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306 � Celebrating Humanity (1485–1625)
Background The Elizabethans viewed the universe, in its ideal state, as both orderly and interconnected. They believed that a great chain linked all beings, from God on high to the lowest beasts and plants. They also believed that universal order was based on parallels between different realms. Just as the sun ruled in the heavens, for example, the king ruled in the state and the father in the family. Because everything was linked, a disturbance in one area would cause a disturbance in others. In keeping with this concept of order, a Shakespearean tragedy shows how a tragic hero’s bad choices can disturb the whole universe. As Macbeth gets underway, notice the parallel disorders in the mind of the hero, the weather, and the kingdom.
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Learning ModalitiesVisual/Spatial LearnersThroughout the reading of Macbeth,have students refer to the photo-graph of the reconstructed Globetheater on p. 295. Suggest that theyenvision the action as it would takeplace in the acting areas.
About the SelectionIn The Tragedy of Macbeth, Act I, thewar hero Macbeth returns home and,on the way, encounters three witcheswho prophesy that he will one daybe king of Scotland. Seized by ruth-less ambition and spurred on by hiswife, Macbeth plans to murder KingDuncan, thus setting in motion aseries of events that will lead to hiseventual downfall.
BackgroundReading ShakespeareMany students will find Shakespeare’slanguage a challenge. He uses wordsand structures not familiar to themodern ear. This situation is less of aproblem in a theater, where actorscommunicate meaning through theirinterpretation, but it does pose aproblem for readers. (Underscorethat the richness of the language andinsights into human nature makeShakespeare worth the work.)
It may help students to see a per-formance. Encourage them to watchone of the recent film versions ofShakespeare’s plays, to hear how thelanguage sounds in performance. Youmay also wish to listen in class to theListening to Literature Audio CDs.
Because some words are no longerin common use or have evolved dif-ferent meanings, encourage studentsto refer often to the margin notes.Also, Shakespeare plays with stan-dard English word order. Suggestthat students look for the subject andverb and then determine how othersentence parts fit.
As with poetry, students shouldread in sentences, rather than in lines.A sentence may extend over a num-ber of lines, so encourage students tobe guided by the punctuation.
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Accessibility at a glance
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LiteraryMerit Shakespearean Tragedy
Lexile NP
OverallRating More challenging
Macbeth
Context 11th Century Scotland; rulingclasses
Language Difficult vocabulary and syntax
ConceptLevel Accessible (ambition)
The Tragedy of Macbeth
William Shakespeare
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Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids • Read aloud the bracketed passage.
• Ask students the Reading Strategyquestion: Who or what areGraymalkin and Paddock? How doyou know?Answer: Graymalkin is the firstwitch’s helper, a gray cat, andPaddock is the second witch’shelper, a toad. The margin notesexplain this.
• Discuss with students resourcesthat could contribute more insightor information than the includedtext aids do. (Ideas might includeillustrated books, videos of the play,or Internet sites that are related toShakespeare, theater, or the con-cept of witches during the era.)
Critical ThinkingAnalyze• Point out to the class that
Shakespeare often used rhymingcouplets to end scenes.
• Have students read lines 10–11.
• Then, ask students whyShakespeare might have chosen toend the first scene with these lines.Possible responses: The coupletsums up the mood of the scene;the use of alliteration and therhyme make the couplet memo-rable; it makes it clear that thescene is over.
Reading CheckAnswer: The witches will meet withMacbeth upon the heath, when thehurlyburly’s done and when the bat-tle’s lost and won.
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Macbeth, Act I, Scene ii ■ 307
CHARACTERS
Setting: Scotland; England
DUNCAN, King of Scotland SEYTON, an officer attending on MacbethSON TO MACDUFF
AN ENGLISH DOCTOR
A SCOTTISH DOCTOR
A PORTER
AN OLD MAN
THREE MURDERERS
LADY MACBETH
LADY MACDUFF
A GENTLEWOMAN attending on Lady Macbeth
HECATE
WITCHES
APPARITIONS
LORDS, OFFICERS, SOLDIERS, ATTENDANTS, AND MESSENGERS
MALCOLM
DONALBAIN } his sons
MACBETH
BANQUO
MACDUFF
LENNOX
ROSS
MENTEITH
ANGUS
CAITHNESS
noblemen of Scotland
FLEANCE, son to BanquoSIWARD, Earl of Northumberland,
general of the English forcesYOUNG SIWARD, his son
Scene i. An open 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.
5 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.1
SECOND WITCH. Paddock2 calls.
THIRD WITCH. Anon!3
10 ALL. Fair is foul, and foul is fair.Hover through the fog and filthy air. [Exit.]
Scene ii. A camp near Forres, a town in northeast Scotland.
[Alarum within.1 Enter KING DUNCAN, MALCOLM, DONALBAIN, LENNOX, with ATTENDANTS, meeting a bleeding CAPTAIN.]
Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids Who or what are Graymalkin and Paddock in lines 8 and 9? How do you know?
1. Graymalkin first witch’s helper, a gray cat.
2. Paddock second witch’s helper, a toad.
3. Anon at once.
1. Alarum within trumpet call offstage.
Where, when, and with whom will the witches next meet?
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308 ■ Celebrating Humanity (1485–1625)
KING. What bloody man is that? He can report,As seemeth by his plight, of the revoltThe newest state.
MALCOLM. This is the sergeant2
Who like a good and hardy soldier fought5 ’Gainst my captivity. Hail, brave friend!
Say to the king the knowledge of the broil3
As thou didst leave it.
CAPTAIN. Doubtful it stood,As two spent swimmers, that do cling togetherAnd choke their art.4 The merciless Macdonwald—
10 Worthy to be a rebel for to thatThe multiplying villainies of natureDo swarm upon him—from the Western Isles5
Of kerns and gallowglasses6 is supplied;And fortune, on his damnéd quarrel7 smiling,
15 Showed like a rebel’s whore:8 but all’s too weak:For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,Which smoked with bloody execution,Like valor’s minion9 carved out his passage
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Critical Viewing Examine Fuseli’s rendering of the witches. Does the mood he creates correspond to the mood in Act I, Scene i? Why or why not? [Connect]
2. sergeant officer.
3. broil battle.
4. choke their art prevent each other from swimming.
5. Western Isles the Hebrides, off Scotland.
6. Of kerns and gallow-glasses with lightly armed Irish foot soldiers and heavily armed soldiers.
7. damned quarrel accursed cause.
8. Showed . . . whore falsely appeared to favor Macdonwald.
9. minion favorite.
Vocabulary Buildervalor (val« ßr) n. marked courage or bravery
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HumanitiesThe Three Witches, 1783, by HenryFuseli
Henry Fuseli (1741–1825), a Swiss-born English artist, began as a writer,but with the encouragement of SirJoshua Reynolds, the head of theRoyal Academy of Art, he began topaint. His formal art education con-sisted of an eight-year residence inRome, where he studied the art ofthe Italian master Michelangelo. Hisstyle is a combination of romanti-cism, fantasy, and the grotesque.Throughout his life, Fuseli was influ-enced by literature, especially theworks of William Shakespeare.
The strong composition isenhanced by the rhythm of the threeoutstretched arms ending in talon-like hands.
Use these questions for discussion:
1. Read Banquo’s description of thewitches in lines 40–47 of Scene iii.Is Fuseli’s painting faithful to thisdescription?Possible response: The witchesappear to be withered, withchoppy fingers and skinny lips, asdescribed by Banquo.
2. Does this painting give you a bet-ter understanding of the fright feltby the characters upon encoun-tering the witches?Possible responses: Yes, theycertainly seem strange; no, theyare merely old women, nothing tobe afraid of.
Critical ViewingAnswer: Fuseli’s shrouding of thewitches in darkness and having themperform the same mysterious gesturecaptures the eerie mood of theirpresence in Act I, Scene i.
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Witchcraft in the English RenaissanceScholars believe that one reason Shakespeareincluded witches in Macbeth is the fact that theking, James I, had openly expressed his belief inwitches. Witchcraft was a topic of controversyin seventeenth-century Europe and America.The attitude toward witches and witchcraft var-ied widely.
