pause, looks up through the small barred window into the star- 
 less night sky. 
 
 4. " Husbandry," economy. 
 
 5. What is it that Banquo tells Fleance to take? 
 
 6. Explain " heavy summons." 
 
 7-9. What are the " cursed thoughts " that come to Banquo in 
 his sleep? 
 
 14. " Largess," presents. " Offices," the rooms occupied by the 
 servants. 
 
 16, 17. " Shut up, etc.." a disputed passage, probably meaning 
 that the king is enclosed in content as a diamond is shut up in its 
 case. 
 
 17-19. Macbeth means, — We cannot entertain the king as well as 
 we have the will to entertain him, because we were unprepared for 
 his coming. 
 
 22. " When we, etc. ; " when I can beg a convenient hour of you. 
 
 25. The line means, — If you will be loyal to me " when 'tis " — 
 when the prediction of the weird women comes true. 
 
 26. Here is another example of Shakespeare's manner of turning 
 the meaning of a word. What does Macbeth mean by " honor " ? 
 What does Banquo mean by the word as implied in " none " ? Com- 
 pare Act I, Scene VII, line 47. 
 
 28. " Franchised," free. 
 
 There has been much discussion as to Banquo's state of mind 
 in the scene. In the beginning of it, he seems tempted ; but here 
 he firmly declares that he will not be false to his allegiance to 
 the king. Some critics take the ground that he is in no way 
 tempted ; that Macbeth describes him accurately in the first scene 
 of Act III. This view does not seem tenable, as it is very evident 
 that Banquo is thinking seriously of the prediction of the weird 
 women ; it is he who first mentions them in this scene. The solution 
 
 8 
 
ii4 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 of the problem does not seem difficult : Banquo is evidently a man 
 who has, all his life, made the right decision in moral crises ; he 
 has never yielded to small temptations. Hence, when he is now 
 confronted with a great temptation, all the moral strength he has 
 gained in his past life rises up in all its power to help him resist. 
 If he had yielded to small temptations, he would not now have the 
 strength to resist a great one. 
 
 31. " Drink," the posset, the customary " nightcap " of ancient 
 times ; it was made of hot milk and spirits. 
 
 Davenant's improvement on Shakespeare at this point is as 
 follows : — 
 
 " Go bid your mistress, when she is undressed, 
 To strike upon the closet-bell, and I'll go to bed." 
 
 36. " Sensible," " capable of being perceived by the senses." 
 Clark and Wright. 
 
 44, 45. The meaning is, — Either my eyes are deceived, or they 
 are capable of apprehending what my other senses cannot apprehend. 
 
 46. " Dudgeon," handle. " Gouts." drops. 
 
 49. Which half of the world is meant? 
 
 51. Explain " curtain'd " in two ways. 
 
 52. " Hecate," pronounced in three syllables, -but here, and else- 
 where in Shakespeare, in two. Hecate was the goddess of witch- 
 craft. Explain the force of " wither'd." 
 
 54. " Howl's," howl is. " Watch," watch cry. 
 
 55. " Tarquin," an old Roman criminal. 
 
 59, 60. The meaning is, — Take away the horror of my present 
 surroundings — the darkness, the silence, and the feeling of guilt 
 that oppresses me ; a horror that is suitable to the crime I am about 
 to commit. 
 
 61. The line means, — If I stop to consider this deed too long, I 
 shall not do it. Compare " Hamlet," Act IV, Scene IV, from line 
 39 to the end of the speech. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Does the interest of the scene arise 
 from what we may call the psychology of the play, or from the 
 action? 2. Why does the scene begin with a conversation concern- 
 ing the time of night? 3. Why is the conversation between Macbeth 
 and Banquo particularly suitable to this particular scene? 4. What 
 dramatic quality does the scene gain from the contrast between the 
 characters of Macbeth and Banquo? 5. Why does Banquo ask 
 Fleance to take his sword ? Why does he ask for it again ? 6. Why 
 does Macbeth want the bell rung? 7. After the servant goes out, 
 Macbeth goes stealthily to the lantern over the great door at the 
 left, blows out the light, and then goes about the room listening at 
 every doorway. Why does this action heighten the dramatic effect? 
 
ACT II. SCENE II. 
 
 "5 
 
 8. Is the dagger imaginary or real ? 9. Should it be represented ? 
 That is, should a dagger be suspended so that the audience can 
 see it? 10. Does the seeing of the dagger inspire Macbeth with 
 fear or with confidence ? Does Macbeth tremble as he recites the 
 speech, or is his manner resolute? n. Where does the thought 
 change? 12. Why does the speech end with a rime? 13. Why are 
 all long soliloquies difficult to recite effectively? 14. What is the 
 dramatic effect of the ringing of the bell? 15. Again, do you want 
 the king to be killed? (The student may understand his own mind 
 better here if he will read De Quincey " On Murder Considered as 
 One of the Fine Arts.") 16. Give a careful judgment of the char- 
 acter of Banquo. 17. Is there any significance in the fact that it 
 is Banquo who first mentions the weird women? 18. Show an evi- 
 dence of hypocrisy in Macbeth's speech beginning in line 21. 19. 
 Does the courage incited in Macbeth by his wife still remain with 
 him? 20. Is it now in Macbeth's power to repent of his resolu- 
 tion and refuse to do the deed? 21. It has been said by some critics 
 that the weird women, though not present in the scene, nevertheless 
 give Macbeth further incitement to commit the crime ; explain. 22. 
 Point out the words in the scene that are especially effective, par- 
 ticularly in the dagger speech. 23. One quality of poetry is con 
 densation ; show that Shakespeare says much in a few words. 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The same scene continues. Lady Mac- 
 beth enters through the great door at the rear. She is clad in 
 white ; her hair hangs in a flowing mass, and is bound about the 
 forehead with a silver band. Some actors use lightning and thunder 
 in this scene and the preceding, but this matter should not be over- 
 done : some distant, ominous rumbling and a flash or two of fire in 
 the small window high in the wall at the left may be effective, 
 especially in the interval between Macbeth's exit and Lady Mac- 
 beth's entrance. As she comes toward the front, telling the effect 
 the drink has had upon her, the hoot of an owl' is heard ; she starts 
 violently, but soon recovers herself. The scene is quiet, but the 
 most intense excitement prevails. 
 
 2. Notice the antithesis. 
 
 3. " Bellman." Clark and Wright quote the following from 
 Webster's Duchess of Malfi : — 
 
 " I am the common bellman. 
 That usually is sent to condemn'd persons 
 The night before they suffer." 
 
 5. " Grooms," servants. 
 
 10, 11. "The attempt, etc." The meaning is, — To attempt and 
 
n6 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 fail would be our ruin, while to succeed in killing the king would 
 put us beyond the reach of punishment. 
 
 15. The cry of cricket or of owl was a sign of death. 
 
 20. " Sorry," sad. 
 
 24. "Address'd," prepared. 
 
 25. "Are" should receive the emphasis; why? 
 2,7. " Ravell'd," tangled. " Sleave," floss. 
 
 38. Notice the antithesis. 
 
 39. The " second course " at a feast was doubtless the substan- 
 tial part. 
 
 46. " Brainsickly," madly. 
 
 47. Meaning of " witness " ? 
 51, 52. Another antithesis. 
 
 55. What is the "painted devil" that Lady Macbeth speaks of? 
 
 56. " Gild." Gold was formerly spoken of as red. In this and 
 the next line a pun occurs. Do you think Shakespeare intended to 
 make it? If so, why? 
 
 57. The student should read De Quincey's famous essay " On 
 the Knocking on the Gate in ' Macbeth.' " 
 
 62. " Multitudinous seas ; " notice the effect of the expression 
 from the standpoint of sound. The picture is that of the " seas " 
 (waves) breaking on the beach. 
 
 63. A pause is necessary in the reading of this line; where? 
 " Incarnadine," make red. 
 
 64. Lady Macbeth is supposed to hear what Macbeth says of the 
 color of his hand ; hence her speech. 
 
 68. "Constancy," self-possession. 
 70. " Nightgown," dressing gown. 
 72. " Poorly," feebly. 
 
 72,. The line means, — It would be better to be unconscious, or 
 mad, or even dead, than to be conscious of this crime. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. The scene is continuous with the 
 preceding. Do you know anything concerning the theater of Shake- 
 speare's time that accounts for two scenes being indicated instead 
 of one? 2. In line 2, Lady Macbeth pronounces the two words, 
 " Hark " and " Peace," in a widely different manner, and with a 
 marked pause between ; explain. 3. Should the cry of the owl be 
 heard by the audience, or only imagined? If the former, should it 
 seem far away, or near at hand ? Is Lady Macbeth only curious 
 about it, or is she startled ? 4. Why are the cries of the owl and the 
 cricket particularly effective in the scene? 5. Has the drink made 
 Lady Macbeth bold ? 6. What is her manner in line 9 ? 7. In lines 
 12 and 13, she says she would have killed Duncan herself if he 
 had not resembled her father. Does this sound like the woman 
 who would have dashed out the brains of her own child to keep her 
 oath ? 8. Is Macbeth's cry, " Who's there ? What, ho ! " loud or 
 soft ? Describe its quality. 9. What is his manner as he enters ? 
 
ACT II. SCENE III. - 117 
 
 10. Sir Henry Irving indicates Macbeth's state of mind for most 
 of his speeches in the scene, by leaning against the wall and groan- 
 ing. Is this effective? 11. What is the dramatic effect of the very 
 short speeches jnst after Macbeth's entrance? 12. As Modjeska 
 plays the piece, her manner changes after Macbeth enters ; she says, 
 " I heard the owl scream, etc.," in a calm, reassuring tone. Some- 
 times she almost laughs at his fears. Why? Consider whether she 
 is able to maintain this seeming fearlessness as the scene progresses. 
 Where must she struggle hardest to maintain her self-control ? 
 Where might she wring her hands with tragic effect? 13. Does Mac- 
 beth speak in a loud or a low tone as he complains of not being 
 able to say "Amen"? Is it the same throughout the scene? 14. 
 Explain the dramatic effect of the cry, " Sleep no more ! " 15. Does 
 Lady Macbeth take the daggers with a gentle or an ungentle hand ? 
 16. Should the knocking be loud and startling or the reveise? 17. 
 Show that the actress, particularly at the end of the scene, has the 
 difficult task of appearing to Macbeth to be in a certain state of 
 mind, while to the audience she must appear to be in quite a differ- 
 ent one. 18. Why is the last line particularly dramatic? 19. Show 
 from the scene and from your answers to some of the foregoing 
 questions, a new phase of Lady Macbeth's character. What light 
 does it throw on question 14 of Act I, Scene V? 20. In Act I, 
 Scene VII, Macbeth said he would " jump the life to come." Has 
 he succeeded in doing so? 21. Account for the voice that cried, 
 Sleep no more! " Is it not suggestive of the dagger episode? 22. 
 One of the physiological effects of fear is a dryness of the mouth 
 that makes speech difficult. Does this alone account for Macbeth's 
 inability to say "Amen " ? 23. What is the effect of this contrast 
 between prayer and crime? 24. What connection has the knocking 
 on the gate with the great moral law contained in the play? 25. 
 What condition in Macbeth seems to induce strength in Lady Mac- 
 beth ? 26. What incident in the scene seems to revivify her strength, 
 when it seems to be in danger of failing? 27. One critic (Flathc) 
 thinks that Lady Macbeth has committed several crimes before the 
 beginning of the play. Is there any evidence? How do you account 
 for her having the strength in evil to do what she did? 2S. Is 
 Macbeth's step irretrievable ? 29. Does it appear that he is in the 
 grip of forces over which he has no control ? 30. Pick out the 
 natural sounds that lend dramatic effect and poetic color to the 
 scene. 31. Note the figures in the scene; count those in lines 35 
 and 40 inclusive. 32. Account for the high poetic quality of the 
 scene. 
 
 Scene III. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The previous scene continues. The guilty 
 two disappear ; the knocking continues. At the small door at the 
 right and back appears the porter, staggering from sleepiness and 
 
n8 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 drink ; he yawns, stretches himself unsteadily, thereby running the 
 risk of dropping the antique lantern he carries in one hand, and 
 the bunch of great keys in the other. He takes a maudlin pleasure 
 in imagining himself the porter of the gate of hell ; at every knock 
 from without he bows ironically to an imaginary arrival in that 
 lower dismal region, announces the station of the unfortunate, and 
 hints at the cause of his downfall. At the end, he goes out the 
 gxc~t door at the center and rear, and turns to the left, and after a 
 moment he ^s heard drawing bolts, dragging chains, and turning a 
 key in a great lock. Then there is the tramp of feet and the sound 
 of voices. Macduff and Lennox, followed by the sleepy porter, enter. 
 2. " Old," an intensive, meaning more than enough, too much. 
 
 4. " Beelzebub," the prince of devils. 
 
 5. " Expectation of plenty." In times of plenty, prices of farm 
 products are low ; hence the farmer's suicide. The expression is 
 one from which the date of the play (1606) is inferred; for it is 
 recorded that in the summer and autumn of 1606 there was a pros- 
 pect of an unusual crop, and the price of corn (grain) was lower 
 than it became for thirteen years afterward. 
 
 6. " Napkins," handkerchiefs. " Enow," enough. 
 
 11. " Equivocator." Clark and Wright have the following note: 
 
 I " Warburton suggested that Shakespeare here had in mind the 
 
 J equivocation with which the Jesuits were charged. In the account 
 
 .-" of the proceedings at Garnet's trial, published in 1606, we read: 
 
 ' Fourthly, they were allowed and taught by the Iesuites, to equiuo- 
 
 cate vpon othe, saluatation or otherwise, and how then should it be 
 
 \ discouered ? ' Malone founds upon this an argument for placing 
 
 \ the composition of the play in the year 1606, when the remembrance 
 
 Vof the Gunpowder Plot was fresh in the minds of the people." 
 
