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 MACBETH 
 
 ' SHAKSPFRF • 
 
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PR 
 
 CORNELL 
 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 THE 
 
 Joseph Whitmore Barry 
 
 DRAMATIC LIBRARy 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 TWO FRIENDS 
 
 OF Cornell University 
 
 1934 
 

 
 Cornell University Library 
 PR 2823.A2M27 
 
 Shakespere's Macbeth, 
 
 3 1924 013 140 433 
 
The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013140433 
 
LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 GEORGE RICE CARPENTER, A.B. 
 
 PROPESepK OF RHETORIC AND ENQLISH COMPOSITION IN COLUMBIA COLLEGE 
 
 WILLIAM SHAKSPERE 
 
 MACBETH 
 
LOI^GMAKS' El^GLISH CLASSICS 
 
 With fvU Notes, IrUroductiom, Bibliographies, and other Explanatory asid 
 lUusAralive Matter. Crown 8vo. 
 
 BnAEBFXBE's MxscHANT OF Tenioe. Edit- 
 ed by Francis B. Gummere. Ph.D., 
 Professor of Englluh In Haverford CoUe^. 
 
 Shakbfebs'b As Yoit Liejb It. With an 
 Introduction by Barrett Wendell, A.B., 
 Aaalfitant Professor of EDgllsh in Harvard 
 University, and Notes by ■William Lyon 
 Phelps, Ph.D., AsBlfttant Professor of Eng- 
 lish in Yale University. 
 
 SaAK8FEBS*B A HlDSUHUEB !NiOHT'8 
 
 Dbxau. Edited by George Pierce Baker, 
 A.B., Assistant Professor of English In 
 Harvard University. 
 
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 Matthews Manly, Ph.D., Professor of the 
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 AND Ltoidab. Edited by WiHiam P. Trent, 
 A.M., Professor of English in the Univer- 
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 Edited by Edward Everett Hale. Jr., 
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 Union College. 
 
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 Edited by Professor O. R. Carpenter, of 
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 "The Spectator." Edited by D. O. 8. 
 Lowell, A. M.,or the Boxbury Latin School, 
 Bozbuiy, Mass. 
 
 GoLDSinrn^B The Vioab of Wakefield. 
 Edited by Mary A. Jordan, A.M., Pro- 
 fesRor of Rhetoric and Old English In 
 Smith College. 
 
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 Aubbioa. Edited by Albert S. Cook, 
 Ph.D., L.H.D., Professor of the English 
 Language and Literature in XM^ LTni- 
 versity. 
 
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 A.M., Professor of Oratory and ^stlieuc 
 Oritlclsm in Princetoa University. 
 
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 Criticism in Princeton U&iversity. 
 
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 in the University of Chicago. 
 
 Maoaulat'b Esbat on Miltok. Edited bv 
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 master of the Brearley School, New York, 
 formerly Assistant Professor of Greek In 
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 Maoaulat's Life of Sauuel Johnson. Ed- 
 ited by the Rev. Huber Gray Buebler, of 
 the HotchklsB School, Lakevllle, Conn. 
 
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 guage uid Literature in DartmouthCollege. 
 
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 together with other Addresses relating *.o 
 the Revolution. Edited by Fred Newton 
 Scott, Ph.D., Junior Professor of Rhetoric 
 in the University of Michigan, 
 
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 Cabltle's Esbat on Bitbns. Edited by- 
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 pal of the Newark Academy, Newark, N. J. 
 
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 versity. 
 
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 of Rhetoric in the University of Chicago. 
 
 Macaulat'b Essays on Milton and Addison. Edited, with Notes and an Introduction, by 
 James Greenleaf Crosweil, A.B., Head Master of the Brearley School, New York City. 
 
WILLIAM SHAKSPEEE 
 
 (From the picture in the possession of His Grace the Biilie 
 of Bnclcingham, at Stowe) 
 
Congmana' (gnfllisi) dlaggics 
 
 SHAKSPERE'S 
 
 MACBETH 
 
 EDITED 
 
 WITH NOTES AND AN INTRODUCTION 
 
 JOHN MATTHEWS MANLY, Ph.D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OP THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN BROWN UNIVERSITT 
 
 NEW YORK 
 LONGMANS, GEEEN, AND CO. 
 
 LONDON AND BOMBAY 
 
 1898 
 
COPTEIGHT, 1896 ' 
 BT 
 
 LONGMANS, GKEEN, AND CO. 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
 FiBST Edition, Notekbbb, 1896 
 
 Rbprihteii, Notehbeb and Decehbbr, 1897 
 
 AND Jni-T, 1898 
 
 Printed by 
 
 Braunworth, Munn & Barber, 
 
 Brooklyn, N. Y., U. S. A. 
 
PKEFATOEY NOTE 
 
 Macbeth has been edited so often and so well that a 
 school edition can contain little that is new. The present 
 edition is, therefore, a compilation, and that to a much . 
 greater extent than the acknowledgments in the notes 
 would imply-. The notes of previous editors have been 
 freely used without indication of the sources from which 
 they were drawn ; when authority is given for a note, it 
 is usually due to some special reason. Furthermore, in 
 quoting other editors I have almost invariably quoted not 
 from the original, but from Dr. Furness's variorum edi- 
 tion ; in cases in which reference to that storehouse of 
 learning will not disclose the source of my information, I 
 have mentioned the scholar to whom I am indebted. It 
 remains to say that of the few notes which I suppose 
 myself to have contributed, such as are good probably 
 belong in reality to the two men who taught me to read 
 Shakspere, President Charles Manly of Furman Univer- 
 sity, and Professor G. L. Kittredge of Harvard. 
 
 J. M. M. 
 
 Pbovidence, B. I., August 4, 1896. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 Introduction : 
 
 PAGE 
 
 I. Date of Composition 
 
 ix 
 
 II. Forraan's Diary 
 
 xii 
 
 III. The King's Evil . 
 
 xvi 
 
 IV. The Suspected Passages, and 
 
 " The Witch " . xviii 
 
 V. The Witches 
 
 . xxiv 
 
 VI. Duration of the Action 
 
 xxvi 
 
 VII. Metre .... 
 
 . xxxii 
 
 VIII. Language 
 
 XXXV 
 
 IX. Bibliography 
 
 . xxxvii 
 
 Suggestions to Teachers 
 
 xl 
 
 Specimen Examination Questions 
 
 . xlvi 
 
 -Chronological Table 
 
 xlix 
 
 Macbeth 
 
 1 
 
 Notes 
 
 83 
 
 Appendix .... 
 
 175 
 
 Abbreviations . . . . 
 
 192 
 
 Index 
 
 . 193 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 I. Date of Compositiojt. 
 
 "Macbeth" was first published in the first folio,i 
 seven years after the death of Shakspere. That it had 
 not previously been published is indicated by its presence 
 among the plays for vi^hich Edward Blount and Isaac 
 Jaggard, the publishers of the first folio, secured copyright 
 November 8, 1623, as not previously entered to other 
 men. 
 
 The composition of the play is assigned by nearly all 
 scholars to 1605 or 1606 ; it has even been suggested that 
 the particular occasion for which it was composed was the 
 visit of the King of Denmark in July, 1606, but numer- 
 ous as were the entertainments then provided, there is no 
 
 ' The first folio appeared iu 1623, the second in 1682, the third 
 (two issues) in 1663 and 1 664, the fourth in 1685. These are collec- 
 tions of all the plays, essentially as they now appear in complete 
 editions of the plays, the poems and sonnets not being included. 
 Pericles, a part of which is regarded as Shakspere's, was not printed 
 in the first folio or second folio, but appeared in the 1664 issue of the 
 third folio (and in the fourth folio) along with six other plays which 
 are not admitted by most scholars to be Shakspere's. The folios 
 vary somewhat in size, but measure about thirteen inches by eight 
 and three quarters. 
 
 The quartos, on the other hand, are small books, about eight and 
 a quarter by five and a half inches, containing each a single play. 
 They began to appear as early as 1594, sometimes with the permis- 
 sion of Shakspere and his partners in the theatre,' sometimes against 
 their wish, the manuscript having been obtained fraudulently. 
 Before 1623 seventeen of the thirty-seven plays had appeared in 
 quarto. 
 
X INTRODUCTION 
 
 evidence that this was one of them. The arguments 
 made use of to determine the date are not very strong. 
 One of them is that when King James visited Oxford in 
 August, 1605, there advanced to meet him, out of a castle 
 made of ivy, near St. John's Gate, three students dressed 
 to represent the weird sisters, and, after referring to the 
 prophecy long before made to Banquo, his ancestor, all- 
 hailed him and the Queen and the two princes. By some 
 report of this, it is said, the subject of " Macbeth" may 
 have been suggested to Shakspere. In the Porter's 
 speech (II, iii, Iff.) are three passages supposed to be 
 allusions to topics of the day : (a) mention of the " farmer 
 that hanged himself on the expectation of plenty " is sup- 
 posed to point to the plentiful corn harvest of 1606 ; (S) 
 the " equivocator " is interpreted as being a hit at Henry 
 Garnet, Superior of the Order of Jesuits in England, who 
 was tried March, 1606, for complicity in the Gunpowder 
 Plot ; (c) the humor of the English tailor's stealing out 
 of a French hose is thought to be increased by the (un- 
 proved) fact that in 1606 tight-fitting hose were the 
 fashion. A further argument for 1605 or 1606 depends 
 upon the supposition that in I, iii, 108 is implied an 
 actual ceremony of investiture, suggested by the investi- 
 ture, in Scotland, of Sir David Murray as Lord Scone. In- 
 sufficient as these arguments are, there seems little reason 
 to doubt the proposition they are used to support. This 
 conclusion is in harmony also with the fact that the pre- 
 diction of "two-fold balls and treble sceptres" would be 
 especially appropriate after — but would it not take with 
 the audience equally well immediately before ? — the 
 ofiUcial proclamation of James as King of Great Britain, 
 France, and Ireland on the 24th of October, 1604.* 
 
 ' In The Puritan, a play published first in 1607 — conjectured by 
 Fleay to have been written by Middleton in 1606 — and republished 
 in the third folio as by Shakspere, occurs a passage which has been 
 
INTRODUCTION xi 
 
 Mr. Meay (" Life and Work of Shakespeare/' pp. 238- 
 243, and Poet-Lore, 1893, pp. 419, 513, 564) maintains 
 that Shakspere was one of the party of players who went 
 to Scotland in 1601 and performed before King James 
 at Aberdeen, and that while there he wrote a version of 
 " Macbeth," which he revised and improved in 1606, the 
 subject having been recalled to his attention by the 
 
 called "a rianifest allusion" to Banquo's ghost. Could we be sure 
 of this, we should have a very convenient upper limit for the date 
 of Macbeth. But the allusion is far from manifest. The situa- 
 tion is this (Act IV, so. iii) : George Pyeboard and Captain Idle 
 have "by magic " recovered for the simple Sir Godfrey a fine gold 
 chain, which they had had stolen and hid by a confederate, and now 
 have raised from his coflin Corporal Oath, who is just being carried 
 past the house to be buried, having been given a. sleeping potion a 
 few hours before by George. The coffin is opened, the Corporal 
 revives, sees the white sheet in which he is wrapped, and says : 
 " Zounds, where am I ? Covered with snow ! " Then, taking Lady 
 Plus for the hostess of an inn, he orders a hot porridge and a iire. 
 She commands her servants Nicholas and Frailty to help him into 
 the house, but Nicholas says : " Pray, call out the maids ; I shall 
 ne'er have the heart to do't, indeed la ! " Frailty : " Nor I, neither ; 
 I cannot abide to handle a ghost, of all men." Then Sir Godfrey, 
 feeling particularly gay over the recovery of his chain, invites the 
 whole crowd in to a banquet : " Ay, and a, banquet ready by this 
 time. Master Sheriff, to which I most cheerfully invite you and your 
 late prisoner there. See you this goodly chain, sir ? Mum ! no more 
 words ; 'twas lost and is found again. Come, my inestimable bullies, 
 we'll talk of your noble acts in sparkling charnico [wine] ; and instgad 
 of a jester, we'll have the ghost in the white sheet sit at the upper 
 end of the table." I have given the situation in detail, because I 
 think that, taken apart from its context, the passage produces an 
 entirely false impression. It is not some weU-known ghost that 
 is to be called in for the occasion ; it is the one who has just been 
 raised in his white sheet, who is invited with the rest of the crowd. 
 Of course it may still be said that to such a banquet the Macbeth- 
 Banquo scene on the boards of a rival theatre at the same time would 
 give additional point. Granted : but that is very diflferent from an 
 unmistakable allusion ; the situation does not need that aid. 
 
xii INTRODUCTION 
 
 Oxford address to the King. His arguments are, that the 
 description of Cawdor's death is remarkably like that of 
 the Earl of Essex (February 25, 1601) in Stowe's "Chroni- 
 cle," and that the play is more closely related to 
 " Hamlet " and "Julius Caesar " than to " King Lear " or 
 " Timon of Athens." He thinks that there was probably 
 a play on the subject prior to 1596, which may have been 
 used by Shakspere. The evidence for this is that a 
 "Ballad of Macdobeth" is mentioned in the " Stationers' 
 Register " for 1596, and again by Kempe in his " Nine 
 Daies Wonder" (1600).' To the arguments for the 1601 
 date, he might have added — had he chosen to do so — a 
 " manifest allusion " to " Macbeth," II, ii, 3, in Middle- 
 ton's "Blurt, Master Constable" (1603), III, i, sign. E. 
 (cf. " Centurie of Prayse," p. 51). 
 
 II. Format's Diary. 
 
 When- Collier first published Dr. Simon Forman's ac- 
 count of a performance of " Macbeth " attended by him 
 at the Globe Theatre, some scholars were inclined to revise 
 their opinion as to the date of the play, because it seemed 
 unlikely that Forman would have taken the trouble to 
 give so detailed an account of any play that was not new. 
 But this argument was based on a misapprehension of 
 Forman's purpose in taking notes. The title of the little 
 MS. volume of fourteen leaves, only five of which contain 
 writing, is : " The Booke of Plaies and Notes therof per 
 formans for Common Pollicie." The words, "for Com- 
 mon Pollicie," indicate that he thought he might obtain 
 from plays valuable hints for his own guidance in life. 
 This is confirmed by the notes themselves ; for instance, 
 
 ' It can be proved — by the sort of proof commonly used in such 
 matters — that Shakspere himself was the author of this early version, 
 but perhaps it is just as well not to prove it. 
 
INTRODUCTION xiii 
 
 after recording how in " Richard II " Jack Straw, " not 
 being pollitick," was suddenly stabbed by Walworth, he 
 says : " Therfore in such a case or the like, never admit 
 any party, without a bar betwen, for A man cannot be so 
 [too] wise, nor kepe him selfe to safe ; " and so frequently. . 
 Besides this " Richard II," which is not Shakspere's, For- 
 man took notes on three plays, all Shakspere's : " Win- 
 ter's Tale," "Cymbeline," and "Macbeth." His ac- 
 count of " Macbeth " is as follows : 
 
 " In Maekbeth at the glob, 16j0, the 30 of Aprill,' ther was to be 
 obserued, firste, howe Maekbeth and Bancko, 2 noble men of Scot- 
 land, Ridinge thorowe a wod, the[r] stode before them 3 women 
 feiries or Nimphes, And saluted Maekbeth, sayinge^ 3 tyms vnto him, 
 haille maekbeth, king of Codon ; for thou shalt be a kinge, but shalt 
 beget No kinge, &o. then said Bancko, what all to maekbeth And 
 nothing to me. Yes, said the nimphes, haille to thee Banko, thou 
 shalt beget kinges, yet be no kinge. And so they departed & cam 
 to the courte of Scotland to Dunkin king of Sootes, and yt was in 
 the dais of Edward the Confessor. And Dunkin bad them both 
 kindly welloome. And made Maekbeth forth with Prince gf Northum- 
 berland, and sent him hom to his own castell, and appointed maek- 
 beth to prouid for him, for he wold Sup with him the next dai at 
 night, & did soe. And mackebeth contrived to kull Dunkin, & 
 thorowe the persuasion of his wife did that night Murder the kinge 
 in his own Castell, beinge his gueste. And ther were many prodi- 
 gies seen that night & the dai before. And when MackBeth had 
 murdred the kinge, the Mod on his handes could not be washed of 
 
 ' I follow Dr. Purnivall's reprint. Trans. New Sh. Soc. 1875-76, 
 App. ii. All other copies of Porman give Saturday as standing in 
 the text after Aprill ; Dr. Purnivall omits it, and has no^note. The 
 presence or absence of this word is decidedly important, for in 1610 
 April 20 did not fall on Saturday, whereas in 1611 (the year of the 
 two other dated accounts) it did. If Porman really wrote Satwiaiy, 
 it is easy to understand how he came to set down the wrong year, or 
 the wrong day of the month ; but if he did not give the day of the 
 week, there is no reason for maintaining that this entry also belongs 
 to 1611, as has been argued. 
 
xiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 by any means, nor from his wiucs handes, which handled the bloddi 
 daggers in biding them. By which means they became both moch 
 amazed & affronted, the murder being knowen, Dunkins 3 sonns 
 fled, the on to England, the [other to] Walles, to saue them selues. 
 They beinge fled, they were supposed guilty of the murder of their 
 father, which was nothinge so. Then was Mackbeth crowned kinge, 
 and then he for feare of Banko, his old companion, that he should 
 beget kinges but be no kinge him selfe, he contriued the death of 
 Banko, and caused him to be Murdred on his way as he Rode. 
 The next night, beinge at supper with his noble men whom he had 
 bid to a feaste to the which also Banco should have com, he began 
 to speake of Noble Banco, and to wish that he wer ther. And as he 
 thus did, standing up to drincke a Carouse to him, the ghoste of 
 Banco came and sate down in his cheier be-hind him. And he turn- 
 inge A-bout to sit down Again sawe the goste of banco, which 
 fronted him so, that he fell in-to a great passion of fear and fury, 
 Vtteringe many wordes about his murder, by which, when they hard 
 that Banco was Murdred they Suspected Mackbet. 
 
 Then MackDove fled to England to the kinges sonn. And soe they 
 Raised an Army, And cam into Scotland, and at dunston Anyse 
 overthrue Mackbet. In the mean tyme whille macdouee was in Eng- 
 land, Mackbet slewe Mackdoues wife & children, and after in the 
 battelle mackdoue slewe mackbet. 
 
 Obserue Also howe mackbetes quen did Rise in the night in her 
 slepe, & walke and talked and confessed all, & the docter noted her 
 wordes." 
 
 What valuable lessons the old quack doctor learned 
 from this play is not altogether clear — ^perhaps that crime 
 may be revealed in the talk of an unquiet sleeper. To 
 the omissions and inaccuracies of his account attention 
 has often been directed, and some rather remarkable in- 
 ferences have been drawn. His silence about the events 
 of I, i, ii, has been urged as proof that the play began 
 with I, iii, 38, preceded by a conversation between Mac- 
 beth and Banquo, narrating the events of the battle. 
 • But it is to be noted that he lays very little stress upon 
 the supernatural elements of the play, entirely omitting 
 Macbeth's second meeting with the weird sisters, and 
 
INTRODUCTION X7 
 
 mentioning neither the prophecies in regard to Macbeth's 
 destruction nor the means of their fulfilment. Perhaps, 
 as a professional astrologer, he took no particular interest 
 in the supernatural except for business purposes. The 
 touching for the King's Evil, in like manner, failed to 
 interest him, — or, quite as probably, was not played. 
 His statement that Macbeth was appointed Prince of 
 Northumberland {i.e., Cumberland), is clearly due to a 
 failure to understand the significance of the appointment 
 of Malcolm. His placing Duncan's visit to Macbeth on 
 the day after the appointment of the Prince of Cumber- 
 land may indicate only that he followed the. time-scheme 
 of the play very poorly. His omission of the meeting of 
 Eoss and Angus with Macbeth and Banquo shows how 
 careless his account is, for the jumbled expression " Hail, 
 King of Codon ! " proves that it occurred. That the 
 witches met Macbeth and Banquo in a wood, may be due to 
 a recollection of Holinshed's account {cf. note on II, iii, 
 131), may be due to the absence of any scenery to make a 
 definite impression on his mind, or may be due to failure 
 of memory. What is said about the inability of Macbeth 
 and Lady Macbeth to wash the blood from their hands 
 does not imply, as has been suggested, that such a scene 
 was enacted ; it may be the. resultant impression of Mac- 
 beth's speech, II, ii, 60, and Lady Macbeth's actions and 
 words in the sleep-walking scene. On the whole it seems 
 highly probable that Forman wrote this account when 
 some time had elapsed since he saw the play, and his 
 recollections had become vague and confused. If 1610 is 
 a mistake for 1611, one could account for the note of this 
 play of April 20th following the notes of the other three 
 — one on April 30th and the other on May 15th — by sup- 
 posing that this entry was not made until after May 15th. ' 
 There is some support for this in the fact that while the 
 notes on the first two plays contain several inferences and 
 
xvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 hints for " Common Pollicie," those on the last two con- 
 tain none. 
 
 III. The King's Evil. 
 
 The passage concerning the healing of the King's Evil 
 {IV, iii, 140-159), has been supposed by some editors to 
 indicate that " Macbeth " was originally composed for 
 performance at Court, by others it is regarded as a later 
 interpolation for a court performance ; bat all, I believe, 
 agree in regarding it as a compliment to King James. 
 It is asserted that he " fancied himself endowed with the 
 Confessor's powers ; " that " he was especially proud of 
 exercising" them ; that the touching for the Evil was 
 " revived by him, and claimed by him as hereditary in his 
 house." 
 
 That he exercised the power is, of course, perfectly 
 certain ; but it is by no means certain that he ever did so 
 willingly. Professor S. K. Gardiner (" History of Eng- 
 land," ed. 1884, vol. i, p. 152) cites two contemporary 
 documents — one of September-October, 1603, the other 
 of January, 1604 — as authorizing the following state- 
 ments : " When he first arrived in England James had 
 objected to touch for the king's evil. He had strong 
 doubts as to the existence of the power to cure scrofulous 
 diseases, which was supposed to be derived from the Con- 
 fessor. The Scotch ministers whom he had brought with 
 him urged him to abandon the practice as superstitious. 
 To his English counsellors it was a debasing of royalty to 
 abandon the practice of his predecessors. With no very 
 good will he consented to do as Elizabeth had done, but 
 he first made a public declaration of his fear lest he 
 should incur the blame of superstition. Yet as it was an 
 ancient usage, and for the benefit of his subjects, he 
 would try what would be the result, but only by way of 
 prayer, in which he requested all present to join." 
 
INTRODUCTION xyii 
 
 Professor Gardiner thinks that later James had no 
 hesitancy about the touching, but apparently his only 
 reason for thinking so is this passage in " Macbeth." 
 There is, however, some evidence that even so late as 1613 
 he retained his scruples. In that year Johann Ernst, 
 Duke of Saxe- Weimar, visited the Court of England, and 
 on Sunday, September 17th, was present at Theobalds at 
 the religious service held in the palace. " When it was 
 concluded," says the contemporary account, " the Eoyal 
 Physician brought a little girl, two boys, and a tall strap- 
 ping youth, who were afflicted with incurable diseases, 
 and bade them kneel down before his Majesty ; and as 
 the Physician had already examined the disease (which he 
 is always obliged to do, in order that no deception may 
 be practised), he then pointed out the affected part in the 
 neck of the first child to his Majesty, who thereupon 
 touched it, pronouncing these words : Le Roy vous touclie, 
 Dieu vous guery (The King touches, may God heal thee !) 
 and then hung a rose-noble round the neck of the little 
 girl with a white silk ribbon. . . . During the per- 
 formance of this ceremony the above mentioned Bishop, 
 who stood close to the King, read from the Gospel of St. 
 John, and lastly a prayer, whilst another clergyman knelt 
 before him and made occasional responses during the 
 prayer. . , .. . This ceremony of healing is understood 
 to be very distasteful to the King, and it is said he would 
 willingly abolish it ; but he cannot do so, because he as- 
 sumes the title of King of " France " as well ; for he 
 does not cure as King of England, by whom this power is 
 said to have been never possessed, but as a King of 
 Prance, who ever had such a gift from God. The Kings 
 of England first ventured to exercise this power when 
 they upward of two centuries and a half ago had posses- 
 sion of nearly the whole of France, and when Henry VI 
 had himself crowned at Paris as King of Prance [Dec. 17, 
 
xviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 1431]."— Eye, "England as seen by Foreigners," pp. 
 151, 152. This evidence of a general belief in James's re- 
 luctance to touch can hardly be set aside, or regarded as 
 merely an echo of his feeling when he ascended the throne. 
 The only thing that even seems to weaken the evidence 
 is the explanation given of the origin and significance of 
 the power. But there is reason to think that this was a 
 current explanation ; the discussion cannot be undertaken 
 here, but cf. Delrio's remarks, "Disq. Mag.," pp. 24, 25, 
 on Tooker's book and its purpose ; and consider the sig- 
 nificance of the fact that the formula used by James is 
 not Latin or English, but French. [The account above is 
 translated from the German.] 
 
 On the whole it is at least doubtful whether this famous 
 passage was intended to please James. It may have been ; 
 but it is quite as probable that it was intended to please 
 the audience at the Globe, by supporting the patriotic 
 theory of the origin of the healing-touch. 
 
 IV. The Suspected Passages, and "The Witch." 
 
 In 1778 Steevens discovered a play (in MS.) called "The 
 Witch," written by Thomas Middleton, who died in 1627. 
 It was found to contain the full text of the two songs, 
 "Come away" ("Macbeth," III, v, 33) and "Black 
 spirits" (IV, i, 43), indicated in " Macbeth"' by the first 
 words only. 
 
 The question at once arose whether they were the com- 
 position of Shakspere or of Middleton. The presence in 
 " The Witch " of a considerable number of expressions 
 that recall certain lines of " Macbeth "^ seemed to indi- 
 
 ' The first of them had been given in full in the 1673 version of 
 Macbeth, and both in the 1674 version. 
 
 ° The most striking are : "I know he loves me not," said by Hec- 
 ate of Sebastian, who has come to seek her aid {cf. Macbeth, III, 
 V, 13) ; "For the maid-servants and the girls o' th' house, I spiced 
 
INTRODUCTION xix 
 
 cate that one of the two was well acquainted with the 
 work of the other, and the fact that in other plays Mid- 
 dleton clearly imitated Shakspere suggested that he was 
 the imitator in this instance. But if the songs implied 
 in P, are rightly given in the 1673 and 1674 versions of 
 " Macbeth," and there is reason to think that they are," 
 it can be shown that they, at least, are the work of Mid- 
 dleton.' But, as we shall see, this conclusion need not 
 carry with it as a corollary the general priority of Middle- 
 ton's play, which there is some reason to think was not 
 written until after 1613.' 
 
 them lately with a drowsy posset" (c/. II, ii, 6) ; "the innocence of 
 sleep" (c/. II, ii, 36); "There's no such thing" (c/. II i, 47); 
 "Come, my sweet sisters ; let the air strike our tune" (c/. IV, i, 
 129). 
 
 ' In the first place, it is improbable that, as some have supposed, 
 the first song consisted of only two lines, and the second of only 
 four ; secondly, the stage-directions as given in P, (not as in mod- 
 ern editions) suit the songs in their expanded form ; thirdly, it is 
 clear that the songs in the 1673 and 1674 versions were not copied 
 from the only known copy of The Witch, and, as Davenant's 
 company did not act The Witch, it is a gratuitous assumption that 
 a copy was in their possession ; fourthly, if Maidment and Logan 
 {Dcwencmt, vol. v) give the title page of the 1678 edition correctly 
 (but cf. Furness, Macbeth, preface, p. vii), the play was per- 
 f orrfied by both the Duke's and the King's players with the same ver- 
 sions of the songs. 
 
 ' In the " Black spirits " passage, the lines which in Macbeth read : 
 " 1. Put in all these, 'twill raise the stanch. 3. Nay here's three 
 onncesof a red-hair'd wench," have, in The Witch, the following form : 
 " 1. Put in — there's all — and rid the stench. 3. Nay, here's three 
 ounces of the red-hair'd wench." The use of the in the, latter is due 
 to the remark of Hecate, about thirty lines above : " And fetch 
 three ounces of the red-hair'd girl I killed last midnight." No one 
 will maintain, probably, that Middleton borrowed the "Black 
 spirits " passage, changed a to the, and then wrote in an antecedent 
 for the allusion. 
 