Some regarded the existence of witches tobe nothing more than a harmless superstition.Others felt witches to be real and a source ofevil that had to be wiped out.
As a result, waves of hysteria over witchesand their supposed links to the devil sometimesswept over the land. Between the fifteenth andeighteenth centuries, thousands of people wereconvicted of being witches and executed. Themost famous trials in America occurred in 1692in Salem, Massachusetts, where nineteen peo-ple were convicted of being witches andhanged.
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Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama • Have students read the captain’s
speech in lines 7–23.
• Ask students the first LiteraryAnalysis question: What offstagescene does the captain describe inthis speech?Answer: The captain describes abattle between Macdonwald andMacbeth in which Macbeth wasvictorious.
Monitor Progress: Knowingwhat they do about the Elizabethanstage, have students consider whyShakespeare might have chosen tohave a character relate this scenerather than have it performed.Answer: The battle would havebeen difficult to represent andmuch easier to discuss.
• Discuss with the class the eventsrelated in the speech, to make cer-tain students understand thatMacbeth is the hero, battlingincredible odds.
Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama • Read aloud Lennox’s words in lines
46–47.
• Then, ask students the secondLiterary Analysis question: How doLennox’s words here in lines 46–47supply a clue for the actor playingRoss?Possible responses: The com-ment that haste looks throughRoss’s eyes and that he looks likehe’s going to speak strange thingswould be clues to the actor playingRoss that there is a sense ofurgency in his behavior. He shouldprobably look excited, like he waseager to share what he knew. Itmight also suggest that he wouldenter quickly, because he hasimportant news.
Reading CheckAnswer: Macbeth was the hero ofthe day, killing Macdonwald in hand-to-hand combat, then helping todefeat the Norwegians.
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Macbeth, Act I, Scene ii ■ 309
20 Till he faced the slave;Which nev’r shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops,10
And fixed his head upon our battlements.
KING. O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!
25 CAPTAIN. As whence the sun ’gins his reflection11
Shipwracking storms and direful thunders break,So from that spring whence comfort seemed to comeDiscomfort swells. Mark, King of Scotland, mark:No sooner justice had, with valor armed,
30 Compelled these skipping kerns to trust their heelsBut the Norweyan lord,12 surveying vantage,13
With furbished arms and new supplies of men,Began a fresh assault.
KING. Dismayed not thisOur captains, Macbeth and Banquo?
CAPTAIN. Yes;35 As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.
If I say sooth,14 I must report they wereAs cannons overcharged with double cracks;15
So they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe.Except16 they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,
40 Or memorize another Golgotha,17
I cannot tell—But I am faint; my gashes cry for help.
KING. So well thy words become thee as thy wounds;They smack of honor both. Go get him surgeons.
[Exit CAPTAIN, attended.]
[Enter ROSS and ANGUS.]
Who comes here?
45 MALCOLM. The worthy Thane18 of Ross.
LENNOX. What a haste looks through his eyes! So should he lookThat seems to19 speak things strange.
ROSS. God save the king!
KING. Whence cam’st thou, worthy Thane?
ROSS. From Fife, great King;Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky
50 And fan our people cold.Norway20 himself, with terrible numbers,Assisted by that most disloyal traitorThe Thane of Cawdor, began a dismal21 conflict;Till that Bellona’s bridegroom, lapped in proof,22
Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama What offstage scene does the captain describe in this speech (lines 7–23)?
10. unseamed . . . chops split him open from the navel to the jaws.
11. ’gins his reflectionrises.
12. Norweyan lord king of Norway.
13. surveying vantage seeing an opportunity.
14. sooth truth.
15. cracks explosives.
16. except unless.
17. memorize . . . Golgotha (gôl« gß thß) make the place as memorable for slaughter as Golgotha, the place where Christ was crucified.
18. Thane Scottish title of nobility.
19. seems to seems about to.
20. Norway king of Norway.
21. dismal threatening.
22. Bellona’s . . . proof Macbeth is called the mate of Bellona, the goddess of war, clad in tested armor.
Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama How do Lennox’s words here (lines 46–47) supply a clue for the actor playing Ross?
What role has Macbeth played in the battle?
Support for Special Needs StudentsTo help students understand the role of solilo-quys in Macbeth, show them Literary AnalysisGraphic Organizer B (Graphic OrganizerTransparencies, p. 55). This completed samplewill model how to interpret the details of asoliloquy to understand a character. They canuse the completed graphic organizer as amodel for making further interpretations.
Enrichment for Gifted/Talented StudentsStudents may enjoy exploring aspects of earlyScottish society. Encourage them to researchone of the many colorful, often highly visualtopics associated with Scotland, such as tar-tans, clan emblems, flags, highland dress,Scottish landscapes, bagpipes, weapons, ormilitary dances (for example, the sword dance).Have them prepare displays, collages, ordemonstrations to share with the class whatthey discover. (If you need resources, manycities have Scottish societies that would assistyou or students with this effort.)
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310 ■ Celebrating Humanity (1485–1625)
55 Confronted him with self-comparisons,23
Point against point, rebellious arm ’gainst arm,Curbing his lavish24 spirit: and, to conclude,The victory fell on us.
KING. Great happiness!
ROSS. That nowSweno, the Norways’ king, craves composition;25
60 Nor would we deign him burial of his menTill he disbursed, at Saint Colme’s Inch,26
Ten thousand dollars to our general use.
KING. No more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceiveOur bosom interest:27 go pronounce his present28 death,
65 And with his former title greet Macbeth.
ROSS. I’ll see it done.
KING. What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won.
[Exit.]
Scene iii. A heath near Forres.
[Thunder. Enter the THREE WITCHES.]
FIRST WITCH. Where hast thou been, sister?
SECOND WITCH. Killing swine.1
THIRD WITCH. Sister, where thou?
FIRST WITCH. A sailor’s wife had chestnuts in her lap,And mounched, and mounched, and mounched.
5 “Give me,” quoth I.“Aroint thee,2 witch!” the rump-fed ronyon3 cries.Her husband’s to Aleppo4 gone, master o’ th’ Tiger:But in a sieve5 I’ll thither sail,And, like a rat without a tail,6
10 I’ll do, I’ll do, and I’ll do.
SECOND WITCH. I’ll give thee a wind.
FIRST WITCH. Th’ art kind.
THIRD WITCH. And I another.
FIRST WITCH. I myself have all the other;15 And the very ports they blow,7
All the quarters that they knowI’ th’ shipman’s card.8
I’ll drain him dry as hay:Sleep shall neither night nor day
20 Hang upon his penthouse lid;9
He shall live a man forbid:10
23. self-comparisons counter movements.
24. lavish insolent.
25. composition terms of peace.
26. St. Colme’s Inch island near Edinburgh, Scotland.
27. our bosom interest my heart’s trust.
28. present immediate.
Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids What information about the setting for Scene iii do you learn from the italicized stage directions?
1. Killing swine It was commonly believed that witches killed domestic animals.
2. Aroint thee Be off.
3. rump-fed ronyon fat-rumped, scabby creature.
4. Aleppo trading center in Syria.
5. sieve It was commonly believed that witches often sailed in sieves.
6. rat . . . tail According to popular belief, witches could assume the form of any animal, but the tail would always be missing.
7. they blow to which the winds blow.
8. card compass.
9. penthouse lid eyelid.
10. forbid cursed.
ScotlandAfter centuries of bitter hostility, Scotland andEngland were joined in 1707 to form GreatBritain, a single kingdom. However, the Scotshave retained a distinct culture that is deeplyembedded in their history and the rugged ter-rain of the countryside. For example, the steepmountains forced Scottish highlanders to live insmall groups called clans. Most clans consistedof people with the same surname, such asMacDonald, MacKinnon, and MacLeod. Theyeach developed their own fabric pattern
or tartan and displayed it on kilts—short skirtsthat made it easy to climb hills—and otherclothing.
If students have seen the movie Braveheart,you may wish to discuss with them the imagesthey have of Scotland, the clans, and the hostilerelations with England. Point out that theevents in Macbeth take place in 1040, andBraveheart is set 250 years later, but much oflife in the highlands remained the same.
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Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids • Point out the text aid that opens
Scene iii.