 14. "French hose." There were two kinds of French hose (knee- 
 breeches), the one full, the other close-fitting. The latter is alluded 
 to, as it would take an unusually skillful tailor to steal anything out 
 of them. 
 
 15. " Goose," an iron so called because its handle is like a goose's 
 neck. What is the plural of the word ? 
 
 18. " Primrose way," the easy and beautiful way. It is a theory 
 of some critics that the porter scene is an interpolation ; in this 
 connection, what significance is there in the fact that a similar 
 expression, " the primrose path of dalliance," occurs in " Hamlet " 
 (Act I, Scene III, line 50) ? 
 
 28. " Timely," early. 
 
 29. " Slipp'd the hour," let the hour slip by. 
 
 32. The line means, — A labor in which we take delight overbal- 
 ances the pain and weariness connected with that labor. 
 
 34. " Limited," appointed. 
 
 40. " Combustion," conflagration ; a metaphor accompanying 
 "confused events." The idea is that there shall be great tumult and 
 destruction in the kingdom. 
 
ACT II. SCENE III. . 119 
 
 41. " New hatch 'd, etc.," especially prepared to suit the woeful 
 condition of the times. " Obscure bird; " what is it, and why? Scan 
 the line. 
 
 46. " Tongue nor heart, etc.," a double reversed construction, 
 meaning, — Tongue cannot name thee nor heart conceive thee. 
 
 48. " Confusion," destruction. 
 
 50. "Anointed," allusion to the old custom of anointing kings in 
 the ceremony of coronation. 
 
 54. " Gorgon," Medusa, the sight of whose horrid face and snaky 
 locks turned the beholder into stone. 
 
 60. " Great doom's image," the image of that which shall come 
 to us all — Death. Clark and Wright say, "A sight as terrible as 
 the last judgment." 
 
 62. Theobald conjectured that " ring the bell " was a marginal 
 stage direction in the book of the prompter, who at this point was 
 to have the bell rung in obedience to Macduff's command (line 56). 
 What proof does the scansion reveal ? 
 
 62. " Countenance," " give a suitable accompaniment to." Clark 
 and Wright. 
 
 64. " Trumpet," metaphor for bell ; the trumpet was used in war 
 to sound a parley. 
 
 75. " Mortality," human life. 
 
 76. " Toys," trifles. Why " is " for arc? 
 
 77. 78. Macbeth compares the world to a wine vault; who, then, 
 is the " wine," and who the " lees " ? 
 
 84. " Badged," as if they wore badges of blood. 
 
 93. " Expedition," haste. 
 
 94. " Reason," in apposition with " pauser." 
 
 95. " Golden ; " see note on line 56 in the previous scene. 
 
 96. Show that the figure in this and the next line is particularly 
 suitable in the mouth of a soldier. 
 
 99. " Unmannerly breech'd " has been supposed by some to be a 
 corruption. Johnson suggested " unmanly drench'd." However, 
 " breech'd " means covered, and " unmannerly " means improperly, 
 and though the phrase does not seem strong, it is not necessarily a 
 corruption. 
 
 103. "Argument," subject, event. 
 
 105. "Auger-hole," metaphor for any small place of concealment. 
 Donalbain means that their deaths may come upon them as sud- 
 denly and mysteriously as their father's came to him. 
 
 107. " Our tears, etc." The meaning is that our sudden sorrow 
 has not yet begun to afflict us. Malcolm expresses the same or a 
 very similar idea in the speech following ; it frequently happens that 
 people do not feel their griefs at once, but only after there has been 
 time to think them over. If the emphasis is put on " our," what is 
 the implication? 
 
 109. "Naked frailties," compare with line 61 of this scene; the 
 men are in thin night robes, and but half clad. 
 
120 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 112. " Scruples," suspicions. 
 
 114. " Pretence," reason. The order of words is unusual; "of 
 treasonous malice," in the next line, should follow " pretence." 
 
 116. "Manly readiness," complete armor. 
 
 123. " The near in blood," that is, the nearer in relationship. 
 
 127. " Dainty," ceremonious. 
 
 128. " Shift away," steal away. 
 
 128, 129. " There's warrant, etc. The idea is, — There is good 
 reason for shifting away when one knows that his life is in danger. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Does it not appear that there was a 
 turning point in the previous scene? 2. Show how the new theme 
 of the play is well begun in the present scene. 3. Schiller, in his 
 translation of " Macbeth," changed the porter scene entirely ; his 
 porter is a moralist rather than a drunken comedian. Why did 
 Schiller make so radical a change? In other words, should there be 
 a comedy scene between such tragic scenes? (The question is im- 
 portant, since the porter's part is, by some, considered an interpola- 
 tion. Compare the first part of the first scene of the fifth act of 
 "Hamlet" and Scene III of Act III of "Julius Caesar.") 4. Show 
 that the actor who takes the part of Macbeth has a particularly diffi- 
 cult part to play as he enters. 5. Should Macduff and Lennox speak 
 in loud or low tones? Is there any thing in the lines to show 
 whether, before they discover the death of the king, the spirit of 
 mystery, of impending disaster, broods over their conversation? 6. 
 With what manner does Macbeth say, " This is the door," and, " He 
 does : he did appoint so " ? 7. What is the dramatic effect of Len- 
 nox's speech that follows (line 36) ? 8. Fancy Macbeth's looks and 
 furtive trembling as he hears Macduff's returning footsteps. 9. Is 
 Macduff's exclamation, " O horror, horror, horror," given in a loud, 
 startling tone, or in a voice low and hoarse from excess of emo- 
 tion ? In other words, does the horror of the situation break sud- 
 denly, or does it come gradually, reaching a climax in the ringing 
 of the bell and in the entrance of Lady Macbeth? 10. Spencer, in 
 his " Philosophy of Style," lays down the principle that in moments 
 of extreme emotion people are apt to speak in the most simple and 
 direct words. With this in mind, consider whether it would be better 
 for Macduff to say, " The king has been murdered," rather than 
 " Confusion now, etc." (line 48). Can you see any reason for 
 Shakespeare's preference for the more roundabout expression ? Has 
 climax anything to do with it? 11. What is the dramatic effect of 
 the ringing of the bell? 12. Show that the entrance of Lady Mac- 
 beth makes the situation more intense. 13. Why is the entrance of 
 Banquo suitable exactly at this time? 14. Is the situation easier or 
 more difficult for Macbeth after he has returned from seeing the 
 dead king? 15. Is the entrance of the two sons more or less 
 dramatic in effect than that of Lady Macbeth and Banquo? 16. 
 What word does Lennox emphasize in line 83 ? Why ? Would 
 not a sidelong glance of the eye help here? Explain. 17. In Mod- 
 
ACT II. SCENE IV. - 121 
 
 jeska's presentation of the play, Macduff, in pronouncing the speech, 
 " Wherefore did you so?" (line 90) raised his sword high above Mac- 
 beth's head. Why ? 18. What event prepares for the end of the scene ? 
 
 19. Do the " aside " speeches of Malcolm and Donalbain indicate 
 anything as to Macbeth's reaping the benefit of his bloody deed? 
 
 20. Garrick, in his presentation of the play, changed Banquo's speech 
 beginning in line 109, so that it might not be necessary to have the 
 guests of the house appear in night robes. Was this good taste? 
 
 21. The scene is usually cut near the end. Where? Why? 22. What 
 speeches near the end indicate who is suspected ? 23. Is Macbeth a 
 successful dissembler? Consider carefully the speeches beginning 
 in lines 73, 79, 91; note the elaborate phraseology; what does this 
 indicate? 24. In this connection, compare " Hamlet," Act III, Scene 
 II, line 217 (this series), in which the Queen says, " The lady doth 
 protest too much, methinks." What suggests the reference? 25. 
 Is Lady Macbeth a good dissembler? How many words in her com- 
 ment on the murder? Is there any significance in the fact that they 
 are few? 26. It has been said that she grieves merely because the 
 murder has been committed in her house. Is this true? 27. Much 
 has been said concerning Lady Macbeth's faint. Was it real or 
 feigned ? Consider whether she had passed through enough to 
 cause her to faint ; also whether she had any reason to seem to 
 faint. 28. Modjeska, all through her Macbeth's speech beginning 
 in line 91, seemed to try to attract his attention; she gave him fur- 
 tive glances and made nervous little gestures, but all to no purpose. 
 Finally came the words, " Help me hence, ho ! " Macbeth at once 
 looked toward her with the rest ; she gave him a meaning look, and 
 fell fainting into the arms of two of her waiting women. Explain 
 her purpose. Can you determine what was her view of the faint? 
 29. Was it strength or weakness in the character of Macbeth that he 
 ignored his wife in he^ fainting fit? 30. Consider, in this scene and 
 the previous one, what spurs on Lady Macbeth to use all her strength, 
 and what allows her woman's nature to reassert itself? 31. Is it 
 now in the power of Macbeth to return to a blameless life? Is he 
 still in the grip of " the instruments of darkness " ? 32. What in- 
 fluences, Within and without, have brought him to his present con- 
 dition. 33. Show from Banquo's speech beginning in line ioq, 
 whether he is weak or strong, good or bad ? 34. What does the 
 scene indicate concerning the character of Duncan's two sons? 35. 
 What are the best lines from a poetical point of view? 36. What 
 speeches did Shakespeare make somewhat strained and artificial, and 
 why did he make them so ? 
 
 Scene IV. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. In his book, " Shakespeare the Boy," Dr. 
 Rolfe says, "It is not likely that he (Shakespeare) was ever in 
 Scotland, and when he described the castle of Macbeth the pic- 
 
122 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 ture in his mind's eye was doubtless Warwick or Kenilworth and 
 more likely the former than the latter, for 
 
 This castle has a pleasant seat,' etc." 
 
 The quotation is from Scene VI of Act I ; but we prefer to use the 
 suggestion here rather than there, because it is more suitable here 
 that the castle should be seen at a distance : in the former scene, 
 Lady Macbeth meets the king, and she would not be likely to advance 
 farther than the outer gate. Then, instead of Macbeth's stronghold at 
 Inverness, fancy Warwick Castle, which, doubtless, Shakespeare saw 
 many times when a boy. It stands by the Avon. At present a 
 stone bridge spans the grass-grown hollow that was once the moat ; 
 but formerly there was no passage to the castle except the draw- 
 bridge, over which one passed to the barbican, a great square struc- 
 ture, with heavy battlemented towers, in which there are narrow slits 
 of windows. Behind the barbican are the outer walls, and behind 
 these, higher walls and higher towers ; one called Caesar's Tower, 
 from the old tradition that Caesar built it ; another Guy's Tower, 
 from the renowned Guy of Warwick. On each side of the barbican 
 a few large trees relieve the coldness of the heavy masonry. Over 
 all is the gloom of a day of ominous darkness. 
 4. Explain " trifled." 
 
 6. "Stage," another figure from Shakespeare's profession. 
 
 7. Explain " travelling lamp." 
 
 8. o. " Predominance," an astrological term, meaning the superior 
 influence of a planet. The idea is, — Is it still dark because the deed 
 done in the night has established the reign of night and of deeds 
 of darkness, or because day is" ashamed to look upon what has been 
 done? 
 
 12. " Place," a term of falconry, meaning the height or " pitch " 
 to which the falcon rises before swooping down on its prey. 
 
 13. " Mousing owl ; " the owl usually catches nothing but de- 
 fenseless creatures, such as mice and rabbits. 
 
 15. " Minions," darlings. 
 
 16. " Nature," disposition. 
 
 24. " Pretend," intend, design. The meaning seems to be, — What 
 reason could they have? 
 
 28. " Ravin," plunder. 
 
 31. " Scone," a town in Scotland, near Perth. It is supposed 
 to have been the capital of the ancient Picts. Here the kings were 
 crowned, sitting in a chair in the seat of which was inclosed a stone 
 said to have been the pillow of Jacob when he dreamed of " the 
 angels of God ascending and descending." (See Genesis xxviii. 
 10-15.) Edward I carried the stone to Westminster Abbey, where 
 it forms the seat of the chair upon which the kings of England 
 have been crowned from his day to this. 
 
 33. " Colme-kill," one of the western isles, now called Icolm- 
 
ACT III. SCENE I. ■ 123 
 
 kill. It has an interesting history, having been a home of the 
 Druids until Christianity was introduced. Here the kings of Scot- 
 land were buried, Macbeth being the last. 
 
 38. This line is an omen of the future. Explain. 
 
 40. " Benison," blessing. 
 
 40, 41. The Old Man endeavors to offset Macduff's speech. Ex- 
 plain. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Considering that the preceding scene 
 may be likened to a storm, how would you carry out the figure in 
 describing this scene? 2. In what way or ways does the scene help 
 the story along? 3. How has the poet contrived to throw the influ- 
 ence of the spiritual and a fear as to the future over the scene? 
 4. Would a Young Man be as effective a character in the scene as 
 the Old Man? 
 
 Questions on the Act. 1. Consider again the steps of the story 
 set forth in the first act, and now the one set forth in this. 2. 
 Where is the strongest climax in> the scene? 3. Discuss again the 
 turning point in the play. 4. What scenes or portions of scenes are 
 intense, and what are not? 5. What is the purpose of those that 
 are not? 6. Determine where in this act Modjeska ends her first 
 act in order to end it at a strong climax, according to the require- 
 ment of the modern drama. 7. Consider, throughout both acts, the 
 circumstances under which Lady Macbeth's courage is strongest. 
 8. The prophecies of the weird women are now fulfilled. What 
 joy may Macbeth expect from their fulfillment? 9. May Banquo be 
 counted on as a friend to Macbeth in the future? 10. Could any 
 scene in the act be spared ? 
 
