Macbeth

William Shakespeare

• Publisher: Youcanprint
• Year: 2018
• eBook ISBN: 9788827800096
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Classics
• Index: Literature

When the Three Witches prophesy that Macbeth, a Scottish general, will become king, they unleash a series of events that prove tragic for all involved. Spurred by ambition, Macbeth and his ruthless Lady will stop at nothing, including murder, to make the throne theirs. Beginning with the murder of King Duncan and culminating with Lady Macbeth's descent into madness and Macbeth's final clash with Macduff, Macbeth is one of William Shakespeare's greatest dramatic works. Known as "The Bard of Avon, " William Shakespeare is arguably the greatest English-language writer known. Enormously popular during his life, Shakespeare's works continue to resonate more than three centuries after his death, as has his influence on theatre and literature. Shakespeare's innovative use of character, language, and experimentation with romance as tragedy served as a foundation for later playwrights and dramatists, and some of his most famous lines of dialogue have become part of everyday speech.

ACT IV.

SCENE I. A dark Cave. In the middle,a Caldron Boiling.

[Thunder. Enter the three Witches.]

FIRST WITCH.Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.

SECOND WITCH.Thrice; and once the hedge-pig whin'd.

THIRD WITCH.Harpier cries:--"tis time, 'tis time.

FIRST WITCH.Round about the caldron go;In the poison'd entrailsthrow.--Toad, that under cold stone,Days and nights hasthirty-oneSwelter'd venom sleeping got,Boil thou first i' thecharmed pot!

ALL.Double, double, toil and trouble;Fire, burn; and caldron,bubble.

SECOND WITCH.Fillet of a fenny snake,In the caldron boil andbake;Eye of newt, and toe of frog,Wool of bat, and tongue ofdog,Adder's fork, and blind-worm's sting,Lizard's leg, and howlet'swing,--For a charm of powerful trouble,Like a hell-broth boil andbubble.

ALL.Double, double, toil and trouble;Fire, burn; and caldron,bubble.

THIRD WITCH.Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,Witch's mummy, mawand gulfOf the ravin'd salt-sea shark,Root of hemlock digg'd i' thedark,Liver of blaspheming Jew,Gall of goat, and slips ofyewSliver'd in the moon's eclipse,Nose of Turk, and Tartar'slips,Finger of birth-strangl'd babeDitch-deliver'd by a drab,--Makethe gruel thick and slab:Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,For theingredients of our caldron.

ALL.Double, double, toil and trouble;Fire, burn; and caldron,bubble.

SECOND WITCH.Cool it with a baboon's blood,Then the charm isfirm and good.

[Enter Hecate.]

HECATE.O, well done! I commend your pains;And everyone shallshare i' the gains.And now about the cauldron sing,Like elves andfairies in a ring,Enchanting all that you put in.

Song.Black spirits and white, red spirits and gray;Mingle,mingle, mingle, you that mingle may.

[Exit Hecate.]

SECOND WITCH.By the pricking of my thumbs,Something wicked thisway comes:--Open, locks, whoever knocks!

[Enter Macbeth.]

MACBETH.How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags!What is'tyou do?

ALL.A deed without a name.

MACBETH.I conjure you, by that which you profess,--Howe'er youcome to know it,--answer me:Though you untie the winds, and letthem fightAgainst the churches; though the yesty wavesConfound andswallow navigation up;Though bladed corn be lodg'd, and trees blowndown;Though castles topple on their warders' heads;Though palacesand pyramids do slopeTheir heads to their foundations; though thetreasureOf nature's germins tumble all together,Even tilldestruction sicken,--answer meTo what I ask you.

FIRST WITCH.Speak.

SECOND WITCH.Demand.

THIRD WITCH.We'll answer.

FIRST WITCH.Say, if thou'dst rather hear it from our mouths,Orfrom our masters?

MACBETH.Call 'em, let me see 'em.

FIRST WITCH.Pour in sow's blood, that hath eatenHer nine farrow;grease that's sweatenFrom the murderer's gibbet throwInto theflame.

ALL.Come, high or low;Thyself and office deftly show!

[Thunder. An Apparition of an armed Head rises.]

MACBETH.Tell me, thou unknown power,--

FIRST WITCH.He knows thy thought:Hear his speech, but say thounaught.

APPARITION.Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff;Beware theThane of Fife.--Dismiss me:--enough.

[Descends.]

MACBETH.Whate'er thou art, for thy good caution, thanks;Thouhast harp'd my fear aright:--but one word more,--

FIRST WITCH.He will not be commanded: here's another,More potentthan the first.

[Thunder. An Apparition of a bloody Child rises.]

APPARITION.--Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth!

MACBETH.Had I three ears, I'd hear thee.

APPARITION.Be bloody, bold, and resolute; laugh to scornThepower of man, for none of woman bornShall harm Macbeth.

[Descends.]

MACBETH.Then live, Macduff: what need I fear of thee?But yetI'll make assurance double sure,And take a bond of fate: thou shaltnot live;That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies,And sleep inspite of thunder.--What is this,

[Thunder. An Apparition of a Child crowned, with a tree in hishand, rises.]

That rises like the issue of a king,Andwears upon his baby browthe roundAnd top of sovereignty?

ALL.Listen, but speak not to't.

APPARITION.Be lion-mettled, proud; and take no careWho chafes,who frets, or where conspirers are:Macbeth shall never vanquish'dbe, untilGreat Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hillShall come againsthim.