 ° The title page says it was performed by the King's Men at 
 Blackfriars, and according to Mr. Fleay, they did not begin to play 
 
XX INTRODUCTION 
 
 Besides this vexed question of the songs, there are two 
 others that have been much discussed. In the first place, 
 because of certain inconsistencies (all pointed out in the 
 notes), obscure sentences, and lines metrically imperfect, 
 as well as on account of its shortness, " Macbeth " is 
 regarded by some as a hasty sketch left unpolished by 
 the author, while by others it is regarded as cut and 
 mangled by some not very skilful hand ; in the second 
 place, there are passages which, for reasons mainly stylis- 
 tic, have been regarded by some scholars as interpola- 
 tions. We may treat both problems at once, as they are 
 intimately connected. The editors of the Clarendon 
 Press "Macbeth," were inclined to reject as nn-Shak- 
 sperean ' the following passages : 
 
 (a) I, ii. Their reasons are : because the metre is too 
 slovenly for Shakspere, the language is too bombastic, 
 
 there until 1613 ; besides there are enough resemblances between 
 The Witch and Jonson's Masque of Queens (1609) to suggest very 
 strongly that Middleton's witches are as nearly related to Jonson's 
 as to Shakspere's. Mr. Pleay's conjecture is that The Witch was 
 composed in 1633, after Middleton began to wiite for the King's 
 Men. 
 
 ' The lines about the King's Evil, they think, " were probably in- 
 terpolated previous to a representation at Court," but I do not un- 
 derstand them to hint that Shakspere himself was not the interpolator. 
 Mr. Pleay once argued for a larger number of interpolations than 
 were assumed by the Clarendon Press editors, but he has since 
 altered his opinion. In his lAfe and Work of Shakespeare, p. 
 238, he speaks only of III, v, and IV, i, 39-43 ; and he makes no 
 modification of this in his Chron. Eist. of the English Dra/ma, II, 
 188. His latest utterance, so far as I know, is in the series of papers 
 published in Poet-Lore, 1893, where he says : " He [Middleton] 
 put in two songs from his play of The Witch, axii. a dance of six 
 witches, there being only three in the scene as it first stood, and to 
 this end added the character of Hecate. This making the present- 
 ment too long for the patience of the auditors, we [i.e., the players] 
 made more omissions in other parts than to most of us seemed desir- 
 able " (p. 564). 
 
INTRODUCTION xxi 
 
 the account of the Thane of Cawdor is inconsistent with 
 I, iii, 73 f. and 112 ff., and the sending of a wounded 
 soldier to carry the news of victory is too absurd to have 
 been tolerated by Shakspere. But Mr. Daniel has pointed 
 out that the soldier was not sent, but was merely a 
 wounded straggler, — Fife, the scene of the battle, being 
 so near Forres^ according to Shakspere, that the noise of 
 battle could be heard by the King. The bombast is not 
 greater than in other similar cases, and the metrical 
 irregularities may be due to corruption, or to cutting of 
 the text. The inconsistency about Cawdor is real, and, 
 although it has a parallel in Lennox's- accounts of Mac- 
 duff, in III, vi, and IV, i, is too complicated a problem 
 to be discussed here.' 
 
 (J) I, iii, 1-37, seems to them un-Shaksperean. But 
 this is not an impression shared by most scholars, and 
 surely the word "aroint," which is used by no other 
 Elizabethan dramatist, counts for something. 
 
 (c) The Porter scene in II, iii ; because it is low and 
 vulgar. But cf. note on the passage, and see Dr. 
 Hales's masterly discussion in his " Essays and Notes on 
 Shakespeare." 
 
 ' Mr. M. P. Libby, of Toronto, iiolds that the inconsistencies are 
 intentional, and sees the reason for them in the character of Ross, 
 who, he argues, by false accusations procured the ' death of Cawdor, 
 thereby securing the patronage of Macbeth, whose chief confidant 
 and instrument he afterwards became. Stated in this crude form 
 his theory may seem absurd, but no one, I think, who reads his little 
 book {Some New Notes on Macbeth, Toronto, 1893) can fail to 
 admire the ingenuity with which it is carried through the whole 
 play, and the subtlety of some of the arguments, or to be surprised 
 more than once by the success with which it is applied to the solution 
 of other difficulties. I think it possible to show that the theory is 
 untenable, but that does not lessen my sense of its ingenuity, nor 
 my thanks to Mr. Libby for his book and the private letters supple- 
 menting it. 
 
xxii INTRODUCTION 
 
 {d) Y, ii, they do not reject, but are inclined to doubt ; 
 cf. note on the scene. 
 
 (e) " The last forty lines of the play show evident traces 
 of another hand than Shakespeare's. The double stage 
 direction, ' Exeunt fighting ' — ' Enter fighting, and Mac- 
 beth slaine,' proves that some alteration had been made 
 in the conclusion of the piece." There is some force in 
 this argument, as well as in the suggestion that " fiend- 
 like queen " is not likely to have been Shakspere's term 
 for Lady Macbeth. 
 
 (/) A number of couplets, lines, and half-lines (II, i, 
 60, 61; V, V, 47-50; V, viii, 33, 33) are rejected because of 
 weakness. That they (and IV, i, 95-100) arc weak is 
 true, but they may nevertheless be Shakspere's. 
 
 (g) Besides these more or less disconnected passages, 
 they reject all the passages bound together by the presence 
 of Hecate as a speaker; these are: III, v; IV, i, 39-47,* 
 and 125-132. These do form a group ; they have common 
 characteristics. They are the only passages in the play 
 written in iambic couplets of eight syllables; they differ 
 markedly in tone from the rest of the play; they are 
 unnecessary ; and, moreover, they and the two songs 
 are bound together almost indissolubly by cross-references 
 and by a common style — the style, be it said, of Middle- 
 ton's witch scenes. I therefore agree with Mr. Fleay in 
 assigning them, songs and all, to Middleton. 
 
 Now let us see how this affects the question of the rela- 
 tions of " The Witch " to "Macbeth." The only theory 
 that will account for all the facts is that proposed by Mr. 
 
 > I cannot follow them in rejecting the last four lines of this pas- 
 sage (Id 1 7). In the first place, it is not connected with the Hecate 
 passage preceding, and is with the entrance of Macbeth ; in the 
 second place, what an interpolator would have made of it may be 
 seen by examining these lines in the 1674 version (see note on 
 rV, i, 43). 
 
INTRODUCTION xxiii 
 
 Fleay. Middleton wrote his play after the appearance of 
 "Macbeth" — probably, as has been said, after 1613. It 
 was, as he himself says in his dedication, unsuccessful. 
 The witch scenes in "Macbeth" had meanwhile been very 
 successful, and the management of the theatre, perhaps 
 at the suggestion of Middleton, allowed him to expand 
 those scenes by the introduction of two songs from his 
 unsuccessful, and perhaps forgotten, play, and the compo- 
 sition of another scene. It is clear from IV, i, 39-43 and 
 125-133, that a good deal was made of the dances and 
 other spectacular features of the witch scenes. Of course 
 there had always been a liking for that sort of thing, but 
 the list of plays and masques indicates a growing tendency 
 to the spectacular during the second decade of the seven- 
 teenth century. It seems reasonably probable, therefore, 
 that -these additions, and some excisions perhaps, were 
 made by Middleton, and that they were made after the 
 death of Shakspere, perhaps in 1622, as Mr. Pleay con- 
 jectures. 
 
 It may be regarded as some confirmation of this view 
 that the remarks of Pepys,' and the variations between 
 the 16^73 and 1674 versions seem to indicate a progressive 
 
 ' Pepys . records in his diary, Nov. 5, 1664: "To the Duke's 
 house to a play, Macbeth, a pretty good play, but admirably acted ; " 
 Dec. 38, 1666: " To the Duke's house, and there saw Macbeth most 
 excellently acted, and a most excellent play for variety;" Jan. 7, 
 1667: "To the Duke's house, and saw Macbeth, which, though I saw 
 it lately, yet appears a most excellent play in aU respects, but 
 especially in divertisement, though it be a deep tragedy; " April 19, 
 1667: " To the play-house, where we saw Macbeth, which, though I 
 have seen it often, yet is it one of the best plays for a stage, and 
 variety of dancing and musique, that I ever saw." This must have 
 been the version which Downes says was prepared by Sir Wm. 
 Davenant, with music by Mr. Lock, and new machines for the 
 Hying of the witches; but whether the true Davenant version be 
 that of 1673 or that of 1674 is a puzzle. Oldys called the 1674 
 
xxiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 series of changes in " Macbeth " from the form in which 
 Shakspere left it to that in which it appeared in 1674. It 
 was long, too, before the play recovered from this treat- 
 ment; Delius says {Jahrbuch d. d. Shakespeare- Gesell- 
 schaft, XX, 84) nearly eighty years, but Mrs. Inchbald's 
 print of the Drury Lane stage copy and Edwin Forrest's 
 prompt-book show that it was nearer two centuries. 
 
 V. The Witches. 
 
 On most problems suggested by the weird sisters, or 
 witches, sufficient information is probably given in the 
 notes. We may here confine ourselves to two or three 
 questions that have been raised. 
 
 First, how does it happen that Hecate, the tri-form 
 goddess of classic mythology, appears in modern witch- 
 craft ? Simply because she was in classic times the god- 
 dess of cross-roads and forks (where later the assemblies 
 of witches were supposed to occur, and where suicides 
 were buried with a stake through the heart), the mistress 
 of darkness and the under-world, the patroness of sorcery, 
 
 version Betterton's; Dr. Purness calls it Davenant's, and suggests 
 that the 1673 be called Betterton's. 
 
 Downes's account of the great success of Macbeth, and of the 
 financial and spectacular success of Shadwell's Lancashire Witches, 
 lends some support to my suggestion that if Davenant had had a 
 copy of Middleton's Witch he would have staged it. 
 
 Perhaps it may be allowable to correct here the story that at a 
 performance of Macbeth in 1673 an actor named Harris, who per- 
 formed Macdull, accidentally killed his fellow actor by piercing his 
 eye, in the combat between Macbeth and Macdufl. Thomas Isham 
 entered this as a rumor in his diary, Aug. 20, 1673 (see Centwrie of 
 lYayse, 3d ed., p. 355); but the rumor was false. Downes (Roscius 
 Angl., p. 21) teUs us that the play was Davenant's The Man's the 
 Master; the wounded man Mr. Cademan, who, however, was not 
 killed, but maimed, and in consequence had received a pension 
 "ever since 1673, being 35 years a goe." 
 
INTRODUCTION xxv 
 
 and as such probably continued to be known to the peoples 
 of Latin civilization long after the other gods were for- 
 gotten; and because magic is the most retrospective of 
 arts, seeking the old, deriving from its cult of the distant 
 past much of the mystery that lends it efEectiveness. Be- 
 sides the note on II, i, 53, cf. Scot, "Discoverie of 
 Witchcraft," ad. Nicholson, 131, 438; Delrio, "Disq. 
 Magic," 129,354,384; Jonson, "The Sad Shepherd," 
 II, i, and the four other passages in Shakspere where 
 Hecate is mentioned (see Schmidt, s. v.). 
 
 Whether the weird sisters are the Pates, or Norns, has 
 been the subject of much discussion ; and some scholars 
 cannot reconcile with this conception of them the incan- 
 tations of IV, i, 1-38, which, along with the actions 
 attributed to them in I, iii, 1-37, seem characteristic of 
 mere vulgar witches. Mr. Spalding has pointed out that 
 Holinshed's account of them is rather ambiguous ; and 
 nothing is more certain than that in the days when witch- 
 craft flourished there were no hard and fast lines of 
 division drawn between the different classes of spirits,^ or 
 even between spirits and witches. In E. H. Meyer's 
 " Germanische Mythologie " examples are given of con- 
 fusions of every sort. Of., e.g., § 174 : " Finally the 
 elves* of Teutonic mythology often become witches. 
 
 ' Delrio inferred from the description given by Hector Boece of 
 the beings which addressed Macbeth and Banquo that they were 
 sibyls or white nymphs, whom he identifies with the Parcae ; see the 
 whole curious passage, Disq. Mag., p. 395. 
 
 It is a delicate question whether, when Ben Jonson wrote his note 
 {Masque of Queens, 1. 33) on the treatment of wax images, in which 
 he mentions " the known story of King Duffe out of Hector Boetius," 
 he knew of Shakspere's use of that "known story; " — so delicate a 
 question, in fact, that I dared not bring it into the discussion of the 
 date of the composition of Macbeth. 
 
 ' In Meyer's classification, " elves'' includes all anthropomorphic 
 nature-spirits (whether of earth, air, water, or forest), except giants. 
 
xxvi INTRODUCTION 
 
 Like elves, witches cause tempests, hail, waterspouts ; ride 
 storm-clouds and whirlwinds; travel in sieves or on 
 brooms ; poison fountains ; hurl the thunderbolt," etc. 
 See also §§ 235, 226, 228, 231 on the Norns, and §§ 224, 
 225, 235 on their relations to the cloud-maidens. Meyer's 
 book, it may be remarked, is a general index to the litera- 
 ture of the subject. 
 
 Mr. Spalding attempted to show that Shakspere must 
 have had Scotch witches in mind, and particularly those 
 whose doings are recorded in "Newes from Scotland," a 
 book published in 1591 about an attempt to " bewitch and 
 drowne His Majestie [King James, then of Scotland only] 
 in the sea." His argument is that the production of 
 storms is not a function commonly ascribed to English 
 witches. It would not be difficult to show that the pro- 
 duction of storms is perhaps the commonest of charges 
 against witches all over the world. Probably no treatise 
 on witchcraft fails to mention it many times. It would 
 be idle to collect references for so absolute a common- 
 place ; I give those only which have recently attracted my 
 attention : Scot's " Discoverie," pp. 1, 7, 8, 26, 38, 43, 45, 
 47, 48, 142, 176, 178, 218, 441, 472, 509, 526 ; Delrio, 
 "Disq. Mag.," 130, 135, 155, 158; Aubrey, "Miscel- 
 lanies," p. 141 ; Holinshed, v, 146, 223 (Scotch witches 
 indeed) ; Jonson, " Masque of Queens," with notes. The 
 case of Jonson's "Masque" is against Mr. Spalding's further 
 efEort to infer the dates of " Macbeth " and " The Witch " 
 from the above argument ; Jonson wrote in 1609, and, so 
 far as his notes show, had no Scotch witches in mind 
 when he described his witches as raising storms. 
 
 VI. Duration of the Action. 
 
 The best time-analysis of the play is that of Mr. P. A. 
 Daniel. His summary, with a few notes on certain 
 points, follows : 
 
INTRODUCTION xxvii 
 
 " Time of the Play nine days represented on the stage, 
 and intervals. 
 
 " Day 1. Act I, sc. i to iii. 
 [Cf. I, i, 5-7.] 
 
 " Day 2. Act I, sc. iv to vii. 
 
 [These scenes are bound together by I, iv, 42 ff. and I, 
 vii, 62. " In II, i, 20, Banquo says : ' I dreamt last night 
 of the three weird sisters ; ' this ' last night ' must be sup- 
 posed between scenes iii and iv of Act I : there is no other 
 place where it could come in. The letter to Lady Mac- 
 beth, I, V, must also have been written and despatched 
 then." But Eoss and Angus enter with Macbeth and 
 Banquo, I, iv, as if they had just arrived. Had they 
 spent the night together on the way, or got together in 
 the morning after a night at Forres ?] 
 
 " Day 3. Act II, sc. i to iv. 
 
 [" Scene iv is on the same day as the murder of Dun- 
 can ; cf. II, iv, 3." But if that be true, then — to say 
 nothing of the celerity indicated in II, iv, 31-33 — some, at 
 least, of the prodigies preceded the murder, II, iv, 11 ff.] 
 
 " An interval, say a couple of weeks. A week or two 
 — Professor Wilson ; three weeks — Paton. 
 
 [" Between II and III the long and dismal period of 
 Macbeth's reign described in III, vi, IV, ii, iii, and else- 
 where must have elapsed; cf. Ill, iv, 131 f., 136 ff. 
 Bnt cf. Ill, iv, 142-144, and the first words with which 
 Banquo opens this Act would lead us to suppose that a 
 few days at the utmost can have passed since the corona- 
 tion at Scone."] 
 
 " Day 4. Act III, sc. i to v. 
 
 [" When sc. iv closes, it is almost morning of the fol- 
 
xxviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 lowing day; but sc. v must be put on the same day, al- 
 though there is no point at which it can be introduced."] 
 
 " Act III, sc. vi. It is impossible to fix the time of this 
 scene. Cf. Ill, iv, 1,30, with III, vi, 40; and III. vi, 37, 
 with IV, i, 143. 
 
 " Day 5. Act IV, sc. i. 
 
 " Professor Wilson supposes an interval of certainly not 
 more than two days between Days 5 and 6; Paton marks 
 two days. No interval is required, in my opinion. 
 
 " Day 6. Act IV, sc. ii. 
 
 " An interval, for Ross to carry the news of Lady Mac- 
 duff's murder to England. 
 
 " Day 7. Act IV, sc. iii. Act V, sc. i. 
 
 [Of course there is nothing to fix the sleep-walking 
 scene upon the night of the day on which Ross reaches 
 England ; it is put there merely in order to make the 
 number of " dramatic days " as few as possible, and be- 
 cause nothing prevents its being assigned to that day. I 
 fancy that V, i, usually seems to spectators of the play 
 considerably later than IV, iii.] 
 
 " An interval. Malcolm's return to Scotland. 
 
 " Day 8. Act V, ii, iii. 
 
 [" We may fairly allow one day for these two scenes ; 
 although no special note of time is to be observed from 
 here to the end of the play."] 
 
 " Day 9. Act V, sc. iv to viii." 
 
 From the inconsistencies exhibited by this time-analy- 
 sis many lovers of Shakspere have sought — and found — 
 relief in an ingenious and amusing theory proposed by 
 Professor John Wilson (" Christopher North ") in his 
 
INTRODUCTION xxix 
 
 "Dies Boreales" Nos. V, VI, and VII (" Blackwood's," 
 Nov., 1849; April and May, 1850; reprinted in condensed 
 form, " Trans. New Sh. Soc," 1875-76, pt. ii, App. i; 
 1877-79, pt. iii, App. iii) and, independently, by the Kev. 
 N. J. Halpin, in " The Dramatic Unities of Shakspere " 
 (reprinted " Trans. New Sh. Soc," 18':'5-76, pt. ii, App. i). 
 This theory, roughly stated, is, that Shakspere introduced 
 into his plays two time-indicators, as it were, each run- 
 ning independently of the other, but consistently with 
 itself, and that he forced the audience to take note of the 
 passage of time by referring now to one indicator and now 
 to the other. Thus the time between two scenes might 
 be twenty-four hours by one indicator and two or three 
 months, or even several years, by the other; but the audi- 
 ence readily accepts either — or both at once — as giving a 
 true measure of the passage of time. Inconsistencies of 
 time are therefore not real, but only apparent, and are 
 easily removed by assigning one of the conflicting indica- 
 tions to " short time" and the other to " long time." By 
 this means, it is supposed, Shakspere's art is relieved of a 
 blemish, if indeed it does not gain by his demonstrated 
 ability to run two irreconcilable timepieces. 
 
 Had the theory remained where Professor Wilson's 
 third article left it, there would be no occasion for dis- 
 cussing it; for it seems pretty clear that the great humor- 
 ist was only amusing himself with a highly ingenious 
 fancy, and using it as the basis for an interesting exposi- 
 tion of the freedom with which the Elizabethan dramatists 
 treated time-relations. But since it has been adopted 
 and maintained in all seriousness, there is sufficient excuse 
 for pointing out that the theory is inadequate ; two time- 
 pieces are not enough; there are plays which require at 
 least three, and there are scenes — such as III, vi of the 
 present play — which a hundred would not suffice to set 
 right. Moreover, such a theory would need as a corollary 
 
XXX INTRODUCTION 
 
 a manifold system of measures of space, not to speak of 
 other devices for bringing the plays into accord with 
 reality. 
 
 The theory, however, is not only inadequate ; it is un- 
 necessary. The blemish which it was intended to remove 
 does not exist. For it is not a blemish in a work of art 
 that it fails to do what it does not undertake and is undef 
 no obligation to undertake. Shakspere was a consum- 
 mate artist, it is true, and the evidences of careful plan- 
 ning in his plays are so abundant that we may be sure 
 that he could and would have carried through consistently 
 any time-scheme that he undertook to carry through. 
 But he undertook none. The events of his plays do not 
 stand in temporal relations to one another, but in logical 
 relations. The events follow one another because of logi- 
 cal reasons. The indications of time that are given are 
 given not for the purpose of letting us know the time, but 
 to produce each a definite momentary impression ; as soon 
 as that is done we have no further concern with that time 
 indication, we are expected to forget it and to be ready 
 to receive another when it is needed for another impres- 
 sion, however irreconcilable it may be with the previous 
 one — and, as a matter of fact, we do so receive and forget 
 these indications while retaining the impressions intended. 
 "When Ban quo says, "Thou hast it now : King, Cawdor, 
 Glamis, all, as the weird women promised," we are not to 
 learn that Macbeth has just ascended tlie throne, but only 
 that Banquo's mind is wholly occupied with the predic- 
 tions, the manner of their fulfilment, and the relation of 
 these facts to his own ambitions. When the Porter is 
 rated for sleeping so late in the morning that he is dilatory 
 in answering the knock of unreasonably early visitors, we 
 are not thereby invited to inquire into contemporary 
 social customs and discover an hour that wonld be late for 
 a porter and early for visitors — easily as that might be 
 
INTRODUCTION' xxxi 
 
 found. When we hear the discussions of Macbeth's 
 cruelty, we are not to draw an inference as to the length 
 of his reign, but only to understand what is the attitude 
 of the people toward him. Time is simply a means by 
 which the dramatist suggests to us the force or the reality 
 of emotions or the logical propriety of situations ; when 
 once the suggestion has been received, the means may be 
 and is neglected. 
 
 In real life we do not so easily forget the time-relations 
 of events, because the events of life are, as a rule, bound 
 up in our memories with a multitude of definite and un- 
 mistakable time indications. When we look at a play, 
 however, the various series of regularly recurring events 
 by which we ordinarily measure the passage of time cease 
 to be available; they are not connected with the series 
 proceeding upon the stage, nor related to it in any way. 
 We are looking upon a single series of events unfolding 
 before us at a rate unknown to us, and known only to be 
 variable. We cease to attempt an account of time, and 
 forget the few indications given us almost as soon as they 
 are made. We have no concern with them; the senti- 
 ment, the passion, the situation, the event, these concern 
 us, and these we remember. 
 
 This is true to a great extent of the stage of to-day; it 
 was true beyond question of the Elizabethan stage. As Pro- 
 fessor Wilson says, in his third article: "He [Shakspere] 
 came to a Stage which certainly had not cultivated the logic 
 of time as a branch of the Dramatic Art. It appears to me 
 that those old people, when they were enwrapt in the trans- 
 port of their creative power, totally forgot all regard, lost 
 all consciousness of time. Passion does not know the clock 
 or the calendar. Intimations of time, now vague, now 
 positive, will continually occur; but also the Scenes float, 
 like the Cyclades, in a Sea of time, at distances utterly 
 indeterminate. Most near ? Most remote ? That is a 
 
xsxii INTRODUCTION 
 
 Stage of Power, and not of Kules — Dynamic, not Formal. 
 I say again, at last as at first, that the time of Othello, 
 tried by the notions of time in our Art, or tried, if 
 you will, by the type of prosaic and literal time, is — 
 
 INSOLUBLE." 
 
 VII. Metre. 
 
 The speeches of the three weird sisters are written in 
 verses of four feet, or measures, of the type commonly 
 called trochaic. That the individual verses do not all 
 contain exactly the same number of syllables is obvious to 
 the most careless reader; but the rhythmical equiva- 
 lence of them never admits of doubt. The movement is 
 as free and varied as that of popular rhymes and jin- 
 gles, and consequently as hard to deal with by rule-of- 
 thumb scansion ; and we as yet know so little about the 
 fundamental rhythmical principles of English verse that 
 scansion, in the ordinary sense of the word, had perhaps 
 better be avoided. But though we are unable to say as 
 yet wherein consists the rhythmical equivalence of verses, 
 we can nevertheless attempt a comparative study of dif- 
 ferent verses of the same type, and try to discover as 
 many of the features of difference between them as we can. 
 And inadequate as was the old mode of dividing English 
 verses into feet, it seems still, notwithstanding the inves- 
 tigations of modern students of rhythm, to have some 
 claim to be used for establishing the typical verse, the 
 variations from which we are to study. For it is certain 
 that for a very long time English poets were under the 
 impression that the old theory was correct, and they 
 themselves established their typical verses in accordance 
 with its principles. The variations from the type seem to 
 fall in a different category, for after the establishment of 
 the type the sense of rhythm alone seems to have been 
 
INTRODUCTION xxxiii 
 
 applied as a test of equivalence. These variations, there- 
 fore, should be the object of istudy; and while the begin- 
 ner cannot hope to discover the principle of equiva- 
 lence, he can at least awaken his sense of the freedom of 
 variation. 
 
 Besides such matters as number and place of accents, 
 length of syllables, omission of syllables, presence of extra 
 syllables, he should note the efEeet of differences in the 
 distribution of syllables into words, and of words into 
 phrases (for these constitute well-defined metrical groups), 
 upon the rhythm of verses identical in number, arrange- 
 ment, and weight of syllables and accents. These things, 
 apparently, determine the tempo of verse, and have a 
 marked influence upon the quality of emotion which 
 responds to the rhythm. In music, as is well known, a 
 melody which appeals to the most elevated and delicate 
 emotions is often, by the change of absolutely nothing 
 except the tempo, made into a popular song which arouses 
 either the low^er emotions or the coarser phases of the 
 higher. Observations along this line.— even if they lead 
 to no explanation of the phenomena of rhythm, and they 
 probably will not — can be made by anyone who is sensitive 
 to rhythm, and will reward him by increasing his percep- 
 tion of the subtlety of English verse. These remarks, of 
 course, hold good for all the varieties of verse as handled 
 by masters of verse. 
 
 The speeches of Hecate are in iambic measures. They 
 are dull and mechanical in movement, and consequently 
 offer few attractions to the student of verse. The varia- 
 tions from' the typical form are comparatively few. 
 
 The play, as a whole, is written in dramatic blank 
 verse, that is, in lines, typically, of five iambic feet. In 
 Shakspere's early work the rhythm was varied, but 
 never so as to obscure the metrical equivalence of the 
 verses. It is held by most scholars that althougli his 
 
xxxiv INTRODUCTION 
 
 later plays exhibit a marvellous freedom of variation 
 from the type, the single verse nevertheless remains 
 the type, and that it is therefore the duty of the 
 student of his verse to explain all rhythms as modificav 
 tions of the single verse. Consequently verses of less 
 than five feet are looked upon with suspicion, verses of~ 
 six feet are either reduced to five by slurs, elisions, and 
 shiftings of accents — sometimes with pretty harsh results 
 — or are broken into couplets of three feet each. But the 
 test of verse is that it be rhythmical when read freely in 
 the manner demanded by the thought or sentiment it 
 contains. And this is especially true of verse, like these 
 plays," written not to be read, but to be recited. In such 
 cases, moreover, it seems obvious that the poet who has 
 written such verse so long that the rhythm of it has 
 become too familiar to him to need the application of any 
 tests, will not be careful to determine whether the proper 
 rhythm runs unbrokenly through each single verse, but 
 whether each natural division of speech j)reserves as a 
 whole the proper movement. If this be true, it may be 
 expected that he will often end one well-defined rhythm- 
 phrase with any one of the legitimate endings, and begin 
 the next without reference to the way in which that 
 will affect at the junction the carrying through of a sys- 
 tem of scansion based on the verse. Thus, I think, 
 are the half lines, lines with an extra syllable or an 
 omission at the caesura, and other similar problems to 
 be explained. 
 
 In reading Shakspere, slurs, elisions, resolutions, and 
 contractions occur and must be reckoned with. But they 
 will always be found to be such as harmonize with the 
 proper recitation of the lines, and not mere artificial pro- 
 ducts of forcing the rhythm into a system. It is also to 
 be remembered that variations occurred in Elizabethan 
 English in normal speech which no longer seem easy or 
 
INTRODUCTION xxxT 
 
 natural to us, as for instance, the double pronunciations 
 ignominy and ignomy, whether and wher, entrance and 
 enterance. 
 