 ACT III. 
 
 r- 
 
 Scenc I. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The Throne Room of the castle. The 
 walls are wainscoted to the height of a man's head ; above, the 
 bare stone appears. At the rear, on a dais, are two royal chairs, 
 and high over them is a canopy. On either side, against the wall, 
 are the arms of Scotland. At the left is a table, on which are an 
 inkhorn and quills, together with some parchment and a large open 
 book. By the table is a high-backed, rude chair. Banquo is dis- 
 covered standing with clasped hands, looking upon the throne, medi- 
 tating. His words are interrupted by the sound of trumpets, after 
 which Macbeth and his queen, in crowns and robes, enter, followed 
 by the court. The royal pair seat themselves on the throne, and 
 the attendants range themselves on either side. 
 
 4. " Stand," remain. 
 
 " Sennet," a set of notes on a trumpet. 
 
i2 4 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 7. " Shine; " why is the word well selected? 
 
 12. Macbeth finds the "gap" strangely filled in a later scene; 
 it is significant of what is to come. Davenant puts it, — 
 
 " It had been want of nuisick in our feast," 
 
 and thus robs the line of its significance. 
 
 13. "All-thing," in every way. 
 
 14. " Solemn," ceremonious. 
 
 16. Supply command after " which." 
 
 17. Scan. "Indissoluble" is accented on the second syllable. 
 21. "Still," always; "grave," important, valuable. 
 
 25. " Go not, etc." if my horse does not go better than usual, 
 or, perhaps, better (faster) than the night comes on. 
 
 26. Explain the figure. 
 
 28. Banquo does not fail, as you will see in a subsequc.il .1 
 
 29. " Bestow'd," hidden, 
 
 32. What was this "invention?" 
 
 33. " Cause," " a subject of debate." Clark and Wright. 
 
 34. " Craving," demanding. 
 
 36. " Our time, etc.;' it is time for us to go. 
 
 38. " Commend," give, intrust. 
 
 42. Why does Macbeth say " ourself " ? 
 
 43. " While," until. 
 
 44. " Sirrah," a word used when speaking to inferiors. 
 
 47, 4S. The sentence is important, as it contains the idea that 
 governs Macbeth' s conduct for the future. 
 
 49. " Royalty of nature," royal nature. 
 
 50. " Would," should. 
 
 51. " To," " in addition to." Clark and Wright. 
 
 55, 56. The allusion is to a passage in Plutarch's "Antonius," 
 which is as follows : — 
 
 "Antonius was ever inferior unto Ccesar (Octavius), . . . which 
 grieved him much. With Antonius there was a soothsayer or as- 
 tronomer of Egypt, that could cast a figure, and judge of men's 
 nativities, to tell them what should happen unto them. He, either 
 to please Cleopatra, or else that he found it so by his art, told 
 Antonius plainly, that his fortune (which of it self was excellent 
 good, and very great) was altogether blemished and obscured by 
 Caesar's fortune : and therefore he counseled him utterly to leave 
 his company, and to get him as far from him as he could. For 
 thy demon, said he (that is to say, the good angel and spirit that 
 keepeth thee), is afraid of his: and being courageous and high 
 when he is alone, becometh fearful and timorous when he comcth 
 near unto the other." 
 
 62. " With," by. 
 
 63. There is a tradition that a son of Macbeth was killed with 
 him in his last fight with Malcolm. 
 
ACT III. SCENE I. , 125 
 
 64. " Filed," defiled. 
 
 66. " Rancors," the strongest word in the language to indicate 
 hatred, malice. Macbeth means that his deed has stirred up so 
 much enmity against him that he can have no peace. " Vessel." 
 Clark and Wright suggest that the word is an allusion to St. 
 Paul's words in Romans ix. 22, 23 : " What if God, willing to show 
 his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long- 
 suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction : and that he 
 might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, 
 which he had afore prepared unto glory " . 
 
 67. " Eternal jewel," soul. 
 
 68. " Common enemy of man," the devil. 
 
 70, 71. The figure is drawn from chivalry; Macbeth pictures 
 himself fighting Fate as one knight fights another in a tournament. 
 " Champion me," fight with me. " To the utterance," to the utter- 
 most, the end ; from the French, " Combatre a oulirancc." 
 
 ;6. Who is "he " ? 
 
 78. " Made good," proved. 
 
 79. " Pass'd in probation," spent in proving. 
 
 80. " Borne in hand," deceived by false hopes. " Cross'd," de- 
 feated, beaten. " Instruments, 1 ' means. 
 
 82. " Half a soul," a man with only half an ordinary man's 
 spirit. " Notion," mind. 
 
 87. " Gospell'd," instructed in the Gospels, religious. 
 
 90. What is the emphatic word in the First Murderer's reply, and 
 what is the significance of the emphasis? 
 
 93. "Shoughs," shocks, shockdogs — dogs with bushy hair. 
 " Water-rugs," water-dogs. " Demi-wolves," crosses between dogs 
 and wolves. " Clept," called. 
 
 94. " File," list, muster roll, rank ; used as " catalogue " is used 
 in line 91. 
 
 96. " Housekeeper'"'' house-dog. 
 
 99. "Addition," title. " Bill," list. 
 
 100. " That writes, etc.," that contains the names of those that 
 have no special distinction — mere curs. 
 
 106. Notice the antithesis of two words in this line. 
 
 in. " Tugg'd with fortune;" as if he had wrestled with for- 
 tune and had fared ill. 
 
 115. " Bloody distance," a fencing term, meaning the distance at 
 which two combatants must stand in order to thrust. 
 
 117. " Near'st of life," my very life. 
 
 119. "Bid my will avouch it," say I did it because my royal 
 will willed it. The word of the king was law. 
 
 120. " For," because of. 
 
 129. " Perfect spy o' the time;" a difficult expression, meaning, 
 probably, the exact time that Banquo will come by. It has been 
 conjectured that the " spy " is the " third murderer " in Scene III. 
 
126 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 The student will readily see an objection to this explanation. 
 
 131. " Something " somewhat, some distance. 
 
 131, 132. "Always thought, etc.," let it always be thought that 
 I require freedom from suspicion ; that is, you must not reyeal 
 my connection with the affair. 
 
 133. " Rubs; " a figure from the game of bowls; when the ball 
 struck something that threw it from its course, there was said to 
 be " a rub." 
 
 136. 137- " Must embrace, etc." Davenant has it, " Must cm- 
 brace the same fate." Why is Shakespeare's way the better? 
 
 137. " Resolve," come to a conclusion. 
 
 138. Scan the line, and you will find that it contains six feet; 
 such a line is called an Alexandrine. 
 
 139. " Straight," straightway, immediately. 
 
 140. 141. What is the significance of the rime? 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. What new purpose now fills the 
 mind of Macbeth? 2. What is the cause of it? 3. Is the scene 
 in itself dramatic? 4. To what does it owe its intensity? 5. As 
 Modjeska's Macbeth read the speech beginning in line 29, her hand 
 stole softly out of her robe, rested on his arm as it lay on the arm 
 of the chair, and gave it a gentle pressure; what was the pur- 
 pose of this? 6. The last sentence in this speech, "Goes Fleance 
 with you? " as well as the question in line 23. is read in the most 
 casual manner; why? 7. Bauquo's speech, "My lord, I will not," 
 is full of significance, for Banquo does appear at the feast, but as a 
 ghost streaked with bloody wounds. Should the actor strive to 
 impart an ominous significance to the speech ? 8. It is a good 
 exercise to make a paraphrase of Macbeth's long soliloquy beginning 
 in line .47. 9. Macbeth, as we see from his first speech to the 
 murderers, has had a previous conversation with them ; why did 
 not the poet let us hear that conversation too? 10. What mental 
 picture do you make of the murderers — their dress, their manner? 
 11. By what means does Macbeth flatter them into attempting the 
 murder of Banquo? 12. Why does he not commit the murder him- 
 self? 13. Has Banquo a true conception of the character of Mac- 
 beth? 14. If so, why does he express so much loyalty to Macbeth 
 in his speech beginning in line 15? 15. Does it accord with his speech 
 in Act II, Sceen III, lines 109-115? 16. Does this lower your 
 opinion of Banquo? 17. Has Macbeth a true conception of Banquo? 
 18. In a former scene Macbeth has said he would " jump the life to 
 come;" has he succeeded in doing so? 19. Is it in Macbeth's 
 power to retrace the steps he has taken and live henceforth a vir- 
 tuous life? 20. Show whether his moral character continues to 
 degenerate. 
 
ACT III. SCENE II. 127 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The same as the preceding. After Mac- 
 beth goes away, a servant enters, bearing the queen's robe of state ; 
 he stops, and bows as she enters. 
 
 3. "Attend," await. 
 
 4-7. What is the significance of the rimes ? 
 
 9. " Sorriest," saddest. 
 
 10. " Using," entertaining, cherishing. 
 
 13. " Scotch'd," cut, hacked. 
 
 14. " Close," heal, grow together. 
 14, 15. Explain the figure. 
 
 16. " Frame of things," the universe, the solar system. " Both 
 the worlds," " the terrestrial and celestial." Clark and Wright. 
 Could the expression mean this world and the next? "Suffer," 
 perish. 
 
 20. Again, one word used in two senses. Explain. A critic has 
 substituted " place " for the second " peace ; " is the change a good 
 one? 
 
 2i. "The 'torture of the mind' is compared to the rack; 
 hence the use of the preposition ' on.' " Clark and Wright. 
 
 22. " Ecstasy," madness. 
 
 23. " Fitful," intermittent. 
 
 25. " Malice domestic," treason ; " foreign levy," an invasion 
 from abroad. 
 
 30. Scan, giving " remembrance " four syllables. "Apply," pay 
 special attention to. 
 
 31. " Present him eminence," pay him the highest honor. 
 
 32. The line is imperfect; probably the editors or the printers of 
 the original edition are to blame. 
 
 32, 33. The meaning is, — We are unsafe so long as we are com- 
 pelled to maintain our" throne by flattering Banquo, 
 
 34. " Visards," visors. Explain the figure. 
 
 35. " Leave this," cease thinking after this manner. 
 
 38. " Natures copy's not eterne ; " Clark and Wright say, 
 " The deed by which man holds life of Nature gives no right to 
 perpetual tenure," and they offer line 49 as a proof that Shake- 
 speare intended a use of legal terms. However, the usual interpreta- 
 tion, that " nature's copy," the human form, is not " eterne," eter- 
 nal, seems better when it is considered that " are " may be the 
 emphatic word in the next line. Macbeth knows that his wife 
 means Banquo and Fleance will die, but he assumes to think she 
 means that they can be murdered. This turn is quite the Shake- 
 spearean manner. See Act T, Scene VII, lines 46, 47. 
 
 41. " Cloister'd; " the bat, in the early evening, flies in the 
 darkest places, as cloisters. " Hecate ; " see Act II, Scene I. 
 line 52. 
 
128 XOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 42. " Shard-borne ; " the " shard " is the hard case of the beetle's 
 wing that stands upright when it flics. 
 
 43. Why " yawning " ? 
 
 44. " Note," importance. 
 
 45. " Chuck," an old term of endearment. 
 
 46. " Seeling ; " when falconry was a popular sport, it was the 
 custom to " seel " the eyes of the hawks, that is, to sew the lids 
 together, until the birds were tamed. 
 
 47. Explain the figure. 
 
 49. " Bond," a legal document ; primarily, anything that binds. 
 
 51. Clark and Wright interpret "rooky wood" to mean "the 
 misty, gloomy wood." The usual interpretation, however, is the 
 wood in which the rooks roost. 
 
 52. " Droop and drowse," relax and become drowsy. 
 
 55. The line is significant of Macbeth's future action. Explain. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Show that the scene, though not 
 one full of action, is, like others in the play, intense in its effect. 2. 
 Hiecke says of the scene, " Of all the deeply tragic passages of this 
 drama, this is the deepest. Unintentionally and unconsciously, there 
 breathes from Macbeth's soul an echo of that happier time when the 
 mutual esteem of a heroic pair was accompanied by the delicate 
 attentions of first love. . . . This love, grown cold, was murdered 
 in the murder of the King, and the tenderness in this scene is 
 naught but a dirge, rising unconsciously from the soul, over the 
 sentiments of an earlier time." On the other hand, Gervinus says 
 the marriage of Macbeth and his lady was one of esteem rather 
 than love. Discuss the question. 3. The scene expresses Macbeth's 
 motive for further crime; what is it? 4. Contrast Lady Macbeth's 
 mental condition, as shown in the speech beginning in line 4, with 
 that in the murder scene. 5. The first four lines of this speech, 
 it has been conjectured, rightly belong to Macbeth, who, on his 
 entrance, mutters the words before seeing his wife. Is this right ? 
 6. Why does Lady Macbeth change her train of thought when Mac- 
 beth enters? 7. It is said that Miss Helen Faucet, when playing 
 the part of Lady Macbeth, was accustomed to shudder at Macbeth's 
 mention of "terrible dreams" (line 18). Consider, as the play 
 progresses, whether such dreams ever came to her. 8, During 
 much of this scene Modjeska is accustomed to stand with her hands 
 on the shoulder of the actor who plays Macbeth, his arm being 
 about her; as he pronounces line 45, her head sinks upon his 
 shoulder, and she utters a sob of infinite despair. This action ex- 
 presses perfectly the tone of the scene. 9. Lady Macbeth endured 
 the horror of the murder; what is it she cannot endure? 10. 
 Why does Macbeth not tell his wife what is to be done, and why 
 does he not ask her advice and help? 11. Is it to his credit that 
 he does not? 12. When Macbeth knows that the prophecies of 
 
ACT III. SCENE III. 129 
 
 the weird women concerning himself have come true, and that the 
 one concerning Banquo is as likely to do so, why does he attempt 
 what would seem impossible, namely, the murder of Banquo and 
 Fleance? See Scene I, lines 70 and 71, of this act. 13. Count the 
 figures in Macbeth's speeches, and determine what ones are best 
 from the standpoints of force, clearness, and beauty. 14. Make a 
 paraphrase of one of the speeches, and note whether you can say 
 all that Shakespeare says, and in as few words. This exercise will 
 give a conception of the meaning of the term, " poetical conden- 
 sation." 15. Is it not clear that Shakespeare intended Macbeth to 
 be a poet? 
 
