ESMA Englishblog: "Macbeth"

"Macbeth" - William Shakespeare

Act I. Scene I.

First Witch: When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

Second Witch: When the fighting has ended. When the battle’s been lost and won.

Third Witch: That will be before the sun goes down.

First Witch: Where shall we meet?

Sec. Witch: On the moor.

Third Witch: We´ll meet Macbeth there.

All: Good is evil, and evil is good. Let’s fly off through the foggy wood.

Act I. Scene II.

Duncan: The King of Norway wants to take our country. His soldiers are here, and they’re killing my men.

Who is this man, covered in blood? From his appearance, he can give us the latest news of the battle.

Captain: My lord. The King of Norway was attacking us with great numbers of men, helped by that most disloyal traitor, The Thane of Cawdor. But Macbeth faced him without fear and fought him, and finally the victory was ours.

The Norwegian soldiers are running away! Scotland is free once again.

Duncan: That´s wonderful news! How brave and noble Macbeth is. Go and order Thane of Cawdor immediate execution. And give his title to Macbeth.

Act I. Scene III.

Thunder. Enter the three Witches.

First Witch.: Where have you been, sister?

Sec. Witch: Killing pigs.

Third Witch: And you sister?

First Witch: A sailor’s wife was eating sweets. ‘Give me some’ I said.’ Get away from me, you old witch! She replied. But she’ll be sorry.

Third Witch: A drum! a drum! Macbeth is coming!

Enter MACBETH and BANQUO

Macbeth (Macb.): I have never known such an eventful day.

Banquo (Ban.): Who are these creatures, so old and dressed so strangely? They don’t look human. Are you real? You look like women, but not like normal women.

Macb.: Speak, if you can! Who are you?

First Witch: Hail, Macbeth! Hail, Thane of Glamis!

Sec. Witch: Hail, Macbeth! Hail, Thane of Cawdor!

Third Witch: Hail, Macbeth, who will be king one day!

Banquo: Why, sir, do you look so surprised, and seem to be afraid of such a wonderful future?

You have completely silenced my friend with your predictions of noble titles and royal hopes. But you haven’t said anything to me.

First Witch.: Hail!

Sec. Witch: Hail!

Third Witch: Hail!

First Witch: You will be less than Macbeth, but also greater.

Sec. Witch: Not so happy, but much happier.

Third Witch: Your children will be kings, although you won’t be king. So, hail, Macbeth and Banquo!

First Witch: Banquo and Macbeth, hail!

Macb.: Wait! Tell me more! I know that I’m the Thane of Glamis. But how can I be Thane of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor is alive. And It’s unbelievable that I could be king.

Banquo: Where have they gone?

Macb.: Into the air.

Banquo: Were they really here? Or did we imagine it? Have we gone mad?

Macb.: (laughing) Your children will be kings.

Banquo: (laughing) You will be king.

Ross: The King was very pleased to hear the news of your victory, Macbeth. So, as a reward, the King has ordered me to give you the title of Thane of Cawdor.

Macb.: (to himself) I am the Thane of Glamis, and now of Cawdor too. One of the witches’s predictions has become true.

If it really is my fate to be king, then it may happen without any work from me. If it happens, it happens.

Act I. Scene IV.

Duncan: Oh noble cousin! You have done so much for me. I don’t know how I can ever reward you.

Macb.: You don’t need to reward me. It’s enough for me to serve you and givemy loyalty to you and your family.

Duncan: (to everyone) Sons, relatives, thanes, and everyone who is dear to me, I’m going to give all my land and property to my eldest son, Malcom, when I die.

(to Macbeth) Now, let us go to your castle at Inverness.

Macb.: I will ride ahead and tell my wife that you are coming. She will be very pleased.

Act I. Scene V.

Lady M. (reading): They met me on the day of our victory and they know things that no ordinary human beings can know. I wanted to ask them more, but they disappeared. Messengers came from the King who called me Thane of Cawdor. The three witches greeted me with this title before they called me the future king.

You are Thane of Glamis, and Cawdor, and you will be king too. But I am not confident of your character; you are too full of gentle kindness to act on this opportunity.

You want to be king, but you fear what you must do. Come here, so that I can give you the strength to take the crown.

What news do you bring?

Messenger: The King is coming to stay here tonight.

Lady M.: Great Thane of Glamis, noble Thane of Cawdor! And you are going to be even greater than these! Your letter has made me forget the present. I can only think about the future!

Macb.: My dearest love, Ducan is coming here tonight.