 But it may safely be asserted that whether the line be 
 rhythmical or not when read alone, the speech phrase 
 always is, due regard being had to the fact that Shaks- 
 pere wrote and spoke the English of his own time, not 
 thiat of ours. 
 
 VIII. Lanqcjage. 
 
 A useful classification of the main differences in vocab- 
 ulary, morphology, and syntax between the English of 
 Shakspere's time and the English of to-day, is given in 
 Abbot's " Shakespearian Grammar." ' Here it may suffice 
 to call attention to the fact that there is scarcely a diffi- 
 culty in Shaksperean syntax that cannot be illustrated 
 by an example drawn from current English speech. Of 
 course in such cases the construction is no longer a living 
 part of English syntax, that is, it is no longer available 
 as a form by which new expressions may be modelled ; if 
 it were, its use in Elizabethan syntax would present no 
 difficulty to us. It is usually available only for the par- 
 ticular words forming the phrase in which it is preserved ; 
 occasionally it can be used in a limited number of com- 
 binations. Examples of both these classes are commented 
 on in the notes, and others will readily suggest themselves 
 to the student who searches his own speech for illustra- 
 tions of such of Shakspere's phrases as sound queer to 
 him. It will be found that our ordinary speech is full of 
 phrases which are preserved as phrases and never resolved 
 into their elements. Most of us, indeed, form our sen- 
 
 ' See also the extremely valuable treatment of certain Important 
 and puzzling constructions in the Appendix to Schmidt's Shakes- 
 peare Lexicon. 
 
XXX vi INTRODUCTION 
 
 tences not by combining words, but by combining phrases 
 and clauses which we treat as integral units. 
 
 In Elizabethan English, on the other hand, the func- 
 tions of prepositions and conjunctions had not become so 
 differentiated and specialized ; there was, consequently, 
 greater freedom in the formation of phrases and clauses, 
 and a less noticeable tendency towards monotony of ex- 
 pression. English was once possessed of a sufficiently 
 elaborate inflectional system to admit of the expression 
 of a great many syntactical relations without the aid of 
 prepositions. It is, perhaps, true that these relations were 
 not expressed with great definiteness by the inflections 
 themselves ; tlie general relation only was indicated, the 
 particular phase had to be inferred. Prepositions and 
 conjunctions were used to define the relation more accu- 
 rately, and as the progress of language brought about a 
 constant decrease in the number of inflections the func- 
 tions of the relational particles became more and more 
 important. Again, in the course of time, relations for- 
 merly expressed indifferently by either of two particles 
 became restricted, as a rule, to one of them; and, on the 
 other hand, the number of relations indicated by a particle 
 was, in the effort to avoid ambiguity, greatly reduced : 
 for example, " in rest " and " at rest " were once used in- 
 differently, and "because" had, in addition to the rela- 
 tions now expressed by it, the function now performed by 
 " in order that." Other similar processes of restriction 
 of meaning and functions were going on at the same time. 
 Many of the peculiarities of Elizabethan English are due 
 to its being a stage of the language when most of the con- 
 structions of present English had come into use, but when 
 the process of limitation of function had not yet gone so 
 far as it now has. 
 
 Above all let the student never forget that the language 
 of Shakspere is no special creation of his own ; that he 
 
INTRODUCTION xxxvil 
 
 wrote the same sort of English that was written and 
 spoken by cultivated men in London at that time, with 
 only such difEerences as properly belong not to language, 
 but to style. He was a master of words, indeed, but that 
 does not mean that he invented new ones or used the old 
 in new significations. It ought not to be necessary to 
 utter such a warning, but the terms in which this mastery 
 of language has been praised by some critics can imply no 
 other mode of dealing with words than that so happily 
 explained by Humpty Dumpty in his famous interview 
 with the inquisitive and charming Alice. 
 
 IX. BiBLIOGEAPHT. 
 
 The best handbook for the beginner in Shakspere study 
 is still Dr. Edward Dowden's " Shakspere," in the series of 
 Literature Primers, which contains chapters on " The 
 Elizabethan Drama," "Shakspere's Life," "Early Edi- 
 tions," "Evidences of Chronology," "Groups and Dates 
 of the Plays," and introductions to each of the plays and 
 poems. In Dr. H. H. Purness's magnificent variorum 
 edition of " Macbeth " will be found all that anyone 
 needs in the way of annotations by the. best editors and 
 commentators, discussion of dates, reprints of interesting 
 illustrative materials, and a well selected body of sesthetic 
 criticism. 
 
 Those who wish to study more thoroughly the life and 
 work of Shakspere may consult : " Outlines of the Life 
 of Shakespeare," 2 vols. (9th ed.), by J. 0. Halliwell-Phil- 
 lips ; " William Shakespeare," by Karl Elze ; " The Life 
 and Work of Shakespeare," by F. G. Fleay ; " Shakes- 
 peare," by B. ten Brink; "William Shakspere," by B. 
 Wendell; "Shakspere: His Mind and Art," by E. 
 Dowden. 
 
 On Metrical Tests of Chronology, consult the papers by 
 
xxxviii INTRODUCTION 
 
 Spedding, Fleay, Furnivall, and Ingrain in " Trans. New 
 Shakspere Society ; " "A Shakespeare Manual," by P. G. 
 Fleay ; the " Beport of Com. of St. Petersburg Shakspere 
 Circle " in " Englische Studien," iii, 473 fE. 
 
 On Elizabethan English there is no really satisfactory 
 book. E. A. Abbott's "Shakespearian Grammar" is 
 very useful, but needs to be read in the light of later 
 treatises on grammar and the history of English, such as 
 H. Sweet, "A New English Grammar," pt. i, and "A 
 Short Historical English Grammar ; " L. Kellner, " His- 
 torical Outlines of English Syntax ; " E. Matzner, " Eng- 
 lish Grammar," (transl.) .3 vols. ; 0. Jespersen, " Progress 
 in Language," and either T. R. Lounsbury's or 0. F. Emer- 
 son's " History of the English Language." The standard 
 books on the pronunciation of English in Shakspere's day 
 are : A. J. Ellis, " Early English Pronunciation," and H. 
 Sweet, " A History of English Sounds " (cf. also Sweet's 
 grammars). As to lexicons, for etymologies one may 
 consult W. W. Skeat, " An Etymological Dictionary," or 
 " The International ; " for illustrative quotations, etc., 
 Nares's " Glossary," ed. Halliwell and Wright, 2 vols. ; 
 " The Century Dictionary," and that greatest of all dic- 
 tionaries, " A New English Dictionary " (which, however, 
 is still in the letter F) ; for Shakspere, of course, A. 
 Schmidt, " A Shakespeare Lexicon," 2 vols., and J. Bart- 
 lett, " A Concordance to Shakespeare." Nothing, how- 
 ever, can take the place of extensive reading in the litera- 
 ture of the period. 
 
 Indispensable for the study of the Elizabethan drama 
 are : J. A. Symonds, " Shakspere's Predecessors " (which 
 needs to be corrected by the chapters on the drama in B. 
 ten Brink's " History of English Literature," and the 
 essay in J. C. Collins's " Essays and Studies ") ; J. P. Col- 
 lier, " The History of English Dramatic Poetry," 3 vols. 
 (1st ed. 1831, 2d ed. 1879) ; A. W. Ward, "A History of 
 
INTRODUCTION xxxix 
 
 English Dramatic Literature," 2 vols. ; P. G. Fleay, " A 
 History of the London Stage," and " A Chronicle History 
 of the English Drama," 2 vols. 
 
 For the general principles of dramatic composition, 
 consult G. Preytag, " The Technique of the Drama," or 
 A. Hennequin's little book, "The Art of Play-writing." 
 
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 
 
 Whatever opinion one may have as to the methods 
 and objects of the higher study of literature, it is clear 
 that with beginners two things must be aimed at : first, 
 as clear an understanding as may be of the particular 
 masterpiece under consideration ; second, a sense as keen 
 and well developed as may be of its beauty in detail and 
 as an artistic whole. Until the student is able to under- 
 stand the meaning of what he reads and to distinguish 
 beauty from its counterfeits, the study of the principles 
 of aesthetics can hardly bring him any true or sound cul- 
 ture. The cultivation of the sense of the beautiful in 
 literature occupies the second place, not because it is 
 regarded as second, in importance, but because under- 
 standing must come first in point of time, because until 
 one knows the meaning of a bit of literature he cannot 
 possibly determine whether it is ugly, or beautiful, or a 
 mere counterfeit of beauty. 
 
 A good deal of sport has been made, of recent years, of 
 what has been called sign-board criticism, and much of it 
 has been rightly the object of ridicule : in the first place, 
 because of its silly and hysterical character ; and, secondly, 
 because it has been offered to such persons, under such 
 circumstances, and in such ways as made it nothing short 
 of impertinent. But it is hard to see how true sign-board 
 criticism can ever be banished from the study of any of 
 the arts or from the observation of beauty of any kind ; or 
 to see how, when practised by the right person, under the 
 right circumstances, it can fail to be useful and even 
 
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS xli 
 
 necessary to one who is just learning where and how to 
 look for the things that please the lover of good literature. 
 Most of us know the bitterness, when looking at a fine bit 
 of landscape or a sunset, of hearing some glib enthusiast 
 burst forth with exclamations on the glory of the scene, 
 the wonders of creation, the emotions with which it 
 inspires him, etc*, etc. ; and there are moods of enjoyment 
 in which even the most sympathetic and delicate sugges- 
 tions seem impertinent ; but there are also times when 
 one's enjoyment is increased by learning from a quicker 
 or more sensitive lover of beauty to see new wonders of 
 color and form and grouping. We do not learn to see 
 beauty, especially in the difficult art of literature, with- 
 out some cultivation of the critical faculty. Consider 
 how the great poets studied the works of their predeces- 
 sors ; read the letters in which Keats writes of his loving 
 and minute study of Shakspere, and that passage in which 
 Burns tells how he pored over the songs of Scotland, , 
 "driving my cart or walking to labor, song by song, verse 
 by verse, carefully noting the true, tender, or sublime from 
 affectation and fustian." In such a matter as this Burns 
 is surely not a bad exemplar, and the teacher who, by 
 sympathetically and unobtrusively helping his pupils to 
 distinguish the true from affectation and fustian, provides 
 them with new sources of noble enjoyment, need not care 
 greatly if sign-board criticism be the name given to his 
 method. 
 
 But let us be sure that we do distinguish the true from 
 'affectation and fustian. And the first, the indispensable, 
 step towards that is understanding. There may be legiti- 
 mate pleasures in literature which do not depend upon a 
 knowledge of the meaning. Infants, it is said, have been 
 known to manifest delight at hearing the "Paradise 
 Lost" read aloud, and scarcely different or higher is the 
 pleasure of those who, under the delusion that they are 
 
xlii SUGGHSTIONS TO TEACHERS 
 
 reading poetry, allow a stream of melodious sounds and 
 lovely images to sweep through minds which only catch 
 now and then a half meaning as it gleams through the 
 mist of laziness and stupidity. But such are not the true 
 uses of literature. Most great literature must be grappled 
 with before it will reveal its whole meaning or confer its 
 ultimate delight. Often, when every word in a sentence is 
 perfectly familiar, the meaning of the sentence, as a whole, 
 cannot be grasped without an effort; and often, when every 
 sentence is understood, the meaning of a whole passage 
 remains unperceived. Perhaps as good a test as has been 
 devised of the pupil's grasp in such cases is intelligent 
 reading — not necessarily reading which is beautiful, and 
 not by any means reading which is "elocutionary ;" but 
 reading which shows understanding of the thought. 
 Paraphrases are things of evil, but paraphrases must 
 sometimes be resorted to, either by the teacher to bring 
 out unperceived relations of ideas, or by the pupil to show 
 what he understands a passage to mean. 
 
 Besides diflBculties which can be dealt with by mere 
 force of intelligence, there are, in reading Shakspere, 
 two other classes of diflSculties, both of which require 
 special information for their solution — difficulties of lan- 
 guage and difficulties of allusion. If one does not know 
 the meaning of a word, or the force of a construction, 
 there is obviously nothing to do but to find it out. Dic- 
 tionaries and grammars will help; but when the word is 
 the name of an unknown thing, the word is not known 
 until the thing is known. And so we must have annota- 
 tions' consisting of accounts of the thing, and such other 
 information as may help to make the new word a real 
 possession. Then as to constructions, it is not enough to 
 know that such a construction has practically the same 
 force as another with which we are familiar ; that is 
 really paraphrasing; the construction is not properly our 
 
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS xliii 
 
 own possession until we feel it to be a natural mode of 
 expressing the idea, and until we feel the idea in the 
 eiact form, in which it is clothed. This is the reason for 
 parallel passages. We learn to feel the force of construc- 
 tions by meeting them often, by becoming familiar with 
 them; and the note attempts to hasten this familiarity by 
 a sort of hot-house process. Poor substitutes these for 
 the processes of life. The best preparation for reading 
 Shakspere would be a few years in Elizabethan England, 
 but unfortunately they cannot be had. The next best is 
 wide reading in Elizabethan literature; but that requires 
 a long time, and, besides, even that is made more fruitful 
 by annotations which quicken the observation. 
 
 Allusions need to be explained, and here again it is not 
 enough to furnish the requisite information; it must be 
 made real and vital. Merely to know when Sir Philip 
 Sidney lived, to be able to enumerate the principal events 
 of his life, and to recite the opinion his contemporaries 
 had of him, is useful for some purposes; but knowledge 
 which goes no further than that is not vital. In order to 
 feel an allusion to Sidney as it ought to be felt, one must 
 know him in such a way and to such a degree as to feel 
 the charm of his personality. Literature read at this 
 rate would require the secular leisures of a Methuselah, 
 and more. These are hard counsels. Quite true; but some 
 approach to the vitalizing of our knowledge of previously 
 unknown men and things, can be made even in our 
 short span, and without it we cannot understand as we 
 should. 
 
 Annotations of all kinds are an evil, a very necessary 
 evil in reading Shakspere surely, an evil that is ulti- 
 mately transformed into a good. The very stopping 
 for the information, even if it be sorely needed, interferes 
 with one's enjoyment, and new, crude information is not 
 readily made the food of poetry. In one of his finest 
 
xliv SUQGESTIONS TO TEACHERS 
 
 prose passages Wordsworth speaks of tlie possibility of 
 the facts of science becoming in the future the material 
 of poetry, but he does not fail to point out that this can- 
 not be until the results of science have become a part of 
 our familiar knowledge; th-en, says he, the poet will be at 
 the side of the man of science, carrying sensation into the 
 midst of the objects of science itself. So, when the infor- 
 mation furnished in a note is assimilated and has become 
 a part of one's familiar knowledge, it is ready to be trans- 
 formed into poetry by the magic of the poet. The time 
 to read annotations is not during the hours when one is 
 bent upon enjoying poetry at its utmost height, but 
 before. There is a time for enjoyment, but also a time for 
 study, as well as for the other devices under the sun; and 
 strenuous effort to understand never yet poisoned the cup 
 of enjoyment. 
 
 Interest and knowledge are cause and effect, each to 
 other. Pupils will not learn if they are not interested ; 
 they will not long retain their interest if they do not 
 learn. So much is said nowadays about interest as the 
 one thing needful, that care is necessary in speaking on 
 the subject. For there is a kind of interest — or some- 
 thing which passes for it — that does not lead to knowl- 
 edge. Amusement is good and has a place in education, 
 but the tendency to substitute amusement for interest as 
 the one thing needful, is greatly to be deplored. The 
 kind of interest which counts for most in education is the 
 fruit of knowledge, and is not incompatible with hard 
 work in obtaining it. The doctrine that study should 
 always be made pleasurable is surely as pernicious as it is 
 false; there must be much drudgery in acquiring any 
 knowledge of value. But when once this fact has been 
 discovered, interest may be atoused even in doing the 
 drudgery as well as it can be done. 
 
 In the study of Shakspere one of the most effective 
 
SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS xlv 
 
 means of arousing interest is by efforts to solve problems, 
 to determine debated or debatable questions, to test 
 theories. Even false theories iu regard to linguistic mat- 
 ters, or situations, or characters may thus serve a good 
 purpose, provided they be brought to the test of the facts. 
 Mere rhapsodies on Shakspere's skill in character-drawing 
 or in dramatic construction are vcortli little either for 
 stimulus or information. The notes contain a few hints 
 towards a kind of study of the structure of the play which 
 may awaken interest in those who undertake it ; at any 
 rate it will cultivate a habit of close attention to the play 
 and an acquaintance with both the action and the lan- 
 guage. 
 
 Above all things, the play is a play, and if so treated, 
 that alone ought to insure the interest of intelligent 
 pupils; for the effort to imagine how the actor should 
 look as he speaks, in what relative position to the others 
 he should stand, to see the play on the stage, in short, 
 will give new life to the words of the printed book. 
 
SPECIMEN EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 
 
 1. 1. When was " Macbeth " first published, and in 
 what form ? 
 
 2. Discuss the evidence for the date of composition. 
 
 3. What passages, if any, are interpolations ? Your 
 reasons. 
 
 4. From what book did Shakspere get the story of the 
 play, and what changes did he introduce ? 
 
 5. Why was the passage about the King's Evil intro- 
 duced ? Your reasons. 
 
 II. Explain the following passages, giving in each case 
 such information in regard to allusions and unfamiliar 
 words and constructions as would enable a person who 
 knew nothing about the passage to understand it clearly 
 and fully: 
 
 1. " Paddock calls. Anon." 
 
 2. "Like valour's minion, carved out his passage." 
 
 3. " Or memorize another Golgotha." 
 
 4. " There's no art 
 To find the mind's construction in the face." 
 
 5. " The raven himself is hoarse 
 That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan 
 Under my battlements." 
 
 6. " The near in blood 
 The nearer bloody." 
 
SPECIMEN EXAMINATION QUESTIONS xlvii 
 
 t. " Ere to black Hecate's summons, 
 
 The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums 
 Hath rung night's yawning peal." 
 
 8. " If much you note him. 
 You shall offend him and extend his passion." 
 
 9. " To all and him we thirst. 
 And all to all." 
 
 10. " And some I see 
 That two-fold balls and treble sceptres carry." 
 
 III. Give the different interpretations (including the 
 readings on which they are based) of the following, and 
 state your preference, with reasons : 
 
 1. " That but this blow 
 Might be the be-all and the end-all here. 
 But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, 
 We'Id jump the life to come." 
 
 2. " If trembling I inhabit then, protest me 
 The baby of a girl." 
 
 IV. In the following, where ought the cry of the voice 
 to end ? Why do you think so ? Meaning of italicized 
 expressions ? 
 
 1. " Methought I heard a voice cry 'Sleep no more ! 
 Macbeth does murder sleep— the innocent sleep. 
 Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care. 
 The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath. 
 Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course. 
 Chief nourisher in life's feast, — " 
 
 V. 1. Explain the forms : whiles ; or ere ; I have 
 spoke. 
 
xlviii SPECIMEN EXAMINATION QUESTIONS 
 
 2. Shaksperean meanings of : withal ; still ; timely. 
 
 3. Metre of II, 3 above, II, 5, and of : 
 
 "Toad, that under cold stone." 
 
 VI. 1. Mention one or two events or speeches which are 
 specially intended to prepare the way for more important 
 events which follow. 
 
 3. What effect does the announcement of his wife's 
 death produce upon Macbeth ? And to what reflections 
 upon life does it lead him ? 
 
 3. Why does Macbeth conceal from his wife his inten- 
 tion of murdering Banquo ? Your reasons. 
 
 4. Trace Macduff's part in the play from his first ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 5. Tell in detail how Lady Macbeth overcomes Mac- 
 beth's refusal to murder Duncan. 
 
 6. What passages or scenes particularly impressed you ? 
 
 Note. — The above is not presented as an ideal examination paper, 
 but rather, as the title indicates, as a series of questions offering 
 some variety, and likely to suggest to the intelligent teacher other 
 questions along similar lines. How much stress is to be laid upon 
 questions concerning dates, sources, metre, and language, may fairly 
 be decided by the taste and fancy of the teacher ; but there can be 
 no doubt that the paper actually set for students in high schools 
 should concern itself mainly with the events and situations of the 
 play. Questions like the last one in this paper are most useful early in 
 the course, when the answers given may enable the teacher to ascer- 
 tain what errors of taste and judgment most need attention in the 
 pupils. 
 
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MACBETH 
 
■noblemen of Scotland. 
 
 DRAMATIS PERSONS 
 Ddncan, king of Scotland. 
 
 DONALBAIN, ) 
 "M A fTR'P.T TT ) 
 
 ' V generals of the king's army. 
 
 Macduff, 
 Lennox, 
 Robs, 
 
 Mbnteith, 
 Angus, 
 Caithness, 
 Fleance, son to Ba/nquo. 
 
 SiWARD, earl of Northv/mherland, general of the English forces. 
 Young SiwARD, his son. 
 Seyton, an officer attending on Macbeth. 
 Boy, son to Macduff. 
 An Englisli Doctor. 
 A Scotch Doctor. 
 A Sergeant. 
 A Porter. 
 An Old Man. 
 Lady Macbeth. 
 Lady Macduff. 
 
 Qentlewoman attending on Lady Macbeth. 
 Hecate. 
 Three Witches. 
 Apparitions. 
 Lords, Gentlemen, Officers, Soldiers, Murderers, Attendants, and 
 Messengers. 
 
 Scene : Scotland; England. 
 
ACT PIEST. 
 
 ScEicE I. — A desert place. 
 Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches. 
 
 FiEST Witch. When shrill we three meet again 
 
 In thunder, lightning, or in rain ? 
 Second Witch. When the hurlyburly's done, ' 
 
 When the battle's lost and won. 
 Thied Witch. That will be ere the set of sun. 
 First Witch. Where the place ? 
 SECoifD Witch. Upon the heath. 
 
 Thied Witch. There to meet with Macbeth. 
 Fiest Witch. I come, Graymalkin. 
 Second Witch. Paddock calls. 
 Third Witch. Anon ! 
 
 All. Fail- is foul, and foul is fair; 10 
 
 Hover through the fog and filthy air. [^Exeunt. 
 
 Scene II. — A camp near Forres. 
 
 Alarum toithin. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Donal- 
 BAiN, Lennox, with Attendants, meeting a bleed- 
 ing Seegbant. 
 
 Duncan. What bloody man is that ? He can report. 
 
 As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt 
 
 The newest state. 
 Malcolm. .This is the sergeant 
 
 Who like a good and hardy soldier fought 
 
 'Gainst my captivity. Hail, brave friend ! 
 
4 MACBETH [Act I. 
 
 Say to the king the knowledge of the broil 
 As thou didst leave it. 
 
 Sergeant. Doubtful it stood ; 
 
 As two spent swimmers, that do cling together 
 And choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald — 
 Worthy to be a rebel, for to that !• 
 
 The multiplying villanies of nature 
 Do swarm upon him — from the western isles 
 Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied ; 
 And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling, 
 Show'd like a rebel's whore : but all's too weak : 
 For brave Macbeth — well he deserves that name — 
 Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel. 
 Which smoked with bloody execution. 
 Like valour's minion carved out his passage 
 Till he faced the slave ; 30 
 
 Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him, 
 Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps. 
 And fix'd his head upon our battlements. 
 
 DuNCAK. valiant cousin ! worthy gentleman ! 
 
 Sergeant. As whence the sun 'gins his reflection 
 Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break. 
 So from that spring whence comfort seem'd to come 
 Discomfort swells. Mark, king of Scotland, mark : 
 No sooner justice had, with valour arm'd, 
 Compell'd these skipping kerns to trust their heels, 3# 
 But the Norweyan lord, surveying vantage. 
 With furbish'd arms and new supplies of men. 
 Began a fresh assault. 
 
 Duncan. Dismay'd not this 
 
 Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo ? 
 
 Sehqeant. Yes ; 
 
 As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion. 
 If I say sooth, I must report they were 
 As cannons overcharged with double cracks j 
 
So. II.] MACBETH 5 
 
 So they 
 
 Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe : 
 Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds, 40 
 Or memorize another Golgotha, 
 I cannot tell — 
 
 But I am faint ; my gashes cry for help. 
 Dtjkcan. So well thy words become thee as thy wounds ; 
 They smack of honour both. Go get him surgeons. 
 
 [Exit Sergeant, attended. 
 Who comes here ? 
 
 Enter Eoss. 
 
 Malcolm. The worthy thane of Eoss. 
 
 Lennox. What a haste loolis through his eyes ! So 
 should he look 
 
 That seems to speak things strange. 
 Eoss. God save the king ! 
 
 Duncan. Whence earnest thou, worthy thane ? 
 Eoss. From Fife, great king ; 
 
 Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky 50 
 
 And fan our people cold. 
 
 Norway himself, with terrible numbers, 
 
 Assisted by that most disloyal traitor 
 
 The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict ; 
 
 Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof. 
 
 Confronted him with self-comparisons, 
 " Point against point rebellions, arm 'gainst arm. 
 
 Curbing his lavish spirit : and, to conclude. 
 
 The victory fell on us. 
 Duncan. Great happiness ! 
 
 Boss. That now 60 
 
 Sweno, the Norways' king, craves composition ; 
 
 Nor would we deign him burial of his men 
 
 Till he disbursed, at Saint Colme's Inch, 
 
 Ten thousand dollars to our general use. 
 
6 MACBETH [Act I. 
 
 Duncan. No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive 
 Our bosom interest : go pronounce his present death. 
 And with his former title greet Macbeth. 
 
 Ross. I'll see it done. 
 
 Duncan. What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won. 
 
 [Exeunt, 
 
 Scene III. — A heath. 
 
 Thunder. Enter the three Witches. 
 
 First Witch. Where hast thou been, sister ? 
 
 Second Witch. Killing swine. 
 
 Third Witch. Sister, where thou ? 
 
 First Witch. A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap. 
 
 And mounch'd, and mounch'd, and mounch'd. " Give 
 me," quoth I : 
 
 "Aroint thee, witch !" the rump-fed ronyon cries. 
 
 Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger : 
 
 But in a sieve I'll thither sail. 
 
 And, like a rat without a tail, 
 
 I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do. 10 
 
 Second Witch. I'll give thee a wind. 
 First Witch. Thou'rt kind. 
 Third Witch. And I another. 
 First Witch. I myself have all the other ; 
 
 And the very ports they blow. 
 
 All the quarters that they know 
 
 r the shipman's card. 
 
 I will drain him dry as hay : 
 
 Sleep shall neither night nor day 
 
 Hang upon his pent-house lid ; 20 
 
 He shall live a man forbid : 
 
 Weary se'nnights nine times nine 
 
 Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine : 
 
 Though his bark cannot be lost. 
 
So. III.] MACBETH 7 
 
 Yet it shall be tempest-tost. 
 
 Look what I have. 
 Second Witch. Show me, show me. 
 PmsT Witch. Here I have a pilot's thumb, 
 
 Wreck'd as homeward he did come. [Drum within. 
 Thikd Witch. A drum, a drum ! 30 
 
 Macbeth doth come. 
 All. The weird sisters, hand in hand. 
 
 Posters of the sea and land, 
 
 Thus do go about, about : 
 
 Thrice to thine, and thrice to mine. 
 
 And thrice again, to make up nine. 
 
 Peace ! the charm's wound uj). 
 
 Enter Macbeth and Bakquo. 
 
 Macbeth. So foul and fair a day I have not seen. 
 
 Banquo. How far is't call'd to Porres ? What are these 
 So wither'dy and so wild in their attire, 40 
 
 Thatrlook not like the inhabitants o' the earth, 
 Andsyet are on't ? Live you ? or are you aught 
 That man may question ? You seem to understand 
 
 me. 
 By each at once her choppy finger laying 
 Upon her skinny lips : you should be women. 
 And yet your beards forbid me to interpret 
 That you are so. 
 
 Macbeth. Speak, if you can : what are you ? 
 
 FiEST Witch. All hail, Macbeth ! hail to thee, thane of 
 Glamis ! 
 
 Secohtd Witch. All hail, Macbeth ! hail to thee, thane 
 of Cawdor ! 
 
 Third Witch. All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king 
 hereafter ! 50 
 
 Banquo. Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear 
 Things that do sound so fair ? F the name of truth. 
 
8 MACBETB [Act I. 
 
 Are ye fantastical, or that indeed 
 
 Which outwardly ye show ? My noble partner 
 
 You greet with present grace and great prediction 
 
 Of noble having and of royal hope. 
 
 That he seems rapt withal : to me you speak not : 
 
 If you can look into the seeds of time. 
 
 And say which grain will grow and which will not. 
 
 Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear 60 
 
 Your favours nor your hate. 
 
 FiBST Witch. Hail ! 
 