 Scene III. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. A lonely road in the forest. In the last 
 " streaks of day " the mass of trees in the background appears dark 
 and impenetrable, while in the foreground and the left is a road, 
 which, in the center of the stage, turns toward the right and rear, 
 and becomes lost in the gloom of the wood. As the two murderers 
 skulk behind the trees, the third comes stealthily in from the left ; 
 and a moment later Banquo and Fleance, the latter carrying a torch, 
 come down the forest road at the right. 
 
 1, 2. See note on Scene I, line 129, of this act. 
 
 2-4. To whom is this speech addressed? Is the antecedent of 
 "he" Macbeth or the third murderer? What is the emphatic word 
 in the first line of the speech? "Offices," duties. "Direction 
 just," the directions exactly as they were given us. 
 
 6. "Lated," belated. 
 
 7. Explain " timely." 
 
 10. " Note of expectation," the list of invited guests. 
 Davenant thus changes the speeches of the murderers after the 
 entrance of Banquo atfd Fleance : — 
 
 1. Mur. Banquo, thou little thinkest zuhat bloody feast 
 
 Is nozu preparing for thee. 
 
 2. Mur. Nor to what shades the darkness of this night 
 
 Shall lead thy wandering spirit. 
 
 Compare this with the other quotations from Davenant's version. 
 Compare it with Shakespeare's original. Does it not sound more 
 like a great German poet than Shakespeare ? 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. is it necessary to the dramatic 
 effect of the play that the audience should see Banquo murdered? 
 (Come back to this question after reading the next scene.) 2. 
 Find all possible reasons for and against Macbeth being the third 
 murderer. (The next scene must be considered.) 3. In line 11 it 
 
130 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 is stated that Banquo has sent his horses to the palace in a round- 
 about way ; if Shakespeare had written for the modern stage, this 
 would not have been necessary. Explain. 4. What action 'accom- 
 panies the speech, " Let it come down," in line 16? 5. The scene 
 begins with fearsome whispers ; rises suddenly to a pitch of fury, 
 and suddenly descends into the silence of darkness and death. Ex- 
 plain. 6. What is the merit of the scene as to dramatic force 
 when compared with the scene in which Duncan is murdered? 
 
 Scene IV. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The scene is usually set thus : — In the 
 rear the double-chaired throne. At right and left two long tables, 
 one extending from near the throne, diagonally to the left and front 
 of the stage ; the other extending from near the throne, diagonally 
 to the right and front of the stage. At the latter table, near the 
 front, is the chair in which the ghost is supposed to appear. 
 
 For a reason that will appear as the scene progresses, the fol- 
 lowing suggestion may be an improvement : — At the right and front 
 of the stage stands the double-chaired throne, facing the left. A 
 little farther back, occupying a large portion of the stage, is a 
 long table set with bowls and dishes ; here and there an ancient 
 lamp flickers feebly. About the table are the chairs of the guests, 
 and at each end a large chair with high back. At the left of the 
 stage, near the end of the table, a fire burns on an open hearth. 
 As the fire is lower than the level of the table, the top of the latter 
 is in shadow, and particularly the opposite end is wrapt in a gloom 
 that is emphasized by the feeble flames of the antique lamps. 
 Shadows dance upon the stone walls, and help provide the weird- 
 ness so necessary to the scene. Several servants are in attendance. 
 The royal procession enters ; the king leads the queen to the 
 throne, but himself remains among his guests. 
 
 1. " Degrees," ranks; at a state dinner the guests are placed at 
 table with reference to rank. 
 
 I, 2. "At first and last," once for all. 
 
 5. "Keeps her state," keeps her seat on the throne. 
 
 6. " Require," ask. 
 
 Stage Direction. The murderer appears at a door near the 
 front, on the left ; and Macbeth, as he walks about the table talking 
 to his guests and directing the servants with hand and eye, can 
 speak with him a moment without attracting too much attention. 
 But in his fear he forgets, and remains too long. 
 
 II. "Large," free. What word in the line may indicate that 
 Macbeth has just caught sight of the murderer? 
 
 14. The meaning is, — It is better for Banquo's blood to be on 
 thy skin than in his. 
 
ACT III. SCENE IV. • 13 1 
 
 19. " Nonpareil," unequaled. 
 
 23. " Casing," encasing, enclosing. 
 
 24. Explain the synonyms in the line. Why would not one ot 
 these words do? _ ( 
 
 25. " Observe the preposition ' to is used as it the word pris- 
 oner ' had preceded." Clark and Wright. 
 
 26. What word in the line is especially effective? 
 
 27. " Trenched," cut. 
 28.. " Nature," life. 
 
 29. What is " the worm"? 
 
 30. Explain " venom." 
 
 w 32. " We'll hear, etc.," we'll speak together again. 
 
 33 35. The idea is,— If you do not urge your guests to eat and 
 enjoy' themselves, they will have no more pleasure than at an inn, 
 where entertainment must be paid for. . 
 
 36. " From thence," away from home. What three emphatic 
 words in the line? 
 
 37. " Bare," empty, not full of pleasure. 
 
 Stage Direction. Macbeth's place is at the right end of the 
 table. Let it be supposed that Lennox, who sits to the right of the 
 middle of the table, with his back to the audience, rises and asks 
 Macbeth to sit. Macbeth is standing to the left of Lennox, in such 
 a position that Lennox hides from him the royal chair, in which the 
 ghost is supposed to sit. The conversation then proceeds. When 
 does Macbeth catch sight of the ghost? 
 
 40. Explain " roof'd." 
 
 41. " Graced," gracious. 
 
 42. 43. Notice the hypocrisy of Macbeth. He says,— I shall tell 
 Banquo that he remained away because he did not want to come 
 rather than because he was prevented by accident. 
 
 55. " Upon a thought," as quick as thought. ^ 
 
 60. " O proper stuff ! " " mere or absolute nonsense, rubbish. 
 Clark and Wright. 
 
 61. Explain " painting." 
 
 62. Explain " air-drawn." 
 
 63. " Flaw," a gust of wind ; here, of passion. 
 
 64. " Imposters to true fear ; " the idea is that Macbeth has no 
 true reason for fear, but only a rrteon that is an imposter. 
 
 66. "Authorized," sanctioned. Scan, accenting this word on the 
 second syllable. . 
 
 71. " Charnel-house," a house, usually built against the church, 
 into which were thrown the bones dug up when new graves were 
 prepared. 
 
 73. " Maw," stomach. The idea is that if the dead come back 
 after they have been buried, they will be eaten by kites, and will 
 have no other tombs. 
 
 76. " Humane statute, etc.," ere humane laws made murder a 
 
132 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 crime, and made the " weal " (state) gentle. " Gentle weal " in an 
 example of prolepsis. 
 
 81. " Mortal murders," deadly wounds. Why did Macbeth say 
 " twenty " rather than some other number? 
 
 85. " Muse," wonder at. 
 
 92. "All to all," all blessings to all. 
 
 95. " Speculation," intelligence. 
 
 101. "Arm'd," that is, in a thick hide. " Hyrcan ; " Hyrcania was 
 a country south of the Caspian Sea, where there were supposed to be 
 tigers of unusual ferocity. 
 
 105. " If trembling, etc." This passage has been much discussed. 
 It probably means, — If I then remain at home, consider me, etc. 
 " Baby of a girl," it has been conjectured, may mean a doll. 
 
 107. " Mockery," false appearance, vision. 
 
 no. "Admired," wonderful. 
 
 in. "Overcome," come over, overshadow- 
 
 112-116. "You make, etc." The meaning is in dispute, but it 
 probably is, — You make me a stranger to my courageous disposition 
 (that is, make me think that I no longer possess it), when you are 
 not frightened with what makes my cheek pale with fear. " Owe." 
 as elsewhere, means own. 
 
 119. The line means, — Do not depart in the usual ceremonious 
 manner, the highest in rank going first, and so forth. This would 
 be a waste of time. 
 
 123. "Stones, etc." Two explanations arc given of this: one 
 that Shakespeare probably knew of some story of the stones above 
 the grave of a murdered man moving, and so revealing the fact of 
 murder ; the other that the Druids had certain stones that would 
 move when touched by the innocent, but which could not be budged 
 by the guilty. "Trees, etc.," probably an allusion to the story of 
 Polydorus, "Virgil's ^Eneid, III, 22-68. 
 
 124-126. Here is an allusion to the old Roman religion; the 
 atigurs discovered the future and revealed secrets J)y the flight of 
 birds. See Introduction to " Julius Caesar," of this series. " Mag- 
 got-pies," magpies. 
 
 126. " What is the night? " what time of night is it? 
 
 127. "At odds;" the idea is that night and morning are con- 
 testing as to which is supreme. 
 
 128. 129. Macbeth asks his wife what she thinks of Macduff's 
 refusing to come to the banquet. 
 
 130. " By the way." indirectly. 
 
 133. " Betimes," early. 
 
 134. " Bent," determined. 
 
 136. " All causes; " perhaps all causes or rights of other people. 
 
 139. " That will to hand," that will soon be done. 
 
 140. " Scann'd," examined closely. Macbeth says he must do 
 the deeds before he has time to think them over ; otherwise he will 
 not do them, 
 
ACT III. SCENE IV. t 133 
 
 142. " Abuse," deception ; alluding to his seeing the " air drawn " 
 ghost. 
 
 143. " Initiate fear, etc.," the fear that accompanies the begin- 
 ning of any course of guilty deeds. 
 
 144. " In deed," that is, in the commission of deeds. 
 
 Here are the meager materials (from Holinshed) from which 
 the mighty imagination of the poet made this scene and the pre- 
 ceding one : — 
 
 " For the pricke of conscience (as it chanceth euer in tyrants, 
 and such as atteine to anie estate by vnrighteous means) caused 
 him euer to feare, least he should be serued of the same cup as he 
 had ministered to his predecessor. The woords also of the three 
 weird sisters, would not out of his mind, which as they promised 
 him the kingdome, so likewise did they promise it at the same 
 time vnto the posteritie of Banquho. He willed therefore the same 
 Banquho with his sonne named Fleance, to come to a supper that 
 he had prepared for them, which was in deed, as he had deuised, 
 present death at the hands of certeine murderers, whom he had 
 hired to execute that deed, appointing them to meete with the 
 same Banquho and his sonne without the palace, as they returned to 
 their lodgings, and there to slea them, so that he would not haue his 
 house slandered, but that in time to come he might cleare himself, 
 if anie thing were laid to his charge vpon anie suspicion that 
 might arise. 
 
 " It chanced yet by the benefit of the darke night, that though 
 the father were slaine, the sonne yet by the helpe of almightie God 
 reseruing him to better fortune, escaped that danger: and after- 
 ward hairing some inkeling (by the admonition of some friends which 
 he had in the court) how his life was sought no less thnn his 
 fathers, who was slaine not by chancemedlie (as by the handling of 
 the matter Makbeth woould haue had it to appeare) but euen upon a 
 prepensed devise ; wlierevpon to avoid further perill he fled into 
 Wales." 
 
 Questions on the S eerie. i. Why do the events of the scene 
 help the story along? 2. Should the scene begin with hilarity, or 
 in an ominous silence? 3- How should the guests and the queen 
 conduct themselves when the king is talking with the murderer? 
 4. In the speech beginning in line 9, Macbeth suddenly lowers his 
 voice; where and why? 5. What emotion should Macbeth express 
 when' he learns that Banquo is dead? 6. What when he learns 
 that Fleance has escaped? 7- What is the murderer's manner 
 when he tells of Fleance's escape ? 8. Why is Macbeth still in fear ; 
 that is, why does his " fit " come again ? 9. In the speech begin- 
 ning in line 32, does the queen speak in a kindly manner or reprov- 
 ingly? 10. In what speech docs Macbeth first see the ghost? ir. 
 How do you account for the fact that no one sees the ghost but 
 
134 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 Macbeth? 12. What words in the text indicate the action of the 
 ghost? 13. Should Macbeth speak to the ghost in a loud tone or a 
 hoarse whisper? Which would better express the utter terror he 
 feels? 14. After Ross has bid the guests rise, Lady Macbeth rises 
 and descends from the throne, quaking with fear, but explaining to 
 the guests in the sweetest of tones. At a certain place she lowers 
 her tone and speaks fiercely; where and why? 15. Mrs. Siddons 
 thus describes the action of Lady Macbeth at this point : " What 
 imagination can conceive her tremors lest at every succeeding 
 moment Macbeth, in his distraction, may confirm those suspicions, 
 but ill-concealed under the loyal looks and cordial manners of their 
 facile courtiers, when, with smothered terror, yet domineering 
 indignation, she exclaims, upon his agitation at the ghost of 
 Banquo, 'Are you a man?' Dying with fear, yet assuming the 
 utmost composure, she returns to her stately canopy, and with 
 trembling nerves, having tottered up the steps to her throne, that 
 bad eminence, she entertains her wondering guests with frightful 
 smiles, with over-acted attention, and with fitful graciousness ; 
 painfully, yet incessantly, laboring to divert their attention from 
 her husband. Whilst writhing thus under her internal agonies, her 
 restless and terrifying glances towards Macbeth, in spite of her 
 efforts to suppress them, have thrown the whole table into amaze- 
 ment ; and the murderer then suddenly breaks up the assembly by 
 the confession of his horrors." It has been said that " Macbeth " 
 is too great a play to be acted ; does this quotation seem to put 
 the acting of Lady Macbeth's part beyond the power of any actress? 
 