• Then, ask students the ReadingStrategy question: What informa-tion about the setting for Scene iiido you learn from the italicizedstage directions?Answer: The stage directions statethat the scene takes place on aheath near Forres; thunder sounds,and the three witches enter.
• Explain that a heath is an openwasteland with heather or lowbushes growing on it, but few orno trees. It is similar to what theEnglish call a moor.
• Ask students how standing in anopen wasteland enhances the eeri-ness of the scene.Answer: The characters areexposed and unprotected from thelightning and thunder. Also, itmakes the appearance of thewitches more surprising.
Critical ThinkingDraw Conclusions • Have students read line 10 to
themselves.
• Ask students what they think thefirst witch means by “I’ll do, I’ll do,and I’ll do.”Possible responses: She’ll seek toinjure the sailor to get revenge onthe sailor’s wife.
• Ask students what is being estab-lished about the witches in Sceneiii.Answer: That they are evil, mur-derous, and destructive.
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Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama• Have students read lines 39–47.
• Ask students the Literary Analysisquestion: What descriptive detailsdoes Banquo use in his speechabout the witches?Answer: Banquo describes thewitches as withered, wild in theirdress, not human, perhaps ghostly(“Live you?“), with dry hands andskinny lips, womanish in appear-ance, but having beards.
• Discuss with students whatBanquo’s reactions might be like inthis passage. For example, he beginswith a simple question to Macbeth,then suddenly catches sight of thewitches. You may wish to have stu-dents act out the reactions.Possible responses: Students willprobably realize that there wouldbe a considerable amount of sur-prise and even revulsion expressedin Banquo’s ”body language.“
Reading CheckAnswer: Macbeth has earned a newtitle, Thane of Cawdor, for hisexploits.
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Macbeth, Act I, Scene iii ■ 311
Weary sev’nights11 nine times nineShall he dwindle, peak,12 and pine:Though his bark cannot be lost,
25 Yet it shall be tempest-tossed.Look what I have.
SECOND WITCH. Show me, show me.
FIRST WITCH. Here I have a pilot’s thumb,Wracked as homeward he did come.
[Drum within.]
30 THIRD WITCH. A drum, a drum!Macbeth doth come.
ALL. The weird13 sisters, hand in hand,Posters14 of the sea and land,Thus do go about, about:
35 Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine,And thrice again, to make up nine.Peace! The charm’s wound up.
[Enter MACBETH and BANQUO.]
MACBETH. So foul and fair a day I have not seen.
BANQUO. How far is ’t called to Forres? What are these40 So withered, and so wild in their attire,
That look not like th’ inhabitants o’ th’ earth,And yet are on ’t? Live you, or are you aughtThat man may question? You seem to understand me,By each at once her choppy15 finger laying
45 Upon her skinny lips. You should be women,And yet your beards forbid me to interpretThat you are so.
MACBETH. Speak, if you can: what are you?
FIRST WITCH. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Glamis!
SECOND WITCH. All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!
50 THIRD WITCH. All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!
BANQUO. Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fearThings that do sound so fair? I’ th’ name of truth,Are you fantastical,16 or that indeedWhich outwardly ye show? My noble partner
55 You greet with present grace17 and great predictionOf noble having18 and of royal hope,That he seems rapt withal:19 to me you speak not.If you can look into the seeds of time,And say which grain will grow and which will not,
11. sev’nights weeks.
12. peak waste away.
13. weird destiny-serving.
14. Posters swift travelers.
Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama What descriptive details does Banquo use in his speech about the witches (lines 39–47)?
15. choppy chapped.
16. fantastical imaginary.
17. grace honor.
18. having possession.
19. rapt withal entranced by it.
What has Macbeth earned through his exploits?
Support for English LearnersGive students a brief synopsis of the story ofMacbeth. Then, make certain students knowwhat is happening in each scene before theyread it. Point out specific lines that advance theplot, so students can see how the story isunfolding. Allow time for students to discussunfamiliar words or look them up. Talk aboutpassages students do understand, as well asthose they do not. Whenever possible, showpictures to underscore the meaning of concretewords, such as heath.
Background for Advanced ReadersIn the introduction, Shakespeare’s Macbethwas compared to Hollinshed’s. However, as theintroduction noted, Hollinshed was “regardedas factual,” which implies that it is not entirelyaccurate. In fact, Macbeth killed Duncan in bat-tle. Also, Macbeth was a relatively successfulking for many years. Encourage students toresearch the real Macbeth, and to present whatthey discover to the class. Alternatively, theycould look at the history of the Scottish monar-chy, from Macbeth to the King James whobecame King of England.
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60 Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fearYour favors nor your hate.
FIRST WITCH. Hail!
SECOND WITCH. Hail!
THIRD WITCH. Hail!
65 FIRST WITCH. Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.
SECOND WITCH. Not so happy,20 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!
70 MACBETH. Stay, you imperfect21 speakers, tell me more:By Sinel’s22 death I know I am Thane of Glamis;But how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives,A prosperous gentleman; and to be KingStands not within the prospect of belief,
75 No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whenceYou owe23 this strange intelligence?24 Or why
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Critical Viewing Which of the two soldiers on the right do you think is Macbeth? Explain your reasoning. [Deduce]
Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama How could Elizabethan actors have made this scene with the witches mysterious without help from special lighting effects?
20. happy fortunate.
21. imperfect incomplete.
22. Sinel’s (si« nßlz) Macbeth’s father’s.
23. owe own.
24. intelligence information.
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HumanitiesMacbeth and the Witches, byClarkson Stanfield
Clarkson Stanfield (1793–1867) didnot start out as a painter. He was asailor who passed time on board shipby painting, drawing marine scenesand making scenery for the sailors’plays. Upon leaving the navy,Stanfield took a job as a scenepainter in a London theater. There,he gained an outstanding reputationfor his painted scenery. This water-color, Macbeth and the Witches, wasdone for a production of Macbeth atone of the theaters in which Stanfieldworked. It was painted between1813 and 1829. This skillfully exe-cuted design serves to explain thepopularity Stanfield enjoyed in the-ater circles.
Use the following questions fordiscussion:
1. In what ways does this sketch helpyou to visualize the impact of thisscene on a theater audience?Possible response: The dimlight and deep shadows transmitthe sense of possible danger andforeboding that the play’s scenealso produces.
2. Does the setting in this picturematch the one you envision forthis scene? Why or why not?Possible response: No; thissetting is more majestic, with amountain and low-lying clouds.
Critical ViewingAnswer: The soldier on the rightseems taller and appears to be morenobly attired, suggesting that thissoldier is Macbeth.
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The FatesIn Greek mythology, a person’s fate was deter-mined by three women, sometimes called the”weird sisters.“ They were usually picturedspinning or weaving the fabric of a person’slife, which was then arbitrarily cut. In fact, theMiddle English word werde meant “fate.”
In Macbeth, three witches (also known asthe three weird sisters) appear throughout theplay to foretell Macbeth’s future—and deter-mine his fate.
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Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama • After students have read the scene
with the witches, ask them whatBanquo and Macbeth have learned.Answer: They have learned thatMacbeth will become Thane ofCawdor and king, while Banquowill have descendants that becomekings.
• Ask students the Literary Analysisquestion: How could Elizabethanactors have made this scene withthe witches mysterious withouthelp from special lighting effects?Possible responses: Actors wouldmake this scene mysterious withactions and voices. The witcheswould act threatening and other-worldly. Macbeth and Banquowould be shaken, horrified, disbe-lieving. They would show shock atthe entrance and disappearance ofthe witches.
• Point out that Macbeth learnsalmost immediately that thewitches’ prediction is true—he isThane of Cawdor by line 105.Macbeth compares the title torobes that aren’t his. You may wantto tell students that this image hasits parallel in a famous line in Act V,Scene ii: “Now does he feel his titlehang loose about him, like a giant’srobe upon a dwarfish thief.”
Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids • Have students read lines 83–84.
• Ask students the Reading Strategyquestion: What does Banquo meanby the “insane root”?Answer: Banquo means henbaneor hemlock, a root believed tocause insanity.
