Macbeth (34 page)

Read Macbeth Online

Authors: William Shakespeare

What … night?
What is the time of night?  

147
at odds
contending, striving  

148
How say’st thou
what do you say (to the fact)  

denies his person
refuses to come  

150
send
i.e. send a messenger  

151
by the way
indirectly  

152
them
i.e. the nobles  

153
fee’d
paid (to spy)  

will
will go  

154
betimes
speedily/early  

155
bent
determined  

156
means
methods  

157
All … way
all other affairs shall be put aside  

158
should I
even if I were to  

159
were
would be  

tedious
wearisome/time-consuming  

go o’er
going on  

160
head
(my) mind  

to hand
be carried out  

161
scanned
examined, scrutinized  

162
season
food preservative such as salt/period of time assigned to an event/time during which a plant ripens  

strange
extraordinary/alienating  

self-abuse
violation of myself/self-deception  

163
strange and self-abuse
strange self-abuse  

164
initiate
new, inexperienced  

wants
lacks/needs  

hard use
toughening, persistent experience  

165
young in deed
inexperienced in action (
in deed
puns on
indeed
)  

1
angerly
angry  

2
beldams
hags  

3
saucy
impudent  

4
trade and traffic
have dealings with  

7
close
secret  

8
bear
carry out  

9
art
magic  

11
wayward
perverse, willful  

Acheron
a river in Hades, the classical underworld  

15
pit of Acheron
hell  

18
vessels
receptacles (presumably cauldrons)  

provide
prepare/be equipped with  

20
spend
use  

21
dismal
devastating/ominous  

fatal
deadly/destined  

22
wrought
brought about/ performed  

24
vap’rous drop
in response to powerful enchantments, the moon was supposed to release a foam that transformed the things it fell upon  

profound
deep, complex/hanging heavily  

26
sleights
tricks, cunning  

27
artificial
false/produced by artifice or magic  

28
illusion
illusory nature/power to deceive  

29
confusion
destruction/mental disorder, irrationality  

30
spurn
reject  

31
’bove
above, beyond reach of  

grace
virtue/fortune/ divine salvation  

32
security
confidence in one’s safety  

35
stays
waits  

36
Come …
etc.
for text of song, see pp. 95–96  

1
hit
coincided with  

2
Which … further
i.e. there is no need for Lennox to elaborate  

only I
I only  

3
borne
tolerated/managed  

4
pitied of
lamented by  

he was dead
i.e. Macbeth only pitied Duncan after he was dead  

5
walked too late
was alive only too recently/was out too late at night (there are reverberations of death in the words:
walked
often referred to the appearances of a ghost and
late
could mean dead)  

want
lack  

8
cannot … thought
does not think  

monstrous
unnatural  

10
fact
crime/truth  

11
straight
straight away  

12
pious
loyal, dutiful  

13
thralls
captives, slaves  

17
well
i.e. for himself  

18
under his key
locked up  

19
an’t
if it  

20
so should Fleance
i.e. were Fleance to be imprisoned he too would be punished for killing his father  

21
from
as a result of  

broad
frank, unrestrained  

cause … presence
because he failed to attend  

24
bestows himself
is lodging  

25
son of Duncan
i.e. Malcolm  

26
holds … birth
withholds his birthright (the crown)  

28
Of
by  

pious
devout, holy  

Edward
Edward the Confessor, who ruled England from 1042 to 1066  

grace
honor/favor/divine virtue  

29
malevolence of fortune
i.e. Malcolm’s misfortunes  

30
Takes
detracts  

respect
courtesy/regard (for Malcolm)  

31
pray
ask, entreat (but surrounding references to Edward’s holiness add a religious sense)  

upon his aid
in aid of Malcolm  

32
wake
rouse, stir  

Northumberland
Earl (or possibly, people) of Northumberland, a county in the north of England  

Siward
son of the Earl of Northumberland  

34
ratify
sanction, approve  

35
meat
food  

36
Free … banquets
free our feasts and banquets from  

37
homage
acts of allegiance  

free
freely given/noble/ unpolluted  

38
report
account (of the situation in Scotland)  

39
exasperate
exasperated (i.e. incensed)  

their king
i.e. Edward  

41
he
i.e. Macbeth  

42
absolute
resolved/blunt  

‘Sir, not I’
Macduff’s words to the messenger  

43
cloudy
frowning/gloomy  

turns me
i.e. turns (
me
is emphatic; the lord was not present)  

44
hums
i.e. makes a noise of displeasure  

who should
if to  

rue
regret  

45
clogs
burdens, hampers  

47
Advise … caution
serve to warn him  

distance
i.e. from Macbeth  

50
that
so that  

51
suffering … accursed
country suffering under an accursed hand  

1
brinded
having fur marked with darker streaks (probably tabby)  

2
hedge-pig
hedgehog  

3
Harpier
the Third Witch’s familiar  

5
entrails
intestines or bodily insides generally/contents of the cauldron  

8
Sweltered
sweated, exuded  

7
Days … got
for thirty-one days and nights has exuded poison produced while sleeping  

10
toil
labor/dissent, turmoil  

trouble
effort/disorder/distress  

12
fillet
slice (of meat)  

fenny
muddy/from the fens (swamps)  

15
Wool
downy hair  

16
fork
forked tongue  

blindworm
adder/slow-worm (legless lizard)  

17
howlet
owlet, young owl  

23
mummy
substance used for embalming/dead flesh itself/substance made from dead bodies and used in magic (properly called “mummia”)  

maw
throat/stomach  

gulf
throat/stomach  

24
ravined
ravaged by hunger/glutted with its prey  

25
hemlock
poisonous plant  

26
blaspheming
i.e. denying Christian beliefs  

27
slips
sprigs/cuttings  

yew
yew tree (often planted in graveyards and associated with death)  

28
Slivered
cut off  

29
Tartar
person from Central Asia (like the
Turk
, a Muslim)  

30
birth-strangled
strangled at birth, probably by the mother (and thus unbaptized)  

31
Ditch-delivered
born in a ditch  

drab
prostitute  

32
slab
viscous, glutinous  

33
chaudron
intestines/insides in general  

Enter … Witches
the following sequence (Hecate’s speech and the song) is probably by Thomas Middleton, apparently added for performances after Shakespeare’s retirement; there are six witches in the song (see p. 96)  

‘Black spirits’, etc.
for text of song, see p. 96

44
pricking
tingling  

47
black
deadly/evil/associated with the black arts  

50
conjure
call upon solemnly (plays on sense of “magically invoke”)  

profess
claim to know about/practice as a trade  

52
Though
even if  

53
yeasty
frothy  

54
Confound
destroy, overthrow  

navigation
shipping  

55
bladed corn
i.e. where the blade (leaf) is still folded around the seed-containing ear  

lodged
beaten flat  

56
warders
guards  

57
slope
bend down  

59
germens
seeds/essential parts  

tumble all together
collapse into whirling chaos/all fall at once  

60
sicken
grows nauseously sated/begins to be destroyed itself  

69
farrow
piglets  

sweaten
sweated  

70
gibbet
gallows  

73
office
function  

armed
armored, i.e. wearing a helmet  

descends
i.e. through the trapdoor  

80
harped
hit upon, guessed  

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