Authors: William Shakespeare
Knock
Knock, knock, never at quiet! What are you? But this place is
too cold for hell. I’ll devil-porter it no further: I had thought
to have let in some of all professions that go the
primrose
way to th’everlasting bonfire
17
.
Knock
Anon, anon! I pray you
remember
19
the porter.
Opens the gate
Enter Macduff and Lennox
MACDUFF
Was it so late, friend, ere you went to bed,
That you do lie so late?
PORTER
Faith, sir, we were
carousing
22
till the
second cock
:
and drink, sir, is a great provoker of three things.
MACDUFF
What three things does drink especially provoke?
PORTER
Marry
25
, sir,
nose-painting
, sleep and urine. Lechery,
sir, it provokes and unprovokes: it provokes the desire, but it
takes away the performance. Therefore much drink may be
said to be an equivocator with lechery: it makes him and it
mars
29
him; it
sets him on and it takes him off
; it persuades
him and disheartens him; makes him
stand to and not stand
to
30
: in conclusion,
equivocates him in a sleep
31
, and,
giving him
the lie
, leaves him.
MACDUFF
I believe drink gave thee the lie last night.
PORTER
That it did, sir,
i’the very throat on me
34
: but I
requited
35
him for his lie, and, I think, being too strong for
him, though he
took up my legs
36
sometime, yet I
made a shift
to
cast him
37
.
Enter Macbeth
MACDUFF
Is thy master stirring?
Our knocking has awaked him: here he comes.
Porter may exit
LENNOX
Good morrow, noble sir.
MACBETH
Good morrow, both.
MACDUFF
Is the king stirring, worthy thane?
MACBETH
Not yet.
MACDUFF
He did command me to call
timely
44
on him:
I have almost
slipped the hour
45
.
MACBETH
I’ll bring you to him.
MACDUFF
I know this is a joyful trouble to you,
But
yet ’tis one
48
.
MACBETH
The labour we delight in physics pain
49
.
This is the door.
MACDUFF
I’ll make so bold to call,
For ’tis my
limited
52
service.
Exit Macduff
LENNOX
Goes the king hence today?
MACBETH
He does: he did
appoint
54
so.
LENNOX
The night has been
unruly
55
. Where we lay,
Our chimneys were blown down, and, as they say,
Lamentings
57
heard i’th’air, strange screams of death,
And
prophesying
58
with
accents terrible
Of
dire combustion
59
and confused
events
New hatched to
60
th’woeful time: the
obscure
bird
Clamoured the
livelong
61
night. Some say the earth
Was feverous and did shake.
MACBETH
’Twas a rough night.
LENNOX
My young remembrance cannot parallel
A fellow to it
64
.
Enter Macduff
MACDUFF
O, horror, horror, horror!
Tongue nor heart cannot
conceive
67
nor name thee!
MACBETH AND LENNOX
What’s the matter?
MACDUFF
Confusion
69
now hath made his masterpiece.
Most
sacrilegious
70
murder hath broke
ope
The Lord’s anointed temple
71
, and stole thence
The life o’th’building.
MACBETH
What is’t you say? The life?
LENNOX
Mean you his majesty?
MACDUFF
Approach the chamber and destroy your sight
With a new
Gorgon
76
. Do not bid me speak:
See, and then speak yourselves.—
Exeunt Macbeth and Lennox
Awake, awake!
Ring the alarum bell. Murder and treason!
Banquo and Donalbain! Malcolm, awake!
Shake off this
downy
81
sleep, death’s
counterfeit
,
And look on death itself! Up, up, and see
The
great doom’s image
83
! Malcolm, Banquo,
As from your graves rise up and walk like
sprites
84
To
countenance
85
this horror! Ring the bell.
Bell rings. Enter Lady
[
Macbeth
]
LADY MACBETH
What’s the business,
That such a hideous
trumpet
87
calls to
parley
The sleepers of the house? Speak, speak!
MACDUFF
O, gentle lady,
’Tis not for you to hear what I can speak:
The
repetition
91
in a woman’s ear
Would murder as it fell.—
Enter Banquo
O, Banquo, Banquo,
Our royal master’s murdered!
LADY MACBETH
Woe, alas!
What, in our house?
BANQUO
Too cruel anywhere.
Dear Duff, I prithee contradict thyself
And say it is not so.
Enter Macbeth, Lennox and Ross
Perhaps with Attendants
MACBETH
Had I but died an hour before this
chance
99
,
I had lived a blessèd time, for from this instant
There’s nothing serious in
mortality
101
:
All is but
toys
102
:
renown and grace
is dead.