Lady M.: And when will he leave?

Macb.: He is planning to leave tomorrow.

Lady M.: Oh, tomorrow will never come for him!

Macb.: We will discuss this later.

Lady M.: Fear nothing. Leave everything to me.

Act I. Scene VI.

Duncan: This castle has a very pleasant situation; the air is clean and fresh.

Look, our noble hostess! My visit here is giving you a lot of trouble.

Lady M.: We are your servants, and are happy to give you everything we own.

Duncan: Give me your hand and take me to Macbeth. (kissing her hand) With your permission, hostess.

Act I. Scene VII.

Macb.: (to himself) If this murderous act is going to end everything, it should be done quickly. Ducan has two reasons to trust me. First, I am his relative and he his my king, and second, I am his host. I should protect him from murders, not carry the knife to murder him myself.

Lady M.: Why did you leave the dining-room?

Macb.: We are not going to continue with this business.

Lady M.: Are you really so afraid? You want to have the greatest prize, but you act like a coward. You are like a silly cat who wants to catch a fish, but is afraid to get its feet wet.

Macb.: Please do not say any more. I am not afraid to do anything that a man can feel proud of doing.

Lady M.: You have the perfect time and place, and you do not want to continue with it. I would prefer to kill my own child than behave in such a cowardly way.

Macb.: But what will happen if we fail?

Lady M.: Fail? Just decide to act bravely, and we will not fail. I will give his servants so much wine that they will get drunk and fall asleep. Afterwards we will say that his drunken guards are guilty of his murder.

Macb.: I have decided to act. Let us go and pretend to enjoy the evening.

Act II. Scene I.

Macb.: Is this a dagger which I see in from of me, with his handle turned towards my hand?

One half of the world is sleeping. It is just the right time for evil crimes.

I’m going; I will do it. The bell is inviting me to this crime.

Duncan, do not listen to the sound of the bell.

It is calling you to Heaven or to Hell.

Act II. Scene II.

Macb.: I have done it. Did you not hear a noise?

Lady M.: I heard the cry of an owl.

Macb.: I thought I heard a voice. This voice cried, ‘Stop sleeping!’ to everyone in the castle. ‘The Thane of Glamis and Cawdor has murdered Sleep – Macbeth will never sleep again.’

Lady M.: You are losing your ability to think. Get some water and wash this blood off your hands.

Why did you bring these daggers out of Duncan’s bedroom? They have to stay there. Go and mark the faces of the sleeping guards with blood.

Macb.: I am not going back into that room.

Lady M.: How weak you are! Give me the daggers. I will paint the guards’ faces with Duncan’s blood, because people must think that they are guilty of this crime.

Lady M.: My hands are now the same colour as yours, but I would be ashamed to have such a cowardly heart.

Someone is knocking at the south entrance.

Go and put your nightclothes on. We have to pretend we were asleep.

Act II. Scene III.

Macduff: Is your lord awake?

Our knocking has woken him up; here he comes.

Macb.: Good morning to both of you.

Macduff: Is the King awake, noble Thane?

Macbeth: Not yet.

Macduff: He ordered me to come and see him early.

Macb.: I will take you to him.

Macduff: You do not have to take me. I will go in myself.

Macduff: A terrible thing has happened! You cannot imagine how awful it is.

Macb.: What is the matter?

Macduff: The King has been horribly murdered. Do not ask me to talk about it. Go to his room and see. Wake up, everybody! Ring the bell! Murder! Banquo and Donalbain,Malcom, wake up! Ring the bell.

Lady M.: What is happening?

Macduff: Oh gentle lady, I do not know how to tell you such horrible news. Oh Banquo, Banquo! The King has been murdered.

Lady M.: Oh, how terrible! And in our house too!

Banquo: It would be terrible anywhere.

Malcom: What is wrong?

Macb. : You have lost the most important person in your life.

Macduff: Your royal father has been murdered.

Malcom: Who did it?

Lennox: It seems that it was the men guarding his room. Their hands and faces were all marked with blood and their daggers also covered in blood, were lying on their pillows. They said nothing, but those men could not be trusted.

Macbeth: How sorry I am that I killed them.

Macduff: Why did you do that?

Macb.: My love for Duncan was so strong that I could not act sensibly. The King lay there, with his skin covered in blood and terrible cuts. There were the murders with their red bloody knives. What man, who loved his King and wanted to show his love, could stop himself from killing them?