[Descends.]

MACBETH.That will never be:Who can impress the forest; bid thetreeUnfix his earth-bound root? Sweet bodements, good!Rebellion'shead, rise never till the woodOf Birnam rise, and our high-plac'dMacbethShall live the lease of nature, pay his breathTo time andmortal custom.--Yet my heartThrobs to know one thing: tell me,--ifyour artCan tell so much,--shall Banquo's issue everReign in thiskingdom?

ALL.Seek to know no more.

MACBETH.I will be satisfied: deny me this,And an eternal cursefall on you! Let me know:--Why sinks that cauldron? and what noiseis this?

[Hautboys.]

FIRST WITCH.Show!

SECOND WITCH.Show!

THIRD WITCH.Show!

ALL.Show his eyes, and grieve his heart;Come like shadows, sodepart!

[Eight kings appear, and pass over in order, the last with aglass in his hand; Banquo following.]

MACBETH.Thou are too like the spirit of Banquo; down!Thy crowndoes sear mine eyeballs:--and thy hair,Thou other gold-bound brow,is like the first;--A third is like the former.--Filthy hags!Why doyou show me this?--A fourth!--Start, eyes!What, will the linestretch out to the crack of doom?Another yet!--A seventh!--I'll seeno more:--And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glassWhich showsme many more; and some I seeThat twofold balls and treble sceptrescarry:Horrible sight!--Now I see 'tis true;For the blood-bolter'dBanquo smiles upon me,And points at them for his.--What! is thisso?

FIRST WITCH.Ay, sir, all this is so:--but whyStands Macbeth thusamazedly?--Come,sisters, cheer we up his sprites,And show the bestof our delights;I'll charm the air to give a sound,While youperform your antic round;That this great king may kindly say,Ourduties did his welcome pay.

[Music. The Witches dance, and then vanish.]

MACBETH.Where are they? Gone?--Let this pernicious hourStand ayeaccursed 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.

MACBETH.Came they not by you?

LENNOX.No indeed, my lord.

MACBETH.Infected be the air whereon they ride;And damn'd allthose that trust them!--I did hearThe galloping of horse: who was'tcame by?

LENNOX.'Tis two or three, my lord, that bring you wordMacduff isfled to England.

MACBETH.Fled to England!

LENNOX.Ay, my good lord.

MACBETH.Time, thou anticipat'st my dread exploits:The flightypurpose never is o'ertookUnless the deed go with it: from thismomentThe very firstlings of my heart shall beThe firstlings of myhand. And even now,To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thoughtand done:The castle of Macduff I willsurprise;Seize upon Fife; giveto the edge o' the swordHis wife, his babes, and all unfortunatesoulsThat trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool;This deedI'll do before this purpose cool:But no more sights!--Where arethese gentlemen?Come, bring me where they are.

[Exeunt.]

SCENE II. Fife. A Room in Macduff's Castle.

[Enter Lady Macduff, her Son, and Ross.]

LADY MACDUFF.What had he done, to make him fly the land?

ROSS.You must have patience, madam.

LADY MACDUFF.He had none:His flight was madness: when ouractions do not,Our fears do make us traitors.

ROSS.You know notWhether it was his wisdom or his fear.

LADY MACDUFF.Wisdom! to leave his wife, to leave his babes,Hismansion, and his titles, in a placeFrom whence himself does fly? Heloves us not:He wants the natural touch; for the poor wren,The mostdiminutive of birds, will fight,Her young ones in her nest, againstthe owl.All is the fear, and nothing is the love;As little is thewisdom, where the flightSo runs against all reason.

ROSS.My dearest coz,I pray you, school yourself: but, for yourhusband,He is noble, wise, Judicious, and best knowsThe fits o' theseason. I dare not speak much further:But cruel are the times, whenwe are traitors,And do not know ourselves; when we hold rumourFromwhat we fear, yet know not what we fear,But float upon a wild andviolent seaEach way and move.--I take my leave of you:Shall not belong but I'll be here again:Things at the worst will cease, or elseclimb upwardTo what they were before.--My pretty cousin,Blessingupon you!

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 mydisgrace and your discomfort:I take my leave at once.

[Exit.]

LADY MACDUFF.Sirrah, your father's dead;And what will you donow? How will you live?

SON.As birds do, mother.

LADY MACDUFF.What, with worms and flies?

SON.With what I get, I mean; and so do they.

LADY MACDUFF.Poor bird! thou'dst never fear the net nor lime,Thepit-fall nor the gin.

SON.Why should I, mother? Poor birds they are not set for.Myfather is not dead, for all your saying.

LADY MACDUFF.Yes, he is dead: how wilt thou do for father?

SON.Nay, how will you do for a husband?

LADY MACDUFF.Why, I can buy me twenty at any market.

SON.Then you'll buy 'em to sell again.

LADY MACDUFF.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?

LADY MACDUFF.Everyone that does so is a traitor, and must behanged.

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 areliarsand swearers enow to beat the honest men and hang upthem.

LADY MACDUFF.Now, God help thee, poor monkey! But how wiltthoudo for a father?

SON.If he were dead, you'ld weep for him: if you would not,itwere 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 inyour state of honor I am perfect.I doubt some danger does approachyou nearly:If you will take a homely man's advice,Be not foundhere; hence, with you...

Table of contents

• CONTENTS
• Persons Represented
• ACT I.
• ACT II.
• ACT III.
• ACT IV.
• ACT V.