| TEXT | EXPLANATION |
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| Inverness. Macbeth’s castle. Enter LADY MACBETH, reading a letter LADY MACBETH ‘They met me in the day of success: and I have learned by the perfectest report, they have more in them than mortal knowledge. When I burned in desire to question them further, they made themselves air, into which they vanished. Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it, came missives from the king, who all-hailed me ‘Thane of Cawdor;’ by which title, before, these weird sisters saluted me, and referred me to the coming on of time, with ‘Hail, king that shalt be!’ This have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou mightst not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is promised thee. Lay it to thy heart, and farewell.’ Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be What thou art promised: yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great; Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it: what thou wouldst highly, That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false, And yet wouldst wrongly win: thou’ldst have, great Glamis, That which cries ‘Thus thou must do, if thou have it; And that which rather thou dost fear to do Than wishest should be undone.’ Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear; And chastise with the valour of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round, Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crown’d withal. Enter a Messenger What is your tidings? | Inverness. Macbeth’s castle. Enter LADY MACBETH, reading a letter LADY MACBETH “The witches met me on the day I won a battle. And I have confirmed that they have supernatural powers. When I wanted to ask them more questions, they turned into air and disappeared. While I was amazed by their prophecy, messengers from the king arrived and greeted me as Thane of Cawdor (a title of nobility). Which is exactly what the weird sisters (another name for the witches) had called me before. And they also predicted that I would become king in the future. I thought it would be good to tell you this, my beloved partner in greatness. So that you would not miss out on the joy, by not knowing what greatness is promised to you. Keep it in your heart, and goodbye.“ You are Thane of Glamis, and Cawdor; and you will be what you are promised (king). But I worry about your character; you are too gentle and kind to take the shortest way (murder). You want to be great; you have ambition, but not the evil that should go with it. What you want most, you want honestly; you would not cheat, and yet you want to win what is not yours. You want, great Glamis, what demands that you do this (kill Duncan), if you want to have it (the crown). And what you are more afraid to do than wish it were not necessary, is something you must do (kill Duncan). Hurry here, so that I can fill your ear with my courage. And scold with the strength of my words anything that stops you from getting the golden crown. Which fate and supernatural help seem to have destined you for. Enter a Messenger What is your news? |
| Messenger The king comes here to-night. | Messenger The king is going to come here tonight. |
| LADY MACBETH Thou’rt mad to say it: Is not thy master with him? who, were’t so, Would have inform’d for preparation. | Lady Macbeth You are crazy to say that (the king is coming here tonight). Isn’t your master (Macbeth) with him? who, if it were true, would have sent a message ahead to prepare us. |
| Messenger So please you, it is true: our thane is coming: One of my fellows had the speed of him, Who, almost dead for breath, had scarcely more Than would make up his message. | Messenger If it pleases you, it is true: our lord (Macbeth) is coming. One of my companions was faster than him. Who, almost out of breath, had barely enough time to deliver his message. |
| LADY MACBETH Give him tending; He brings great news. Exit Messenger The raven himself is hoarse That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan Under my battlements. Come, you spirits That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here, And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood; Stop up the access and passage to remorse, That no compunctious visitings of nature Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between The effect and it! Come to my woman’s breasts, And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers, Wherever in your sightless substances You wait on nature’s mischief! Come, thick night, And pall thee in the dunnest 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! Greater than both, by the all-hail hereafter! Thy letters have transported me beyond This ignorant present, and I feel now The future in the instant. | LADY MACBETH Take care of the messenger who has just informed that King Duncan and Macbeth are coming to their castle that night. (This is a great opportunity to kill Duncan and make Macbeth king.) Exit Messenger The messenger is like a raven(crow), a bird that symbolizes death and bad luck. Duncan’s arrival at our castle will be his doom, we will murder him under our roof. I invoke the evil spirits that influence human thoughts to take away my feminine qualities and make me more ruthless and cruel. Fill my whole body with the most extreme cruelty possible, so that I can commit the murder without hesitation or remorse. Make my blood thick and cold, so that I can block any feelings of pity or guilt that might stop me from killing Duncan. I wish that no natural or human emotions should be able to shake my wicked purpose or prevent me from carrying out the deed. This is a quote from Lady Macbeth’s speech in Act 1, Scene 5 of Shakespeare’s play Macbeth. She is preparing herself to kill King Duncan, who is a guest at her castle. Here is a possible line by line meaning of her words: Evil spirits, Come, take away my feminine qualities of nurturing and compassion, and replace my breast milk with bitter poison. (She wants to be cruel and ruthless like the agents of death.) Spirits are invisible and wait for an opportunity to cause harm and chaos in the natural order of things. Night, come and cover everything with the darkest and thickest smoke from hell. (She wants to hide her evil deeds from any witnesses or conscience.) I hope my knife will not be able to see the wound it makes on Duncan’s body. (She wants to avoid any guilt or remorse for killing him.) Let not heaven see through the darkness and stop me from committing the murder. (She wants to defy God and morality.) Enter MACBETH You are Thane of Glamis and Thane of Cawdor. You will be greater than both titles when you become king (as the witches have prophesied.) Your letters, in which you told me about the witches’ predictions, have made me transcend the present moment and its lack of knowledge about what will happen, and I feel as if the future is already here. |
| MACBETH My dearest love, Duncan comes here to-night. | MACBETH My dearest love, Duncan will come here tonight. |
| LADY MACBETH And when goes hence? | LADY MACBETH And when does he plan to leave? |
| MACBETH To-morrow, as he purposes. | MACBETH Tomorrow, as he wants. |
| LADY MACBETH O, never Shall sun that morrow see! Your face, my thane, is as a book where men May read strange matters. To beguile the time, Look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, Your hand, your tongue: look like the innocent flower, But be the serpent under’t. He that’s coming Must be provided for: and you shall put This night’s great business into my dispatch; Which shall to all our nights and days to come Give solely sovereign sway and masterdom. | LADY MACBETH O, he is not going to see tomorrow morning. But your face can give away all our secrets, that we wish to hide, like an open book. To deceive others, you need to put on the appropriate appearance and behave like a host. Gesture of your eyes, hands and your words should be welcoming and your behavior needs to be like an innocent flower but deep within you will hide the conspiring snake. We must prepare for the king’s arrival. You must allow me the management of the house tonight which shall help us to attain complete command and power and mastery for the rest of our lives. |
| MACBETH We will speak further— | MACBETH We will speak of this further— |
| LADY MACBETH Only look up clear; To alter favour ever is to fear: Leave all the rest to me. Exeunt | LADY MACBETH Only make your face look cheerful; As fear always shows itself in a change of facial expression: Leave all the rest to me. Exit |