 Second Witch. Hail ! 
 
 Third Witch. Hail ! 
 
 First Witch. Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. 
 
 Second Witch. Not so happy, yet much happier. 
 
 Third Witch. Thou shalfc get kings, though thou be none: 
 So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo ! 
 
 First Witch. Banquo and Macbeth, all hail ! 
 
 Macbeth. Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more: 
 By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis ; 71 
 But how of Cawdor ? the thane of Cawdor lives, 
 A prosperous gentleman ; and to be king 
 Stands not within the prospect of belief. 
 No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence 
 You owe this strange intelligence ? or why 
 Upon this blasted heath you stop our way 
 With such projAetic greeting ? Speak, I charge you. 
 
 [Witches vanish. 
 
 Banquo. The earth hath bubbles as the water has, 79 
 And these are of them : whither are they vanish'd ? 
 
 Macbeth. Into the air, and what seem'd corporal melted 
 As breath into the wind. Would they had stay'd ! 
 
 Banquo. Were such things here as we do speak about ? 
 Or have we eaten on the insane root 
 That takes the reason prisoner ? 
 
 Macbeth. Your children shall be kings. 
 
So. III.] ^ MACBETH 9. 
 
 Banquo. You shall be king. 
 
 Macbeth. And thane of Cawdor too : went it not so ? 
 Banquo. To the selfsame tune and words. Who's here ? 
 
 Enter Eoss and Angus. 
 
 Ross. The king hath happily received, Macbeth, 
 
 The news of thy success : and when he reads 90 
 
 Thy personal venture in the rebels' fight. 
 
 His wonders and his praises do contend 
 
 Which should be thine or his : silenced with that. 
 
 In viewing o'er the rest o' the selfsame day, 
 
 He finds thee in the stout Norweyan ranks. 
 
 Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make, 
 
 Strange images of death. As thick as hail 
 
 Came post with post, and every one did bear 
 
 Thy praises in his kingdom's great defence. 
 
 And pour'd them down before him. 
 
 Angus. We are sent 100 
 
 To give thee, from our royal master, thanks ; 
 Only to herald thee into his sight. 
 Not pay thee. 
 
 Ross. And for an earnest of a greater honour. 
 
 He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor : 
 In which addition, hail, most worthy thane ! 
 For it is thine. 
 
 Banquo. What, can the devil' speak true ? 
 
 Macbeth. The thane of Cawdor lives : why do you dress 
 me 
 In borrow'd robes ? 
 
 Angus. Who was the thane lives yet. 
 
 But under heavy judgement bears that life 110 
 
 Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was combined 
 With those of Norway/ or did line the rebel 
 With hidden help and vantage, or that with both 
 He labour'd in his country's wreck, I know not ; 
 
10 MACBETH [A^ L 
 
 But treasons capital, confess'd and proved, 
 Have overthrown him. 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside.'\ Glamis, and thane of Cawdor: 
 
 The greatest is behind. — Thanks for your pains. — 
 Do you not hope your children shall be kings. 
 When those that gave the thane of Cawdor to me 
 Promised no less to them ? 
 
 Banquo. That, trusted home, 120 
 
 Might yet enkindle you unto the crown, 
 Besides the thane of Cawdor. But 'tis strange : 
 And oftentimes, to win us to our harm. 
 The instruments of darkness tell us truths. 
 Win us with honest trifles, to betray ''s 
 In deepest consequence. 
 Cousins, a word, I pray you, 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside.] Two truths are told. 
 
 As happy prologues to the swelling act 
 Of the imperial theme. — I thank you, gentlemen. — 
 [Aside.] This supernatural soliciting 1,30 
 
 Cannot be ill ; cannot be good : if ill. 
 Why hath it given me earnest of success, 
 Commencing in a truth ? I am thane of Cawdor : 
 If good, why do I yield to that suggestion 
 Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair 
 And make my seated heart knock at my ribs. 
 Against the use of nature ? Present fears 
 Are less than horrible imaginings : 
 My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical. 
 Shakes so my single state of man that function 140 
 Is smothered in surmise, and nothing is 
 But what is not. 
 
 Banquo. Look, how our partner's rapt. 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside.] If chance will have me king, why, 
 chance may crown me. 
 Without my stir. 
 
8c. IV.] MACBETH H 
 
 Banquo. New honours come upon him. 
 
 Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould 
 But with the aid of use. 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside.] Come what come may, 
 
 Time and the hour runs through the roughest day. 
 
 Bakquo. Worthy Macbeth, we stay upon your leisure. 
 
 Macbeth. Give me your favour : my dull brain was 
 wrought 
 With things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, your pains 
 Are register'd where every day I turn 151 
 
 The leaf to read them. Let us toward the king. 
 Think upon what hath chanced, and. at more time. 
 The interim having weigh'd it, let us speak 
 Our free hearts each to other. 
 
 Banquo. Very gladly. 
 
 Macbeth. Till then, enough. Come friends. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene \Y.— Forres. The palace. 
 
 Flourish. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Donalbain, 
 Lennox, and Attendants. 
 
 Duncan. Is execution done on Cawdor ? Are not 
 Those in commission yet return'd ? 
 
 Malcolm. My liege. 
 
 They are not yet come back. But I have spoke 
 With one that saw him die, who did report ' 
 
 That very frankly he confess'd his treasons. 
 Implored your highness' pardon and set forth 
 A deep repentance : nothing in his life 
 Became him like the leaving it ; he died 
 As one that had been studied in his death. 
 To throw away the dearest thing he owed 10 
 
 As 'twere a careless trifle. 
 
12 MACBETH [Act I. 
 
 DuiTCAN. There's no art 
 
 To find the mind's construction in the face : 
 He was a gentleman on whom I built 
 An absolute trust. 
 
 Enter Macbeth, Banquo, Ross, and Aifous. 
 
 worthiest cousin ! 
 The sin of my ingratitude even now 
 Was heavy on me : thou art so far before, 
 That swiftest wing of recompense is slow 
 To overtake thee. Would thou hadst less deserved. 
 That the proportion both of thanks and payment 
 Might have been mine ! only I have left to say, 2G 
 More is thy due than more than all can pay. 
 
 Macbeth. The service and the loyalty I owe. 
 In doing it, pays itself. Your highness' part 
 Is to receive our duties : and our duties 
 Ar& to your throne and state children and servants ; 
 Which do but what they should, by doing every thing 
 Safe toward your love and honour. 
 
 Duncan. Welcome hither : 
 
 I have begun to plant thee, and will labour 
 To make thee full of growing. Noble Banquo, 
 That hast no less deserved, nor must be known 30 
 No less to have done so : let me infold thee 
 And hold thee to my heart. 
 
 Banquo. There if I grow. 
 
 The harvest is your own. 
 
 Duncan. My plenteous joys. 
 
 Wanton in fulness, seek to hide themselves 
 In drops of sorrow. Sons, kinsmen, thanes. 
 And you whose places are the nearest, know. 
 We will establish our estate upon 
 Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter 
 The Prince of Cumberland : which honour must 
 
80. v.] MACBETH 13 
 
 Not unaccompanied invest him only, 40 
 
 But signs of nobleness, like stars, siiall shine 
 On all deservers. From hence to Inverness, 
 And bind us further to you. 
 
 Macbeth. The rest is labour, which is not used for you: 
 I'll be myself the harbinger, and make joyful 
 The hearing of my wife with your approach ; 
 So humbly take my leave. 
 
 Duncan. My worthy Cawdor ! 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside.\ The Prince of Cumberland ! that is 
 a step 
 On which I must fall down, or else o'erleap. 
 For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires ; 50 
 
 Let not light see my black and deep desires : 
 The eye wink at the hand ; yet let that be 
 Which the eye fears, when it is done, to see. [JExit. 
 
 Duncan. True, worthy Banqno ; he is full so valiant, 
 And in his commendations I am fed ; 
 It is a banquet to me. Let's after him. 
 Whose care is gone before to bid us welcome : 
 It is a peerless kinsman. \^Flourish. Exeunt. 
 
 Scene V. — Inverness. Macbeth's castle. 
 
 Enter Ladt 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 
 
14 MACBETH [Act I. 
 
 thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of great- 
 ness, 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 14 
 
 What th^u 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 liolily ; 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 23 
 
 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 yonr tidings ? 
 Messenger. The king comes here to-night. 
 Lady Macbeth. Thou'rt mad to say it : 
 
 Is not thy master with him ? who, were't so, 31 
 
 Would have inform'd for preparation. 
 Messenger. So please you, it is true : our thane is com- 
 ing : 
 
 One of my fellows had the speed of him. 
 
 Who, almost dead for breath, had scarcely more 
 
 Than would make up his message. 
 
So. v.] MACBETH 15 
 
 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, 40 
 
 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, 50 
 
 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. 
 
 Macbeth. My dearest love, 
 
 Duncan comes here to-night. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. And when goes hence ? 
 
 Macbeth. To-morrow, as he purposes. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. 0, never 
 
 Shall sun that morrow see ! 60 
 
 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, 
 
16 MACBETH [Act I. 
 
 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. 
 Macbeth. We will speak further. 
 Lady Macbeth. Only look up clear ; 
 
 To alter favour ever is to fear : 71 
 
 Leave all the rest to me. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene VI. — Before Macbeth's castle. 
 Hautboys and torches. Enter Duncan, Malcolm, Don- 
 
 ALBAIN, BaNQUO, LeNNOX, MacDUFF, ROSS, ANGUS, 
 
 and Attendants. 
 
 Duncan. This castle hath' a pleasant seat ; the air 
 Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself 
 Unto our gentle senses. 
 
 Banquo. This guest of summer. 
 
 The temple-haunting martlet, does approve 
 By his loved mansionry that the heaven's breath 
 Smells wooingly here : no jutty, frieze. 
 Buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird 
 Hath made his pendent bed and procreant cradle : 
 Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed 
 The air is delicate. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Duncan. See, see, our honour'd hostess ! 10 
 
 The love that follows us sometime is our trouble. 
 Which still we thank as love. Herein I teach you 
 
Be. Vn.] MACBETH 17 
 
 How you shall bid God 'ild us for your pains. 
 And thank us for your trouble. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. All our service 
 
 In every point twice done, and then done double, 
 Were poor and single business to contend 
 Against those honours deep and broad wherewith 
 Your majesty loads our house : for those of old. 
 And the late dignities heap'd lip to them. 
 We rest your hermits. 
 
 Duncan. Where's the thane of Cawdor ? 
 
 We coursed him at the heels, and had a purpose 21 
 To be his purveyor : but he rides well. 
 And his great love, sharp as his spur, hath holp him 
 To his home before us. Fair and noble hostess, 
 We are your guest to-night. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Your servants ever 
 
 Have theirs, themselves^ and what is theirs, in compt. 
 To make their audit at your highness' pleasure. 
 Still to return your own. 
 
 Duncan. Give me your hand ; 
 
 Conduct me to mine host : we love him highly. 
 And shall continue our graces towards him. 30 
 
 By your leave, hosjtess. [Uzeuni. 
 
 Scene VII. — Macbeth's castle. 
 
 Hautboys and torches. Enter a Sewer, and divers Ser- 
 vants with dishes and service, and pass over the stage. 
 Then enter Macbeth. 
 
 Macbeth. If it were done when 'tis done, then 'twere well 
 It were done quickly : if the assassination 
 Could trammel up the consequence, and catch. 
 With his surcease, success ; that but this blow 
 Might be the be-all and the end-all here. 
 
18 MACBETH [Act I. 
 
 But here, upon this bank and shoal of time, 
 
 We'ld jump the life to come. But in these cases 
 
 We still have judgement here ; that we but teach 
 
 Bloody instructions, which being taught return 
 
 To plague the inventor : this even-handed justice 10 
 
 Commends the ingredients of our poison'd chalice i^ 
 
 To our own lips. He's here in double tru st : "'^ ' 
 
 First, as I am his kinsman and his subject. 
 
 Strong both against the deed ; then, as his host. 
 
 Who should against his murderer shut the door, 
 
 Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan 
 
 Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been 
 
 So clear in his great office, that his virtues 
 
 Will plead like angels trumpet-tongued against 
 
 The deep damnation of his taking-oS ; SO 
 
 And pity, like a naked new-born babe. 
 
 Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubin horsed 
 
 Upon the sightless couriers of the air, 
 
 Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye. 
 
 That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur 
 
 To prick the sides of my intent, but only 
 
 Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself 
 
 And -falls on the other. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 How now ! what news ? 
 Lady Macbeth. He has almost supp'd : why have yon 
 
 left the chamber ? 
 Macbeth. Hath he asked for me ? 
 Lady Macbeth. Know you not he has ? 30 
 
 Macbeth. We will proceed no further in this business : 
 
 He hath honour'd me of late ; and I have bought 
 
 Golden opinions from all sorts of people. 
 
 Which would be worn now in their newest gloss, 
 
 Not cast aside so soon. 
 
So. VII.] MACBETH ' 19 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Was the hope drunk 
 
 Wherein you dress'd yourself ? hath it slept since ? 
 And wakes it now, to look so green and pale 
 At what it did so freely ? From this time 
 Such I account thy love. Art thou afeard 
 To be the same in thine own act and valour 40 
 
 As thou art in desire ? Wouldst thou have that 
 Which thou esteem'st the ornament of life. 
 And live a coward in thine own esteenij 
 Letting " I dare not " wait upon " I would," 
 Like the poor cat i' the adage ? 
 
 Macbeth. Prithee, peace : 
 
 I dare do all that may become a man ; 
 Who dares do more is none. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What beast was't then 
 
 That made you break this enterprise to me ? 
 When you durst do it, then you were a man ; 
 And, to be more than what you were, you would 50 
 Be so much more the man. Nor time nor place 
 Did then adhere, and yet you would make both : 
 They have made themselves, and that their fitness now 
 Does unmake you. I have given suck, and know 
 How tender 'tis to love the babe that milks me : 
 I would, while it was smiling in my face. 
 Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums. 
 And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you 
 Have done to this. 
 
 Macbeth. If we should fail ? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. We fail ! 
 
 But screw your courage to the stick ing-place, 60 
 
 And we'll not fail. When Duncan is asleep — 
 Whereto the rather shall his day's hard journey 
 Soundly invite him — his two chamberlains 
 Will I with wine and wassail so convince. 
 That memory, the warder of the brain, 
 
20 MACBETH [Act II. 
 
 Shall be a f nme, and the receipt of reason 
 
 A limbec only : when in swinish sleep 
 
 Their drenched natures lie as in a death. 
 
 What cannot you and I perform upon 
 
 The unguarded Duncan ? what not put upon 70 
 
 His spongy officers, who shall bear the guilt 
 
 Of our great quell ? 
 
 Macbeth. Bring forth men-children only ; 
 
 For thy undaunted mettle should compose 
 Nothing but males. Will it not be received, 
 When we have mark'd with blood those sleepy two 
 Of his own chamber, and used their very daggers. 
 That they have done't ? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Who dares receive it other. 
 
 As we shall make our griefs and clamour roar 
 Upon his death ? 
 
 Macbeth. I am settled, and bend up 
 
 Each corporal agent to this terrible feat. 80 
 
 Away, and mock the time with fairest show : 
 False face must hide what the false heart doth know. 
 
 \^Exeunt 
 
 ACT SECOND. 
 
 Scene I. — Inverness. Court of Macb^ts's castle. 
 
 Enter Banquo, and Fleance hearing a torch before Mm. 
 
 Banquo. How goes the night, boy ? 
 Feeance. The moon is down ; I have not heard the clock. 
 Banquo. And she goes down at twelve. 
 Flbance. I take't, 'tis later, sir. 
 
 Banquo. Hold, take my sword. There's husbandry in 
 heaven. 
 Their candles are all out. Take thee that too. 
 
so. I.] MACBETH 21 
 
 A heavy summons lies like lead upon me. 
 And yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers, 
 Eestrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature 
 Gives way to in repose ! 
 
 Enter Macbeth, and a Servant with a torch. 
 
 Give me my sword. 
 
 Who's there ? 10 
 
 Macbeth. A friend. 
 Banquo. What, sir, not yet at rest ? The king's a-bed : 
 
 He hath been in unusual pleasure, and 
 
 Sent forth great largess to your offices : 
 
 This diamond he greets your wife withal. 
 
 By the name of most kind hostess ; and shut up 
 
 In measureless content. 
 Macbeth. Being unprepared, 
 
 Our will became the servant to defect ; 
 
 Which else should free have wrought. 
 Banquo. All's well. 
 
 I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters : 30 
 
 To you they have show'd some truth. 
 Macbeth. I think not of them : 
 
 Yet, when we can entreat an hour to serve. 
 
 We would spend it in some words upon that business, 
 
 If you would grant the time. 
 BanqUO. At your kind'st leisure. 
 
 Macbeth. If you shall cleave to my consent, when 'tis. 
 
 It shall make honour for you. 
 Banquo. So I lose none 
 
 In seeking to augment it, but still keep , . 
 
 My bosom franchised and allegiance clear, ' \ 
 
 I shall be counsell'd. 
 Macbeth. Good repose the while ! 
 
 Banquo. Thanks, sir : the like to you ! 30 
 
 [Exeunt Baistquo and Flbancb. 
 
32 MACBETE [Act H. 
 
 Macbeth. Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready, 
 She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed. 
 
 [^Exit Servant. 
 Is this a dagger which I see befor&jne, 
 The handle toward my hand ? Come, let me clutch 
 
 thee. 
 I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. 
 Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible 
 To feeling as to sight ? or art thou but 
 A dagger of the mind, a false creation. 
 Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain ? 
 I see thee yet, in form as palpable 40 
 
 As this which now I draw. 
 TJiou marshall'st me the way that I was.going4 
 And such an instrument I was to use. 
 Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses. 
 Or else worth all the reat : 1 see thee still ; 
 And on thy blade and dudgeon gduis »f blood, , 
 Which was not so before. Ther e's no such th ing 
 It- is the, bloody hnRineaa which info^,^R 
 Thus to mine^eyes. Now o'er the one half- world 
 Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse' 50 
 
 The curtaan'd^leepj witchcraft celebrates 
 Pale Hecate s offe^gs ; and wither'd murder, 
 Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf, 
 Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace. 
 With Tarqnin's ravishing strides, towards his design 
 Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth. 
 Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear 
 Thy very stones prate of my whereabout, 
 And take the present horror from'tlie time. 
 Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives : 60 
 Wordsto the heat of deeds too cold breath gives. 
 
 [A bell rings. 
 I go, and it is done : the bell invites me. 
 
So. 11.] MACBETH 33 
 
 ^ Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a-knell 
 That surninons3]lfifiJtt.Jieaj.eji.or.iui^^ [Exit. 
 
 -SoEH-E II. — The same. 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Ladt Macbeth. JThgi which hath made them drunk hath 
 made me boljjL; 
 What hath quench'd them hath given me fire. Hark ! 
 
 Peace ! 
 It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman. 
 Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it : 
 The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms' 
 Do mock their charge with snores : I have drugg'd 
 
 their possets,'"^- 
 That death and nature do contend about them. 
 Whether they live or die. 
 
 Macbeth. [ Within.'] Who's there ? what, ho ! 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Alack, I am afraid they have awaked 
 And 'tis not done : the attempt and not the deed 10 
 Confounds us. Hark ! I laid their daggers ready ; 
 He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled 
 My father as he sl^±,_I_had^5n?^^r- • ' ^~ 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 
 My husband ! 
 Macbeth. J. have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a 
 
 noise ? 
 Lady Macbeth. I heard the owl scream and the crickets 
 cry. 
 Did not you speak ? 
 Macbeth. When ? ' 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Now. 
 
 Macbeth. As I descended ? 
 
24 MACBETH [Act n. 
 
 Ladt Macbeth. Ay. 
 Macbeth. Hark ! 
 
 Who lies i' the second chamber ? 
 Lady Macbeth. Donalbain. 19 
 
 Macbeth. This is a sorry sight. [Looking on his hands. 
 Lady Macbeth. A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight. 
 Macbeth. There's one did laugh in 's sleep, and one 
 cried " Murder ! " 
 That they did wake each other : I stood and heard 
 
 them : 
 But they did say their prayers, and address'd them 
 Again to sleep. 
 Lady Macbeth. There are two lodged together. 
 Macbeth. One cried "God bless us!" and "Amen" 
 the other. 
 As they had seen me with these hangman's hands : 
 Listening their fear, I could not say " Amen," 
 When they did say " God bless us ! " 
 Ladt Macbeth. Consider it not so deeply. 30 
 
 Macbeth. But wherefore could not I pronounce 
 "Amen"? 
 I had ni pst- aeed of b TfiSRing;^_and "Amen" 
 "StuckiD-m^-ihroat. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. These deeds must not be thought 
 
 After these ways ; so, it will make us mad. 
 
 Macbeth. Methought I heard a voice cry " Sleep no 
 more ! 
 Macbeth does murder sleep " — the innocent sleep. 
 Sleep that knits up the ravell'd sleave of care, 
 The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath. 
 Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course. 
 Chief nourisher in life's feast, — 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What do you mean ? 40 
 
 Macbeth. Still it cried " Sleep no more ! " to all the 
 house : 
 
8c. IL] MACBETH 25 
 
 " Glamis hat h niprflar'd^file& p, and therefore Cawdor 
 ShansleepngjaiQre : Macbeth shall sleep no more." 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Who was it that thus cried ? Why, 
 worthy thane. 
 You do unbend your noble strength, to think 
 So brainsickly of things. Go get some water. 
 And wash this filthy witness from your hand. 
 Why did you bring these daggers from the place ? 
 They must lie there : go carry them, and smear 
 The sleepy grooms with blood. „ 
 
 Macbeth. I'll go no more : 50 
 
 I am afraid to think what I have done'; 
 Look on't again I dare not.'., - 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Infirm of purpose ! 
 
 Give me the daggers : the sleeping and the .dead 
 Are but as pictures : 'tis the eye of childhood 
 That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed, 
 I'll gild the faces of the grooms withal. 
 For it must seem their guilt. 
 
 [Mcit. Knocking within. 
 
 Macbeth. Whence is that knocking ? 
 
 How is't with me, when every noise appals m6 ? 
 What hands are here ? ha ! they pluck out mine eyes ! 
 Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood 60 
 Clean from my hand ? No ; this my hand will rather 
 The niultitudinous seas incarnadine, Y,<r 
 Making the green one red. 
 
 Re-enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. My hands are of your colour, but I 
 
 shame 
 To wear a heart so white. [Knocking within.l I hear 
 
 a knocking 
 At the south entry : retire we to our chamber : 
 A little water c|ear^ us, of this deed : 
 
26 MACBETH [Act II. 
 
 How easy is it, then ! Your constancy 
 
 Hath left you unattended. [Knocking within.] 
 Hark ! more knocking : 
 
 Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us 70 
 
 And show us to be watchers : be not lost 
 
 So poorly in your thoughts. 
 Macbeth. To know my deed, 'twere best not know my- 
 self. [Knocking tvithin. 
 
 Wake Duncan with thy knocking ! I would thou 
 couldst ! [Kxeunt. 
 
 Scene III. — The same. 
 
 '- Enter a Pokter. Knocking within. 
 
 PoETEE. Here's a knocking indeed ! If a man were 
 porter of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key. 
 [Knocking within.] Knock, knock, knock ! Who's 
 there, i' the name of Beelzebub ? Here's a farmer, that 
 hanged himself on th' expectation of plenty : come in 
 time ; have napkins enow about you ; here you'll sweat 
 for't. [Knocking within.] Knock, knock ! Who's 
 there, in th' other devil's name ? Faith, here's an equivo- 
 cator, that could swear in both the scales against either 
 scale ; who committed treason enough for God's sake, yet 
 could not equivocate to heaven : come in, equivocator. 
 [Knocking tvithin.] Knock, knock, knock ! Who's 
 there ? Faith, here's an English tailor come hither, for 
 stealing out of a French hose : come in, tailor ; here you 
 may roast your goose. [Knocking tvithin.] 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 the everlasting bonfire. [Ktiocking 
 within.] Anpn, anon ! I pray you remember the porter. 
 
 [Opens the gate. 
 
8c. in.] MACBETH 27 
 
 Enter Macduff and Lenkox. 
 
 Macduff. Was it so late, friend, ere you went to bed, 
 
 Tliat you do lie so late ? 22 
 
 PoKTER. Faith, sir, we were carousing till the second 
 
 cock. 
 Macduff. Is thy master stirring ? 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 
 Our knocking has awaked him ; here he comes. 
 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 on him : 
 
 I have almost slipp'd the hour. 
 Macbeth. I'll bring you to him. 
 
 Macduff. I know this is a joyful trouble to you ; 30 
 
 But yet 'tis one. , , ..-r- ^ 
 
 Macbeth. The labour we delight in physics pain. 
 
 This is the door. 
 Macduff. I'll make so bold to call. 
 
 For 'tis my limited service. . [Exit. 
 
 Lennox. Goes the king hence to-day ? 
 Macbeth. He does: he did appoint so. 
 
 Lennox. The night has been unruly : where we lay. 
 
 Our chimneys were blown down, and, as they say, ^ 
 
 Lamentings heard i' the air, strange screams of deathj^ 
 
 And prophesying with accents terrible 
 
 Of dire combustion and confused events 40 
 
 New hatch'd to the woful time : the obscure bird ( 
 
 Olamour'd the livelong night: some say, the earth 
 
 Was feverous an^ j,i(J shake. 
 Macbeth. 'Twas a rough night. 
 
28 MACBETH [Act n. 
 
 Lennox. My young remembrance cannot parallel 
 A fellow to it. 
 
 Re-enter Macduff. 
 
 Macduff. horror, horror, horror ! Tongue nor heart 
 Cannot conceive nor name thee. 
 
 Le"^™' [ ^^**'' *^^ '"^"^^ ^ 
 
 Macduff. Confusion now hath made his masterpiece. 
 Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope 
 The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence 50 
 
 The life o' the building. 
 
 Macbeth. What ie't you say ? the life ? 
 
 Lennox. Mean you his majesty ? 
 
 Macduff. Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight 
 With a new Gorgon : do not bid me speak ; 
 See, and then speak yourselves. 
 
 [^Exeunt Macbeth and Lennox. 
 Awake, awake ! 
 King the alarum-bell. Murder and treason ! 
 Banquo and Donalbain ! Malcolm ! awake ! 
 Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit. 
 And look on death itself ! up, up, and see 
 The great doom's image ! Malcolm ! Banquo ! 60 
 
 As from your graves rise up, and walk like sprites. 
 To countenance this horror. Eing the bell. [Bell rings. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What's the business. 
 
 That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley 
 The sleepers of the house ? speak, speak ! 
 
 Macduff. gentle lady, 
 
 'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak : 
 The repetition, in a woman's ear. 
 Would murder as it fell. 
 
8c. III.] MACBETH 29 
 
 Enter Banquo. 
 
 Banquo, Banquo ! 
 
 Our royal master's murder'd. 
 Lauy Macbeth. Woe, alas ! 
 
 What, in our house ? 
 Banquo. Too cruel any where. 70 
 
 Dear Duff, I prithee, contradict thyself. 
 
 And say it is not so. 
 
 Re-enter Macbeth and LEirifOX, with Boss. 
 
 Macbeth. Had I but died an hour before this chance, 
 I had lived a blessed time ; for from this instant 
 There's nothing serious in mortality : 
 All is but toys : renown and grace is dead ; 
 Thejyinejof life is drawn, and the mere lees 
 Is left this vault to brag of. 
 
 Enter Malcolm and Dohalbain-. 
 
 DoiTALBAiN. What is amiss ? 
 
 Macbeth. You are, and do not know't : 
 
 The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood 80 
 
 Is stopp'd ; the very source of it is stopp'd. 
 Macduff. Your royal father's murder'd. 
 Malcolm. 0, by whom ? 
 
 Lbknox. Those of his chamber, as it seem'd, had done't: 
 
 Their hands and faces were all badged with blood ; 
 
 So were their daggers, which unwiped we found 
 
 Upon their pillows : 
 
 They stared, and were distracted ; no man's life 
 
 Was to be trusted with them. 
 Macbeth. 0, yet I do repent me of my fury. 
 
 That I did kill them. ''^ "i^* - 'J 
 Macduff. Wherefore did you so ? 90 
 
30 MACBETH [Act II. 
 
 Macbeth. Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and 
 furious. 
 Loyal and neutral, in a moment ? No man : 
 The expedition of my violent love 
 Outrun the pauser reason. Here lay Duncan, 
 His silver skin laced with his golden blood. 
 And his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in nature 
 For ruin's wasteful entrance : there, the murderers, 
 Steep'd in the colours of their trade, their daggers 
 Unmannerly breech'd with gore : who could refrain. 
 That had a heart to love, and in that lieart 100 
 
 Courage to make's love known ? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Help me hence, ho ! 
 