 16. How do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth act when the ghost departs? 
 
 17. At its second appearance the ghost sometimes holds a goblet, 
 like Macbeth and the guests; what is the point to this? 18. At this 
 reappearance, Macbeth drops his goblet, or dashes it to the floor, 
 and addresses the ghost ; are his tone and his manner the same 
 as before? 19. What finally drives Lady Macbeth to dismiss the 
 guests? 20. If the scene thus far may be compared to a storm, 
 to what may the rest of the scene be compared? 21. If the scene 
 may be compared to a musical composition, where is the final climax, 
 and where the coda? 22. Modjeska plays admirably the part after 
 the departure of the guests : — As Macbeth sinks exhausted into a 
 chair, Modjeska totters toward the throne, unclasping, as she goes, 
 her royal robe, which falls to the floor. Reaching the throne, she 
 puts her crown slowly down on the dais, looking at it the while as 
 if to say, What a world of sorrow you have brought upon us. Di- 
 vested of her insignia of royalty, she sinks into a chair, and remains 
 for a time in the silence of exhaustion, when both she and her 
 husband begin to turn slowly toward each other. When their eyes 
 meet, they start guiltily, and the conversation follows in low tones 
 of guilt and despair. 23. What mental state of Macbeth causes the 
 ghost to appear? 24. Account for the disappearance of the ghost. 
 
ACT III. SCENE V. . 135 
 
 25. Why does it appear a second time? 26. Account for its second 
 disappearance. 27. In Shakespeare's time the part of the ghost was 
 always played ; but Kemble conceived the idea that it was not artis- 
 tic to present it to the eyes of the audience, so he glared at an 
 empty stool ; what was his reason ? Other actors have followed 
 him, even down to Sir Henry Irving and Madame Modjeska. Are 
 they right? 28. Campbell says, — " But we are not Macbeth's guests. 
 We are no more a part of their company than we are a part of 
 the scenes or the scene-shifters. We are the poet's guests, invited 
 to see Macbeth : to see what he sees, and to feel what he feels, 
 caring comparatively nothing about the guests." What light does this 
 throw on the subject? 29. Thomas Kean presented the ghost: it 
 stalked in rapidly, its head and neck streaked with bloody wounds, 
 and sat down suddenly in the full glare of the light. Was this 
 effective? 30. Consider our Suggestion of Scene: The end of the 
 table at which the ghost sits, in Macbeth's chair, is in the deep 
 shadow thrown by the open fire ; the ghost appears there, covered 
 with a thin gatize through which his wounds appear but faintly ; 
 in the semi-darkness he is at first hardly to be distinguished from 
 the living people about him. Would this manner of arranging the 
 matter be free from objections? 31. Considering the fact that 
 Shakespeare always strove for effect rather than consistency, is the 
 presentation of the ghost defensible or not? 32. Some critics have 
 said that the ghost that entered the second time was Duncan's, 
 rather than Banquo's ; is this correct? 33. Before the murder of 
 Duncan, and after, Lady Macbeth directed her husband's actions ; 
 after the departure of the guests in this scene, she offers no advice: 
 why? 34. At the end of this scene. Lady Macbeth might have 
 reproached Macbeth; why did she not? 35. After the murder of 
 Duncan, Lady Macbeth leads her husband away ; the reverse hap- 
 pens here; why? 36. ^Reconsider the first question at the end of 
 Scene III of this act. 37. Consider the scene from a poetic stand- 
 point: do the most figures appear where the feeling is the highest? 
 38. How does Shakespeare bind over the interest to a subsequent 
 scene ? 
 
 Scene V. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The same as the first scene of the play. 
 The time, let us suppose, is night ; and the moonshine streams 
 through the dark fog that rises from the heath. At the end of the 
 scene, Hecate mounts into the air, and vanishes. The witches, too, 
 vanish thus, but in another direction. 
 
 1. " Hecate," see note, Act II, Scene I, line 52. " Angerly," 
 angrily. 
 
 7. " Close," secret. 
 
 15. "Acheron," a river in Greece; Shakespeare, however, means 
 
136 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 some pool in Scotland. Poets of his time were likely to use class- 
 ical allusions carelessly. 
 
 24. " Profound," probably having deep, or hidden powers. 
 
 26. " Sleights," arts, tricks. 
 
 29. " Confusion," destruction. 
 
 32. " Security," carelessness. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Consider carefully whether this scene 
 is necessary to the story or to the dramatic effect. 2. If the three 
 weird women were the goddesses of destiny of Norse mythology, 
 what is gained by making them the servants of Hecate? 3. Shake- 
 speare has been criticised for associating Hecate, a goddess of clas- 
 sical mythology, with the witches; is the criticism just? 4. In line 
 13 Hecate says Macbeth loves " for his own ends," and not for the 
 witches; has he ever pretended to do otherwise? 5. Compare this 
 scene with the former witch scenes, and determine whether they 
 sound alike. 6. Many critics doubt the authenticity of the scene ; 
 what reasons can you find ? 
 
 Scene VI. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. Suppose the scene to be within the castle 
 gate, which is seen in the center and rear — a massive piece of 
 masonry. A wide passage leads through the tower of which it is 
 a part ; at the farther end is seen the iron grating that protects the 
 castle from sudden attack ; through it are seen the road and the 
 grass plot beyond. By the gate stands a soldier on guard, keenly 
 observing Lennox and a lord conversing in low tones in the fore- 
 ground. 
 
 1, 2. " Hit," agreed with. The idea is that Lennox did not 
 say all he thought, but the lord could guess what was meant. 
 
 3. " Borne," conducted. 
 
 4. " Marry," an oath, formerly " Mary." See " Julius Cxsar " 
 of this series, Act I, Scene II, line 231. 
 
 8. " Want," lack, be without. There is a confusion here ; " not " 
 should be omitted in the interpretation. Scan the line. 
 10. Scan. " Fact," evil deed. 
 
 1 1. 
 
 " Straight," immediately. 
 
 13. 
 
 " Thralls," slaves. 
 
 19. 
 
 " An't," and if it. 
 
 21. 
 
 " Broad," plain-spoken. 
 
 24. 
 
 " Bestows," hides. 
 
 25. " Holds the right of birth," keeps the crown, the birthright. 
 27. " Pious Edward," Edward the Confessor. 
 30. " Upon," with. 
 
 35. The "from" seems to be misplaced; rearrange the line. 
 
 36. " Free honors," honors of free men. 
 38. " Elxasperate," exasperated. 
 
ACT IV. SCENE L 137 
 
 39. What is the antecedent of "he"? 
 
 40. Who said, "Sir, not I"? 
 
 41. " Cloudy," sullen, according to Clark and Wright. How- 
 ever, the word seems to mean mysterious, riddling, as the rest of the 
 speech shows. " Me " is an ethical dative ; compare " pluck'd me 
 ope his doublet," " Julius C?esar," Act I, Scene II, line 264. 
 
 43. " Clogs," thwarts. 
 
 44. " Advise him to a caution," warn him to be cautious. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Why does the scene help the story 
 along? 2. Point out the ironical parts of the scene. 3. The scene 
 reveals Macbeth's reason for killing Duncan's grooms; what was it? 
 4. In Lennox's first speech find an evidence of what he will do to 
 antagonize Macbeth? 5. Show what part religion plays in the 
 scene. 6. How is the interest held over to future scenes ? 
 
 Questions on the Act. 1. The act reveals Macbeth's inner pun- 
 ishment, and suggests the outer punishment that is to come ; ex- 
 plain. 2. Where is the climax of the act? 3. If Macbeth were 
 inclined to undo the evil he has done, could he do it now? 4. Has 
 anything occurred to shake his belief in the power of the weird 
 women to foretell the future? 5. Has anything occurred that might 
 suggest to him Banquo's warning, — 
 
 "And oftentimes, to zvin us to our harm. 
 The instruments of darkness tells us truths, 
 Win us tvith honest trifles, to betray' s 
 In deepest consequence " ? 
 6. Is there anything in the scene that foreshadows the end of the 
 play ? 7. In the murder scene, Lady Macbeth says that if they 
 think too much of their guilty deed, they will go mad ; from the 
 nature of the two, which one is more likely to end in madness? 8. 
 In what way has she changed since the night of the murder ? 9. 
 Again, under what circumstances is she strong? 10. Could any 
 scenes be omitted from the acting of the play, without perceptible 
 loss of dramatic effect ? 
 
 ACT IV. 
 
 Scene I. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. A cavern in the solid rock, whose strata 
 are revealed in rough layers in walls and roof. From the crevices 
 glistening drops of water creep, hang a moment, then trickle down 
 or fall upon the wet floor, splashing themselves into spray. At the 
 right stands a great cauldron, from beneath which green and blue 
 flames dart upward, and seem to lick up the foam that overflows from 
 the " hell-broth " boiling and bubbling within. A faint, uncanny light 
 is thrown about the rocky chamber, the walls of which recede to- 
 ward the rear and disappear in impenetrable blackness. Suddenly 
 the three weird women appear, as if through the solid earth above, 
 
138 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 while a peal of thunder comes crashing down from the upper world. 
 They pause about the cauldron, utter their short speeches, then 
 begin their incantations, the first witch first, standing behind the 
 cauldron and facing the audience. As she speaks, she takes, one 
 by one, the hellish ingredients from a pouch, and drops them into 
 the brew, from which a blue, yellow, or green flame spurts fiercely 
 up. When she has finished, the three circle about the cauldron, 
 stirring it with their long staves, and reciting the couplet in concert. 
 Then the second witch has her turn, facing the audience like the 
 first ; then the third ; the second again, and the charmed liquor is 
 done. Macbeth enters from the left — enters boldly, and defiantly 
 makes his demand. As the weird three reply, they point their long 
 fingers at him, and renew, for a brief moment, their incantations. 
 afte» which the three apparitions, announced by peals of thunder, 
 rise in their turn out of the cauldron, utter their deceptive speeches, 
 and vanish. When Macbeth demands further knowledge of his un- 
 happy future, the cauldron suddenly sinks, a ghostly light appears 
 in the background, and " eight kings, the last with a glass in his 
 hand, Banquo's ghost following," appear one by one, slowly filing 
 past. This done, Macbeth suddenly finds himself alone, and dis- 
 tressed at heart. 
 
 i. " Brinded," brindled. What has the " cat " to do with the 
 case? 
 
 2. To this line Davenant adds, — 
 
 " Shutting his eyes against the wind." 
 
 Is the addition an improvement? 
 
 Furness quotes Krauth : — 
 
 " The urchin, or hedge-hog, is nocturnal in its habits, weird in its 
 movements ; plants wither where it works, for it cuts off their roots. 
 Fairies of one class were supposed to assume its form. ' Urchin ' 
 came to mean ' fairy ' without reference to the hedge-hog shape ; 
 hence, because fairies are little and mischievous, it came to be 
 applied to a child." 
 
 6. Scan, lengthening " cold " into two syllables. 
 
 8. " Swelter'd venom," poison engendered by sweating. 
 
 9. Scan. 
 
 16. " Fork," forked tongue. 
 
 17. " Howlet's," owlet's. 
 
 19. Explain the significance of " hell-broth." 
 
 23. " Mummy ; " mummies were formerly used as medicine. 
 " Maw," stomach. " Gulf," stomach ; allied to gulp. 
 
 24. " Ravin'd," gorged. 
 
 28. " Sliver'd," peeled off. The noun is sliver. 
 
 32. " Slab," slimy. 
 
 33. " Chaudron," entrails. 
 
ACT IV. SCENE I. . 139 
 
 43. " Black spirits, etc. ; " the song is taken from Middleton's 
 " Witch," and is as follows : — 
 
 "Black spirits and white, 
 Blue spirits and gray, 
 Mingle, mingle, mingle. 
 You that mingle may." 
 
 44. " Pricking ; " any pain in the body was a " sign " of some- 
 thing. Even now, the itching of the nose or burning of the ear is a 
 " sign." 
 
 46, 47. What is the effect of the short lines? 
 
 50. " Conjure;" does the word mean to pray earnestly or to 
 work by magic? "That which you profess," — witchcraft. 
 
 53. " Yesty," yeasty, frothy. 
 
 55. " Bladed corn," " corn in the blade, before it is in the ear." 
 Clark and Wright. " Lodged," laid, blown down. 
 
 57. " Slope," bend. 
 
 59. " Germans," germs. 
 
 65. " Farrow," litter. 
 
 68. " Deftly," fitly. 
 
 74. Explain " harp'd." 
 
 82. What resemblance has this line to line 38, in Act I, Scene 
 11? 
 
 82, 83. What does Macbeth mean by saying he will " take a bond 
 of fate"? 
 
 87, 88. " The round and top of sovereignty " is the crown. 
 
 90. How should " are " be pronounced ? 
 
 92. " Birnam," a hill near Dunkeld, and twelve miles from 
 Dunsinnan hill. On the latter is a ruin which, according to tra- 
 dition, was Macbeth's castle. 
 
 94. " Impress," presV into service as soldiers are taken by a 
 press-gang. 
 
 95. " Bodements," prophecies. 
 
 98. " Lease of nature," the time allotted by nature — three-score 
 and ten. 
 