Monitor Progress: Ask studentswhat clue in the text helped themcome to this conclusion.Answer: The text annotation inthe margin explains what the“insane root” means.
Reading CheckAnswer: The witches promiseMacbeth that he will be Thane ofCawdor, and King. They promiseBanquo that his descendants shall bekings.
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Macbeth, Act I, Scene iii ■ 313
Upon this blasted heath you stop our wayWith such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you.
[WITCHES vanish.]
BANQUO. The earth hath bubbles as the water has,80 And these are of them. Whither are they vanished?
MACBETH. Into the air, and what seemed corporal25 meltedAs breath into the wind. Would they had stayed!
BANQUO. Were such things here as we do speak about?Or have we eaten on the insane root26
85 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 th’ selfsame tune and words. Who’s here?
[Enter ROSS and ANGUS.]
ROSS. The King hath happily received, Macbeth,90 The news of thy success; and when he reads27
Thy personal venture in the rebels’ fight,His wonders and his praises do contendWhich should be thine or his.28 Silenced with that,In viewing o’er the rest o’ th’ selfsame day,
95 He finds thee in the stout Norweyan ranks,Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make,Strange images of death.29 As thick as taleCame post with post,30 and every one did bearThy praises in his kingdom’s great defense,And poured them down before him.
100 ANGUS. We are sentTo give thee, from our royal master, thanks;Only to herald thee into his sight,Not pay thee.
ROSS. And for an earnest31 of a greater honor,105 He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor;
In which addition,32 hail, most worthy Thane!For it is thine.
BANQUO. [Aside] What, can the devil speak true?
MACBETH. The Thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress meIn borrowed robes?
ANGUS. Who was the thane lives yet,110 But under heavy judgment bears that life
Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was combined33
25. corporal real.
26. insane root henbane or hemlock, believed to cause insanity.
Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids What does Banquo mean by the “insane root” (line 84)?
27. reads considers.
28. His wonders . . . his His admiration contends with his desire to praise you.
29. Nothing . . . death killing, but not being afraid of being killed.
30. As thick . . . post as fast as could be counted came messenger after messenger.
31. earnest pledge.
32. In which addition with this new title.
33. combined allied.
What do the witches promise Macbeth and Banquo?
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Enrichment for Advanced ReadersSuggest that students read additional works byShakespeare. You might provide students withcopies of Sonnets, The Merchant of Venice, orJulius Caesar. You may also wish to use AuthorsIn Depth, The British Tradition, which containsthe following selections: • from Antony and Cleopatra, Act II, Scene ii• from The Merchant of Venice, Act II, Scene vii• Sonnets 15, 30, 71, 73, 77, 128• “Fear No More the Heat o’ the Sun”• “O Mistress Mine, Where Are You Roaming?”
After students have read these or otherworks by William Shakespeare, have them formdiscussion groups in which they compare andcontrast the selections they have just read.Suggest criteria for comparison, such as genre,theme, and characters. To extend the activity,have volunteers present to the class brief oralreports on their favorite Shakespeare selections.
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With those of Norway, or did line34 the rebelWith hidden help and vantage,35 or that with bothHe labored in his country’s wrack,36 I know not;
115 But treasons capital, confessed and proved,Have overthrown him.
MACBETH. [Aside] Glamis, and Thane of Cawdor:The greatest is behind.37 [To ROSS and ANGUS]Thanks for your pains.[Aside to BANQUO] Do you not hope your children shall be kings,When those that gave the Thane of Cawdor to mePromised no less to them?
120 BANQUO. [Aside to MACBETH] That, trusted home,38
Might yet enkindle you unto39 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,
125 Win us with honest trifles, to betray ’sIn deepest consequence.Cousins,40 a word, I pray you.
MACBETH. [Aside] Two truths are told,As happy prologues to the swelling actOf the imperial theme.41—I thank you, gentlemen.—
130 [Aside] This supernatural solicitingCannot 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 suggestion42
135 Whose horrid image doth unfix my hairAnd make my seated43 heart knock at my ribs,Against the use of nature?44 Present fears
34. line support.
35. vantage assistance.
Vocabulary Buildertreasons (trè« zenz) n. betrayals of one’s country or oath of loyalty
36. wrack ruin.
37. behind still to come.
Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids Using the side notes, how would you rephrase lines 120–121 in modern English?
38. home fully.
39. enkindle you unto encourage you to hope for.
40. Cousins often used as a term of courtesy between fellow noblemen.
41. swelling . . . theme stately idea that I will be King.
Vocabulary Builderimperial (im pir« è ßl) adj. of an empire; having supreme authority
42. suggestion thought of murdering Duncan.
43. seated fixed.
44. Against . . . nature in an unnatural way.
Critical Viewing In what way does the design of this crown reflect the belief that kings were divinely appointed? [Analyze]
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Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids • Read the first bracketed passage on
this page.
• Ask students the Reading Strategyquestion: Using the side notes, howwould you rephrase lines 120–121in modern English?Answer: If the witches’ predictionis believed, it might encourage youto hope that you will become king.
Critical ThinkingInterpret• Explain that, in these speeches, we
begin to see the first glimmeringsof the evil to come. Direct students’attention to Banquo’s comments inlines 123–126. Ask them whatBanquo is saying.Answer: The witches may havetold a partial truth to lure Macbethinto evil and ruin.
• Point out that Macbeth acknowl-edges Banquo’s “two truths”—thatthe witches’ words might be forgood or for ill. It is the first time welearn that Macbeth even considersviolence as an option.
Critical ViewingAnswer: The design includes severalcrosses and fleur-de-lis (stylized flow-ers that were sometimes used assymbols of the Christian Trinity).
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Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids• Direct students’ attention to the
stage direction in line 153 and tellthem to think about how it wouldaffect delivery of the line.
• Then, ask the Reading Strategyquestion: What does this stagedirection indicate to the actor play-ing Macbeth?Answer: It indicates that the actorplaying Macbeth should turn toBanquo or speak only to him.
• Point out the stage directions inlines 143 and 146. Ask how theydiffer from the one in line 153.Answer: They don’t specify towhom Macbeth speaks.
• Explain that Shakespeare often hascharacters speak directly to theaudience in ”asides,“ to let theaudience know what characters arethinking.
Critical ThinkingInterpret • Have students read Malcolm’s
speech in lines 3–11.
• Ask students to describe Cawdor’sdeath.Possible responses: He confessedhis treasons, repented, and beggedthe king’s forgiveness. He was morenoble in dying than in living.
• Remind students that “dying well”was seen as a virtue that showednobility and strength and thatcould be admired even in anenemy.
• Ask students how Macbeth finisheshis internal debate in lines 143–145.Answer: If chance (fate) wantshim as king, then chance maymake it happen, without his doinganything.
• Point out to students that therhyming couplet for this scene is inlines 146–147. Ask why they thinkit comes at this point.Possible response: The seriousideas and plot elements of thescene end at this point. The rest ofthe scene is just “let’s get on theroad.”
Reading CheckAnswer: Macbeth is frightened bythe horrible image of his murderingDuncan to achieve the events thewitches foretold.
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Macbeth, Act I, Scene iv ■ 315
Are less than horrible imaginings.My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical
140 Shakes so my single45 state of man that functionIs smothered in surmise, and nothing isBut what is not.
BANQUO. Look, how our partner’s rapt.
MACBETH. [Aside] If chance will have me King, why,chance may crown me,Without my stir.
BANQUO. New honors come upon him,145 Like our strange46 garments, cleave not to their mold
But with the aid of use.
MACBETH. [Aside] Come what come may,Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.
BANQUO. Worthy Macbeth, we stay upon your leisure.47
MACBETH. Give me your favor.48 My dull brain was wrought150 With things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, your pains
Are registered where every day I turnThe leaf to read them. Let us toward the King.[Aside to BANQUO] Think upon what hath chanced,
and at more time,The interim having weighed it,49 let us speakOur free hearts50 each to other.
155 BANQUO. Very gladly.
MACBETH. Till then, enough. Come, friends. [Exit.]
Scene iv. Forres. The palace.
[Flourish.1 Enter KING DUNCAN, LENNOX, MALCOLM, DONALBAIN, and ATTENDANTS.]