Donalbain: This place is not safe for us. Let us escape. There is no time to show our grief.

Malcom: What are you going to do? I will go to England!

Donalbain: And I will go to Ireland. We will be safer if we are in different places.

Malcom: The best way of protecting ourselves is to leave. Lets us find our horses. There is no time for long goodbyes.

Act II. Scene IV.

Ross: Have they found out who commited this horrible murder yet?

Macduff: The men that Macbeth killed.

Ross: How terrible! But what advantages could they hope to get from such a crime?

Macduff: Malcom and Donalbain, the King’s two sons, have run away. So people think that they were responsible for the murder.

Ross: What an awful thing – to kill their father because of their ambition. So it is most likely that Macbeth will become king?

Macduff: He has already gone to Scone to be crowned.

Act III. Scene I.

Banquo: You have got everything now the three witches promised. And I am afraid that you have committed a most terrible crime. But the witches also predicted that I, and not you would be the father of many kings.

Mcbeth is coming. I must be silent.

Macb.: Tonight, sir, we are having a very special dinner, and I want you to be there. Are you going riding this afternoon?

Banquo: Yes, my lord.

Macb.: Make sure that you are at the dinner.

Banquo: My lord, I will be there.

Macb.: Is Fleance going with you?

Banquo: Yes, my lord.

Macb.: I hope your horses go quickly and safely. Goodbye.

Macb.: I am king now, but I still do not feel safe. I am frightened of Banquo. I told you that Banquo has been responsible for many things that have caused harm to you and your family.

First murderer: You told us that, my lord.

Macb.: I want to know what you are going to do about it. If you want to get rid of him, I will arrange an opportunity for you to kill him. Both of you know that Banquo was your enemy.

Murderers: That’s true, my lord.

Macb.: Good. I’ll tell you within an hour exactly where to position yourselves, and when. This thing has to be done tonight, and some distance from the palace so that I am completely free from suspicion. Fleance, Banquo’s son, must die at the same time.

Murderers: We’ll do it my lord.

Act III. Scene II.

Lady M.: Please, my lord, take that unpleasant look off your face. Be happy and welcoming to your guests tonight.

Macb: I will, my love, and you must too. These times are so unsafe that we must not allow our faces to show the true feelings of our hearts.

Lady M.: You must stop thinking about these things.

Macb.: My mind is full of dangerous thoughts, dear wife! You know that Banquo and Fleance are still alive. But before night, a terrible crime will take place.

Act III. Scene III.

Third murderer: Listen, I can hear horses!

Banquo: Give us a light!

Sec. murderer: There! That’s him!

First murderer: Get ready!

Banquo: It’s going to rain tonight.

First murderer: Yes, with blood!

Banquo: Oh, I have been betrayed! Run, Fleance, run!

Third m.: Where’s the light gone? We’ve killed only one of them; the son’s escaped.

First m.: Well, let’s go immediately and report what’s happened.

Act III. Scene IV.

Macb.: Welcome, everybody! You all know your places. Please sit down.

Lords: Thank you.

Macb.: There’s blood on your face!

First M.: It’s Banquo’s blood.

Macb.: Is he dead?

First M.: My lord, I cut his throat.

Macb.: Excellent! But what about Fleance? Did you do the same for him?

First M.: My lord, Fleance escaped.

Macb.: Now all my doubts and fears are returning. But Banquo’s dead?

First M.: Yes, my lord.

Macb.: Thank you for that. The father is dead. The son has escaped and will be dangerous one day, but for the present time, he has no power to attack me.

Lady M.: My lord, you are forgetting your guests.

Macbeth: Thank you for reminding me.

Ross: Would you like to come and sit with us, my royal lord?

Macb.: But the table is full.

Lennox: We have kept a place for you here, sir.

Macb.: Where?

Lennox: Here, my lord. What is the matter?

Macb.: Which one of you has done this?

Lords: What, sir?

Macb.: You cannot say I murdered you; do not shake your bloody head at me.

Ross: Gentlemen, get up. The King is ill.

Lady M.: Sit down. This mad behavior will pass very quickly. Do not take any notice of him.

Why are you so afraid? It is only an empty chair that you are looking at.

Macb.: Please, look at it!

Lady M.: You cowardly fool!

Macb.: Get out of my sight! You are no living creature. How can you see such horrible sights and not turn pale with fear, like me?

Ross: What sights, my lord?

Lady M.: Do not say anything to him; he is becoming worse and worse.

Now, goodnight. Do not wait for my husband to leave first; just go.