 Stage direction. " Glass," a magic mirror, in which the future 
 was reflected. 
 
 112. The Stuart kings are said to have been descended from 
 Banquo. Clark and Wright observe, — " Mary Stuart is left out 
 of the show." Why? 
 
 116. "The crack of doom," "the thunder peal announcing the 
 Last Judgement." Clark and Wright. 
 
 120. " The ' two-fold balls ' here mentioned probably refer to 
 the double coronation of James, at Scone and Westminster. The 
 three scepters of course symbolize the three kingdoms, England, 
 Scotland, and Ireland." 
 
i 4 o NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 122. " Blood-bolter'd," covered with clotted blood. 
 
 129. "Antic," antique. 
 
 133. Scan. 
 
 143. " Anticipatest," preventest. 
 
 144. " Flighty," fleeting. What is the meaning of this and the 
 next line? 
 
 146. " Firstlings," first-born desires. 
 
 152. " Trace," follow. 
 
 153. See note on lines 139 and 140, Act III, Scene IV. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Show that the scene gives Macbeth 
 new hope. 2. Point out all the details by which the scene is made 
 weird. 3. What words and phrases in the witch parts indicate that 
 mischief is being prepared? 4. In the acting of the play the part 
 of Hecate is omitted; why? 5. In line 40 what " gains " are meant? 
 What reason for the use of the word is there other than the necessity 
 of a rime? 6. Does this speech of Hecate sound like the speeches 
 of the witches ? 7. In what manner does Macbeth address the weird 
 women? 8. Show that their answer is a skillful one. 9. Consid- 
 ering the character of the beings whom Macbeth is addressing, what 
 significance is there in what he says about " churches " (line 53) ? 
 
 10. What person in the play does each of the apparitions represent? 
 (The evidence is found in their appearance and their speeches.) 
 
 11. Why do the first and the second apparition address Macbeth 
 three times? 12. Explain the significance of " harp'd " in line 74. 
 13. What hope does Macbeth gain from the apparitions? 14. Is it 
 now in his power to return to a life of innocence? 15. Notice 
 that the weird women command Macbeth not to speak to the appari- 
 tions ; does he obey? 16. Why does Macbeth's heart throb "to 
 know one thing" (line 1 1 1 ) ? 17. Why do the weird women cause 
 the cauldron to sink? 18. Does the "show of eight kings" pass 
 before Macbeth speaks to them, or as he speaks? 19. In this speech 
 does Macbeth show any fear of the weird women ? 20. What is 
 there in the speech to indicate Banquo's ghost's appearance at the 
 banquet? 21. Ordinary witches were supposed to harm only the 
 body ; what more can these weird women harm ? 22. Notice that 
 in this scene and in the second witch scene in Act I, the three women 
 use the ordinary incantations of witchcraft when they are alone, 
 but on Macbeth's entrance their words have an elevation, a lofty 
 tone that was not noticeable before; why is this? 23. Does the speech 
 of the first witch beginning in line 125 sound like the rest? What 
 conclusion do you draw? 24. In line 139 Macbeth curses all those 
 that trust in witches; why then does he do so? 25. What resolu- 
 tion does Macbeth make at the close of the scene? 26. By " sights " 
 (line 155) does Macbeth mean witches and apparitions, or ghosts, 
 such as Banquo's? 27. Why has the scene so much force? 
 
ACT IV. SCENE II. 141 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. A rough-walled room in an ancient castle. 
 At the left a great bed, by which is a chair. In the middle of the 
 room is a table with several chairs about it; upon the latter are 
 thrown carelessly some articles of clothing — a woman's robes 
 and a child's tartans. Lady Macduff, weeping and wringing her 
 hands, sits by the table; her little son stands by her, trying in his 
 childish way to give her comfort, while Ross stands near at hand, 
 speaking and trying to control his emotion. 
 
 4. The sentence will be plainer if seem be inserted after " us." 
 
 7. " Titles," possessions. 
 
 9. " Wants the natural touch," lacks the natural feeling. 
 
 12. The line means, — Macduff is ruled entirely by his fear, and 
 not at all by his love. 
 
 15. " For," as for. 
 
 17, " Fits o' the season," dangers of the time. 
 
 18, 19. The meaning is, — when we are considered traitors, but 
 do not know why. 
 
 19, 20. The meaning probably is, — when we believe rumors of 
 danger because we are afraid, although we have done nothing on 
 account of which we should be afraid. 
 
 22. " Each way and move ; " the expression is not well under- 
 stood, and is probably corrupt. 
 
 25. Whom does Ross address as "pretty cousin"? 
 
 28, 29. Ross fears that he will give way to unmanly tears. 
 
 30. " Sirrah," a term used to inferiors ; also a term of affection 
 to children. 
 
 34. " Lime," birdlime, a sticky substance which was smeared on 
 the branches of trees ; as the birds roosted on the branches, the lime 
 hardened and held them prisoners. 
 
 35. " Gin," snare. * k 
 
 36. What word receives the emphasis? 
 
 47. " Swears and lies," " swears allegiance and perjures himself. 
 The boy . . . uses ' liars ' and ' swearers ' in the ordinary sense." 
 Clark and Wright. 
 
 56. " Enow," enough, was used with plural nouns ; enough with 
 singular. 
 
 58. " Monkey," a term of affection. 
 
 65. The line means, — though I know your rank. 
 
 66. " Doubt," suspect, fear. 
 
 67. " Homely," humble. 
 
 70. The line means, — It would be fiendish cruelty not to tell 
 you of the danger that approaches. 
 75. " Sometime," sometimes. 
 80. What " place " does Lady Macduff mean ? 
 82. Explain " shag-hairU" " Egg ; " is this word used in the 
 
142 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 sense of insignificance, or in the sense that Macbeth uses " worm " 
 in Act III, Scene IV, line 29? 
 
 83. " Fry; " in which of the two senses is this word used? 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Is the murder of Lady Macduff and 
 her son a necessary step in the story? 2. Schiller omitted the scene 
 from his translation; can you conjecture the reason? 3. Determine 
 why a portion of the scene is comedy. Compare it in this respect 
 with another scene of the play. 4. What is there in the scene that 
 makes Macbeth's crime seem doubly atrocious? 5. How does the 
 scene compare in literary merit with the rest of the play? 
 
 Scene III. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The palace of Edward the Confessor stood 
 in Westminster, where the Parliament buildings now stand. One 
 portion of this palace was the old House of Lords, in the cellar of 
 which was placed the gunpowder in the famous plot of Guy Fawkes. 
 This room had long before been the kitchen of King Edward. The 
 building was pulled down in 1823. 
 
 The scene is before the great door of the palace. Two soldiers 
 stand on guard. Malcolm and Macduff are seen descending the 
 steps. They pause near the front of the stage, and the scene 
 begins. 
 
 3. " Mortal," deadly. 
 
 4. " Bestride, etc. ; " the figure is taken from battle ; a soldier in 
 defending a wounded comrade would stand astride the prostrate 
 form. So Macduff fancies himself standing over the personified form 
 of his country. 
 
 5. Find a degenerate word in the line. 
 8. " Syllable," word, cry. 
 
 10. " To friend," friendly. 
 
 12. " Sole name," mere name. 
 
 14. " He hath not touch'd you yet; " what does Malcolm mean to 
 imply by this? 
 
 14, 15. Explain carefully. After " wisdom " supply it is. 
 
 16. Who is the "innocent lamb"? 
 
 17. Who is the " angry god"? 
 
 19. "Recoil," that is, from goodness; become bad. 
 
 20. " Imperial charge," command from a king. 
 
 21. The line means, — If you are a good man, my suspecting you 
 cannot make you bad. 
 
 22. 24. The thought is, — Though some good men have become 
 bad, they still appear good ; and though all bad men might appear 
 to be good, yet the good men could not seem to be any better than 
 they were before. Malcolm is, of course, hinting that Macduff has 
 allowed Macbeth to persuade him to come as a spy, and perhaps to 
 decoy him (Malcolm) back into Scotland. 
 
ACT IV. SCENE III. I43 
 
 24, 25. Explain Malcolm's turn upon Macduff's speech. 
 
 26. " Rawness," haste. 
 
 29, 30. " Jealousies," suspicions. Malcolm means,— Don't think 
 trial my suspicions are due to anything dishonorable I have heard 
 of you ; I am cautious merely out of regard to my own safety. 
 
 34. "Afieer'd," confirmed. 
 
 51, 52. "Grafted." " open'd ; " the figure is taken from the cul- 
 tivation of fruit trees. Explain. 
 
 55- " Confineless," boundless. 
 
 57. " Top," surpass. 
 
 59- " Sudden," violent. 
 
 64. " Continent," restraining. 
 
 67. " In nature ; " Furness quotes Delius : " This belongs to 
 ' tyranny ; ' such organic intemperance is compared with the politi- 
 cal tyranny of Macbeth." 
 
 71. " Convey," perhaps a misprint for " enjoy." 
 
 72. " The time, etc.," so may you deceive all. 
 
 77- " Ill-composed affection," disposition composed of evil. 
 
 78. " Stanchless," not to be stanched, insatiable. 
 
 80. " His," that one's. 
 
 82. " Forge," devise, trump up. 
 
 86. " Summer-seeming," befitting the summer. 
 
 88. " Foisons," plenty. 
 
 89. " Portable," bearable. 
 
 90. " With other, etc." when weighed against by other graces. 
 93. Scan, changing the accent of " perseverance." 
 
 95- " Relish," flavor. 
 
 99- " Uproar," a verb, meaning disturb. 
 100. "Unity," peace. 
 
 104. " Untitled," not having a legal title. 
 
 105. " Wholesome." healthful. 
 108. " Blaspheme," slander. 
 
 in. "Died every day she lived." " Every day of her life was a 
 preparation for death; alluding probably to 1 Cor. xv. 31, ' I die 
 daily.' " Clark and Wright. 
 
 116. "Scruples," suspicions. 
 
 118. "Trains," tricks, devices, such as sending spies. 
 
 119, 120. "Modest wisdom, etc." caution prevents me from being 
 hasty to believe in the words of messengers from Scotland. 
 
 123. " Unspeak my own detraction," retract all the evil I said - 
 against myself. 
 
 125. " For," in the sense of as. 
 
 126. " Forsworn," perjured. 
 
 135. "At a point," prepared. 
 
 136, 137. " The chance, etc.;" the meaning probably is, — May the 
 outcome (" chance ") of our good cause be as favorable as our 
 quarrel is justifiable. 
 
144 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 138. Another antithesis. 
 
 142. " Stay his cure," wait to be cured by him. " Convinces," 
 defeats. 
 
 143. " The great assay of art," the attempts of the physician's art. 
 146. " Evil," the king's evil, scrofula. It was believed that King 
 
 Edward could cure this disease by a touch. James I thought the 
 same magic power had descended to him, and it has been conjec- 
 tured that this passage in the play was inserted as a compliment to 
 him. 
 
 149. " Solicits," entreats. 
 
 150. " Strangely-visited," afflicted with strange diseases. 
 153. " Golden stamp," golden coin. 
 
 163. What "means" does Malcolm mean? 
 
 164. " Stands Scotland, etc." This sentence is strong because of 
 its suggestiveness. Explain. 
 
 16.5. "Almost afraid to know itself;" perhaps, almost afraid to 
 think upon its condition. 
 
 167. " But who knows nothing," mere children. " Once," ever. 
 
 169. " Mark'd," observed. 
 
 170. " Modern ecstasy," common disease. 
 
 172. It was an ancient custom for men to stick flowers in the 
 bands of their hats, where, of course, they soon withered under 
 the glare of the sun. 
 
 173. Another antithesis. " Relation," a thing related; a narrative. 
 
 174. " Nice," accurate, minute. 
 
 178, 179. Explain the play upon words in these lines. 
 
 183. "Out," that is, in the field; in arms. 
 
 184. " Witness'd," proved. 
 
 188. " Doff," a contraction of do off, as don is of do on, and 
 dout of do out. 
 
 195. " Latch," catch. 
 
 196. " Fee-grief." Land is owned in two ways in England, in 
 entail and in fee-simple. Land held in entail must pass down from 
 father to the oldest son, or nearest heir ; that held in fee-simple is 
 the possession of one person without regard to his heirs, and may 
 be disposed of at his pleasure. Explain the meaning of " fee-grief." 
 
 206. " Quarry," dead game. What comment may be made on 
 " deer " ? 
 
 210. " O'er-fraught," over-laden. 
 
 216. Is Macbeth or Malcolm the antecedent of " he"? 
 
 220. " Dispute it," strive against it — your sorrow. 
 
 22,2. " Intermission," delay. 
 
 234, 235. These words have been highly praised for their force, 
 which arises from the extreme condensation. The meaning is, — If 
 he escapes my sword — so sure am I that he will not — then I am 
 willing to forgive him and to pray God to forgive him. 
 
ACT V. SCENE I. ' 145 
 
 237. " Our lack, etc.," we lack no preliminary to our departure 
 but to bid farewell to the king. 
 
 238. " Powers above," probably heavenly powers. 
 