KING. Is execution done on Cawdor? Are notThose in commission2 yet returned?
MALCOLM. My liege,They are not yet come back. But I have spokeWith one that saw him die, who did report
5 That very frankly he confessed his treasons,Implored your Highness’ pardon and set forthA deep repentance: nothing in his lifeBecame him like the leaving it. He diedAs one that had been studied3 in his death,
10 To throw away the dearest thing he owed4
As ’twere a careless5 trifle.
Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids What does the stage direction for line 153 indicate to the actor playing Macbeth?
45. single unaided, weak.
46. strange new.
47. stay upon your leisure await your convenience.
48. favor pardon.
49. The interim . . . it when we have had time to think about it.
50. Our free hearts our minds freely.
1. Flourish trumpet fanfare.
2. in commission commis-sioned to oversee the execution.
Vocabulary Builderliege (lèj) n. lord or king
3. studied rehearsed
4. owed owned.
5. careless worthless.
As Macbeth thinks about what the witches have promised, what “horrid image” frightens him?
Strategy for Special Needs StudentsBefore moving on, review the events on thesepages. Macbeth has seen one prophecy cometrue. Ask students which prophecy (he is nowThane of Cawdor). If necessary, take them backto the place in the text where the witches pre-dicted this (line 49). Emphasize that Macbeth isalready having his first thoughts of what mightneed to happen to make the next prophecycome true—King Duncan would have to die.
Strategy for English LearnersDiscuss the events that have occurred thus farin the play, so that students do not lose thethread of the story. Then take time to makecertain that students understand the definitionsgiven in the side notes. For example, the defini-tion of treason includes the words “betrayal”and “loyalty,” both of which might be new to English learners.
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KING. There’s no artTo find the mind’s construction6 in the face:He was a gentleman on whom I builtAn absolute trust.
[Enter MACBETH, BANQUO, ROSS, and ANGUS.]
O worthiest cousin!15 The sin of my ingratitude even now
Was heavy on me: thou art so far before,That swiftest wing of recompense is slowTo overtake thee. Would thou hadst less deserved,That the proportion both of thanks and payment
20 Might have been mine!7 Only I have left to say,More is thy due than more than all can pay.
MACBETH. The service and the loyalty I owe,In doing it, pays itself.8 Your Highness’ partIs to receive our duties: and our duties
25 Are to your throne and state children and servants;Which do but what they should, by doing every thingSafe toward9 your love and honor.
KING. Welcome hither.I have begun to plant thee, and will laborTo make thee full of growing. Noble Banquo,
30 That hast no less deserved, nor must be known
6. mind’s construction person’s character.
7. Would . . . mine If you had been less worthy, my thanks and payment could have exceeded the rewards you deserve.
8. pays itself is its own reward.
9. Safe toward with sure regard for.
Critical Viewing How does this Scottish castle reflect the mood of the play? [Connect]
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HumanitiesThis photograph, taken by Anne VanDe Vaeken, is of Eilean Donan Castlein Dornie, Scotland. Castles wereplaces of safety from which occu-pants could defend themselvesagainst attack. The castle in this pic-ture is situated on a small island. Theonly access is across a narrow bridge.
Use these questions for discussion:
1. What might be the drawbacksand advantages of living in a cas-tle such as this one?Possible responses: It is remoteand isolated, and it would be easyfor enemies to cut off your sup-plies or escape; food (fish) andwater would be abundant, and itwould be easy to defend.
2. When the King arrives atMacbeth’s castle (scene vi), hesays that the castle has “a pleas-ant seat” and fragrant air. Howdoes that compare with thisimage?Possible responses: Some maysay that the cold isolation sug-gested in the photo contrasts withthe description of Macbeth’s cas-tle. Others may say that this castlematches the description: it is wellsituated, would have great views,and the air would be fresh.
Critical ViewingAnswer: The use of blue and whitecolors conveys an icy, deathlike cold-ness consistent with the coldbloodedmurder of the king. The steep wallsand surrounding water reflect bothisolation and power.
Critical ThinkingInterpret• Have students explain what the
king is saying in lines 11–14.Answer: You can’t determine aperson’s character by outwardappearances. He had trustedCawdor.
• Ask students why it is significantthat he says this just beforeMacbeth enters?Answer: Macbeth appears honor-able and loyal, and the king trustshim. But we already know thatMacbeth has thought of murderingthe king.
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ImageryShakespeare’s imagery is a key element of hisplays, commenting on and reinforcing suchother elements as plot, character, atmosphere,and theme. In Macbeth, for instance, onestrand of images concerns darkness as a cloakfor evil. The murder of Duncan is so horrible adeed that Macbeth wants it to be done in dark-ness (I.iv.50–51) “Stars, hide your fires; / Letnot light see my black and deep desires.” Thenext two lines, even more subtly, indicate thatMacbeth wants to darken or blind his own
conscience: “The eye wink at the hand; yet letthat be / Which the eye fears, when it is done,to see.”
These images relate to many other literaryelements, hinting at the deed to come (plot),suggesting a conflict within Macbeth (charac-ter), evoking a scene of ominous darkness(atmosphere), and revealing the evil that willpermeate the play (theme).
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Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama • Have students read lines 28–33.
• Encourage students to focus on theimagery in Banquo’s and KingDuncan’s dialogue.
• Then, ask students the LiteraryAnalysis question: From what areaof human activity do King Duncanand Banquo draw their imagery?Answer: King Duncan and Banquodraw on imagery from agricultureor farming.
Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids• Direct students’ attention to line
48, and the stage direction there.
• Ask students the Reading Strategyquestion: What do the stage direc-tions with line 48 tell you abouthow Macbeth is to deliver thisspeech?Answer: Macbeth is to deliver hiscomment as an aside, speaking tothe audience, as if speaking to him-self. He should turn away from theking toward the audience.
• Point out that it is common in pro-ductions for the actor to put hishand to the side of his mouth, as ifto prevent the other charactersfrom hearing, and to signal to theaudience ”this is just between youand me.“
Reading CheckAnswer: Duncan names his son,Malcolm, as heir to his throne andPrince of Cumberland.
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Macbeth, Act I, Scene v ■ 317
No less to have done so, let me enfold theeAnd hold thee to my heart.
BANQUO. There if I grow,The harvest is your own.
KING. My plenteous joys,Wanton10 in fullness, seek to hide themselves
35 In drops of sorrow. Sons, kinsmen, thanes,And you whose places are the nearest, know,We will establish our estate uponOur eldest, Malcolm,11 whom we name hereafterThe Prince of Cumberland: which honor must
40 Not unaccompanied invest him only,But signs of nobleness, like stars, shall shineOn all deservers. From hence to Inverness,12
And bind us further to you.
MACBETH. The rest is labor, which is not used for you.13
45 I’ll be myself the harbinger,14 and make joyfulThe hearing of my wife with your approach;So, humbly take my leave.
KING. My worthy Cawdor!
MACBETH. [Aside] The Prince of Cumberland! That is a stepOn which I must fall down, or else o’erleap,
50 For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires;Let not light see my black and deep desires:The eye wink at the hand;15 yet let that beWhich the eye fears, when it is done, to see. [Exit.]
KING. True, worthy Banquo; he is full so valiant,55 And in his commendations I am fed;
It is a banquet to me. Let’s after him,Whose care is gone before to bid us welcome.It is a peerless kinsman. [Flourish. Exit.]
Scene v. Inverness. Macbeth’s castle.
[Enter MACBETH’S WIFE, alone, with a letter.]
LADY MACBETH. [Reads] “They met me in the day ofsuccess; and I have learned by the perfect’st reportthey have more in them than mortal knowledge.When I burned in desire to question them further,
5 they made themselves air, into which they vanished.Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it, camemissives1 from the King, who all-hailed me ‘Thaneof Cawdor’; by which title, before, these weird sisterssaluted me, and referred me to the coming on
10 of time, with ‘Hail, King that shalt be!’ This have I
Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama From what area of human activity do King Duncan and Banquo draw the imagery in this passage (lines 28–33)?
10. Wanton unrestrained.
11. establish . . . Malcolm make Malcolm the heir to my throne.