 Macduff. Look to the lady. 
 
 Malcolm. \^Aside to Donalbain.] Why do we hold our 
 tongues. 
 That most may claim this argument for ours ? 
 
 DoiTALBAiN. [Aside toM.kJjcoiM.\ What should be spoken 
 here, where our fate 
 Hid in an auger-hole, may rush, and seize us ? 
 Let's away; 
 Our tears are not yet brew'd. 
 
 Malcolm. \^Aside to Don albain. ] Nor our strong sorrow 
 Upon the foot of motion. 
 
 Banquo. Look to the lady : 
 
 [Lady Macbeth is carried out. 
 And when we have our naked frailties hid. 
 That suflEer in exposure, let us meet, 110 
 
 And question this most bloody piece of work, 
 To know it further. Pears and scruples shake us : 
 In the great hand of God I stand, and thence 
 Against the undivulged pretence I fight 
 Of treasonous malice. 
 
 Macduff. And so do I. 
 
 All. So all. 
 
So. IV.] MACBETH 31 
 
 Macbeth. Let's briefly put on manly readiness, 
 And meet i' the hall together. 
 
 All. Well contented. 
 
 {^Exeunt all but Malcolm and Don albain. 
 
 Malcolm. What will you do ? Let's not consort with 
 them : 
 To show an unfelt sorrow is an office 
 Which the false man does easy. I'll to England. 120 
 
 DoNALBAiiT. To Ireland, I ; our separated fortune 
 Shall keep us both the safer : where we are. 
 There's daggers in men's smiles : the near in blood. 
 The nearer bloody. 
 
 Malcolm. This murderous shaft that's shot 
 
 Hath not yet lighted, and bur safest way 
 Is to avoid the aim. Therefore to horse ; 
 And let us not be dainty of leave-taking. 
 But £lyft away : there's warrant in that theft 
 Which steals itself when there's no mercy left. 
 
 {^Exeunt. 
 
 ScEisTE IV. — Outside Maobeth's castle. 
 Enter Eoss with an Old Man. 
 
 Old Man. Threescore and ten I can remember well : 
 Within the volume of which time I have seen 
 Hours dreadful and things strange, but this sore night 
 Hath trifled former knowings. 
 
 Ross. Ah, good father. 
 
 Thou seest, the heavens, as troubled with man's act. 
 Threaten his bloody stage : by the clock 'tis day, 
 And yet dark night strangles the travelling lamp : 
 Is't night's predominance, or the day's shame. 
 That darkness does the face of earth entomb. 
 When living light should kiss it ? 
 
3^ MACBETH [Act If. 
 
 Old Man. "Eisjjimatjiral, 10 
 
 Even like the de ed that's done. On Tuesday last, 
 A falcon towering in her pride of place 
 Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd. 
 
 Ross. And Duncan's horses — a thing most strange and 
 certain — 
 Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, 
 Turn'd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out. 
 Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make 
 War with mankind. 
 
 Old Man. 'Tis said they eat each other, 
 
 Ross. They did so, to the amazement of mine eyes. 
 That look'd upon 't. 
 
 Enter Macduff. 
 
 Here comes the good Macduff. 20 
 How goes the world, sir, now ? 
 
 Macduff. Why, see you not ? 
 
 Ross. Is't known who did this more than bloody deed ? 
 
 Macduff. Those that Macbeth hath slain. 
 
 Ross. Alas, the day ! 
 
 What good could they pretend ? 
 
 Macduff. They were suborn' d: 
 
 Malcolm and Donalbain, the king's two sons. 
 Are stol'n away and fled, which puts upon them 
 Suspicion of the deed. 
 
 Ross. 'Gainst nature still : 
 
 Thriftless ambition, that wilt ravin up 
 Thine own life's means ! Then 'tis most like 
 The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth. 30 
 
 Macduff. He is already named, and gone to Scone 
 To be invested. 
 
 Ross. Where is Duncan's body ? 
 
 Macduff. Carried to Colme-kill, 
 
Act. m.] ■ MACBETH 33 
 
 The sacred storehouse of his predecessors 
 
 And guardian of their bones. 
 Eoss. Will you to Scone ? 
 
 Macduff. No, cousin, I'll to Fife. 
 Eoss. Well, I will thither. 
 
 Macduff. Well, may you see things well done there : 
 adieu ! 
 
 Lest our old robes sit easier than our new ! 
 Eoss. Farewell, father. 39 
 
 Old Man. God's benison go with you, and with those 
 
 That would make good of bad and friends of foes ! 
 
 [Hxemit. 
 
 ACT THIED. 
 
 Scene I. — Forres. The palace. 
 
 Enter Banquo. 
 
 Banquo. Thou hast it now : king, Cawdor, Glamis, all. 
 As the weird women promised, and I fear 
 Thou play'dst most foully for't : yet it was said 
 It should not stand in thy posterity. 
 But that myself should be the root and father 
 Of many kings. If there come truth from them — 
 As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine — 
 Why, by the verities on thee made good. 
 May they not be my oracles as well 
 And set me np, in hope ? But hush, no more. 10 
 
 Sennet sounded. Enter Macbeth, as king ; Ladt Mac- 
 beth, as queen ; Lennox, Eoss, Lobds, Ladies, and 
 Attendants. 
 
 Macbeth. Here's our chief guest. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. If he had been forgotten. 
 
 It had been as a gap in our great feast. 
 
 And all-thing unbecoming. 
 
34 MACBETH • fAci III. 
 
 Macbeth. To-night we hold a solemn supper, sir. 
 And ril request your presence. 
 
 Banquo. Let your highness 
 
 Command upon me, to the which my duties 
 Are with a most indissoluble tie 
 For ever knit. 
 
 Macbeth. Ride you this afternoon ? 
 
 Banquo. Ay, my good lord. 19 
 
 Macbeth. We should have else desired your good advice. 
 Which still hath been both grave and prosperous. 
 In this day's council ; but we'll take to-morrow. 
 Is't far you ride ? 
 
 Banquo. As far, my lord, as will fill up the time 
 
 'Twixt this and supper : go not my horse the better, 
 I must become a borrower of the night 
 For a dark hour or twain. 
 
 Macbeth. Fail not our feast. 
 
 Banquo. My lord, I will not. , 
 
 Macbeth. We hear our bloody cousins are bestow'd 
 
 In England and in Ireland, not confessing 30 
 
 Their cruel parricide, filling their hearers 
 With strange invention : but of that to-morrow. 
 When therewithal we shall have cause of state 
 Craving us jointly. Hie you to horse : adieu. 
 Till you return at night. Goes Fleance with you ? 
 
 Banquo. Ay, my good lord : our time does call upon's. 
 
 Macbeth. I wish your horses swift and sure of foot. 
 And so I do commend you to their backs. 
 Farewell. [Exit Banquo. 
 
 Let every man be master of his time 40 
 
 Till seven at night ; to make society 
 The sweeter welcome, we will keep ourself 
 Till supper-time alone : while then, God be with 
 
 you! 
 
 [Exeunt all but Macbeth and an Attendant. 
 
So. I.] MAOBETE 35 
 
 Sirrah, a word with you : attend those men 
 Our pleasure ? 
 
 Attendant. They are, my lord, without the palace gate. 
 
 Macbeth. Bring them before us. [^Exit Attendant. 
 \ ^^"Tc?? •' '' 'S-^^r^'^^ To be thus is nothing ; 
 But to be safely jhus : oiir fears in Banquo 
 Stick deep ; and in his royalty of nature 
 .Keigns that which would be fear'd : 'tis much he 
 dares, 50 
 
 And, to that dauntless temper of his mind. 
 He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour 
 To act in safety. There is none but he 
 Whose being I do fear : and under him 
 My Genius is rebuked, as it is said 
 Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sisters. 
 When first they put the name of king upon me. 
 And bade them speak to him ; then prophet-like 
 They hail'd him father to a line of kings : 
 Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown 60 
 
 And put a barren sceptre in my gripe, — - — 
 Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand. 
 No son of mine succeeding. If't be so, 
 For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind ; 
 For them the gracious^uncan have I murder'd ; 
 Put rancours in the vessel of my peace 
 Only for them, and mine eternal jewel 
 Given to the common enemy of man. 
 To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings ! 
 Bather than so, come, fate, into the list, 70 
 
 And champion me to the utterance ! Who's there ? 
 
 Re-enter Attendant, with two Mukdekers. 
 
 Now go to the door, and stay there till we call. 
 
 [Exit Attendant. 
 Was it not yesterday we spoke together ? 
 
36 MA0BET3 [Act IH. 
 
 First Murdeeee. It was, so please your highness. 
 
 Macbeth. Well then, now 
 
 Have you consider'd of rny speeches ? Know 
 That it was he in the times past which held you 
 So under fortune, which you thought had been 
 Our innocent self : this I made good to you 
 In our last conference ; pass'd in probation with 
 
 you. 
 How you were borne in hand, how cross'd, the instru- 
 ments, 80 
 Who wrought with them, and all things else that might 
 To half a soul and to a notion crazed 
 Say " Thus did Banquo." 
 
 PiEST Murderer. You made it known to us. 
 
 Macbeth. I did so ; and went further, which is now 
 Our point of second meeting. Do you find 
 Your patience so predominant in your nature. 
 That you can let this go ? Are you so gospell'd. 
 To pray for this good man and for his issue. 
 Whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave 
 And beggar'd yours for ever ? 
 
 First Murderer. We are men, my liege, 90 
 
 Macbeth. Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men ; 
 
 As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, 
 Shoughs, water-rugs and demi-wolves, are clept 
 All by the name of dogs : the valued file 
 Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle, 
 The housekeeper, the hunter, every one 
 According to the gift which bounteous nature 
 Hath in him closed, whereby he does receive 
 Particular addition, from the bill 
 That writes them all alike : and so of men. 100 
 
 Now if you have a station in the file, 
 Not i' the worst rank of manhood, say it. 
 And I will put that business in your bosoms 
 
Sc. I.] MACBETH 37 
 
 Whose execution takes your enemy off. 
 Grapples you to the heart and love of us. 
 Who wear our health but sickly in his life. 
 Which in his death were perfect. 
 
 Second Mukdeker. I am one, my liege. 
 
 Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world 
 Have so incensed that I am reckless what 
 I do to spite the world. 
 
 First Murderer. And I another 110 
 
 So weary with disasters, tugg'd with fortune. 
 That I would set my life on any chance. 
 To mend it or be rid on 't. 
 
 Macbeth. Both of you 
 
 Know Banquo was your enemy. 
 
 Both Murderers. True, my lord. 
 
 Macbeth. So is he mine, and in such bloody distance 
 That every minute of his being thrusts 
 Against my near'st of life : and though I could 
 With barefaced power sweep him from my sight 
 And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not. 
 For certain friends that are both his and mine, 130 
 Whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall 
 Who I myself struck down : and thence it is 
 That I to your assistance do make love. 
 Masking the business from the common eye 
 For sundry weighty reasons. 
 
 Second Murderer. We shall, my lord. 
 
 Perform what you command us. 
 
 First Murderer. Though our lives — 
 
 Macbeth. Your spirits shine through you. Within this 
 hour at most 
 I will advise you where to plant yourselves. 
 Acquaint you with the perfect spy o' the time. 
 The moment on 't ; for 't must be done to-night, 130 
 And something from the palace ; always thought 
 
38 MACBETE [Act UI. 
 
 That I require a clearness : and with him — 
 To leave no rubs nor botches in the work — 
 Fleance his son, that keeps him company. 
 Whose absence is no less material to me 
 Than is his father's, must embrace the fate 
 Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart : 
 I'll come to you anon. 
 
 Both Muedereks. We are resolved, my lord. 
 
 Macbeth. I'll call upon you straight : abide within. 
 
 [Exeunt Mukdbbebs. 
 It is concluded : Banquo, thy soul's flight, 140 
 
 If it find heaven, must find it out to-night. [Exit. 
 
 Scene II. — The palace. 
 Enter Lady Macbeth and a Servant. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Is Banquo gone from court ? 
 Servant. Ay, madam, but returns .again to-night. 
 Lady Macbeth. Say to the king, I would attend his 
 leisure 
 
 For a few words. 
 Servant. Madam, I will. [Exit. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Nought's had, all's spent. 
 
 Where our desire is got without content : 
 
 'Tis safer to be that which we destroy 
 
 Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy. 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 
 How now, my lord ! why do you keep alone. 
 Of sorriest fancies your companions making ; 
 Using those thoughts which should indeed have died 10 
 With them they think on ? Things without all remedy 
 Should be without regard : what's done is done. 
 Macbeth. We have scotch'd the snake, not kill'd it : 
 
So. II.] MACBETM 39 
 
 She'll close and be herself, whilst our poor malice 
 
 Remains in danger of her former tooth. 
 
 But let the frame of things disjoint, both the worlds 
 
 suffer. 
 Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep 
 In the affliction of these terrible dreams 
 That shake us nightly : better be with the dead. 
 Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace, 20 
 Than on the torture of the mind to lie 
 In restless ecstasy. Duncan is in his grave ; 
 After life's fitful .fever he sleeps well ; 
 Treason has done his worst : nor steel, nor poison, 
 Malice domestic, foreign levy, nothing. 
 Can touch him further. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Come on ; 
 
 Gentle my lord, sleek o'er your rugged looks ; 
 Be bright and jovial among your guests to-night. 
 
 Macbeth. So shall I, love ; and so, I pray, be you : 
 Let your remembrance iipply to Banquo ; 30 
 
 Present him eminence, both with eye and tongue : 
 Unsafe the while, that we 
 
 Must lave our honours in these flattering streams. 
 And make our faces visards to our hearts. 
 Disguising what they are. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. You must leave this. 
 
 Macbeth. 0, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife ! 
 Thou know'st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. But in them nature's copy's not eterne. 
 
 Macbeth. There's comfort yet ; they are assailable ; 
 Then be thou jocund : ere the bat hath flown 40 
 
 His cloister'd flight, ere to black Hecate's summons 
 The shard-borne beetle with his drowsy hums 
 Hath rung night's yawning peal, there shall be done 
 A deed of dreadful note. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What's to be done ? 
 
40 MACBETH [Act III. 
 
 Macbeth. Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, 
 . Till thou applaud the deed. Come, seeling night. 
 Scarf up the tender eye of pitiful day, 
 And with thy bloody and invisible hand 
 Cancel and tear to pieces that great bond 
 Which keeps me pale ! Light thickens, and the crow 
 Makes wing to the rooky wood : 51 
 
 Good things of day begin to droop and drowse. 
 Whiles night's black agents to their preys do rouse. 
 Thou marvell'st at my words : but hold thee still ; 
 Things bad begun make strong themselves by ill : 
 So, prithee, go with me. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene III. — A park near the palace. 
 Enter three Murderees. 
 
 First Murderer. But who did bid thee join with us ? 
 Third Murderer. Macbeth. 
 
 Second Murderer. He needs not ouf mistrust ; since he 
 delivers ^^^■ > 
 
 Our offices, and what we have to do. 
 
 To the direction just. 
 First Murderer. Then stand with us. 
 
 The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day : 
 
 Now spurs the lated traveller apace 
 
 To gain the timely inn, and near approaches 
 
 The subject of our watch. 
 Third Murderer. Hark ! I hear horses. 
 
 Banquo. [ Within.'] Give us a light there, ho ! 
 Second Murderer. Then 'tis he : the rest 
 
 That are within the note of expectation 10 
 
 Already are i' the court. 
 First Murderer. His horses go about. 
 
So. IV.] MACBETH 41 
 
 Thibd Muedereb. Almost a mile : but he does usually — 
 So all men do — from hence to the palace gate 
 Make it their walk. 
 
 Secokd Muedereb. A light, a light ! 
 
 Enter Banquo, and Flbancb with a torch. 
 
 Thibd Muedeeee. 'Tis he. 
 
 PiBST Muedeeee. Stand to 't. 
 
 Banquo. It will be rain to-night. 
 
 FiEST Muedeeee. Let it come down. 
 
 \^They set upon Banquo. 
 Banquo. 0, treachery ! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! 
 Thou mayst revenge. slave ! 
 
 [Dies. Fleance escapes. 
 Thibd Muedeeee. Who did strike out the light ? 
 FiEST Muedereb. Was't not the way ? 
 
 Third Muedeeee. There's but one down ; the son is 
 
 fled. 
 
 Second Muederer. We have lost 
 
 Best half of our affair. 31 
 
 First Murderer. Well, let's away and say how much is 
 
 done. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene IV. — Hall in the palace. 
 
 A banquet prepared. Enter Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, 
 Boss, Lennox, Lords, and Attendants. 
 
 Macbeth. You know your own degrees ; sit down : at first 
 
 And last the hearty welcome. 
 Lords. Thanks to your majesty. 
 
 Macbeth. Ourself will mingle with society 
 
 And play the humble host. 
 
 Our hostess keeps her state, but in best time 
 
 We will require her welcome. 
 
42 MACBETH [Act III. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Pronounce it for me, sir, to all our 
 friends. 
 For my heart speaks they are welcome. 
 
 Enter First Murderer to the door. 
 
 Macbeth. See, they encounter thee with their hearts' 
 thanks. 
 Both sides are even : here I'll sit i' the midst : 10 
 
 Be large in mirth ; anon we'll drink a measure 
 The table round. [Approaching the door.'\ There's 
 blood upon thy face. 
 
 Murderer. 'Tis Banquo's then. 
 
 Macbeth. 'Tis better thee without than he within. 
 Is he dispatch'd ? 
 
 Murderer. My lord, his throat is cut ; that I did for him. 
 
 Macbeth. Thou art the best o' the cut-throats : yet he's 
 good 
 That did the like for Fleance : if thou didst it. 
 Thou art the nonpareil. 
 
 Murderer. Most royal sir, 
 
 Fleance is 'scaped. 20 
 
 Macbeth. \^Aside.'\ Then comes my fit again : I had 
 else been perfect. 
 Whole as the marble, founded as the rock. 
 As broad and general as the casing air : 
 But now I am cabin'd, cribb'd, confined, bound in 
 To saucy doubts and fears. — But Banquo's safe ? 
 
 Murderer. Ay, my good lord : safe in a ditch he, bides, 
 With twenty trenched gashes on his head ; ^'> , / 
 The least a death to nature. ' '• ' 
 
 Macbeth. Thanks for that. 
 
 [Aside.l There the grown serpent lies ; the worm 
 
 that's fled • 
 
 Hath nature that in time will venom breed, 30 
 
So. IV.] MACBETH 43 
 
 No teeth for the present. Get thee gone : to-morrow 
 We'll hear ourselves again. [Exit Murdeeee. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. My royal lord. 
 
 You do not give the cheer : the feast is sold 
 That is not often vouch'd, while 'tis a-making, 
 'Tis given with welcome : to feed were best at 
 
 home ; 
 From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony ; 
 Meeting were bare without it. 
 
 Macbeth. Sweet remembrancer ! 
 
 Now good digestion wait on appetite, 
 And health on both ! 
 
 Lennox. May't please your highness sit. 
 
 The ghost of Banquo enters, and sits in Macbeth's 
 place. 
 
 Macbeth. Here had we now our country's honour roof 'd. 
 Were the graced person of our Banquo present ; 41 
 Who may I rather challenge for unkindness 
 Than pity for mischance ! 
 
 Eoss. His absence, sir. 
 
 Lays blame upon his promise. Please 't your highness 
 To grace us with your royal company. 
 
 Macbeth. The table's full. 
 
 Lennox. Here is a place reserved, sir. 
 
 Macbeth. Where ? 
 
 Lennox. Here, my good lord. What is't that moves 
 your highness ? 
 
 Macbeth. WJiich of you have done this ? 
 
 LoEDS. What, my good lord ? 
 
 Macbeth. Thou canst not say I did it : never shake 50 
 Thy gory locks at me. 
 
 Eoss. Gentlemen, rise ; his highness is not well. 
 
44 MACBETH [Act III. 
 
 Ladt Macbeth. Sit, worthy friends : my lord is often 
 thus. 
 And hath heen from his youth : pray you, keep seat ; 
 The fit is momentary ; upon a thought 
 He will again be well : if much you note him. 
 You shall ofEend him and extend his passion : 
 
 ^ Feed, and regard him not. Are you a man ? 
 
 Macbeth. Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that ^^^^ 
 Which might appal the devil. SUoi' 
 
 Lady Macbeth. proper stuff ! 60 
 
 This is the very painting of your fear : 
 This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said. 
 Led you to Duncan. 0, these flaws and starts. 
 Impostors to true fear, would well become 
 A woman's story at a winter's fire. 
 Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself ! 
 Why do you make such faces ? When all's done. 
 You look but on a stool. 
 
 Macbeth. Prithee, see there ! behold ! look ! lo ! how 
 say you ? 
 Why, what care I ? If thou canst nod, speak too. 
 If charnel-houses and our graves must send 71 
 
 Those that.^ye bpry back, our monuments 
 Shall be the mawsof kites. [Exit Ghost. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. What, quite unmann'd in folly ? 
 
 Macbeth. If I stand here, I saw him. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Fie, for shame ! 
 
 Macbeth. Blood hath been shed ere now, i' the olden 
 time, 
 Ere humane statute purged the gentle weal ; 
 Ay, and since too, murders have been perform'd 
 Too terrible for the ear : the time has been. 
 That, when the brains were out, the man would die. 
 And there an end ; but now they rise again, 80 
 
 With twenty mortal muyders on their crowns. 
 
So. IV.] MACBETH 45 
 
 And push us from our stools : this is more strange 
 Than such a murder is. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. My worthy lord, 
 
 Your noble friends do lack you. ^ ,■ ~. 
 
 Macbeth. I do forget. " " , 
 
 Do not muse at me, my most worthy friends ; ' ' " 
 I have a strange infirmity, which is nothing , 
 
 To those that know me. Come, loye and health to all; 
 Then I'll sit down. Give me some wine, fill fall. 
 I drink to the general joy o' the whole table, 
 And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss ; 90 
 Would he were here ! to all and him we thirst, 
 And all to all. 
 
 Our duties, and the pledge. 
 
 Re-enter Ghost. 
 
 Macbeth. Avaunt ! and quit my sight ! let the earth 
 hide thee ! 
 
 Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold ; 
 
 Thou hast no speculation in those eyes 
 
 Which thou dost glare with. 
 Lady Macbeth. Think of this, good peers. 
 
 But as a thing of custom : 'tis no other ; 
 
 Only it spoils the pleasure of the time. 
 Macbeth. What man dare, I dare : 
 
 Approach thou like the rugged Eusslan bear, 100 
 
 The arm'd rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger ; 
 
 Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves 
 
 Shall never tremble : or be alive again. 
 
 And dare me to the desert with thy sword ; 
 
 If trembling I inhabit then, protest me 
 
 Tbe baby of a girl. Hence, horrible shadow ! 
 
 Unreal mockery, hence ! [Exit Ghost. 
 
 Why, so : being gone, 
 
 I am a man again. Pray you, sit still. 
 
46 MACBETB [Act III. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. You have displaced the mirth, broke 
 the good meeting, 
 With most admired disorder. 
 
 Macbeth. Can such things be, 110 
 
 And overcome us like a summer's cloud, 
 Without our special wonder ? You make me strange 
 Even to the disposition that I owe. 
 When now I think you can behold such sights, 
 And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks. 
 When mine is blanch'd with fear. 
 
 Ross. What sights, my lord ? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. I pray you, speak not ; he grows woi'se 
 and worse ; 
 Question enrages him : at once, good night : 
 Stai^,d not upon the order of your going. 
 But go at once. 
 
 Lennox. Good night ; and better health 120 
 
 Attend his majesty ! 
 
 Lady Macbeth. A kind good night to all ! 
 
 [Exeunt all but Macbeth a7id Lady Macbeth. 
 
 Macbeth. It will have blood : they say blood will have 
 blood : 
 Stones have been known to move and treea to speak ; 
 ■ Augures and understood relations have 
 By maggot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth 
 The secret'st man of blood. What is the night ? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Almost at odds with morning, which is 
 which. 
 
 Macbeth. How say'st thou, that Macduff denies his person 
 At our great bidding ? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Did you send to him, sir ? 
 
 Macbeth. I hear it by the way, but I will send : 130 
 There's not a one of them but in his house 
 I keep a servant fee'd. I will to-morrow. 
 And betimes I will, to the weird sisters ■; ^ • 
 
So. v.] MACBETH 47 
 
 More shall they speak, for now I am bent to know, 
 
 By the worst means, the worst. For mine own good 
 
 All causes shall give way : I am in blood 
 
 Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, 
 
 Eeturuing were as tedious as go o'er : 
 
 Strange things I have in head that will to hand, 
 
 Wkich must be acted ere they may \ie scann'd. 140 
 
 Lady Macbeth. You lack the season of all natures, sleep. 
 
 Macbeth. Come, we'll to sleep. My strange and self- 
 abuse 
 Is the initiate fear that wants hard use : 
 We are yet but young in deed. [Bzeunt. 
 
 Scene Y.^-A heath. 
 
 Thunder. Enter the three Witches, meeting Hecate. 
 
 First Witch. Why, how now, Hecate ! you look angerly. 
 Hecate. Have I not reason, beldams as you are, 
 
 Saucy and overbold ? How did you dare 
 
 To trade and trafiBc with Macbeth 
 
 In riddles and afEairs of death ; 
 
 And I, the mistress of your charms. 
 
 The close contriver of all harms. 
 
 Was never call'd to bear my part. 
 
 Or show the glory of our art ? 
 
 And, which is worse, all you have done 10 
 
 Hath been but for a wayward son. 
 
 Spiteful and wrathful ; who, as others do. 
 
 Loves for his own ends, not for you. 
 
 But make amends now : get you gone. 
 
 And at the pit of Acheron 
 
 Meet me i' the morning : thither he 
 
 Will come to know his destiny : 
 
 Your vessels and your spells provide. 
 
 Your charms and every thing beside. 
 
48 MACBETH [Act III. 
 
 I am for the air ; this night I'll spend 20 
 
 Unto a dismal and a fatal end : 
 
 Great business must be wrought ere noon : 
 
 Upon the corner of the moon 
 
 There hangs a vaporous drop profound ; 
 
 I'll catch it ere it come to ground : 
 
 And that, distill'd by magic sleights, 
 
 Shall raise such artificial sprites 
 
 As by the strength of their illusion 
 
 Shall draw him on to his confusion : 
 
 He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear 30' 
 
 His hopes 'hove wisdom, grace and fear : 
 
 And you all know security 
 
 Is mortals' chiefest enemy. 
 
 [Music and a song within : " Come away, come 
 away," etc. 
 Hark ! I am call'd ; my little spirit, see. 
 Sits in a foggy cloud, and stays for me. \Exii. 
 
 First Witch. Come, let's make haste ; she'll soon be 
 
 back again. \Exeunt. 
 
 Scene VI. — Forres. Tlie palace. 
 
 Enter Lennox and another Lord. 
 
 Lennox. My former speeches have but hit your thoughts. 
 Which can interpret farther : only I say 
 Things have been strangely borne. The gracious 
 
 Duncan 
 Was pitied of Macbeth : marry, he was dead : 
 And the right-valiant Banquo walk'd too late ; 
 Whom, you may say, if't please you, Fleance kill'd, 
 For Fleance fled : men must not walk too late. 
 Who cannot want the thought, how monstrous 
 It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain 
 To kill their gracious father ? Damned fact ! 10 
 
So, VI.] MACBETH 49 
 
 How it did grieve Macbeth ! did he not straight. 
 
 In pious rage, the two delinquents tear. 
 
 That were the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep ? 
 
 Was not that nobly done ? Ay, and wisely too ; 
 
 For 'twould have anger'd any heart alive 
 
 To hear the men deny 't. So that, I say. 
 
 He has borne all things well : and I do think 
 
 That, had he Duncan's sons under his key — 
 
 As, an't please heaven, he shall not — they should find 
 
 What 'twere to kill a father ; so should Pleance. 30 
 
 But, peace ! for from broad words, and 'cause he fail'd 
 
 His presence at the tyrant's feast, I hear, 
 
 MacdufE lives in disgrace : sir, can you tell 
 
 Where he bestows himself ? 
 