The wine of life is
drawn
103
, and the mere
lees
Is
left
104
this
vault
to
brag
of.
Enter Malcolm and Donalbain
DONALBAIN
What is amiss?
MACBETH
You are, and do not know’t:
The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood
Is
stopped
108
, the very source of it is stopped.
MACDUFF
Your royal father’s murdered.
MALCOLM
O, by whom?
LENNOX
Those of his chamber, as it seemed, had done’t:
Their hands and faces were all
badged
112
with blood,
So were their daggers, which unwiped we found
Upon their pillows. They
stared
114
and were
distracted
:
No man’s life was to be trusted with them.
MACBETH
O, yet I do repent me of my fury,
That I did kill them.
MACDUFF
Wherefore did you so?
MACBETH
Who can be wise,
amazed
119
,
temp’rate
and furious,
Loyal and neutral in a moment? No man.
Th’expedition
121
of my
violent
love
Outrun the
pauser
122
, reason. Here lay Duncan,
His silver skin laced with his golden blood,
And his gashed stabs looked like a
breach
124
in nature
For ruin’s
wasteful
125
entrance: there the murderers,
Steeped
126
in the colours of their trade, their daggers
Unmannerly
127
breeched
with gore. Who could refrain
That had a heart to love, and in that heart
Courage to
make’s
129
love known?
LADY MACBETH
Help me hence, ho!
Faints or feigns to do so
MACDUFF
Look to the lady.
MALCOLM
Why do we hold our tongues,
Aside to Donalbain
That most may claim this argument for ours
132
?
DONALBAIN
What should be spoken here, where
our fate,
Aside to Malcolm
Hid in an
auger hole
135
, may
rush and
seize
us?
Let’s away: our tears are not yet
brewed
136
.
MALCOLM
Nor our strong sorrow
Aside to Donalbain
BANQUO
Look to the lady.—
Lady Macbeth may be helped off
And when we have
our naked frailties hid
140
,
That suffer in exposure, let us meet
And
question
142
this most bloody piece of work
To know it further. Fears and
scruples
143
shake us:
In the great hand of God I stand, and
thence
144
Against the undivulged pretence I fight
Of treasonous malice
145
.
MACDUFF
And so do I.
ALL
So all.
MACBETH
Let’s
briefly
149
put on
manly readiness
And meet i’th’hall together.
ALL
Well contented.
Exeunt
[
all but Malcolm and Donalbain
]
MALCOLM
What will you do? Let’s not
consort
152
with them:
To show an unfelt sorrow is an
office
153
Which the false man does easy. I’ll to England.
DONALBAIN
To Ireland, I. Our separated fortune
Shall keep us both the safer: where we are,
There’s daggers in men’s smiles;
the nea’er in blood,
The nearer bloody
157
.
MALCOLM
This murderous
shaft
159
that’s shot
Hath not yet
lighted
160
, and our safest way
Is to avoid the aim. Therefore to horse,
And let us not be
dainty of leave-taking
162
,
But
shift away
163
: there’s
warrant
in that theft
Which
steals
164
itself when there’s no mercy left.
Exeunt
Location: somewhere near Macbeth’s castle, Inverness
Enter Ross with an Old Man
OLD MAN
Threescore and ten
1
I can remember well,
Within the volume of which time I have seen
Hours
dreadful
3
and things strange: but this
sore
night
Hath
trifled former knowings
4
.
ROSS
Ha, good
father
5
,
Thou see’st the
heavens
6
, as troubled with man’s
act
,
Threatens his bloody stage: by th’clock ’tis day,
And yet dark night strangles the
travelling lamp
8
.
Is’t night’s
predominance
9
or the day’s
shame
That darkness does the face of earth entomb
When living light should kiss it?
OLD MAN
’Tis unnatural,
Even
13
like the deed that’s done. On Tuesday last,
A falcon,
tow’ring
14
in her
pride of place
,
Was by a
mousing owl
15
hawked at
and killed.
ROSS
And Duncan’s horses—a thing most strange and
certain—
Beauteous and swift, the
minions
17
of their race,
Turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out,
Contending gainst obedience,
as
19
they would
Make war with mankind.
OLD MAN
’Tis said they ate each other.
ROSS
They did so, to th’amazement of mine eyes
That looked upon’t.
Enter Macduff
Here comes the good Macduff.—
How goes the world, sir, now?