12. Inverness Macbeth’s castle.
13. The rest . . . you anything not done for you is laborious.
14. harbinger advance rep-resentative of the army or royal party who makes arrangements for a visit.
15. wink at the hand be blind to the hand’s deed.
Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids What do the stage directions with line 48 tell you about how Macbeth is to deliver this speech?
1. missives messengers.
What action of Duncan’s upsets Macbeth?
Strategy for Less Proficient ReadersHave students compare the way Macbethaddresses the king in lines 22–27 and 44–47with the thoughts he expresses in his aside tothe audience in lines 48–53. Do students thinkMacbeth is being honest with the king? Makesure students know that, by making his eldestson heir to the throne, the king has put a bar-rier in Macbeth’s way. Discuss what Macbethwants hidden, what deed he wants the eye to“wink at.”
Strategy for Gifted/Talented StudentsHave students pick a speech from Act I andprepare it for a dramatic reading. Remind stu-dents to look at text aids for clues (are they ona battlefield, is this an aside), but explain that itis primarily from the emotions and ideasexpressed that they will gain an understandingof how to deliver the speech. Encourage themto think about how a person would speak andact when coming from a battle or plotting amurder, for example.
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thought good to deliver thee,2 my dearest partner ofgreatness, that thou mightst not lose the dues ofrejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness ispromised thee. Lay it to thy heart, and farewell.”
15 Glamis thou art, and Cawdor, and shalt beWhat thou art promised. Yet do I fear thy nature;It is too full o’ th’ milk of human kindnessTo catch the nearest3 way. Thou wouldst be great,Art not without ambition, but without
20 The illness4 should attend it. What thou wouldst highly,That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false,And yet wouldst wrongly win. Thou’dst have, great Glamis,That which cries “Thus thou must do” if thou have it;And that which rather thou dost fear to do
25 Than wishest should be undone.5 Hie thee hither,That I may pour my spirits in thine ear,And chastise with the valor of my tongueAll that impedes thee from the golden round6
Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seemTo have thee crowned withal.
[Enter MESSENGER.]
30 What is your tidings?
MESSENGER. The King comes here tonight.
LADY MACBETH. Thou’rt mad to say it!Is not thy master with him, who, were’t so,Would have informed for preparation?
MESSENGER. So please you, it is true. Our thane is coming.35 One of my fellows had the speed of him,7
Who, almost dead for breath, had scarcely moreThan would make up his message.
LADY MACBETH. Give him tending;He brings great news. [Exit MESSENGER.]
The raven himself is hoarseThat croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan
40 Under my battlements. Come, you spiritsThat tend on mortal8 thoughts, unsex me here,And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top-fullOf direst cruelty! Make thick my blood,Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse9
45 That no compunctious visitings of nature10
Shake my fell11 purpose, nor keep peace betweenTh’ effect12 and it! Come to my woman’s breasts,And take my milk for gall,13 you murd’ring ministers,14
Wherever in your sightless15 substances50 You wait on16 nature’s mischief! Come, thick night,
2. deliver thee report to you.
Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama and Soliloquy What does Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy in lines 15–30 reveal about her ambitions and plans?
3. nearest quickest.
4. illness wickedness.
5. that which . . . undone What you are afraid of doing you would not wish undone once you have done it.
6. round crown.
7. had . . . him overtook him.
8. mortal deadly.
9. remorse compassion.
10. compunctious . . . nature natural feelings of pity.
11. fell savage.
12. effect fulfillment.
13. milk for gall kindness in exchange for bitterness.
14. ministers agents.
15. sightless invisible.
16. wait on assist.
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Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama and Soliloquy
Reteach: Remind students that asoliloquy is a long speech, usuallymade by a character who is alone.Soliloquies were important ele-ments of Elizabethan drama.
• Point out that lines 1–14 areMacbeth’s recounting to LadyMacbeth the meeting with thewitches and the fulfilling of the firstpromise. What do lines 11–14 tellus about Macbeth’s feelings for hiswife?Answer: He loves her, sees her asan equal, and knows that she, too,is ambitious.
• Ask the Literary Analysis question:What does Lady Macbeth’s solilo-quy in lines 15–30 reveal about herambitions and plans?Answer: Lady Macbeth decidesthat the witches’ prophecy willcome true, and she states that sheplans to persuade Macbeth to fulfillhis destiny.
• Discuss how, in lines 18–25, LadyMacbeth thinks Macbeth wouldapproach the situation.Answer: She sees Macbeth as notbeing sufficiently wicked to accom-plish his ambitions. She says he’drather do it “holily” (in a holy man-ner) and would rather not playfalse and win dishonestly. But shealso says that she thinks that he’dbe willing to accept the results offoul play, even if he didn’t considerthem his first choice.
Critical ThinkingCompare and Contrast• Ask students how Lady Macbeth’s
reaction to the situation (lines38–53) contrasts with Macbeth’s.Answer: While Macbeth is reluc-tant to consider murder, LadyMacbeth embraces the idea imme-diately and calls on the forces ofevil to help her.
• Ask students to reread lines 50–54.With which earlier comments ofMacbeth’s does Lady Macbeth’sdesire for concealment compare?Answer: In Scene iv, lines 48–54,Macbeth asks that the stars hideand that his eyes not see what hishand does, which is very similar toLady Macbeth’s request that thicknight hide their evil deeds.
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A Writer RespondsWilliam Hazlitt (1778–1830), one of the mostoutspoken critics in the Romantic era, madethe following observation in Characters ofShakespeare’s Plays about the scope ofShakespeare’s work:
Macbeth and Lear, Othello and Hamlet,are usually reckoned Shakespeare’s fourprincipal tragedies. . . . If the force of geniusshown in each of these works is astonishing,their variety is not less so. They are like dif-ferent creations of the same mind, not oneof which has the slightest reference to the
rest. This distinctness and originality isindeed the necessary consequence of truthand nature. Shakespeare’s genius aloneappeared to possess the resources of nature.He is “your only tragedy maker.” His playshave the force of things upon the mind.What he represents is brought home to thebosom as a part of our experience,implanted in the memory as if we hadknown the places, persons, and things ofwhich he treats.
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HumanitiesEllen Terry as Lady Macbeth, 1889,by John Singer Sargent
Sargent (1856–1925) was born inItaly of American parents. He beganhis training as a painter at the Parisstudio of Carolus-Duran. He eventu-ally settled in London and becameone of the most highly sought-afterportrait painters of his day.
Ellen Terry was a brilliant actressand one of the most socially promi-nent people of the time. Her pose istheatrical and impressive. The drap-ery of the costume is painted inmany tones and textures to conveythe richness of nobility. The crownwas added for dramatic effect. Thepainting reveals more of the actressthan of the character she represents.
Use these questions for discussion:
1. What has the costume designertried to communicate with theoutfit made for Ellen Terry?Possible response: The costumeis very dramatic. It reflects avaguely medieval image, with theflowing sleeves and multiple belts.The richness of the colors and allthe gold accentuate nobility andpower.
2. Sargent was best known as a por-trait painter. How is his skill as aportraitist reflected in this paint-ing? How might Henry Fuseli haverendered this scene?Answer: This painting is static,realistic, and somewhat posed.Fuseli has a more dynamic qualityand is less concerned with realismthan with evoking emotions fromthose who view his work.
Critical ViewingAnswer: The actress’s pose andregal bearing indicate that she wouldhave spoken these lines with confi-dence and strength.
Reading CheckAnswer: Lady Macbeth feelsMacbeth’s kindness is his weakness.
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And pall17 thee in the dunnest18 smoke of hell,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!55 Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter!
Thy letters have transported me beyondThis ignorant19 present, and I feel nowThe future in the instant.20
MACBETH. My dearest love,Duncan comes here tonight.
LADY MACBETH. And when goes hence?
MACBETH. Tomorrow, as he purposes.
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Critical Viewing This is an artist’s rendering of nineteenth-century actress Ellen Terry playing Lady Macbeth. Judging by the picture, how do you think Terry would have spoken lines 38–53 in Act I, Scene v? [Deduce]
17. pall enshroud.
18. dunnest darkest.
19. ignorant unknowing.
20. instant present.