 Lord. The son of Duncan, 
 
 From whom this tyrant holds the due of birth. 
 Lives in the English court, and is received 
 Of the most pious Edward with such grace 
 That the malevolence of fortune nothing 
 Takes from his high respect. Thither Macduff 
 Is gone to pray the holy king, upon his aid 30 
 
 To wake Northumberland and warlike Siward : 
 That by help of these, with Him above 
 To ratify the work, we may again 
 Give to our tables meat, sleep to our nights. 
 Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives. 
 Do faithful homage and receive free honours : 
 All which we pine for now : and this report 
 Hath so exasperate the king that he 
 Prepares for some attempt of war. 
 
 Leknox. ;: ,. . Sent he to Macduff ? 
 
 Lord. He did : and with an absolute " Sir, not I," 40 
 The cloudy messenger turns me his back. 
 And hums, as who should say " You'll rue the time 
 That clogs me with this answer." 
 
50 MACBETH [Act IV. 
 
 Leknox. And that well might 
 
 Advise him to a caution, to hold what distance 
 His wisdom can provide. Some holy angel 
 Fly to the court of England and unfold 
 His message ere he come, that a swift blessing 
 May soon return to this our suffering country 
 Under a hand accursed ! 
 
 Lord. I'll send my prayers with him. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 ACT FOURTH. 
 
 Scene I. — A cavern. In the middle, a toiling cauldron. 
 
 Thunder. Enter the three Witches. 
 
 First Witch. Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd. 
 Second Witch. Thrice, and once the hedge-pig whined. 
 Third Witch. Harpier cries ; 'tis time, 'tis time. 
 First Witch. Round ab,out the cauldron go : 
 
 In the poison'd entrails throw. 
 
 Toad, that under cold stone 
 
 Days and nights has thirty- one 
 
 Swelter'd venom sleeping got. 
 
 Boil thou first i' the charmed pot. 
 All. Double, double, toil and trouble ; 10 
 
 Fire burn and cauldron bubble. 
 Second Witch. Fillet of a fenny snake. 
 
 In the cauldron boil and bake ; 
 
 Eye of newt and toe of frog, 
 
 Wool of bat and tongue of dog. 
 
 Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting. 
 
 Lizard's leg and howlet's wing. 
 
 For a charm of powerful trouble. 
 
 Like a hell-broth boil and bubble. 
 All. Double, double, toil and trouble ; 20 
 
 Fire burn and cauldron bubble. 
 
So. I.] MACBETH 51 
 
 Third Witch. Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf. 
 
 Witches' mummy, maw and gulf • > ' 
 
 Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark, 
 
 Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark. 
 
 Liver of blaspheming Jew, 
 
 Gall of goat, and slips of yew 
 
 Sliver'd in the moon's eclipse. 
 
 Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips. 
 
 Finger of birth-strangled babe 30 
 
 Ditch-deliver'd by a drab. 
 
 Make the gruel thick and slab : 
 
 Add thereto a tiger's chaudron, , . 
 
 For the ingredients of our cauldron. 
 All. Double, double, toil and trouble ; 
 
 Fire burn and cauldron bubble. 
 SECOiifD WracH, Cool it with a baboon's blood. 
 
 Then the charm is firm and good. 
 
 Enter Hecate to the other three Witches, 
 
 Hecate. 0, well done ! I commend your pains ; 
 
 And every one shall share i' the gains : 40 
 
 And now about the cauldron sing, 
 Like elves and fairies in a ring. 
 Enchanting all that you put in. 
 
 [Music and a song : " Black spirits," etc. 
 
 [Hecate retires. 
 Second Witch. By the pricking of my thumbs, ^ 
 
 Something wicked this way comes : 
 
 Open, locks, a. 
 
 Whoever knocks ! 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 Macbeth. How now, you secret, black, and midnight 
 hags ! ' ! " f s t ,, 1 
 
 What is't you do ? 
 
5« MACBETH [ACT IV. 
 
 All. a deed without a name. 
 
 Macbeth. I conjure you, by that which you profess, 50 
 
 Howe'er you come to know it, answer me : 
 
 Though you untie the winds, and let them fight 
 
 Against the churches ; though the yesty waves 
 
 Confound and swallow navigation up ; 
 
 Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down; 
 
 Though castles topple on their warders' heads ; 
 
 Though palaces and pyramids do slope 
 
 Their heads to their foundations ; though the treasure 
 
 Of nature's germins tumble all together. 
 
 Even till destruction sicken ; answer me 60 
 
 To 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. 
 
 Or from our masters ? 
 Macbeth. Call 'em, let me see 'em. 
 
 First AYitch. Pour in sow's blood, that hath eaten 
 
 Her nine farrow ; grease that's sweaten 
 
 From the murderer's gibbet throw 
 
 Into the flame. 
 All. Come, high or low ; 
 
 Thyself and office deftly show ! 
 
 Thunder. First Apparition : an armed Head. 
 
 Macbeth. Tell me, thou unknown power, — 
 First Witch. He knows thy thought : 
 
 Hear his speech, but say thou nought. 70 
 
 First Apparition. Macbeth ! Macbeth ! Macbeth ! be- 
 ware MacdufE ; 
 Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me : enough. 
 
 l^Descends. 
 
Sc. I.] MACBETB 53 
 
 Macbeth. Whate'er thou artj for thy good caution 
 thanks ; 
 Thou hast harp'd my fear aright : but one word 
 more, — 
 First Witch. He will not be commanded : here's another, 
 More potent than the first. 
 
 Thunder. Second Apparition : a bloody Child. 
 
 Second Apparition. Macbeth ! Macbeth ! Macbeth ! 
 
 Macbeth. Had I three ears, I'ld hear thee. 
 
 Second Apparition. Be bloody, bold and resolute ; 
 laugh to scorn 
 The power of man, for none of woman born 80 
 
 Shall harm Macbeth. [Descends. 
 
 Macbeth. Then live, Macduff : what need I fear of 
 thee ? 
 But yet I'll make assurance double sure. 
 And tale a bond of fate : thou shalt not live ; 
 That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies. 
 And sleep in spite of thunder. 
 
 Thunder. Third Apparition : a Child crowned, with 
 a tree in his hand. 
 
 What is this. 
 That rises like the issue of a king. 
 And wears upon his baby-brow the round 
 And top of sovereignty ? 
 
 All. Listen, but speak not to't. 
 
 Third Apparition. Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no 
 care 90 
 
 Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are : 
 Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until 
 Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill 
 Shall come against him. [Descends. 
 
54 MACBETE [Act IV. 
 
 Macbeth. That will never be : 
 
 Who can impress the forest, bid the tree 
 Unfix his earth-bound root ? Sweet bodements ! good I 
 Rebellion's head, rise never, till the wood 
 Of Birnam rise ; and our high-placed Macbeth 
 Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath 
 To time and mortal custom. Yet my heart • 100 
 Throbs to know one thing : tell me, if your art 
 Can tell so much : shall Banquo's issue ever 
 Beign in this kingdom ? 
 
 All. Seek to know no more. 
 
 Macbeth. I will be satisfied : deny me this. 
 
 And an eternal curse fall on you ! Let me know. 
 Why sinks that cauldron ? and what noise is this ? 
 
 {^Hautboys. 
 
 First Witch. Show ! 
 
 Second Witch. Show ! 
 
 Thied Witch. Show ! 
 
 All. Show his eyes, and grieve his heart ; 110 
 
 Come like shadows, so depart ! 
 
 A show of eight Kings, the last with a glass in Ms hand ; 
 Banquo's Ghost following. 
 
 Macbeth. Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo : down ! 
 
 Thy crown does sear mine eye-balls. And thy hair. 
 
 Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first. 
 
 A third is like the former. Filthy hags ! 
 
 Why do you show me this ? A fourth ! Start, eyes ! 
 
 What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom ? 
 
 Another yet ! A seventh ! I'll see no more : 
 
 And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glass 
 
 Which shows me many more ; and some I see 130 
 
 ■ That two-fold balls and treble sceptres carry : 
 
 Horrible sight ! Now I see 'tis true ; 
 
 For the blood-bolter'd Banquo smiles upon me. 
 
So. I.] MACBETH 55 
 
 And points at them for his. [Apparitions vanish. 
 
 What, is this so ? 
 First Witch. Ay^ sir, all this is so : but why 
 Stands Macbeth thus amazedly ? 
 Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites. 
 And show the best of our delights : 
 I'll charm the air to give a sound. 
 While you perform your antic round, 130 
 
 That this great king may kindly say 
 Our duties did his welcome pay. 
 
 Music. The Witches dance, and then vanish, with 
 Hecate. 
 
 Macbeth. Where are they ? Gone ? Let this pernicious 
 hour 
 Stand aye accursed in the calendar ! 
 Come in, without there ! 
 
 Enter Lbm^kox. 
 
 Lexnox. What's your girace's will ? 
 
 Macbeth. Saw you the weird sisters ? 
 
 Lbbtnox. No, my lord. 
 
 Macbeth. Came they not by you ? 
 
 XiEKKOX. No indeed, my lord. 
 
 Macbeth. Infected be the air whereon they ride. 
 And damn'd all those that trust them ! I did hear 
 The galloping of horse: who was't came by ? 140 
 
 Lennox. 'Tis two or three, my lord, that bring you word 
 MacdufE is fled to England. 
 
 Macbeth. Fled to England ! 
 
 Lennox. Ay, my good lord. 
 
 Macbeth. [Aside.l Time, thou anticipatest my dread 
 exploits : 
 The flighty purpose never is o'ertook 
 Unless the deed go with it : from this moment 
 
56 MACBETH [Act IV. 
 
 The very firstlings of my heart shall be 
 
 The firstlings of my hand. And even now. 
 
 To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and 
 
 done : 
 The castle of Macduff I will surprise ; 150 
 
 Seize upon Fife ; give to the edge o' the sword 
 His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls 
 That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool ; 
 This deed I'll do before this purpose cool : 
 But no more sights ! — Where are these gentlemen ? 
 Come, bring me where they are. \Exeunt. 
 
 ScEiTE II. — Fife. Macduff's castle. 
 
 Enter Lady Macduff, her Son, and Eoss. 
 
 Lady Macduff. What had he done, to make him fly the 
 
 land? 
 Eoss. You must have patience, madam. 
 Lady Macduff. He had none : 
 
 His flight was madness : when our actions do not. 
 
 Our fears do make us traitors. 
 Ross. You know not 
 
 Whether it was his wisdom or his fear. 
 Lady Macduff. Wisdom ! to leave his wife, to leave his 
 babes. 
 
 His mansion and his titles, in a place 
 
 From whence himself does fly ? He loves us not ; 
 
 He wants the natural touch : for the poor wren, 
 
 The most diminutive of birds, will fight, 10 
 
 Her young ones in her nest, against the owl. 
 
 All is the fear and nothing is the love ; 
 
 As little is the wisdom, where the flight 
 
 So runs against all reason. 
 Eoss. My dearest coz, 
 
 I pray you, school yourself : but, for your husband. 
 
So. II.] MACBETH 57 
 
 He is noble, wise, judicious, and best knows 
 
 The fits o' the season. I dare not speak much farther : 
 
 But cruel are the times, when we are traitors 
 
 And do not know ourselves ; when we hold rumour 
 
 Prom what- we fear, yet know not what we fear, 20 
 
 But float upon a wild and violent sea 
 
 Each way and move. I take my leave of you : 
 
 Shall not be long but I'll be here again : 
 
 Things at the worst will cease, or else climb upward 
 
 To what they were before. My pretty cousin. 
 
 Blessing upon you ! 
 
 Ladt Macduff. Pather'd he is, and yet he's fatherless. 
 
 Eoss. I am so much a fool, should I stay longer. 
 It would be my disgrace and your discomfort : 
 I take my leave at once. [Exit. 
 
 Lady Macduff. Sirrah, your father's dead : 30 
 
 And what will you do now ? How will you live ? 
 
 SoK. As birds do, mother. 
 
 Lady Macduff. What, with worms and flies ? 
 
 SoK. With what I get, I mean ; and so do they. 
 
 Lady Macduff. Poor bird ! thouldst never fear the net 
 nor lime. 
 The pitfall nor the gin. 
 
 EoTX. Why should I, mother ? Poor birds they are not 
 set for. 
 My father is not dead, for all your saying. 
 
 Lady Macduff. Yes, he is dead : how wilt thou do for a 
 father ? 
 
 Soir. Nay, how will yoii do for a husband ? 
 
 Lady Macduff. Why, I can buy me twenty at any 
 market. 40 
 
 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. 
 
58 MACBETH [Act IV. 
 
 Son. Was my father a traitor, mother ? 
 
 Lady Macduff. Ay, that he was. 
 
 Soif. What is a traitor ? 
 
 Lady Macduff. Why, one that swears and lies. 
 
 Son. And be all traitors that do so ? 
 
 Lady Macduff. Every one that does so is a traitor, and 
 
 must be hanged. 50 
 
 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 are 
 
 liars and swearers enow to beat the honest men and 
 
 hang up them. 
 Lady Macduff. Now, God help thee, poor monkey ! 
 
 But how wilt thou do for a father ? 59 
 
 Son. If he were dead, you'id weep for him : if you would 
 
 not, it were a good sign that I should quickly have 
 
 a new father. 
 Lady Macduff. Poor prattler, how thou talk'st ! 
 
 Enter a Messengee. 
 
 Messenger. Bless you, fair dame ! I am not to you 
 known. 
 
 Though in your state of honour I am perfect. 
 
 I doubt some danger does approach you nearly : 
 
 If you will take a homely man's advice. 
 
 Be not found here ; hence, with your little ones. 
 
 To fright you thus, methinks I am too savage ; 
 
 To do worse to you were fell cruelty, 70 
 
 Which is too nigh your person. Heaven preserve 
 you ! 
 
 I dare abide no longer. [Exit. 
 
 Lady Macduff. Whither should I fly ? 
 
 I have done no harm. But I remember now 
 
Sc. III.] MACBETH ' 59 
 
 I am in this earthly world, where to do, harm 
 Is .often laudable, to do good soflifiiime 
 Accounted dangerous folly : why then, alas. 
 Do I put up that womaioly defence. 
 To say I have done no harm ? — 
 
 Unter Muedbeees. 
 
 What are these faces ? 
 FiEST MuEDEEEE. Where is your husband ? 
 Lady Macduff. I hope, in no place so unsanctified 80 
 
 Where such as thou mayst find him. 
 FiEST MuEDEEEE. He's a traitor. 
 
 Soisr. Thou liest, thou shag-ear'd villain ! 
 FiEST MuEDEEEE. What, you egg ! 
 
 [Stabbing Mm. 
 
 Young fry of treachery ! 
 
 Sols'. He has kill'd me, mother : 
 
 Eun away, I pray you ! [Dies. 
 
 [Exit Lady Macduff, crying " Murder ! " 
 
 Exeunt Muedeeees, following her. 
 
 Scene III. — England. Before the King's palace. 
 
 \ Enter Malcolm and Macduff. 
 
 Malcolm. Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there 
 Weep our sad bosoms empty. 
 
 Macduff. Let us rather 
 
 Hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men 
 Bestride our down-fall'n birthdom : each new morn 
 New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrows 
 Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds 
 As if it felt with Scotland and yell'd out 
 Like syllable of dolour. 
 
60 MACBETH [Act IV. 
 
 Malcolm. What I believe, I'll wail ; 
 
 What know, believe ; and what I can redress. 
 As I shall find the time to friend, I will. 10 
 
 What you have spoke, it may be so perchance. 
 This tyrant, whose sole name blisters our tongues, 
 Was once thought honest : you have loved him well ; 
 He hath not touch'd you yet. I am young ; but some- 
 thing 
 You may deserve of him through me ; and wisdom 
 To offer up a weak, poor, innocent lamb 
 To appease an angry god. 
 
 Macduff. I am not' treacherous. 
 
 Malcolm. But Macbeth is. 
 
 A good and virtuous nature may recoil 19 
 
 In an imperial charge. But I shall crave your pardon ; 
 That which you are, my thoughts cannot transpose : 
 Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell : 
 Though all things foul would wear the brows of 
 
 grace. 
 Yet grace must still look so. 
 
 Macduff. I have lost my hopes. 
 
 Malcolm. Perchance even there where I did find my 
 doubts. 
 Why in that rawness left you wife and child. 
 Those precious motives, those strong knots of love. 
 Without leave-taking ? I pray you, 
 Let not my jealousies be your dishonours. 
 But mine own safeties. You may be rightly just, 30 
 Whatever I shall think. 
 
 Macduff. Bleed, bleed, poor country : 
 
 Great tyranny, lay thou thy basis sure. 
 For goodness dare not check thee : wear thou thy 
 
 wrongs ; 
 The title is affeer'd. Fare thee well, lord . 
 I would not be the villain that thou think'st 
 
Sc. III.] MACBETH 61 
 
 For the whole space that's in the tyrant's grasp 
 And the rich East to boot. 
 
 Malcolm. Be not offended : 
 
 I speak not as in absolute fear of you. 
 I think our country sinks beneath the yoke ; 
 It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gash 40 
 
 Is added to her wounds : I think withal 
 There would be hands uplifted in my right ; 
 And here from gracious England have I offer 
 Of goodly thousands : but for all this. 
 When I shall tread upon the tyrant's head. 
 Or wear it on my sword, yet my poor country 
 Shall have more vices than it had before. 
 More suffer and more sundry ways than ever, 
 By him that shall succeed. 
 
 MACDtTFF. What should he be ? 
 
 Malcolm. It is myself I mean : in whom I know 50 
 
 All the particulars of vice so grafted ^■ 
 
 That, when they shall be open'd, black Macbeth 
 Will seem as pure as snow, and the poor state 
 Esteem him as a lamb, being compared 
 With my conflneless harms. 
 
 Macduff. Not in the legions 
 
 Of horrid hell can come a devil more damn'd 
 In evils to top Macbeth. 
 
 Malcolm. I grant him bloody. 
 
 Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful, 
 Sudden, malicious^ smacking of every sin 
 That has- a name : but there's no bottom, none, 60 
 In my voluptuousness : your wives, your daughters, )^> 
 Your matrons and your maids, could not fill up ■ " 
 The cistern of my lust, and my desire 
 All continent impediments would o'erbear 
 That did oppose my will : better Macbeth 
 Thau such an one to reign. 
 
62 MACBETH [Act IV. 
 
 Macduff. ' Boundless intemperance 
 
 In nature is a tyranny ; it hath been 
 The untimely emptying of the happy throne. 
 And fall of many kings. But fear not yet 
 To take upon you what is yours : you may 70 
 
 Convey your pleasures in a spacious plenty. 
 And yet seem cold, the time you may so hoodwink : 
 We have willing dames enough ; there cannot be 
 That vulture in you, to devour so many 
 As will to greatness dedicate themselves, 
 Finding it so inclined. 
 
 Malcolm. With this there grows 
 
 In my most ill-composed affection such 
 A stanchless avarice that, were I king, 
 I should cut off the nobles for their lands. 
 Desire his jewels and this other's house : 80 
 
 And my more-having would be as a sauce 
 To make me hunger more, that I should forge 
 Quarrels unjust against the good and loyal. 
 Destroying them for wealth. 
 
 Macduff. This avarice 
 
 Sticks deeper, grows with more pernicious root 
 Than summer-seeming lust, and it hath been 
 The sword of our slain kings : yet do not fear ; 
 Scotland hath foisons to fill up your will 
 Of your mere own : all these are portable. 
 With other graces weigh'd. 90 
 
 Malcolm. But I have none : the king-becoming graces. 
 As justice, verity, temperance, stableness. 
 Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness, 
 Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude, 
 I have no relish of them, but abound 
 In the division of each several crime. 
 Acting it many ways. Nay, had I power, I should 
 Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell, 
 
So. III.] MACBETH 63 
 
 Uproar the universal peace^ confound 
 All unity on earth. 
 
 Macduff. Scotland, Scotland ! 100 
 
 Malcolm. If such a one be fit to goyern, speak : 
 I am as I have spoken. 
 
 Macduff. Pit to govern ! 
 
 No, not to live. nation miserable. 
 With an untitled tyrant bloody-scepter'd ! 
 When shalt thou see thy wholesome days again, 
 Since that the truest issue of thy throne 
 By his own interdiction stands accursed. 
 And does blaspheme his breed ? Thy royal father 
 Was a most sainted king : the queen that bore theCj 
 Oftener upon her knees than on her feet, 110 
 
 Died every day she lived. Pare thee well ! 
 These evils thou repeat'st upon thyself 
 Have banish'd me from Scotland. my breast. 
 Thy hope ends here ! 
 
 Malcolm. MacdufE, this noble passion. 
 
 Child of integrity, hath from my soul 
 Wiped the black scruples, reconciled my thoughts 
 To thy good truth and honour. IJevilish Macbeth i 
 By many of these trains hath sought to win me 
 Into his power ; and modest wisdom plucks me ^ ^ 
 Prom over-credulous haste : but God above 120 
 
 Deal between thee and me ! for even now \-.r 
 
 I put myself to thy direction, and 
 Unspeak mine own detraction ; here abjure 
 The taints and blames I laid upon myself. 
 For strangers to my nature. I am yet 
 Unknown to woman, never was forsworn. 
 Scarcely have coveted what was mine own. 
 At no time broke my faith, would not betray 
 The devil to his fellow, and delight 
 No less in truth than life : my first false speaking 130 
 
64 MACBETH [Act IV. 
 
 Was this upon myself : what I am truly. 
 Is thine and my poor country's to command : 
 Whither indeed, before thy here-approach, 
 Old Siward, with ten thousand warlike men. 
 Already at a point, was setting forth. 
 Now we'll together ; and the chance of goodness 
 Be like our warranted quarrel ! Why are you silent ? 
 Macduff. Such welcome and unwelcome things at once 
 'Tis hard to reconcile. 
 
 Enter a Doctor." v 
 
 *^- 
 
 Malcolm. Well, more anon. Comes the king iovVk, 
 
 I pray you ? 140 
 
 Doctor. Ay, sir ; there are a crew of wretched souls 
 That stay his cure : their malady convinces 
 The great assay of art ; but at his touch. 
 Such sanctity hath heaven given his hand, 
 They presently amend. 
 
 Malcolm. I thank you, doctor. \^Exit Doctor. 
 
 Macduff. What's the disease he means ? 
 
 Malcolm. 'Tis call'd tjie evil : 
 
 A most miraculous work in this good king ; * ' • ■ 
 Which often, since my here-remain in Englana^"f" 
 I have seen him do. How he solicits heaven, 
 Himself best knows : but strangely-visited people, 160 
 All swoln and ulcerous, pitiful to the eye. 
 The mere despair of surgery, he cures. 
 Hanging a golden stamp about their necks. 
 Put on with holy prayers : and 'tis spoken. 
 To the succeeding royalty he leaves 
 The healing benediction. With this strange virtue. 
 He hath a heavenly gift of prophecy. 
 And sundry blessings hang about his throne 
 That speak him full of grace. 
 
8c. III.] MACBETH 65 
 
 Enter Boss. 
 
 Macduff. See, who comes here ? 
 
 Malcolm. My countryman ; but yet I know him not. 160 
 
 Macduff. My ever gentle cousin, welcome hither. 
 
 Malcolm. I know him now : good God, betimes remove 
 The means that makes us strangers ! 
 
 Ross. Sir, amen. 
 
 Macduff. Stands Scotland where it did ? 
 
 Ross. Alas, poor country ! 
 
 Almost afraid to know itself ! It cannot 
 Be call'd our mother, but our grave : where nothing. 
 But who knows nothing, is once seen to smile ; 
 Where sighs and groans and shrieks that rend the air, 
 Are made, not mark'd ; where violent sorrow seems 
 A modern ecstasy : the dead man's knell 170 
 
 Is there scarce ask'd for who ; and good men's lives 
 Expire before the flowers in their caps. 
 Dying or ere they sicken. 
 
 Macduff. 0, relation 
 
 Too nice, and yet too true ! 
 
 Malcolm. What's the newest grief ? 
 
 Ross. That of an hour's age doth hiss the speaker ; 
 Bach minute teems a new one. 
 
 Macduff. How does my wife ? 
 
 Ross. Why, well. 
 
 Macduff. And all my children ? 
 
 Ross. Well too. 
 
 Macduff. The tyrant has not batter'd at their peace ? 
 
 Ross. No ; they were well at peace when I did leave 'em. 
 
 Macduff. Be not a niggard of your speech : how goes't ? 
 
 Ross. When I came hither to transport the tidings 181 
 Which I have heavily borne, there ran a rumour 
 Of many worthy fellows that were out ; ! '-» /" 
 Which was to my belief witness'd the rather. 
 For that I saw the tyrant's power a-foot : 
 
66 MACBETH [Act IV. 
 
 Now is the time of help ; your eye in Scotland 
 
 Would create soldiers, make our women fight. 
 
 To doff their dire distresses. 
 Malcolm. Be 't their comfort 
 
 We are coming thither : gracious England hath 
 
 Lent us good Siward and ten thousand men ; 190 
 
 An older and a better soldier none 
 
 That Christendom gives out. 
 Ross. Would I could answer 
 
 This comfort with the like ! But I have words 
 
 That would be howl'd out in the desert air. 
 
 Where hearing should not latch them. 
 Macduff. What concern they ? 
 
 The general cause ? or is it a fee-grief 
 
 Due to some single breast ? 
 Ross. No mind that's honest 
 
 But in it shares some woe, though the main part 
 
 Pertains to you alone. 
 Macduff. If it be mine, 
 
 Keep it not from me, quickly let me have it. 200 
 
 Ross. Let not your ears despise my tongue for ever. 
 
 Which shall possess them with the heaviest sound 
 
 That ever yet they heard. 
 Macduff. Hum ! I guess at it. 
 
 Ross. Your castle is surprised ; your wife and babes 
 
 Savagely slaughter'd : to relate the manner. 
 
 Were, on the qiiarry of these murder'd deer. 
 
 To add the death of you. 
 Malcolm. Merciful heaven ! 
 
 What, man ! ne'er pull your hat upon your brows ; 
 
 Give sorrow words : the grief that does not speak 
 
 Whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break. 210 
 Macduff. My children too ? 
 Ross. Wife, children, servants, all 
 
 That could be found. 
 
Sc. in.] MACBETH 67 
 
 Macduff. And I must be from thence ! 
 
 My wife killed too ? 
 
 Eoss. I have said. 
 
 Malcolm. Be comforted : 
 
 Let's make us medicines of our great revenge, 
 To cure this deadly grief. 
 
 Macduff. He has no children. All my pretty ones ? 
 Did you say all ? hell-kite ! All ? 
 What, all my pretty chickens and their dam ' 
 At one fell swoop ? 
 
 Malcolm. Dispute it like a man. 
 
 Macduff. I shall do so ; 220 
 
 But I must also feel it as a man : 
 I cannot but remember such things were. 
 That were most precious to me. Did heaven look on. 
 And would not take their part ? Sinful Macduff, 
 They were all struck for thee ! naught that I am. 
 Not for their own demerits, but for mine, 
 Fell slaughter on their souls : heaven rest them now ! 
 
 Malcolm. Be this the whetstone of your sword : let grief 
 Convert to anger ; blunt not the heart, enrage it. 
 
 Macduff. 0, 1 could play the woman with mine eyes, 230 
 And braggart with my tongue ! But, gentle heavens. 
 Cut short all intermission ; front to front 
 Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself ; 
 Within my sword's length set him ; if he 'scape. 
 Heaven forgive him too ! 
 
 Malcolm. This tune goes manly. ^ 
 
 Come, go we to the king ; our power is ready ; 
 Our lack is nothing but our leave. Macbeth 
 Is ripe for shaking, and the powers above 
 Put on their instruments. Eeceive what cheer you 
 
 may; 
 The night is long that never finds the day. 240 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
68 MACBETH [Act V. 
 
 ACT FIFTH, 
 Scene I. — Dunsinane. Ante-room in the castle. 
 
 Enter a Doctor of Physic and a Waithstq-Gentle- 
 : ->.,^ , woman. 
 
 DoOTOB. I have two nights watched with you, but can 
 perceive no truth in your report. When was it she last 
 walked ? 
 
 Gentlewoman. Since his majesty went into the field, 
 I have seen her rise from her bed, throw her nightgown 
 upon her, unlock her closet, take forth paper, fold it, 
 write upon't, read it, afterwards seal it, and again return 
 to bed ; yet all this while in a most fast sleep. 8 
 
 Doctor. A great perturbation in nature, to receive at 
 once the benefit of sleep and do the effects of watching ! 
 In this slumbery agitation, besides her walking and other 
 actual performances, what, at any time, have you heard 
 her say ? 
 