Macb.: It wants blood, my blood. What time is it?

Lady M.: It is almost morning.

Macb.: Tomorrow I will go and see the three witches. I want them to tell me more. I have committed so many bloody crimes now that I cannot return to the person I used to be. I have so many strange thoughts in my head.

Act IV. Scene I.

First Witch: Round and round the pot we go, sometimes fast and sometimes slow.

All: doble, double, pain and trouble, fire burn and water bubble!

Second witch: I feel a sharp pain in my thumbs, sometimes very evil comes!

Macb.: What kind of magic are you making?

All: A kind that has no name.

Macb.: I command you to answer my questions.

First witch: Speak!

Sec. witch: Ask!

Third witch: We show you the answers. Watch!

- Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, be careful of Macduff!

- Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth! Macbeth can’t be harmed by any born from a woman!

- Be strong and brave, and don’t worry. Macbeth will never be beaten until Birnam Wood marches against him to Dunsinane Hill.

Macb.: That can never happen. These are excellent predictions! But I’m very anxious to know more thing. Tell me if Banquo’s children will be kings of Scotland.

All: Appear to him. Come like shadows, then depart.

Macb. You look too much like Banquo’s ghost. The second and third kings look like the first. … does this line of kings never end? There’s a seventh, and an eighth. I don’t want to see any more. There’s Banquo, his hair covered in blood, smilling and pointing. Are they his children? Is it true?

First witch: Yes, sir, everything is true. Come sisters…

Macb.: Where have they gone? Come here!

I heard some horses. Who has arrived?

Lennox: Some gentlemen, my lord, who have come to tell you that Macduff has run away to England.

Macb.: Run away to England.

Act IV. Scene III.

Macduff: Our poor country is suffering greatly under this evil tyrant, Macbeth.

Ross: There is no happiness in our poor country, only sad acts of violence. There are many people who are ready and willing to fight against Macbeth.

Malcom: We are coming. Noble King Edward has lent me brave Lord Seyward and ten thousand soldiers.

Ross: That’s good news.

Malcom: Come, let us go to King Edward. Our army is prepared; we only have to say goodbye. We are ready to attack Macbeth.

Act V. Scene I.

Lady M.: (she rubs her hands together)

My hand still smell of blood. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.

Wash your hands, put on your nightclothes, do not look so pale. Banquo is dead; he cannot come back.

To bed, to bed!

Act IV. Scene IV.

Seyward: What is this wood called?

Malcom: Birnam Wood. Each of you must cut down a tree and carry it in front of you. In this way we will hide the true number of soldiers in our army from the enemy.

Seyward: We have heard that the tyrant Macbeth is still in Dunsiname, and intends to stay there.

Malcom: It is the best thing he can do. Many of his men left him when they had an opportunity.

Act IV. Scene V.

Macb.: Our castle is strong and the enemy will not be able to break it down. Many of my men have joined the other side and so I have lost their support. What was that noise?

Seyton: The cry of women, my lord.

The Queen, my lord, is dead. She killed herself.

Macb.: Well, she had to die sometimes.

What is it? Quickly?

Messenger: My noble lord, I do not know how to tell you what I saw.

Macb.: Well, tell me.

Messenger: As I looked towards Birman, I thought I saw the forest move.

Macb.: You are lying.

Messenger: It is true. You can see it. It is a moving forest.

Macb.: Ring the bell! At least I will die fighting!

Act IV. Scene VI.

Macbeth: I have nowhere to escape to. I must stay and fight. But I will only fear a man who was not born from a woman.

Macduff: Tyrant, come out, wherever you are.

Macb.: I am not going to kill myself like the foolish Romans used to do when they lost a battle.

Macduff: Turn, you dod from hell, turn!

Macb.: Get away from me! I have murdered too many people from your family already.

Macduff: There is nothing I want to say to you. Let my sword speak for me.

Macb.: You cannot harm me. My life is protected. No man can hurt me unless he was not born from a woman.

Macduff: Then listen to this! I was not born naturally. I was cut from my mothers’s body.

Macb.: Now I see that I cannot believe the witches’ words. They seemed to promise me everything, but they have broken their promises. I will not fight with you any more.

Macduff: Then surrender, coward!

Macb.: I will not surrender so that I have to kiss the groung under the boy Malcom’s feet, in front of an angry crowd. Birnam Wood has come to Dunsiname, and you are a man who was not born from a woman, but I will fight you to the end. Come on, Macduff, do your worst!