What does Lady Macbeth feel is Macbeth’s weakness?
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60 LADY MACBETH. O, neverShall sun that morrow see!Your face, my Thane, is as a book where menMay read strange matters. To beguile the time,21
Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye,65 Your hand, your tongue: look like th’ innocent flower,
But be the serpent under ’t. He that’s comingMust be provided for: and you shall putThis night’s great business into my dispatch;22
Which shall to all our nights and days to come70 Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom.
MACBETH. We will speak further.
LADY MACBETH. Only look up clear.23
To alter favor ever is to fear.24
Leave all the rest to me. [Exit.]
Scene vi. Before Macbeth’s castle.
[Hautboys.1 Torches. Enter KING DUNCAN, MALCOLM, DONALBAIN, BANQUO, LENNOX, MACDUFF, ROSS, ANGUS, and ATTENDANTS.]
KING. This castle hath a pleasant seat;2 the airNimbly and sweetly recommends itselfUnto our gentle3 senses.
BANQUO. This guest of summer,The temple-haunting martlet,4 does approve5
5 By his loved mansionry6 that the heaven’s breathSmells wooingly here. No jutty,7 frieze,Buttress, nor coign of vantage,8 but this birdHath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle.9
Where they most breed and haunt,10 I have observedThe air is delicate.
[Enter LADY MACBETH.]
10 KING. See, see, our honored hostess!The love that follows us sometime is our trouble,Which still we thank as love. Herein I teach youHow you shall bid God ’ield us for your painsAnd thank us for your trouble.11
LADY MACBETH. All our service15 In every point twice done, and then done double,
Were poor and single business12 to contendAgainst those honors deep and broad wherewithYour Majesty loads our house: for those of old,And the late dignities heaped up to them,We rest your hermits.13
21. beguile the time deceive the people tonight.
22. dispatch management.
23. look up clear appear innocent.
Vocabulary Buildersovereign (säv« rßn) adj. supreme in power, rank, or authority
24. To alter . . . fear to show a disturbed face will arouse suspicion.
1. Hautboys oboes announcing the arrival of royalty.
2. seat location.
3. gentle soothed.
4. temple-haunting martlet martin, a bird that usually nests in churches. In Shakes-peare’s time, martin was a slang term for a person who is easily deceived.
5. approve show.
6. mansionry nests.
7. jutty projection.
8. coign of vantage advantageous corner.
9. procreant (prò« krè ßnt) cradle nest where the young are hatched.
10. haunt visit.
11. The love . . . trouble Though my visit inconve-niences you, you should ask God to reward me for coming, because it was my love for you that prompted my visit.
12. single business feeble service.
13. rest your hermits remain your dependents bound to pray for you. Hermits were often paid to pray for another person’s soul.
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Vocabulary Builder• Point out the use of the word sover-
eign in line 70, and its definition.
• Tell students that, like many otherwords, sovereign came into Englishthrough the French-speakingNormans. The French word is sou-verain. Royal also came from theFrench. The French word for king isroi, kingship is royauté, and kingly isroyal. Ultimately, the first part ofboth the English and French relateback to the Latin word super, whichmeans over.
• You may wish to have students lookup other words, such as govern andreign, to learn the etymologies ofthese power words.
• Point out that sovereign can beused as a noun or as an adjective.In this case, it modifies sway.Explain that sway here means influ-ence, control. Ask students whatLady Macbeth is saying that theirdeeds will give them.Answer: They will have the influ-ence of supreme authority; theywill be masters.
Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama • Have students read Banquo’s
speech, lines 3–10.
• Have students focus on thedescriptive content of the imagesin the passage.
• Have students look up delicate, ortell them that one meaning, theone intended here, is ”pleasing tothe senses.“
• Then, ask students to answer thefirst Literary Analysis question onthe facing page: What details doesBanquo use in Scene vi, lines 3–10,to paint a word picture ofMacbeth’s castle?Answer: Banquo notes thatmartins, birds usually drawn tochurches, are plentiful here. Everyprojection and vantage point has anest (pendent bed—martins’ nestshang down), where chicks hatch.He says that he has noticed thatthe air is pleasing to the senses inplaces where martins nest.
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Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama and Soliloquy• Have students read Macbeth’s
soliloquy, lines 1–28.
• Then, ask students to answer thesecond Literary Analysis question:What doubts does Macbeth revealin his soliloquy? Answer: Macbeth has doubtsabout the consequences of hisdeed in this world—his plans maygo awry. He also expresses doubtsabout the deed due both to hisobligations as kinsman, subject,and host of Duncan and toDuncan’s own virtues.
Reading CheckAnswer: Lady Macbeth urges herhusband to look innocent and leavethe murder plot to her.
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Macbeth, Act I, Scene vii ■ 321
20 KING. Where’s the Thane of Cawdor?We coursed14 him at the heels, and had a purposeTo be his purveyor:15 but he rides well,And his great love, sharp as his spur, hath holp16 himTo his home before us. Fair and noble hostess,We are your guest tonight.
25 LADY MACBETH. Your servants everHave theirs, themselves, and what is theirs, in compt,17
To make their audit at your Highness’ pleasure,Still18 to return your own.
KING. Give me your hand.Conduct me to mine host: we love him highly,
30 And shall continue our graces towards him.By your leave, hostess. [Exit.]
Scene vii. Macbeth’s castle.
[Hautboys. Torches. Enter a SEWER,1 and diverse SERVANTS with dishes and service over the stage. Then enter MACBETH.]
MACBETH. If it were done2 when ’tis done, then ’twere wellIt were done quickly. If th’ assassinationCould trammel up the consequence, and catch,With his surcease, success;3 that but this blow
5 Might be the be-all and the end-all—here,But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,We’d jump the life to come.4 But in these casesWe still have judgment here; that we but teachBloody instructions, which, being taught, return
10 To plague th’ inventor: this even-handed5 justiceCommends6 th’ ingredients of our poisoned chalice7
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,
15 Who should against his murderer shut the door,Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this DuncanHath borne his faculties8 so meek, hath beenSo clear9 in his great office, that his virtuesWill plead like angels trumpet-tongued against
20 The deep damnation of his taking-off;And pity, like a naked newborn babe,Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubin10 horsedUpon the sightless couriers11 of the air,Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
25 That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spurTo prick the sides of my intent, but onlyVaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itselfAnd falls on th’ other—
14. coursed chased.
15. purveyor advance supply officer.
16. holp helped.
17. compt trust.
18. Still always.
Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama What details does Banquo use in Scene vi, lines 3–10 to paint a word picture of Macbeth’s castle?
1. sewer chief butler.
2. done over and done with.
3. If . . . success if the assassination could be done successfully and without consequence.
4. We’d . . . come I would risk life in the world to come.
5. even-handed impartial.
6. commends offers.
7. chalice cup.
8. faculties powers.
9. clear blameless.
10. cherubin angels.
11. sightless couriers unseen messengers (the wind).
Literary AnalysisElizabethan Drama and Soliloquy What doubts does Macbeth reveal in his soliloquy (lines 1–28)?
What deed does Lady Macbeth urge her husband to perform?
Support for Special Needs StudentsSummarize the events andthoughts on these pages. Thenfocus on Macbeth’s soliloquy,lines 1–28. Go over the speechone sentence at a time, so thatstudents can discuss the ideasin more manageable amounts.Once students understandwhat is being said, have themdiscuss what the images revealabout Macbeth.
Strategy for Less Proficient ReadersHave students discuss thesescenes in small groups. Askthem to consider what theking and Banquo perceive,what Lady Macbeth wantsthem to think, and what thereality is. Then, have studentsdiscuss Macbeth’s soliloquy.Do they think that Macbethknows what he is doing iswrong?
Vocabulary for English LearnersBriefly explain what Macbeth issaying in lines 1–28. With guid-ance from the teacher or morefluent students, have studentsgo through the speech slowly,stopping to determine mean-ings for unfamiliar words. Anypictures you can supply to illus-trate such images as a chaliceor trumpet-tongued angelswould aid comprehension.
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322 ■ Celebrating Humanity (1485–1625)
[Enter LADY MACBETH.]
How now! What news?