 Gentlewoman. That, sir, which I will not report after 
 her. 
 
 Doctor. You may to me, and 'tis most meet you should. 
 
 Gentlewoman. Neither to you nor anyone, having no 
 witness to confirm my speech. 
 
 Enter Lady Macbeth, with a taper. 
 
 Lo you, here she comes ! This is her very guise, and,' 
 upon my life, fast asleep. Observe her ; stand close. 20 
 
 DocTOE. How came she by that light ? 
 
 Gentlewoman. Why, it stood by her : she has light 
 by her continually ; 'tis her command. 
 
 DocTOB. You see, her eyes are open. 
 
 Gentlewoman. Ay, but their sense is shut. .^ 
 
So. I.] MACBETH 69 
 
 DoCTOB. What is it she does now ? Look, how she 
 rubs her hands. 
 
 Gesttlewomak. It is an accustomed action with her, 
 to seem thus washing her hands : I haTe known her con- 
 tinue in this a quarter of an hour. 30 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Yet here's a spot. 
 
 Doctor. Hark ! she speaks : I will set down what comes 
 from her, to satisfy my remembrance the more strongly. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Out, damned spot X-outy— l-_saj ! 
 One : two : why, then 'tis time to do't. Hell is murky. 
 Fie, my lord, fie ! a soldier, and afeard ? What need 
 we fear who knows it, when none can call our power to 
 account ? Yet who would have thought the old man to 
 have had so much blood in him ? ' '■'*'') "^ " 
 
 Doctor. Do you mark that ? .' 40 
 
 Lady Macbeth. The thane of Fife had a wife ; where 
 is she now ? What, will these hands ne'er be clean ? No 
 more o' that, my lord, no more o' that : you mar all with 
 this starting. 
 
 Doctor. Go to, go to; you have known what you 
 should not. . 
 
 Gektlewoman. She has spoke what she should not, I 
 am sure of that : heaven knows what she has known. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Here's the smell of the blood still : 
 all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little 
 hand. Oh, oh, oh ! 51 
 
 Doctor. What a sigh is there ! The heart is sorely 
 charged. 
 
 Gentlbwoman. I would not have such a heart in my 
 bosom for the dignity of the whole body. 
 
 Doctor. Well, well, well, — 
 
 Gentlbwomak. Pray God it be, sir. 
 
 Doctor. This disease is beyond my practice : yet I 
 have known those which have walked in their sleep who 
 have died holily in their beds. 60 
 
70 MACBETH [Act V. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Wash your hands ; put on your night- 
 gown ; look not so pale : I tell you yet again, Banquo's 
 buried ; he cannot come out on's grave. 
 
 DocTOE. Even so ? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. To bed, to bed ; there's knocking at the 
 gate : come, come, come, come, give me your hand : 
 what's done cannot be undone : to bed, to bed, to bed. 
 
 [Exit. 
 
 Doctor. Will she go now to bed ? 
 
 Gentlewoman. Directly. 69 
 
 DocTOE. Foul whisperings are abroad : unnatural deeds 
 Do breed unnatural troubles : infected minds 
 To their deaf pillows will discharge their secrets : 
 More needs she the divine than the physician. 
 God, God forgive us all ! Look after her ; 
 Remove from her the means of all annoyance. 
 And still keep eyes upon her. So, good night : 
 My mind she has mated, and amazed my sight : 
 I think, but dare not speak. 78 
 
 Gentlevtoman. Good night, good doctor. 
 
 [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene IL — The country near Dunsinane. 
 
 Drum and colours. Enter Menteith, Caithness, 
 Angus, Lennox, a7id Soldiees. 
 
 Menteith. The English power is near, led on by Malcolm, 
 His uncle Siward and the good Macduff : 
 Revenges burn in them ; for their dear causes 
 Would to the bleeding and the grim alarm 
 Excite the mortified man. 
 
 Angus. Near Birnam w^ood 
 
 Shall we well meet them ; that way are they coming. 
 
 Caithness. Who knows if Donalbain be with his brother? 
 
 Lennox. For certain, sir, he is not : I have a file 
 
His secret murders stick 
 Now minutely'revolts uj 
 
 So. III.] MACBETH 71 
 
 Of all the gentry : there is Siward's son. 
 
 And many unrough youths, that even now 10 
 
 Protest their first of manhood. 
 
 Menteith. "What does the tyrant ? 
 
 Caithness. Great Dunsinane he strongly fortifies : 
 Some say he's mad ; others, that lesser hate him. 
 Do call it valiant fury : but, for certain, 
 He cannot buckle his distemper'd cause 
 Within the belt of rule. 
 
 AiTGUS. Now does he feel 
 
 sticking on his hands ; 
 ipbraid his faith-breach ; 
 Those he commands move only in command. 
 Nothing in love : now does he feel his title 20' 
 
 Hang loose about him, like a giant's robe 
 Upon a dwarfish thief. 
 
 Menteith. Who then shall blame 
 
 His pester'd senses to recoil and start. 
 When all that is within him does condemn 
 Itself for being there ? 
 
 Caithness. Well, march we on. 
 
 To give obedience where 'tis truly owed : 
 Meet we the medicine of the sickly weal, 
 And with him pour we, in our country's purge. 
 Each drop of us. 
 
 Lennox. Or so much as it needs 
 
 To dew the sovereign flower and drown the weeds. 30 
 Make we our march towards Birnam. 
 
 [Exeunt marching. 
 
 Scene III. — Dunsinane. A room in the castle. 
 
 Enter Macbeth, Doctor, and Attendants. 
 
 Macbeth. Bring me no more reports ; let them fly all : 
 Till Birnam wood remove to Dunsinane 
 
73 MACBETH ■ [AotV. 
 
 I cannSTtaSnTwiJ^h fear. What's the boy Malcolm ? 
 Was he not born of woman ? The spirits that 
 
 know 
 All mortal consequences have pronounced me thus : 
 " Fear not, Macbeth ; no man that's born of woman 
 Shall e'er have power upon thee." Then fly, false 
 
 thanes. 
 And mingle with the English epicures : 
 The mind I sway by and the heart I bear 
 Shall never sag with doubt nor sliake with fear. 10 
 
 Enter a Servant. 
 
 The devil damn thee black, thou cream-faced loon ! 
 Where got'st thou that goose look ? "^'-^^s* •--i^— . 
 
 Servant. There is ten thousand — 
 
 Macbeth. Geese, villain ? 
 
 Servant. Soldiers, sir. 
 
 Macbeth. Go prick thy face and over-red thy fear. 
 Thou lily-liver'd boy. What soldiers, patch 1 
 Death of thy soul ! those linen cheeks of thine 
 Are counsellors to fear. What soldiers, whey-face ? 
 
 Servant. The English force, so please yon. 
 
 Macbeth. Take thy face hence. \Exit Servant. 
 
 Seyton ! — I am sick at heart. 
 When I behold — Seyton, I say ! — This push 30 
 
 Will cheer me ever, or disseat me now. 
 1 have lived long enough : my wav of lif e 
 Is fall'n into the sear, the yellow lea f, 
 And that which should accompany old a ge. 
 As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, 
 I must not look to have ; but, in their stead. 
 Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath. 
 Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. 
 Seyton ! 39 
 
So. III.] MACBETH 73 
 
 Enter Seyton. 
 
 SETTOif. What's your gracious pleasure ? 
 Macbeth. What news more ? 
 
 Seyton. All is confirm'd, my lord, which was reported. 
 Macbeth. I'll fight, till from my bones my flesh be hack'd. 
 
 Give me my armour. 
 Seytok. 'Tis not needed yet. 
 
 Macbeth. I'll put it on. 
 
 Send out moe horses, skirr the country round ; 
 
 Hang those that talk of fear. Give me mine armour. 
 
 How does your patient, doctor ? 
 DoCTOE. Not so sick, my lord, 
 
 As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies. 
 
 That keep her from her rest. 
 Macbeth. Cure her of that. 
 
 Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, 40 
 
 Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, 
 
 Baze out the written troubles of the brain. 
 
 And with some sweet oblivious antidote 
 
 Cleanse the stufE'd bosom of that perilous stuff 
 
 Which weighs upon the heart ? 
 DoCTOE. Therein the patient 
 
 Must minister to himself. 
 Macbeth. Throw physic to the dogs, I'll none of it. 
 
 Come, put mine armour on ; give me my staff. 
 
 Seyton, send out. Doctor, the thanes fly from me. 
 
 Come, sir, dispatch. If thou couldst, doctor, cast 50 
 
 The water of my land, find her disease. 
 
 And purge it to a sound and pristine health, 
 
 I would applaud thee to the very echo. 
 
 That should applaud again. Pull't off, I say. 
 
 What rhubarb, senna, or what purgative drug. 
 
 Would scour these English hence ? Hear'st thou of 
 them? 
 
74 MACBETH [Act V. 
 
 DocTOK. Ay, my good lord ; your royal preparation 
 
 Makes us hear something. 
 Macbeth. Bring it after me. 
 
 I will not be afraid of death and bane 
 
 Till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane. 60 
 
 Doctor. [Aside.^ Were I from Dunsinane away and 
 clear, 
 
 Profit again should hardly draw me here. [Exeunt. 
 
 Scene IV. — Country near Birnam wood. 
 
 Drum and colours. Enter Malcolm, old Siwaed and 
 his Son,. Macduff, Menteith, Caithness, Angus, 
 Lennox, Ross, and Soldiers, marching. 
 
 Malcolm. Cousins, I hope the days are near at hand 
 That chambers w;ill be safe. 
 
 Menteith. We doubt it nothing. 
 
 SiwARD. What wood is this before us ? 
 
 Menteith. The wood of Birnam. 
 
 Malcolm. Let every soldier hew him down a bough. 
 And bear't_ before hi™ : thereby shall we shadow 
 The numbers of our host, and make discovery / 
 Err in report of us. ' 
 
 Soldiers. It shall be done. 
 
 SiWARD. We learn no other but the confident tyrant' 
 Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure 
 Our setting down before 't. 
 
 Malcolm. 'Tis his main hope : 10 
 
 For where there is advantage to be given, 
 Both more and less have given him the revolt, 
 And none serve with him but constrained things 
 Whose hearts are absent too. 
 
 Macduff. Let our just censures 
 
 Attend the true event, and put we on 
 Industrious soldiership. 
 
Sc. v.] MACBETH 75 
 
 SiWARD. The time approaches 
 
 That will with due decision make us know 
 What we shall say we have and what we owe. 
 Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate^ 
 But certain issue strokes must arbitrate : 20 
 
 Towards which advance the war. [Exeunt, marching. 
 
 Scene V. — Dunsinane. Within the castle. 
 
 Enter Macbeth, Sbytoi^', and Soldiers, ivith drum 
 and colours. 
 
 Macbeth. Hang out our banners on the outward walls ; 
 The cry is still " They come " ; our castle's strength 
 Will laugh a siege to scorn : here let them lie 
 Till famine and the ague eat them up : 
 Were they not forced with those that should be ours. 
 We might have met them daref ul, beard to beard. 
 And beat them backward home. 
 
 [A cry of women within. J What is that noise ? 
 
 Seyton^. It is the cry of women, my good lord. [Exit. 
 
 Macbeth. I have almost forgot the taste of fears : 
 
 The tyne has been, my senses would have cool'd 10 
 
 To hear a night-shriek, and my fell of hair 
 
 Would at a dismal treatise rouse and stir 
 
 As life were in't : I have supp'd full with horrors ; 
 
 Direness, familiar to my slaughterous thoughts. 
 
 Cannot once start me. 
 
 Re-enter Setton, 
 
 Wherefore was that cry ? 
 
 SBYTOiir. The queen, my lord, is dead. 
 
 Macbeth. She should have died hereafter ; 
 
 There would have been a time for such a word. 
 
 To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow. 
 
 Creeps in this petty pacQ from day to day, 30 
 
76 MACBETH [Act V. 
 
 To the last syllable of recorded time ; 
 And all our yesterdays have lighted fools 
 The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle ! 
 Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player 
 That struts and frets his hour upon the stage 
 And then is heard no more : it is a tale 
 Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. 
 Signifying nothing. 
 
 Enter a Messenger. 
 
 Thou comest to use thy tongue ; thy story quickly. 
 Messenger. Gracious my lord, 30 
 
 I should report that which I say I saw. 
 
 But know not how to do it. 
 Macbeth. Well, say, sir. 
 
 Messenger. As I did stand my watch upon the hill, 
 
 I look'd toward Birnam, and anon, methought. 
 
 The wood began to move. 
 Macbeth. Liar and slave ! 
 
 Messenger. Let me endure your wrath, if't be not so : 
 
 Within this three mile may you see it coming ; 
 
 I say, a moving grove. 
 Macbeth. If thou speak'st false. 
 
 Upon the next tree shalt thou hang alive. 
 
 Till famine cling thee : if thy speech be sooth, 40 
 
 I care not if thou dost for me as much. 
 
 I pull in resolution, and begin 
 
 To doubt the equivocation of the fiend 
 
 That lies like truth : " Fear not, till Birnam wood 
 
 Do come to Dunsinane ; " and now a wood 
 
 Comes toward Dunsinane. Arm, arm, and out ! 
 
 If this which he avouches does appear, 
 
 There is nor flying hence nor tarrying here. 
 
 I "gin to be a-weary of the sun. 
 
 And wish the estate o' the world were now undone. 50 
 
Sc. VII.] MACBETE 77 
 
 Eing the alarum-bell I Blow, wind ! come, wrack ! 
 At least we'll die with harness on our back. \^Exeunt. 
 
 Scene VI. — Dunsinane. Before the castle. 
 
 Drum and colours. Enter Malcolm, Old Siwaed, Mac- 
 duff, and their army, with houghs. 
 
 Malcolm. Now near enough ; your leavy screens throw 
 down, 
 And show like those you are. You, worthy uncle. 
 Shall, with my cousin, your right noble son. 
 Lead our first battle : worthy Macduff and we 
 Shall take upon's what else remains to do. 
 According to our order. 
 SrwAKD. Pare you well. 
 
 Do we but find the tyrant's power to-night. 
 Let us be beaten, if we cannot fight. 
 Macduff. Make all our trumpets speak ; giye them all 
 breath. 
 Those clamorous harbingers of blood and death. 10 
 
 \_Exeunt. 
 
 ScBKB VII. — Another part of the field. 
 
 Alarums. Enter Macbeth. 
 
 Macbeth. They have tied me to a stake ; I cannot fly. 
 But bear-like I must fight the course. What's he 
 That was not born of woman ? Such a one 
 Am I to fear, or none. 
 
 Enter YouNa Siwaed. 
 
 Young Siwabd. What is thy name ? 
 
 Macbeth. Thou 'It be afraid to hear it. 
 
78 MACBETH [Act V. 
 
 Young Siward. No ; though thou call'st thyself a hotter 
 name 
 Than any is in hell. 
 Macbeth. My name's Macbeth. 
 
 Young Siward. The devil himself could not pronounce a 
 title 
 More hateful to mine ear. 
 Macbeth. No, nor more fearful. 9 
 
 Young Siwakd. Thou liest, abhorred tyrant ; with my 
 sword 
 I'll prove the lie thou speali'st. 
 
 [They fight, and Young Siward is slain. 
 Macbeth. Thou wast born of woman. 
 
 But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, 
 Brandish'd by man that's of a woman born. [Exit. 
 
 Alarums. Enter Macduff. 
 
 Macduff. That way the noise is; Tyrant, show thy 
 face! 
 If thou be'st slain and with no stroke of mine. 
 My wife and children's ghosts will haunt me still. 
 I cannot strike at wretched kerns, whose arms 
 Are hired to bear their staves : either thou, Macbeth, 
 Or else my sword, with an unbatter'd edge, 
 I sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be ; 
 By this great clatter, one of greatest note %1 
 
 Seems bruited : let me find him, fortune ! 
 And more I beg not, [Exit. Alarums. 
 
 Enter Malcolm and Old Siward. 
 
 Siward. This way, my lord ; the castle's gently render'd : 
 The tyrant's people on both sides do fight ; 
 The noble thanes do bravely in the war ; 
 
So. vm.] MACBETH 79 
 
 The day almost itself professes yours. 
 
 And little is to do. 
 Malcolm. We have met with foes 
 
 That strike beside us. 
 SiWAED. Enter, sir, the castle. 
 
 l^Exeunt. Alarum. 
 
 Scene VIII. — Another part of the field. 
 
 Enter Macbeth. 
 
 Macbeth. Why should I play the Eoman fool, and die 
 On mine own sword ? whiles I see lives, the gashes 
 Do better upon them. 
 
 Enter Macdubp. 
 
 Macduff. Turn, hell-hound, turn I 
 
 Macbeth. Of all men else I have avoided thee : 
 
 But get thee back ; my soul is too much charged 
 
 With blood of thine already. 
 Macduff. I have no words : 
 
 My voice is in my sword, thou bloodier villain 
 
 Than terms can give thee out ! [They fight. 
 
 Macbeth. Thou losest labour : 
 
 As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air 
 
 With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed : 10 
 
 Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests ; 
 
 I bear a charmed life, which must not yield 
 
 To one of woman born. 
 Macduff.' Despair thy charm ; 
 
 And let the angel whom thou still hast served 
 
 Tell thee, MacduS was from his mother's womb 
 
 Untimely ripp'd. 
 Macbeth. Accursed be that tongue that tells me so. 
 
80 MACBETH [Act V. 
 
 For it hath cow'd my better part of man ! 
 
 Aikd be these juggling fiends uo more believed, 
 
 That palter with us in a double sense ; 20 
 
 That keep the word of promise to our ear. 
 
 And break it to our hope. I'll not fight with thee. 
 
 Macduff. Then yield thee, coward. 
 
 And live to be the show and gaze o' the time : 
 We'll have thee, as our rarer monsters are. 
 Painted upon a pole, and uuderwrit, 
 " Here may you see the tyrant." 
 
 Macbeth. I will not yield, 
 
 To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet. 
 And to be baited with the rabble's curse. 
 Though Birnam wood be come to Dunsinane, 30 
 
 And thou opposed, being of no woman born. 
 Yet I will try the last : before my body 
 I throw my warlike shield : lay on, Macduff ; 
 And damn'd be him that first cries " Hold, enough ! " 
 [Exeunt, fighting. Alarums. 
 
 Retreat. Flourish. Enter, with drum and , colours, 
 Malcolm, Old Siwaed, Boss, the other Thanes, 
 and Soldiers. 
 
 Malcolm. I would the friends we miss were safe arrived. 
 
 Siward. Some must go off : and yet, by these I see. 
 So great a day as this is cheaply bought. 
 
 Malcolm. Macduff is missing, and your noble son. 
 
 Boss. Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier's debt : 
 
 He only lived but till he was a man ; 40 
 
 The which no sooner had his prowess confirln'd 
 In the unshrinking station where he fought. 
 But like a man he died. 
 
 Siwaed. ' Then he is dead ? 
 
 Eoss. Ay, and brought off the field : your cause of sorrow 
 
So. vm.] MACBETH 81 
 
 . Must not be measured by his worth, for then 
 
 It hath no end. 
 SiWARD. Had he his hurts before ? 
 
 Eoss. Ay, oh the front. 
 SiWABD. Why then, God's soldier be he ! 
 
 Had I as many sons as I have hairs, 
 
 I would not wish them to a fairer death : 
 
 And so his knell is knoll'd. 
 Malcolm. He's worth more sorrow, 50 
 
 And that I'll spend for him, 
 SiWAED. He's worth no more : 
 
 They sa'y he parted well and paid his score : 
 
 And so God be with him ! Here comes newer comfort. 
 
 Re-enter Macduff, with Macbeth's head. 
 
 Macduff. Hail, king ! for so thou art : behold, where 
 stands ■ 
 The usurper's cursed head : the time is free : 
 
 ' I see thee compass'd with thy kingdom's pearl. 
 That speak my salutation in their minds ; 
 Whose voices I desire aloud with mine : 
 Hail, King of Scotland ! 
 
 All. Hail, King of Scotland ! 
 
 \^FMirish. 
 
 Malcolm. We shall not spend a large expense of time 
 Before we reckon with your several loves, 61 
 
 And make us even with you. My thanes and kinsmen. 
 Henceforth be earls, the first that ever Scotland 
 In such an 'honour named. What's more to do, 
 Which would be planted newly with the time. 
 As calling home our exiled friends abroad 
 
 • That fled the snares of watchful tyranjiy ; 
 Producing forth the cruel ministers 
 Of this dead butcher and his fiend-like queen. 
 
82 MACBETH [Act V. 
 
 Who, as 'tis thought, by self and violent hands 70 
 Took off her life ; this, and what needful else 
 That calls upon us, by the grace of Grace 
 We will perform in measure, time and place : 
 So, thanks to all at once and to each one. 
 Whom we invite to see us crown'd at Scone. 
 
 [Flourish. Exeunt. 
 
NOTES 
 
 Dramatis Personcs. This list is not in Ff. It was supplied by 
 Rowe, the earliest of the editors, in essentially its present form ; 
 but thirty-five years earlier the Davenant version (1674) 
 presented a list of "The Persons Names." Shakspere took 
 the names from the account in Holinshed ; for the minor charac- 
 ters, Ross, Angus, Menteith, Lennox, see especially App., p. 190. 
 
 In Ff.'the play is divided into acts and scenes, but the location 
 of tlie scenes is not given. In every instance, however, in whicli 
 it is at all important for the audience to know the locality, one 
 of the characters says something which gives the necessary infor- 
 mation, ocr— more commonly — we are told beforehand that so and 
 so is in such and such a place, and as soon as we see him, we 
 know where the scene is located. 
 
 ACT I. 
 
 Scene I. 
 
 This scene, as Coleridge remarks, " strikes the key-note of the 
 whole drama." It creates an atmosphere of mystery and im- 
 pressiveness ; it awakens the expectation of the audience and 
 prepares it for the awful and swift course of events which follow. 
 If one can trust one's impressions, this effect is due rather to 
 the movement of the verse than to the meaning of the words (ef. 
 Introduction, p. xxxiii.). 
 
 1. Ff. have an interrogation mark at the end of this line ; but 
 this and the following line seem to contain only one question, 
 for in this play the witches always meet in a storm. According 
 to popular belief the spirits of the air could be most easily 
 summoned in storms. ' ' In Storms of Hail, or Snow, Wind, 
 
84 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 Tempest, and Lightning, is accounted amongst magicians, a time 
 for Conjuring at an easie rate." A Discourse, etc., in Scot, p. 526. 
 
 3. Hurlyburly. Singer quotes Baret's Alvearie, 1573 : "But 
 harke yonder : what hurlyburly or noyse is yonde : what sturre, 
 ruflSing, or biiiite is that ? " 
 
 5. To omit the, as many editors do, does not improve the metre, 
 but destroys the free rhythmical movement. 
 
 7. The metre is here as good as heart could desire ; but various 
 efforts have been made to add another syllable to the line. 
 Pope read: "There I go to meet Macbeth;" Jennens : 
 "There we go," etc. Jackson substituted "and greet" for 
 "with." Others insert before Macbeth some such word as great, 
 Irave, bold, thane, etc. 
 
 8. Perhaps the cries of the animals serving as familiar spirits 
 to the witches are heard through the roar of the elements ; 
 but possibly they are audible only to the witches. OraymalMn, 
 originally a name for a gray cat, later became "Grimalkin," 
 which was applied to a cat of any color. " Malkin " is a diminu- 
 tive of ' ' Maud " or " Mary." According to Clar. Press, ' ' Maukin," 
 the same word, is still used in Scotland for a hare ; in the southern 
 part of the United States the name for a hare is " Molly Cotton- 
 tail." 
 
 9. Paddock means a toad ; cf. Middleton's Witch, I, ii: — " Look, 
 goody witch, there's a toad in march-pane for you. And here's 
 a spawn or two Of the same paddock-brood too, for your son." 
 
 It also meant a frog, as "bull-paddock," "bull-paddy," and 
 "bull-pad" still do in New England ; see Rolfe's note on this 
 passage, and Dialect Notes, pt. ii, p. 73, and pt. iv, p. 313. This 
 confusion is not strange ; cf. the common expression ' ' a toad-frog." 
 Here, of course, these are not ordinary animals, but devils, or 
 familiar spirits, in the form of animals. Reginald Scot, in his 
 DiscoBerie of Witchcraft (1584), ed. Nicholson, p. 8, says : 
 "Some say they [witches] can keepe divels and spirits in the 
 likenesse of todes and cats ;" cf. also pp. 168, 164, 166, 168, 315, 
 380, and see the extracts from The Witches of St. Osees, ib., 
 p. 544, for spirits in the iorm of white, gray, and black cats. 
 But, indeed, the superstition was universal and is still wide- 
 spread. 
 
 9-11. In Ff. these lines are assigned to all the witches to- 
 
So. 11.] NOTES 85 
 
 gether. Hunter suggested tlie arrangement given in the text, 
 and has been followed by most modern editors. It seems certainly 
 right, but it is worth noting that in the version ascribed to 
 Davenant the arrangement is that of Ff. If it were certain 
 that the author of that version had ever seen Macheth played by 
 Sliakspere's company, this would settle the question ; but there 
 are other indications that the author — whether Davenant or 
 someone else— had never had this advantage, and that stage 
 tradition, which is usually so lasting, failed in this play. Downes, 
 who was prompter to Davenant's company for many years, says 
 {Boacius Angl., p. 31) that their rendition of Hamlet was in 
 accord with Shakspere's own instructions, at third-hand ; does 
 his silence in regard to Macbeth mean that of it they had not the 
 Shaksperean tradition ? 
 
 9. Anon means "immediately" ; it was the ordinary reply to 
 a call, and was used by tapsters and waiters in inns, like the 
 modern " coming " ; cf. the amusing joke which Prince Hal and 
 Poins play on Francis in 1 Renry IV, II, iv. Like all words 
 originally meaning "without delay," it finally came to mean 
 " after a while " ; cf. "presently," "directly," "in a moment," 
 etc. 
 
 10. Rolfe quotes Spenser, Faerie Queene, IV, viii, 33 : "Then 
 faire grew foule, and foule grew faire in sight." 
 
 11. Abbott (Gr., § 466) unnecessarily reduces Hover to one 
 syllable by softening the v. 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 On the authenticity of this scene see the Introduction, pp. xx f. 
 Whether written by Shakspere or not, its general construction 
 shows the hand of a skilful playwright. The two campaigns of 
 Holinshed's story (see Appendix, pp. 181-183), covering apparently 
 several months, are brought within a single day, partly to secure 
 rapidity of movement, but mainly in order that our interest in 
 Macbeth may be aroused. We no sooner learn from the wounded 
 sergeant that Macbeth has defeated the rebels in a desperate con- 
 test, than we hear that he has been attacked by another enemy 
 with fresh supplies of men ; and that, though he meets this as- 
 sault bravely with his wearied troops, the issue is still doubtful. 
 While our interest is thus aroused, comes Ross and announces the 
 
86 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 second victory. The bestowal of Cawdor's dignities upon Mac- 
 beth fixes our attention upon him, and completes our preparation 
 for the meeting promised by the witches. ( 
 
 Malcolm. The presence of Malcolm in this scene, and the 
 allusion to his part in the campaign, seem to be due to two pas- 
 sages in Holinshed where Malcolm's name has apparently crept 
 in by mistake ; ef. App., pp. 181, 182. Holinshed was probably 
 thinking of Duncan's predecessor, who also had fought with 
 Sweno ; but see p. 175 for another defeated Malcolm. 
 
 Sebgeant. Ff. have Captain here, but Sergeant in the text, 1. 
 3. The latter must be right ; but surely it is unnecessary to sup- 
 pose, as Steevens does, that he was suggested by the sergeant-at- 
 arms sent as a messenger to Macdowald (App., p. 180). 
 
 5 fl. On the metre, see Introduction, p. xxxiv. 
 
 9. Choice thei/r art. Choke does sometimes mean "to drown,'' 
 but that is not the figure here. This merely means that each 
 interferes with the other. Of course, in the case of the swim- 
 mers, drowning may be the result, but that is not to tlie point. 
 N. E. D., B. v., quotes Bacon, Syha Syharum, § 502 : " Else you 
 will choake the spreading of the fruit." 
 
 Macdonwald is perhaps a combination of the names Macdowald 
 (App., p. 181) and Donwald (iS., pp. 176 ff.). 
 
 10. For = because ; to that = to that end ; see Abbott, § 186, 
 and Schmidt, p. 1234, col. 2. The whole phrase, For to that, has 
 been taken to mean "because," but that is impossible. 
 