 239. " Put on, etc.," urge on our forces. The line is an Alex- 
 andrine ; scan. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. It has been observed that Shake- 
 speare wrote this scene because he realized that he had not 
 given sufficiently important parts to the actors who play the parts of 
 Malcolm and Macduff. If this be so, the poet ran the risk of break- 
 ing the unity of the play. Is the observation just, and is the unity 
 of the play disturbed? 2. It is conjectured that the part of the 
 scene in which Edward the Confessor's power to cure the king's evil 
 is described, was inserted as a compliment to James I, on the occa- 
 sion of the play being represented at court. Does the digression dis- 
 turb the unity of the scene? 3. Is the insertion, if it be such, in 
 Shakespeare's manner? 4. Is the account of the murder of Mac- 
 beth's family necessary to the story? 5. Is Edward's promise of 
 troops to fight against Macbeth necessary to the story ? 6. What is 
 Malcolm's reason for deceiving Macduff as to his own character? 
 7. Why does Malcolm undeceive him? 8. Is Malcolm's falsehood 
 excusable ? 9. Compare Macduff's expressions of grief with his 
 horror at the murder of Duncan (Act II, Scene III). What is the 
 significance of the difference in the length of his speeches? 10. Why 
 does not Ross tell his news at once, instead of deceiving Macduff 
 for a moment? 11. Fancy the manner of the two men as this part 
 of the scene proceeds. 12. What action of Macduff that is indicated 
 in the lines, makes Malcolm fear that the grief is too heavy for him 
 to bear? 13. Find two puns in the lines. Do they disturb the dig- 
 nity of the scene? 14. What evidences are there that the end of 
 the play is approaching? 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 Scene I. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. Modjeska uses for this scene the same 
 stage setting used in the murder of Duncan, and we follow her in 
 this, ignoring, for the sake of effect, the fact that the murder was 
 committed at Inverness rather than Dunsinane. The gaunt, bare 
 room is obscured in the gloom of night. At the right the doctor 
 and the gentlewoman talk in low tones until, in the great door at 
 the back, the white-robed figure of the unhappy queen appears, when 
 they move back into the deeper shadows. Lady Macbeth carries a 
 taper, which illumines her face, making it the one bright object in 
 the surrounding darkness. Her hair hangs loosely over her shoul- 
 ders and down her back. Her eyes are open, but they have the 
 steady, vacant stare of one who is asleep. Her face is ghastly 
 white, drawn in lines of remorse and deadly fear. She pauses 
 
146 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 before she descends the two steps that lead down to the main level 
 of the room, and seems to listen ; true to the habit of persons in 
 great terror, she holds her breath until she can hold it no longer, 
 then expels it with force, and one knows that her heart is beating 
 with the quickness of madness. All the while she rubs the hand 
 that holds the candle, as if she would remove something from it. 
 Slowly advancing, her heavy breathing continuing and her breast 
 heaving, she approaches the stone table, sets the light upon it, 
 stoops, and seems to dip up water from an " air-drawn " basin, and 
 la,ve her hands. Then a groan of despair is heard, and there come, 
 in a low, remorseful tone, the words, " Yet here's a spot." * 
 5. " Nightgown," dressing gown. 
 
 7. Of what is Lady Macbeth thinking when she writes? 
 , 10. ''Effects," acts; "watching," waking. 
 
 25. " Their sense is shut ; " explain. 
 
 46. " Go to, go to," equivalent to our come, come ; an exclama 
 tion of scorn. 
 
 50. " Smell." Furness quotes Verplanck, who says that there 
 is but one other scene in all dramatic literature in which the sense 
 of smell is used " as a means of impressing the imagination with 
 terror, pity, or any of the deeper emotions." This is found " in the 
 Agamemnon of ^Eschylus, where the captive prophetess, Cassandra, 
 wrapt irl visionary inspiration, scents first the smell of blood, and 
 then the vapors of the tomb breathing from the palace of Atrides, 
 as ominous of his approaching murder." 
 
 53, 54. " Sorely charged," heavily burdened. 
 
 56. " Dignity," royal rank. 
 
 57, 58. Another turn on a word. 
 
 72, 73. " Infected minds, etc. ; " explain. 
 
 74. " Divine," priest. 
 
 76. " Means of all annoyance," " all means by which she might 
 do herself harm." Clark and Wright. 
 
 78. " Mated," a figure from the game of chess ; beaten. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. In this scene Lady Macbeth receives 
 the reward of her crime, and disappears from our sight. What is 
 there as to her condition that makes the scene appeal all the more 
 powerfully to our sympathy? 2. What speech of hers, in the scene 
 in which Duncan is murdered, makes madness seem to be her just 
 and logical punishment? 3. Modjeska's acting of this scene is per- 
 fect. Consider her tone when she says, " Out, damned spot." Is 
 it loud or soft, fast or slow? Of what part of the murder scene is 
 Lady Macbeth thinking? 4. At the words, "One: two:" Mod- 
 jeska's voice rings out like the clear strokes of a bell. Of what is 
 the queen thinking? 5. One editor says that the words, " Hell is 
 murky \ " are pronounced scornfully, as if Lady Macbeth were 
 repeating Macbeth's words, meaning to reprove him for uttering 
 them. Is this right? 6. In what manner should "Fie, my lord, 
 
ACT V. SCENE II. 147 
 
 fie J etc.," be pronounced? 7. Modjeska utters each of the speeches 
 in the most effective manner, giving it the proper tone, speed, and 
 modulation to indicate what is passing in the queen's mind ; some- 
 times emitting a pitiful moan, and, between speeches, such sigh- 
 ings and mutterings as trouble people in guilty dreams ; sometimes 
 she seems to swallow, as sleeping people do. Consider each of the 
 short speeches, and determine how they should be read, and what is 
 passing in the queen's mind. 8. What words near the end should be 
 read with extreme speed and in great, but suppressed excitement? 
 9. Picture her movements as she leaves the stage. 10. Account 
 for the extreme dramatic force of the scene, considering that it is 
 very quiet. 1 1. Who seems to have suffered the most — Lady Mac- 
 beth or Macbeth himself? 12. Lady Macbeth does not seem to have 
 confided her coming madness to Macbeth, while he has confessed 
 his sorrow to her ; what does this shQw as to the relative strength 
 of the two characters? 13. Is there anything in the scene to show 
 whether she was ambitious for herself or for her husband? 14. Is 
 there in the scene any slight evidence of her affection for him ? 
 15. Now that we have seen Lady Macbeth for the last time, consider 
 whether she was a coarse, unfeeling woman, or one of a refined 
 and delicate nature. 16. Reconsider her personal appearance. 17. 
 Why is the scene written in prose form? 18. Is the scene strong 
 poetically? 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The open country, heather-grown and hilly. 
 The Scottish soldiers, clad in their native war costumes (see 
 Suggestion of Scene, Act I, Scene II) throng about their officers, 
 and rend the air with their shouts when they learn that the Eng- 
 lish power is near. At the end of the scene, they hastily form 
 ranks, and move forward at a swinging pace, singing as they go. 
 
 3. " Dear causes," causes dear to each. What was Malcolm's? 
 Macduff's? 
 
 5. " Mortified ; " the word is defined in two ways, — dead, and 
 ascetic. Explain the latter word. 
 
 8. " File," list. 
 
 10. " Unrough youths," youths with no beards. 
 
 11. ''Protest," display. What is "their first of manhood"? 
 15. " Distemper'd," disorganized, uncontrolled. Explain this line 
 
 and the next. Why is the speech particularly suitable to a soldier? 
 
 17. What figure in "murders"? 
 
 18. " Minutely," every minute. 
 
 19. Here again we find the same word used in two senses. Ex- 
 plain. 
 
 23. " Pester'd," troubled, harassed ; " recoil," give way, become 
 afraid. 
 
 27. Who is the "medicine"? "Weal," state. 
 
148 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 30. Explain " sovereign flower " and " weeds." 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Is the scene necessary in the repre- 
 sentation of the play ? 2. What is the dramatic effect of the mention 
 of Birnam wood in lines 5 and 31? 3. Is the scene written in 
 Shakespeare's manner ? 
 
 Scene III. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. As this act goes very rapidly, the frequent 
 change of scene indicated in the stage directions is impracticable. 
 Besides this, the matter of expense deters modern managers 
 from making elaborate settings for so many scenes. Scenes III, V, 
 VI, VII, and VIII (if they are all played) are, therefore, all counted 
 as one, and this is usually represented as a terrace of Macbeth's 
 castle — a broad space, with a tower rising at the right and rear, 
 from which extends a battlemented wall to the extreme left. Be- 
 yond this may be seen the distant hills. 
 
 I. " Them," the thanes. 
 
 3. " Taint ; " in the passive sense. 
 
 5. " Mortal consequences," all things that will happen to mortal 
 men. 
 
 8. " English epicures ; " the Scotch accused their English cousins 
 of too great a fondness for good eating and drinking; the English 
 could not return the accusation against the people who lived on 
 the barren hills and moors of Scotland. 
 
 9. " Sway by," guide myself by. 
 
 10. " Sag," droop. 
 
 II. " Loon," a worthless fellow. 
 
 14. What figure in "fear"? 
 
 15. " Lily-liver'd ; " cowards were supposed to have white livers. 
 " Patch," fool, alluding to the patched garments worn by the court 
 jester. 
 
 17. " Counsellors to fear," " suggest fear in the minds of those 
 who behold them." Clark and Wright." 
 
 20. " Push," assault. 
 
 21. The line is corrupt. In some editions " disseat " is " dis- 
 ease ; " in another, " cheer " is " chair." 
 
 22. Johnson conjectured that the w of "way" was an m in- 
 verted ; he thus changed the line to correspond with the figure in the 
 next line. 
 
 2$. " Sere," dry, withered. 
 
 27, 28. Explain these lines carefully. " Deny," refuse. 
 
 35. " Moe," more ; " skirr," scour. 
 
 42. " Raze out," obliterate. Macbeth compares his brain to a 
 scholar's tablet. 
 
 43. " Oblivious," causing forgetfulness. 
 
ACT V. SCENE IV. 149 
 
 44. Again the use of the same word in two ways. 
 
 47. " Physic," medicine. 
 
 .55. " Senna," a plant used as a medicine. 
 
 59. " Bane," destruction. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Is the scene important because of 
 tne light it throws on Macbeth's mental state, or because of the 
 events it pictures ? 2. Describe Macbeth's looks and manner as 
 he enters. 3. Would it not be suitable for a few streaks of gray to 
 be seen in his hair? 4. Is Macbeth as full of confidence as he 
 asserts himself to be? 5. Show that his anger at the servant's fear 
 is a reflex of his own mental condition. 6. Explain the weariness 
 of life which Macbeth expresses in the speech beginning in line 
 19. 7. What ''thick-coming fancies" are meant in line 38? 8. 
 How is Macbeth affected by the speech in which this expression 
 occurs ? 9. What evidences of extreme agitation are found in the 
 speech beginning in line 47? 10. Does Macbeth believe what he 
 says as he leaves the stage? 11. What is the dramatic effect of 
 the doctor's speech at the end of the scene? 12. What line in the 
 scene is most frequently quoted? 13. Find the best passages of 
 poetry in the scene. 14. How do these passages compare with other 
 line passages elsewhere in the play? 15. Select the most effective 
 figures. 16. What evidences are there that the end of the play 
 is approaching? 
 
 Scene IV. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The open country. A wooded hill in the 
 right distance. The soldiers appear at the left, and march diago- 
 nally toward the right, shouting and singing. At Malcolm's com- 
 mand to hew down boiighs to carry before them, they pause, cry 
 out a loyal reply and march onward. 
 
 2. " Chambers," sleeping rooms ; of course Malcolm alludes to his 
 father's murder. 
 
 5. " Shadow," conceal. 
 
 6. " Discovery," " reconnoitering, the report of scouts." Clark 
 and Wright. 
 
 9. " Endure," stand. 
 
 10. '' Setting down," siege. 
 
 11. 12. The meaning of these two lines is not clear; perhaps 
 it is, — When there is opportunity to desert, both great and small have 
 uone so. 
 
 13. " Constrained," forced. 
 
 14, 15. " Let our, etc." let us know the outcome of the fight 
 before we pass final judgment on the loyalty of Macbeth's soldiers. 
 
 18. The line seems to mean, — what rights we shall have, and 
 what allegiance we shall owe to a just king. 
 
150 NOTES AND QUESTIONS. 
 
 19, 20. The meaning is, — It is useless to speculate about the re- 
 sult; only the battle will decide the matter. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. What necessary event of the story 
 does the scene contain ? 2. Is it necessary for the scene to be 
 played? 3. Is the scene written in Shakespeare's best manner? 4. 
 Does the obscurity of expression aid the effect? 5. Suppose that 
 at the end of the scene, the soldiers, having procured branches from 
 the trees, wave them in the air and shout as the curtain falls. 
 Would the effect be good ? 
 
 Scene V. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The same as Scene III. Macbeth rushes 
 in, shouting out his orders ; within the tower is heard, for a mo- 
 ment, the preparation for battle ; then silence, and " a cry of 
 women." 
 
 5. " Forced," reinforced. 
 
 10. "Cooled;" the chilling of the body is one of the physio- 
 logical effects of fear, but it seems strange to say the " senses " 
 become cool. It is conjectured that the line is corrupt. 
 
 11. "Fell of hair," scalp. 
 
 12. " Treatise," story. 
 15. " Start," startle. 
 
 18. Macbeth probably means that Lady Macbeth has died too 
 early ; perhaps he hopes that even yet there may have been hap- 
 piness for her ; besides, in his present straits, he needs her sorely. 
 Another interpretation is that Macbeth, wholly disappointed in life, 
 says indifferently, — Well, if she had not died now, she would have 
 died hereafter; life is a failure anyway, so what matters it? Which 
 is the better interpretation? 
 
 40. " Cling," wither ; " sooth," truth. 
 
 42. " Pull in," rein in, as one does a horse. 
 
 47. "Avouches," asserts. 
 
 50. " Estate," settled order, stability. In his own foreseen de- 
 struction, Macbeth wishes the destruction of the world. 
 