LADY MACBETH. He has almost supped. Why have you left the chamber?
MACBETH. Hath he asked for me?
30 LADY MACBETH. Know you not he has?
MACBETH. We will proceed no further in this business:He hath honored me of late, and I have bought12
Golden opinions from all sorts of people,Which would be worn now in their newest gloss,Not cast aside so soon.
35 LADY MACBETH. Was the hope drunkWherein you dressed yourself? Hath it slept since?And wakes it now, to look so green and paleAt what it did so freely? From this timeSuch I account thy love. Art thou afeard
40 To be the same in thine own act and valorAs thou art in desire? Wouldst thou have thatWhich thou esteem’st the ornament of life,13
And live a coward in thine own esteem,Letting “I dare not” wait upon14 “I would,”Like the poor cat i’ th’ adage?15
45 MACBETH. Prithee, peace!I dare do all that may become a man;Who dares do more is none.
LADY MACBETH. What beast was ’t thenThat made you break16 this enterprise to me?When you durst do it, then you were a man;
50 And to be more than what you were, you wouldBe so much more the man. Nor time nor placeDid then adhere,17 and yet you would make both.They have made themselves, and that their18 fitness nowDoes unmake you. I have given suck, and know
55 How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me:I would, while it was smiling in my face,Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums,And dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as youHave done to this.
MACBETH. If we should fail?
LADY MACBETH. We fail?60 But19 screw your courage to the sticking-place20
And we’ll not fail. When Duncan is asleep—Whereto the rather shall his day’s hard journeySoundly invite him—his two chamberlains
12. bought acquired.
Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids In line 42, what does Lady Macbeth mean by the “ornament of life”?
13. ornament of life the crown.
14. wait upon follow.
15. poor . . . adage from an old proverb about a cat who wants to eat fish but is afraid of getting its paws wet.
16. break reveal.
17. Did then adhere was then suitable (for the assassination).
18. that their their very.
19. But only.
20. sticking-place the notch that holds the bowstring of a taut crossbow.
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Reading StrategyUsing Text Aids• Direct students’ attention to
line 42.
Monitor Progress: Ask studentsthe Reading Strategy question: Inline 42, what does Lady Macbethmean by the “ornament of life”?Answer: The “ornament of life” towhich Lady Macbeth refers is thecrown.
• Point out that the sentence inwhich this expression appears iseasier to understand in context. Inthe previous sentence, LadyMacbeth states that Macbeth isafraid to be the same in action ashe is in desire. The sentence thatfollows notes that Macbeth wishesbut will not act. Explain that wouldhere means desire or wish. Then,have students paraphrase thesentence that includes “ornamentof life.”Possible response: Do you wantto have the crown, and yet con-tinue to be a coward about it?
• Remind students that Shakespeareis not only a great storyteller, butalso a great wordsmith. He playswords off of each other at everyopportunity. An example is seen inlines 41 and 42, where esteem’stmeans value highly and esteemrefers to Macbeth’s attitude towardhimself—the two uses again con-nect Macbeth with the crown.
• Encourage students to look for usesof words such as this, whereMacbeth ties ideas together in aspeech, or people together fromone scene to another, with similarwords used in slightly differentways.
Critical ThinkingInterpret• Have students read Lady Macbeth’s
speech, lines 47–59.
• Then, ask students what argu-ments Lady Macbeth uses to con-vince Macbeth to carry out themurder.Answer: Lady Macbeth asksMacbeth if his hopes have all diedout. She implies that her love isdirectly linked to his ambitions. Shealso accuses him of being cowardly.
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Many tests require students to distinguishbetween fact and opinion. Have students readAct I, scene ii, lines 7–23. Use the following sam-ple item to teach students to extract facts fromstatements that contain both fact and opinion.Which of the following statements is a fact fromthe Captain’s report?
A Fortune favored Macdonwald.B Macbeth killed Macdonwald.
C Macbeth and Banquo fought like lions.D Macdonwald is a slave.
Help students identify literary devices in theCaptain’s report, such as personification (choiceA), simile (choice C), and metaphor (choice D).Point out that literary devices are usually indica-tions of opinion. The correct answer is B.
Fact and Opinion (For more practice, see Standardized Test Preparation Workbook, p. 12.)
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Answers
1. Possible response: Studentsmay feel a sense of foreboding ordread for what will happen toDuncan or Macbeth and his wife.
2. (a) The witches say “fair is foul,and foul is fair,” and Macbeth says“so foul and fair a day I have notseen.” (b) The witches may meanthat the fair promise of a crownwill be fulfilled, but only throughfoul treachery, or that Macbeth,who appears so fair, is really foul,and that Macbeth decides thatfoul play is fair play. Macbethappears to be referring to the awfulweather and the great victory.
3. (a) Banquo questions their pres-ence, and whether or not they arehuman. Macbeth asks them tospeak. (b) Ambition surgesthrough Macbeth, filling his mindwith the possibilities of wearingthe crown. Banquo wonders if theinstruments of darkness aren’ttempting them with promisesonly to bring them harm in theend.
4. (a) Macbeth reveals his concernsfor the chain of events his deedmay set in motion, his fears thatwhat he does to Duncan will bedone to him, his worry thatDuncan is a relative, a guest in hishome, and his ruler—three factsthat make his betrayal worse—and that Duncan is much belovedby his people, and they will beoutraged by the act of murder.(b) The fact that Duncan is aguest in his home, and the mur-der would violate the code of hos-pitality, seems to bother Macbeththe most. He says that as host heshould be protecting Duncanagainst murder, not carrying it outhimself.
5. (a) Lady Macbeth thinks herhusband is too kind. (b) LadyMacbeth says that it would bemanly and brave, that her love istied to his ambition, that he can’tlet her down now that he’s sug-gested it.
6. Possible response: The meetingwith the witches suggests that evilis something people choose and aforce that seeks people out. UnlikeMacbeth, who chooses to followevil, Banquo—to whom thewitches also appeared—does notchoose evil.
For additional informa-tion about William
Shakespeare, have students type in theWeb Code, then select S from the alpha-bet, and then select the author’s name.
Macbeth, Act I, Scene vii ■ 323
Will I with wine and wassail21 so convince,22
65 That memory, the warder of the brain,Shall be a fume, and the receipt of reasonA limbeck only:23 when in swinish sleepTheir drenchéd natures lies as in a death,What cannot you and I perform upon
70 Th’ unguarded Duncan, what not put uponHis spongy24 officers, who shall bear the guiltOf our great quell?25
MACBETH. Bring forth men-children only;For thy undaunted mettle26 should composeNothing but males. Will it not be received,
75 When we have marked with blood those sleepy twoOf his own chamber, and used their very daggers,That they have done ’t?
LADY MACBETH. Who dares receive it other,27
As we shall make our griefs and clamor roarUpon his death?
MACBETH. I am settled, and bend up80 Each corporal agent to this terrible feat.
Away, and mock the time28 with fairest show:False face must hide what the false heart doth know. [Exit.]
Critical Reading1. Respond: What mood did Act I evoke in you? Explain.
2. (a) Recall: What statements do the witches and Macbeth make about “foul and fair”? (b) Interpret: What meaning (or meanings) does each remark have?
3. (a) Recall: Describe Banquo’s and Macbeth’s reactions to the witches. (b) Compare and Contrast: Compare and contrast their reactions to the witches.
4. (a) Recall: In his soliloquy at the beginning of Scene vii, what arguments against killing Duncan does Macbeth express? (b) Analyze Cause and Effect: Which of these arguments seems to influence him the most? Explain.
5. (a) Recall: What is Lady Macbeth’s opinion of her husband’s character? (b) Analyze: How does she use her knowledge of his character to convince him to kill Duncan?
6. Speculate: Does the meeting with the witches suggest that evil is some-thing people choose or a force that seeks out people? Explain.
21. wassail carousing.
22. convince overpower.
23. That . . . only that mem-ory, the guardian of the brain, will be confused by the fumes of the drink, and the reason become like a still, distilling confused thoughts.
24. spongy sodden.
25. quell murder.
26. mettle spirit.
27. other otherwise.
28. mock the time mislead the world.
For: More about William Shakespeare
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