 52. " Harness," armor. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. Explain the reason of the great 
 dramatic force of the scene. 2. What is Macbeth's manner as he 
 enters? Is he in the violence of despair, or is he defiant and confi- 
 dent? 3. What is the dramatic effect of the "cry of women"? 
 4. What is Macbeth's state of mind when he hears the cry? 5. 
 Explain the mental processes by which he attained this mental con- 
 dition? 6. When he says, "I have supp'd full with horrors" (line 
 13), is he not thinking of a particular scene in the play? 7. An 
 editor suggests that instead of Seyton announcing the queen's death, 
 
ACT V. SCENE VII. ' 151 
 
 a servant should enter and whisper in Macbeth's ear. Would this 
 improve the effect? 8. Explain the pathos of Macbeth's situation 
 when he hears of his wife's death and comments upon it. 9. Is the 
 soliloquy one of a man who has found life a success? 10. Why is 
 it suitable to the dramatic effect that she died first? 11. Who is 
 responsible for Macbeth's life being a failure? 12. Show that the 
 general tone of that part of the scene between lines 7 and 29 is 
 different from that of the rest of the scene. 13. In what attitude 
 does the messenger deliver his message? 14. What is his manner? 
 15. What is the dramatic effect of line 34? 16. To what scene does 
 it carry the audience back? 17. What action accompanies the ex- 
 clamation, "Liar and slave" (line 35)? 18. Describe Macbeth's 
 manner as he begins his next speech. 19. At a certain place in this 
 speech, it would be suitable for Macbeth to go to the battlements, 
 shade his eyes with his hand, and look away into the distance ; 
 where and why? 20. Describe the changes in his manner through- 
 out the speech. 21. What is the dramatic effect of the ringing of 
 the " alarum-bell " ? 22. Does Macbeth's clinging to life indicate 
 fear of the life to come? 23. The scene is remarkable for its 
 poetical as well as its dramatic effect. Consider the speech begin- 
 ning in line 17. Count the figures. Write out the speech in your 
 own words, and determine whether you can express so much in so 
 few words. 24. Lines 47-50 have been pronounced weak. Do you 
 think so ? Would the speech be stronger without them ? 25. What 
 figure is taken from Shakespeare's own profession ? 
 
 Scene VI. 
 
 Suggestion Of Scene. Before the castle — according to the stage 
 direction. However, if ( the scene is played at all, the setting is 
 the terrace of the castle, the same as in the case of several other 
 scenes of the act. 
 
 2. " Show," appear. 
 
 4. " Battle," division of the army. 
 
 10. " Harbingers," see note on Act I, Scene IV, line 45. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. What have the "leafy screens" to 
 do with the story? 2. Is the acting of this scene necessary? 
 
 Scene VII. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The terrace of the castle. 
 
 1, 2. Shakespeare's plays have frequent allusions to bear-baiting, 
 a fact that is due to the popularity of the sport in his time, but 
 partly, no doubt, to the nearness of the Bear Gardens to his theater 
 in Southwerk. The play must have been interrupted frequently by 
 the growls of the bear that was tied to a stake, and the bark- 
 
152 NOTES HND QUESTIONS. 
 
 ing of the dogs that were set upon him in relays or " courses " until 
 he was dead. 
 
 17. " Kerns," see Act I, Scene II, line 13. 
 
 20. " Undeeded," without having accomplished a deed. " There " 
 should receive a strong emphasis; why? 
 
 22. " Bruited," noised, announced. 
 
 24. " Gently render'd," surrendered without a hard struggle. 
 
 29. " That strike beside us," " i. e., deliberately miss us." Clark 
 and Wright. 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. What that is essential to the story 
 is in the scene? 2. What is the dramatic purpose of Macbeth's 
 slaying of young Siward? 3. To what hope is Macbeth clinging? 
 4. What is Macduff's feeling toward Macbeth? 5. How will this 
 feeling heighten the effect when the two finally meet ? 6. What does 
 line 25 show of Macbeth's ability as a ruler? 
 
 Scene VIII. 
 
 Suggestion of Scene. The terrace of the castle. Macbeth rushes 
 in holding his sword by the point, hilt down, and is about to fall 
 upon it, when he changes his mind and concludes to fight further. 
 On all sides are heard the shouts of victory. 
 
 1. " Roman fool; " it was an ancient Roman custom to kill one's 
 self at the time of defeat. 
 
 2. " Lives," living persons. 
 5. " Charged," burdened. 
 
 8. " Than terms, etc.," than words can express. 
 
 9. " Intrenchant," not to be cut. 
 11. "Crests," helmets. 
 
 13. " Despair," " despair of." Clark and Wright. 
 
 14. " Angel," the guardian angel ; in this case an evil one, of 
 course. " Still," ever. 
 
 18. "Better part of man," better part of manhood — courage. 
 20. " Palter," equivocate. 
 
 24. " Gaze," thing to be gazed at. 
 
 26. " Painted upon a pole ; " that is, upon a " cloth suspended on 
 a pole, as in front of a wild-beast show." Clark and Wright. 
 
 29. " Baited ; " another allusion to " bear-baiting." 
 
 32, 33- " Before my body, etc." This sentence is supposed by 
 one editor to be an interpolation. Can you see any reasons for the 
 supposition ? 
 
 36. " Go off," die. 
 
 39. " Has paid, etc.," has died. 
 
 42. " Unshrinking station," the station, or place, from which 
 he would not shrink, or retreat. 
 
 56. " Pearl " means whom? 
 
 61. " Reckon with, etc.," reward you for your loyalty. 
 
ACT V. SCENE VIII. 153 
 
 Questions on the Scene. 1. The play is now brought to an end; 
 what events satisfy the demands of dramatic justice? 2. Show that 
 the manner of Macbeth's death was suitable to the manner ot 
 his life. 3. In the beginning of the scene, what is the dramatic 
 ertect of Macbeth's apparent intention to kill himself? 4. What is 
 the dramatic effect of the entrance of Macduff? 5. What is the 
 manner of the two men as they confront each other? 6. As they 
 fight the first time, which one seems to have the advantage ? 7. 
 Macduff readily understands Macbeth's statement, " I bear a 
 charmed life ; " in their day, knights who were about to fight in a 
 tournament were compelled to take oath that they did not use 
 charmed weapons, which were supposed to have great efficacy. So 
 Macduff understands the full import of the situation. With what 
 voice and manner, then, does he pronounce the speech beginning in 
 line 13? 8. Macbeth's last hope is taken away by this speech ; whom 
 does he blame for his unhappy lot ? Why ? 9. What motive con- 
 strains him to fight in spite of certain death? 10. Compare old 
 Siward's expressions of grief at the death of his son with Mac- 
 duff's at the news of his wife's and children's death ; in what way 
 are they alike? Which had the more severe grief? Why? 11. 
 Macduff enters with Macbeth's head on a pole, according to the 
 stage directions ; what is the action of the people on the stage, and 
 what is the effect on the audience? 12. The last scene is usually 
 cut in the acting ; the part that is left out is considered by some 
 critics to have been written by some other hand than Shakespeare's : 
 so the actors and the critics agree. Considering the matter of 
 dramatic effect and that of literary style, determine where the 
 scene should end. 13. What change in a stage direction should 
 be made in order to correspond? 14. Does any such expression as 
 " fiend-like " occur elsewhere in the play as descriptive of Lady 
 Macbeth? What is the deduction? 
 
 Questions on the Act. 1. Indicate what events in the act bring 
 the play to a logical end. 2. Is the act swift or slow? If both, 
 wnere? 3. What reason is there for the act being as it is in this 
 respect? 4. What scenes are not absolutely necessary? 5. Would 
 it be well to leave out all that are not absolutely necessary ? 6. 
 Would not such omissions be more suitable in this act than in any 
 other ? 
 
 GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE PLAY. 
 
 Macbeth. 1. Can the nature of Macbeth's education be con- 
 jectured from the play? Was it practical or scholastic? How 
 did he get his training for his royal duties? 2. Was the religious 
 part of his education neglected? 3. Was his education such as 
 would fit him to decide a great moral question? 4. Was his nature 
 such as would enable him to decide such? 5. Tell what influences 
 
154 GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE PLAY. 
 
 aided him to decide the great question of his life ? 6. Did Shakespeare 
 intend to show that the possibility of a return to a moral life was 
 or was not always open to him ? 7. What would have been the 
 effect on the importance of Macbeth's part in the play if Lady 
 Macbeth had been the first to suggest the crime? Is there any rea- 
 son to believe that Macbeth was a good man before his great tempta- 
 tion came? 8. Explain the reason of our sympathy for Macbeth, 
 in spite of our disapproval of his deed. 9. What qualities had 
 Macbeth that are not usually associated with a murderous char- 
 acter? 10. It would be interesting to look up the history of the real 
 Macbeth and determine whether Shakespeare has done him justice or 
 injustice. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. 1. What can be conjectured as to the nature of 
 Lady Macbeth's education ? 2. How could her manner of life have 
 trained her to form the resolution to kill the king, and to stick to 
 it so persistently? 3. Is there any reason for believing that she 
 had been guilty of previous crime? 4.- What was her motive for 
 urging on Macbeth to commit the crime ? Was it selfish or unselfish ? 
 
 5. In the beginning of the play, we see her filled " with direst 
 cruelty;" in the end of the play, insane from the effect of the 
 " terrible dreams " which shook her and her husband nightly. 
 Shakespeare provided, in one scene, against the step seeming too 
 sudden ; explain. Why was insanity the natural outcome of her life 
 as death by the sword was the natural outcome of Macbeth's? 6. 
 Is the character a lovable one? 7. Is the reader inclined to forgive 
 her crime ? Why ? 8. Does the play reveal any love that Lady 
 Macbeth had for her husband ? 9. Shakespeare is often praised 
 because his characters are not puppets — not mere abstractions of 
 vices or virtues ; but real people, with a variety of characteristics, 
 one of which is predominant. Lady Macbeth's predominant trait 
 was will exerted for evil ; what other qualities had she, especially 
 what womanly qualities? 10. In what ways is she a contrast to 
 Macbeth ? 
 
 The Weird Women. 1. What conclusion have you come to about 
 the two conceptions of these wild creatures? If they are the 
 mysterious goddesses of destiny, why did Shakespeare cause them to 
 use so freely the ritual of common witchcraft? 2. Should their 
 dress and manner be those of witches or those of the higher 
 powers? 3. Do they implant the evil thought in Macbeth's mind, 
 or do they work on what is already there ? 4. Is their grip on 
 Macbeth always too strong for him to shake off? 5. Do their scenes 
 ring true ? Does it seem that Shakespeare, for the time being, be- 
 lieved in witchcraft? Do you, while reading, believe in witchcraft? 
 
 6. What do the weird women symbolize ? 7. Can Macbeth blame 
 them for his tragic life and death ? 
 
 Banquo. 1. Make a final judgment as to Banquo's moral char- 
 acter. 2. What dramatic purpose does he serve in the play? 3. In 
 what ways is he ,a contrast to Macbeth? 
 
GENERAL QUESTIONS ON THE PLAY. 155 
 
 Macduff. 1. Was Macduff guilty of criminal negligence in leav- 
 ing his family? 2. Did he sufficiently atone for his fault? 3. What 
 dramatic purpose does he serve in the play? 4. Would you pro- 
 nounce him, on the whole, a strong man ? 
 
 Plot and Theme. 1. What is the theme of the story? 2. Review 
 the steps of the story set forth by the several acts? 3. Is the play 
 well balanced ; that is, are the important scenes sufficiently long and 
 strong, and are the short ones sufficiently contrasted with them in 
 respect to length and strength ? 4. Are there any scenes and char- 
 acters that are unnecessary to the story and the dramatic effect? 
 That is, is the play a perfect unit? 
 
 The Acting. 1. As it is usually played, there is much sound 
 and fury in the acting, particularly in the part of Macbeth. Is this 
 right or wrong? 2. Is the play too difficult to be acted with strong 
 effect? 3. After the parts of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, what part 
 is most desirable for the skillful actor? 4. What scene seems to 
 tax the powers of the actors to the greatest degree? 5. Show how 
 the poet has gained effect by contrasting one scene against another ? 
 6. Is it good taste to use comedy in such a play ? 
 
 The Moral. 1. Show that a strong feeling of morality runs 
 throughout the play. 2. Was it Shakespeare's primary purpose to 
 point a moral or adorn a tale? 3. Has the play any further moral 
 than the same events told in the historical manner would have? 4. 
 What is the significance of the fact that although we sympathize 
 with Macbeth and his Lady, we have no desire to emulate them? 
 
 Miscellaneous. 1. Do you think the play is one that Shakespeare 
 toiled on long and laboriously ? 2. Do you think it possible that 
 much of the play was written by some other hand than Shakes- 
 peare's? 3. If so, where and how might Shakespeare have revised 
 it, had he chosen to do'' so ? 4. In what ways might he change it to 
 suit the modern stage if he were now alive? 5. The classic drama 
 followed the Unities of Time, Place, and Action. That is, a play- 
 wright had to represent such events as could have happened in one 
 day (all preceding events being narrated by messengers and by 
 a chorus) ; he had to place all the action in one scene ; and he 
 might tell but one story, no secondary story being permitted. It was 
 Shakespeare's habit to ignore these restrictions ; why ? 6. In this 
 play he observed one of these Unities because it suited his purpose 
 to do so; which one? 7. If the play should be rewritten in ob- 
 servance of the Unities, what scene would be acted and what scenes 
 narrated? 8. Would the play gain or lose dramatic force by such 
 revision ? 9. What evidences of hasty work are to be found in 
 the play? 10. What does the play gain from being placed back in 
 the dark, barbarous age of Macbeth? n. How do you account for 
 the fact that the best plays, from a literary and dramatic stand- 
 point, are tragedies? 12. How do you account for the fact that 
 most people usually prefer comedies ? 
 
O Y\ 
 
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