 13. Western isles. 'B-oVmsheA, The Historie of Scotland in Chron- 
 icles, ed. 1807, V, 37 : "This Rothsay . . . transported ouer 
 certeine numbers of them [the Scots] into the lies ancientlie 
 called Ebonides, afterwards Hebrides, but now by the Scots, the 
 westerns lies bicause they lie on the west halfe of Scotland." 
 Harrison, The Description of Scotland, ih., v, 16: "In the Irish 
 sea, bstwixt Ireland and Scotland are fortie and thrge lies, 
 whereof some are thirtie miles long, diuers twelue, and others 
 more or lesse. These are called by some writers Euboniee, and 
 by others Hebrides. But the principall of them all is that of 
 Man. . . . North from the He of Man lieth Arran. . . . 
 Prom Arran we go to Hellaw and Rothesay, which later is so 
 named of the Scot, which brought the Scots first out of Ireland 
 into Britaine." 
 
So. II.] NOTES 87 
 
 13. According to Holinshed (App., p. 181), the hems and gaJr 
 lowglaases came from Ireland. Gallowglasses were heavy-armed 
 foot-soldiers, equipped with coat of mail, helmet, long sword, 
 and axe. Kerns were light-armed foot-soldiers, and fought with 
 bearded javelins and short daggers ; cf. Hunter's quotation from 
 Ware, ap. Variorum, p. 10. 
 
 14. Ff. have quarry. Some editors wish to retain it in the 
 sense of "prey," from its use, in hunting, for the "heap of 
 game." Others take quarry or quarrelin the sense of "square- 
 headed bolt of a cross-bow." Johnson read qua/rrel, and explained 
 it as "cause" or "occasion of a quarrel." But Fortune may 
 smile on an undertaking ; why not on a quarrel ? Cf. App., 
 p. 181. 
 
 15. The fickleness of Fortune is the reason for the opprobrious 
 epithet. 
 
 19. MreioTi = favorite ;«/■. 1 flerary 7F, I, i, 83 : "A son . . . 
 "Who is sweet Fortune's minion and her pride.'' Later — because 
 the favorites of great men were likely to be sycophants and 
 tools — the word acquired its present meaning. Valour \a personi- 
 fied, just as Fortune is; perhaps it would be well to indicate this 
 by capitals. iQf. App., p. >181. 
 
 31. The antecedent of which is MaSeth; for numgrous exam- 
 ples of which, where modern usage requires who, see Schmidt, «. b. 
 Shake hands and hid farewell mean nothing more than "leave" ; 
 Clar. Press quotes Lyly, Skiphues, ed. Arber, p. 75: " You would 
 inveigle me to shake hands with chastitie." Cf. also, Middleton, 
 Th^ Witch, III, ii: " Yet you may find a kind and peaceful sister 
 of me, If you desist here and shake bands with folly." 
 
 33. A few editors wish to substitute nape for nave, partly 
 because no other instance of nave, meaning " navel," is known, 
 and partly because such a blow seems impossible: But the old 
 reading is confirmed by other passages ; Steevens cites : ' ' Then 
 from the navel to the throat at once He ripp'd old Priam." — 
 Dido, Queene of Carthage, ed. BuUen, Act II, 1. 256. Boswell 
 adds: "I will rip you from the navel to the chin." — Shadwell, 
 Th£ Libertine. But this latter may be due to the influence of the 
 present passage, as may perhaps: " Draw it, or I'll rip thee down 
 from neck to navel." — Middleton, The Witch, V, i. 
 
 28. Of. App., p. 183. 
 
88 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 24. Cf. App., p. 180, for the relationship. 
 
 25. From the east? or from the vernal equinox? ^Oins is 
 printed in F, with an apostrophe, as if from begins, and so it 
 may be ; but even in Chaucer gan do, which ought to mean, and 
 usually means " did do, " sometimes — probably influenced by began 
 — means "began to do." 
 
 31. Surveying vantage = perceiving his opportunity, or watch- 
 ing for a favorable opportunity. The same phrase with a some- 
 what different meaning occurs in Richard III, V, iii, 15 : " Let 
 us survey the vantage of the field." For Holinshed's account of 
 the campaign against Sweno, cf. App., pp. 182 f. 
 
 34. For metre, cf. Introduction, p. xzxiv. 
 
 37. No other example of erach = load, charge, is known ; but it 
 is common in the sense of the noise of a cannon ; Malone quotes : 
 "But yet as harmeles and without effect. As is the eccho of a 
 Cannons crack Discharged against the battlements of heaven." — 
 The Troublesome Saigne of John King of England, in Hazlitt's 
 Shakespeare's Lib., pt. 3, vol. i, p. 273. 
 
 88. Some editors put these words in the preceding line ; others 
 put them in the line following. 
 
 39. Doubly redoubled. The Elizabethans were rather fond of 
 such combinations ; several examples are given in Variorums 
 they could be increased almost indefinitely. 
 
 41. Memorize another Oolgotha = make another scene of blood- 
 shed as memorable as that of the Crucifixion. 
 
 44. So ... as. Cf. Abbot, § 275, and Matzner, Englische 
 Qrammatih, iii, 531 ff. With negatives we still use so ... as. 
 
 46. Enter Ross. Ff. have Enter Hosse and Angus. If Angus 
 enters with Ross, he perliaps does not come from the battle-field 
 with him, but merely ushers him in ; for the remarks to and 
 about Ross are in the singular number. Thane. "From A. S. 
 ]>ega = a servant, and then technically, the king's servant, an 
 A. S. nobleman inferior in rank to an eorl and ealdorman. Ulti- 
 mately the rank of thegn became equivalent to that of eorl." — 
 Clar. Pr. Cf. V, viii, 62-64. 
 
 47. A haste. FjF!iF4 omit as. 
 
 48. Seems. Johnson: " Shakespeare undoubtedly said 'teewis,' 
 i.e., like one big with something of importance." The Davenant 
 version (1674) has comes. Clar. Pr. retains seems, explaining : 
 
So. II.l NOTES 89 
 
 "Whose appearance corresponds with the strangeness of his 
 message. For the general sense, cf. Richard II, III, ii, 194 f." 
 For the locution, cf. : "Nothing was omitted that might seeme 
 to serve for celebration of that Feast and Triumph." — Stowe, 
 Annals, 1631, p. 828. 
 
 49. IVom Fife. At least ninety miles as the crow flies, — a good 
 ride for an afternoon after a battle ! But, as Daniel points out, 
 the scene of battle {i. e., Fife) is supposed to be within earshot of 
 Forres. 
 
 50. Flout the shy. Malone: "The colours idly flapped about, 
 serving only to cool the conquerors instead of being proudly dis- 
 played by their former possessors. Cf. King John, Y, i, 73." 
 Blwin : ' ' The Norweyan banners flout or insult the sky, whilst 
 raised in the pride of expected victory. . . . And fan is meta- 
 phorically used for chill them with apprehension.'' 
 
 54. On the inconsistencies regarding Cawdor, see Introduction, 
 p. xxi. 
 
 55. Some of the older commentators charged Shakspere with 
 ignorance of mythology in making Bellona wife to the god of 
 war ; but, as Douce says, " Shakespeare- has not called Macbeth 
 tlie Ood of War, and there seems to be no great impropriety in 
 poetically supposing that a warlike hero might be newly married 
 to the Goddess of "War." ' Clar. Pr. . "The phrase was perhaps 
 suggested by au imperfect recollection of Virgil's .^Sneid, iii, 
 319 : ' Et Bellona manet te prouuba.' " Of. King James, A 
 Speech in Parliament, Monda/y, 19 March, 1603, in his Workes, ed. 
 1616, p. 489 : "And since the successe was happie of the Saxons 
 kingdomes being conquered by the speare of Bellona, " etc. 
 
 Lapp'd in proof; for proof = armor tested and found impen- 
 etrable, cf. Richard III, V, iii, 319 f. : "Ten thousand soldiers 
 Armed in proof" ; for lapped, cf. " lapt in a (his) Liverie," The 
 Sermngmans Oomfort, Eoxb. Lib., pp. 107, 133, 136. 
 
 56. Oonfronted him with self -comparisons = opposed to him what 
 could compare with him, or was as good as he. 
 
 57. Ff. put the comma after point. The reason for changing 
 is that rebellious wovXdi have to be taken to mean "opposing, 
 resisting assault," — which, according to Clar. Pr., is contrary to 
 Shakspere's usage. 
 
 58. Lavish = "unrestrained, insolent." 
 
90 NOTES [ACT 1 
 
 60. That expresses result, just as so that does in modern Eng- 
 lish. Abbot, 1 283, says, " So before that is often omitted " ; per- 
 haps it would be better to say, "is often not inserted." In 
 Elizabethan English that expressed a large number of conjunc- 
 tional relations; often the particular relation was more exactly 
 defined by the addition of some such word as so, in, but often it 
 was left to be inferred from the context. 
 
 61. Steevens asks : "Could it have been necessary for Hoss to 
 tell Duncan the name of his old enemy, the King of Norway ?" 
 No ; but it was necessary to tell the audience. 
 
 The Norways'' King; the name of a country was sometimes 
 used in the plural to denote' the inhabitants ; cf. Peele, The Bat- 
 tle of Alcaxar, Act IV, 1. 10 (ed. Bullen, i, p. 273) : " Lusty 
 men, courageous Portugals," and also ij., pp. 269, 375, 280, 393, 
 294. 
 
 Oomposition = terms of peace ; cf. Measure for Measure, I, ii, 
 3 : "If the duke with the other dukes come not to composition 
 with the King of Hungary, why then all the dukes fall upon the 
 king." 
 
 63. Cf. App., p. 183. 
 
 64. Clar. Pr. : "A great anachronism. The dollar was first 
 coined about 1518, in the Valley of St. Joachim, in Bohemia, 
 whence its name, ' Joachim's-thaler ;' 'thaler,' 'dollar.'" 
 
 65. Clar. Pr. : "Nothing is said by Holinshed of the thane of 
 Cawdor's having assisted the Norwegian invaders." This is true, 
 but he distinctly mentions treason as Cawdor's crime and Forres 
 as the place of condemnation ; cf. App., p. 183. 
 
 66. Bosom interest = Close and intimate affection ; cf. Merchant 
 of Venice, III, iv, 17 : " Being the bosom lover of my lord." 
 
 Present = immediate ; cf. Oomeiy of Errors, V, 176 : "Unless 
 you send some present help, Between them they will kill the 
 conjurer.'' 
 
 68. VU see it done. Ross promises to arrange for both the exe- 
 cution of Cawdor and the notification of Macbeth. Apparently 
 he reserves for himself the latter ; cf. note on I, iv, 2. 
 
 Scene in. 
 
 On the authenticity of the first thirty-seven lines see Introduc- 
 tion, p. xxi. 
 
So. III.] NOfES 91 
 
 2. Killing swine; witches were accused then, as now, of killing 
 not only swine but all sorts of domestic animals The thirteenth 
 charge against them, reported by Reginald Scot, is that "Tliey 
 kill mens cattell." Diacoverie of Witxiheraft, p. 36. In bis dedi- 
 catory epistle to Sir Thomas Scot, he represents the typical ac- 
 cuser of an old woman as saying: "Finallie she said she would 
 be even with me : and soone after my child, my cow, my sow, or 
 my pullet died, or was strangelie taken"; {b., p. xiii. 
 
 Aroint; there is scarcely another word in the language for 
 which a larger number of absurd etymologies have been proposed 
 than for this. The meaning is clear enough ; cf. King Lear, III, 
 iv, 139 ; the origin is entirely unknown; ef. N. E. D., s. «. 
 
 Hump-fed; Colepepper: "An insult on the poverty of the 
 woman who had called her a witch, ... as not being able to 
 procure better food than oflEal," — ^kidneys, rumps, etc., being 
 sold by cooks to the poor. Clar. Pr. : "Fed on the best joints, 
 pampered." Nares and Schmidt define it as " fat-rumped " ; and 
 a friend of Dyce's suggested "nut-fed." I prefer the Clar. Pr. 
 interpretation. 
 
 Bonyon; originally a "scabby or mangy woman"; in Eliza- 
 bethan times, perhaps, merely a vague term of abuse. 
 
 8. Steevens quotes Newea from, Scotland (1591) : "And that 
 they [two hundred witches] altogether went by sea, each one in 
 a riddle or sieve." According to Scot, Discomrie of Witcharqft, 
 p. 8 : " They can go in and out at awger holes, and saile in an 
 egge shell; a cockle or muscle shell, through and under the tem- 
 pestuous seas." 
 
 9. A rat without a tail. Steevens says : " It should be remem- 
 bered (as it was the belief of the times) that though a witch 
 could assume the form of any animal she pleased, the tail would 
 still be wanting." This is inaccurate in two respects : in the first 
 place, the belief was only that there would be some defect in the 
 form by which it could be recognized as the product of demonic 
 art ; in the second, there are many recorded instances of such 
 forms in which no defect could be detected ; qf. Boguet, Discours 
 des Soreiers, ed. 1608, pp. 340, 361, and Delrio, Disq. Magic., lih. 
 ii, qucBgt. xxviii, sect. iii. 
 
 10. Clar. Pr. : " She threatens to gnaw through the hull of the 
 Tiger and make her spring a leak." Paton : "It was evidently 
 
92 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 to the destruction of the Tiger's rudder that she intended to apply 
 her energies." Perhaps such a tlireat loses nothing in impressive- 
 nesa by being vague. 
 
 11. Witches were supposed to control the winds. Hunter cites 
 from Harington's Orlando Furioio, notes on book xxxviii, that 
 " Sorcerers near the North Sea used to sell the wind to sailors in 
 glasses." Traces of this belief still exist iu America. 
 
 17. Card = either the dial of the compass, or the chart. 
 Hunter: " In Sir Henry Mainwaring's Seaman's Dictionary, 1670, 
 p. 20, ' a ca/rd, or sea-card ' is said to be ' a geographical descrip- 
 tion of coasts, with the true distances, heights, and courses, or 
 winds, laid down on it ; not describing any inland, which belongs 
 to maps.' " 
 
 18-23. Cf. App., p. 176. 
 
 20. Pent-house, is a corruption, by popular etymology, of the 
 French ajipentis, pentis, "a shed, a lean-to," just as Okarter- 
 houae, the famous London school, is a corruption of Chartreuse, 
 the monastery (of the Carthusian order) formerly located there. 
 The commentators quote examples of pent-house used of the eye- 
 brows, but here, of course, the lids are mednt. 
 
 21. Forbid = under a curse; cf. "If she say . . . she have 
 killed a cow, bewitched butter, infeebled a child, forespoken hir 
 neighbor," etc. — Scot, Discoverie, p. 45. 
 
 32. Se'nnights; cf. "fortnights." 
 
 23. Apparently peak was not understood in 1674 ; the Dave- 
 nant version has, instead of it, waMe. 
 
 32. The weird sisters; Ff. have weyward, probably merely an 
 attempt to represent the pronunciation. The passage in Hol- 
 inshed (App., p. 183) is decisive. On the character of these 
 beings, and the designation of them as witches, see the Intro- 
 duction, pp. xxiv. ff. 
 
 33. Posters of the sea and land; for the verb ef. Milton, Sonnets, 
 XV. 12, 13 : "Thousands at his bidding speed, And post o'er land 
 and ocean without rest." 
 
 88. Enter Macbeth and Banquo. The sound of the drum 
 (1. 30) indicates that Macbeth aud Banquo are not unaccompanied, 
 as Holinshed represents them {cf. App., p. 183), although their 
 attendants are not mentioned in the stage directions or the text. 
 
 Bo foul and fair a day, can hardly be applied, as Clar. Pr. applies 
 
8c. III.] NOTES 93 
 
 it, to " a day changing so suddenly from fine to stormy, the storm 
 being the work of witchcraft " ; for we should then expect the 
 adjectiTes in reversed order. Elwin says: "Jfoul with regard 
 to the weather, and fair with reference to his victory." Holins- 
 hed says that Macbeth and Banquo were ' ' sporting by the 
 way " ; and Shakspere seems to have intended this remark as the 
 concluding sentence of a conversation full of the good-humor 
 and 'fine spirits that come from success. That the words recall 
 to the audience the words of the witches, has no bearing upon 
 the tone in which Macbeth uttered them. 
 
 39. The form of Banquo's question reminds one that in the 
 rural districts of Virginia, a native never asks, " How far is it to 
 N ? " but always " How far do you call it to N ? " 
 
 Forres; Ff. have Boris, and so, queerly enough, has the Dav- 
 enant version (1674). Is the latter fact an indication that it was 
 so pronounced on the Restoration stage ? This version dif- 
 fers too greatly from Fi to admit of the latter having been used 
 as copy for the printer. If so pronounced, was this because 
 Davenant's company had not the Shaksperean tradition of Mac- 
 beth, or because Shakspere's company also pronounced it ' ' Soris " ? 
 
 41. Gf. App., p. 183. 
 
 43. Question, in Elizabethan English, often means " speak to " ; 
 cf. 1 Henry IV, I, iii. 47: "With many holiday and lady terms 
 He questioned me.'' 
 
 46. Beards ; Staunton quotes Beaumont and Fletcher's Honest 
 Man's Fortune, II, i: "And the women that Come to us for dis- 
 guises must wear beards ; And that's, they say, a token of a 
 witch." 
 
 48. Glamis. Seymour: "This is, in Scotland, always pro- 
 nounced as a monosyllable, with the open sound of the first 
 vowel, as in alms." In Shakspere it is always pronounced as a 
 dissyllable ; ef. I, v, 14, 53 ; II, ii, 43 ; HI, i, 1, and the present 
 passage, in which there must be a final weak syllable to make the 
 metre agree with that of the two following lines. From Holins- 
 hed, where it is spelled "Glammis," Shakspere would certainly 
 infer it to be dissyllabic. 
 
 53. Fantastical. Johnson: " That is, creatures of the fantasy 
 or imaginsLtion." Furness calls attention to the word in Holins- 
 hed, App., p. 183. It may also be mentioned that in witch and 
 
94 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 spirit lore it was applied to the bodies (of air and cloud) assumed 
 by spirits to render themselves visible to mortals, or for purposes 
 of deception ; cf. Walter Map, de Nugis Cur., dist. ii, capp. 
 11-14; Delrio, DUq. Magic., 301, 303 ; and Scot, Discoverie, p. 33. 
 54. iSAow = appear ; ef. I, ii, 15. 
 
 56. Steevens cites Twdfth Night, HI, iv, 379: "My having is 
 not much." 
 
 57. TTitAdZ = therewith, with it. Other meanings are : (a) " to- 
 gether with it, at the same time," cf. Taming of the Shrew, I, ii, 82: 
 " Nothing comes amiss, so money comes withal " ; (6) "besides," 
 cf. Macbeth, IV, iii, 41 : "I think withal, there would be hands 
 uplifted in my right" ; (c) "with," cf. I, v, 29, and II, i. 15: 
 " This diamond he greets your wife withal." See Schmidt for 
 other examples ; he puts (a) and (b) together. 
 
 60, 61. Instances of the "respective construction" are not 
 uncommon in Sbakspere ; cf. II, iii, 46, 47, and perhaps 92, 93 of 
 the present scene. In the Davenant version (1674) this is reduced 
 to the prosaic: "Who neither beg your favour, nor fear your 
 hate." 
 
 65. Lesser, really a double comparative, as also are "worser" 
 and "nearer'," ef. Sweet, A New Engl. Or., §§ 1048, 1050, 1051. 
 
 71. Of. App., p. 183. According to Holinshed, the name of 
 Macbeth's father was Sinell ; according to Fordun, Scotichronicon, 
 Pinele (= Pinlach, Finleg, Pinlay) ; confusion of /and s explains 
 the difference ; cf. note on I. 39 above. 
 
 73, 73. Inconsistent with I, ii, 53 f. ; cf. Introduction, p. xxi. 
 
 74. Prospect of belief = the visual field of belief. " The eye of 
 honour," Merchant of Venice, I, i, 137, is a somewhat similar 
 phrase. 
 
 76. Owe = ' ' have," the original meaning of the word ; common 
 in Sbakspere; cf. I, iv, 10; HI, iv, 113. 
 
 80. Of. Here the partitive expression is directly dependent 
 on the verb; cf. Winter's Tale, IV, iv, 217: "You have of these 
 pedlars;" see Schmidt, s. v. 
 
 81. Sbakspere never uses corporeal or incorporeal; for the 
 former, corporal was the usual form in his day ; cf. Scot, Biscov- 
 erie, pp. 309, 397, 414, 426. Similarly the distinction between 
 human and humane was not then observed ; cf. Ill, iv, 76. 
 
 84. On; one of the many instances of difierence between the 
 
So. III.] NOTES 95 
 
 Elizabethan use of prepositions and the Victorian ; cf. Tempest, 
 
 IV, 157: "Such stuff as dreams are made on," and Samlet, IV, 
 
 V, 199, 300. Insane root ; clearly some herb productive of hal- 
 lucinations; and therefore most of the suggestions of the com- 
 mentators (including the "mekilwort berries" of Holinshed, 
 App., p. 182) are out of the question. Steevens quotes Greene's 
 Never too Late : " You have eaten of the roots of hemlock, that 
 makes men's eyes conceit unseen objects." Whether the hem- 
 lock really has this property, is not at all to the point; that 
 it was believed to have it, is all sufficient. The proper books 
 to consult for Shakspere's "science" are not the latest treatises 
 of to-day, but sixteenth century hand-books and collections of 
 folk-lore. 
 
 86 fl. Gf. App., p. 183. 
 
 91. Rebels', some editors read rebeVs; there is no apostrophe in 
 Ff. It makes little difference, as the Norwegians were not 
 rebels ; and personal venture is of itself enough to distinguish the 
 particular act of Macbeth. 
 
 92. Do contend. This is clear enough in general meaning, but 
 confused in construction. " There is such a conflict in the King's 
 mind that he knows not whether wonder ought to be his or 
 praise thine." 
 
 93. That = that contention. 
 
 96. Nothing = not at all, — common in Shakspere. Afeard; 
 common in early modern English, and still in use as a provin- 
 cialism ; it is not the same word as afraid, one being the pp. of 
 the verb a/ear; the other the pp. of the verb afray {affray). 
 
 97. Hail; Pf. have tale, and in the next line Gan instead of 
 Ga/me. Game is certainly right, but it is difficult to decide in 
 regard to the former word. As thieh as hail is, of course, the 
 commonest of expressions, whereas no other example has been 
 found of as thick as tale. On the other hand, the latter has the 
 advantage of not being commonplace, and is legitimate enough 
 if tale be taken in the sense of " count," and thieh in the sense of 
 "rapidly " ; cf. speahing thick = " speaking rapidly," 3 Henry IV, 
 II, iii, 24. But the majority of the editors prefer hail. 
 
 100. We are sent. Hunter tpished to insert not. 
 104. Earmst. N. E. B.: "Konej . . . paid as an instal- 
 ment, especially for the purpose of securing a bargain or contract. 
 
96 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 Also figwativdy, a foretaste, instalment, pledge of anything 
 afterwards to be received in greater abundance." Cf. 1. 132, 
 below. 
 
 106. Additimi = t\i\e ; cf. Schmidt, «. v. "Addition, 5." 
 
 108. Why do you dre»8 me in lorrowed robes ? Hunter thinks 
 this is to be taken literally, and implies an actual investiture 
 upon the stage similar to that of Sir David Murray as Lord Scone 
 in 1605. There is no trace of this rather elaborate ceremony in 
 the stage directions ; it made no impression on the mind of Dr. 
 Forman ; and, indeed, one may doubt whether, if the ceremony 
 had actually been performed, Macbeth would have spoken of 
 " borrowed robes." 
 
 109 S.. On the inconsistencies of this with previous accounts of 
 Cawdor, cf. Introd., p. xxi. 
 
 112. i4«e = reinforce, as a garment is strengthened by lining •,c/'. 
 Henry V, II, iv, 7: "To line and new repair our towns of war 
 With men of courage and with means defendant." 
 
 120. Home = thoroughly, to its place ; cf. Oymheline, HI, v, 
 92 : " Satisfy me home, what is become of her." 
 
 123 ff. Miss Latham, Trans. New Shah. Soc, 1880-85, pt. ii, p. 
 63*, quotes George Gilford, A Dialogue Goncerning Witches and 
 Witchcraft (1598) : "The divels make a show of doing good to 
 men only from a most cruel and murderous purpose, even to 
 draw men deeper into the pit of hell with them." — Ed. of 
 1603. 
 
 129. Imperial theme = theme of empire ; cf. Antony and Cleo- 
 patra, I, ii, 53: "fruitful prognostication," and Julius Ccesar, I, 
 ii, 9: "sterile curse." 
 
 134. Suggestion — temptation; cf. Tempest, II, i, 188: "They'll 
 take suggestion as a cat laps milk." 
 
 136. Seated = fixed, firmly placed. So in Paradise Lost, vi, 
 643: "Prom their foundations, loosening to and fro, They 
 plucked the seated hills.'' 
 
 137. Use = custom. 
 
 Fears = objects of fear ; cf. 1 Henry IV, I, iii, 87: " Shall we 
 buy treason ? and indent with fears, When they have lost and for- 
 feited themselves ? " 
 
 139. Fantastical = imaginary ; ef 1. 53 above. 
 
 140. Single state of man = weak human condition. For single 
 
So. III.] NOTES 97 
 
 = weak, cf. I, vi, 16, and 2 Henry IV, I, ii, 207: "Is not your 
 wit single ?" besides such expressions as " single ale," "single 
 beer," as opposed to " double." This is the opinion of some of 
 the best commentators. Johnson and Schmidt take single in the 
 sense of " individual." Clar. Pr. follows Staunton in taking 
 state in the sense of " kingdom," quoting Julius Oaesa/r, II, i, 67 ; 
 but defines single to be, "when all faculties are at one, or act in 
 unison, undisturbed by conflicting emotions." But can this be 
 said of Macbeth at this juncture ? 
 
 Fhrnetian = power of action ; cf. Bonnets, cxiii, 3 : " Since I left 
 you, mine eye is in my mind ; And tliat which governs me to go 
 about Doth part his function and is partly blind." 
 
 141. Surmise = speculation, thought of the future. Tit^ls 
 Andronicus, II, iii, 219: " Aai'onis gone ; and my compassionate 
 heart Will not permit mine eyes once to behold The thing whereat 
 it trembles by surmise." 
 
 143. Of. App., p. 184. 
 
 144. Come is a pp. 
 
 145. Our strange garments = our clothes before they have be- 
 come accustomed to our bodies. 
 
 147. Time and the hour runs through the roughest day, seems to 
 mean that there is no day so rough and confused but that every- 
 thing happens at its appointed time and hour. Some editors, 
 however, take it to mean that the roughest day will at last end ; 
 and others, that "the day most thickly bestead with trouble is 
 long enough and has occasions enough for the service and the 
 safety of a ready, quick-witted man." But Macbeth seems, not 
 looking for relief from troubles, but, rather, confident that fate 
 controls human fortunes. 
 
 149. Owe me your favour = I beg your pardon. 
 
 149 f. My dull brain, etc. According to Clar. Pr., Macbeth 
 pretends that he was trying to recall something which he had for- 
 gotten. Wrought is the old pp. of work, and is capable of any of 
 the meanings of that word. Here it may mean "agitated," as 
 Steevens suggests, comparing Othello, V, ii, 345: "But being 
 wrought. Perplexed in the extreme." 
 
 154. The interim, according to Steevens, is personified ; accord- 
 ing to Malone, it is used adverbially. Of course, this sentence 
 is an aside to Banquo. 
 
98 NOTES [Act i. 
 
 Scene rv. 
 
 Commentators are pretty well agreed that this scene is to be re- 
 garded as taking place on the day after the previous scenes ; cf. 
 remarks on the duration of the action, Introd., p. xxvii. 
 
 In regard to the incidents, it is to be noted that the dramatist 
 was under no obligation to present a report upon the death of 
 Cawdor. In life there would be such a report, but upon the 
 stage not necessarily. The presentation of it here serves as a 
 subject for conversation before the entrance of Macbeth and Ban- 
 quo ; furnishes, as it were, an introduction to the important an- 
 nouncement in regard to Malcolm (1. 39), and perhaps has the 
 further object mentioned in the note on 1. 4. 
 
 A good deal has been made of the " tragic irony " of many 
 passages in this scene, — perhaps not too much ; but it is well to 
 bear in mind that there is less scope for speeches which palter 
 with us in a double sense in the Romantic Drama, which un- 
 dertakes to tell the audience a new story, than in the Classic 
 Drama, which presents a new setting of an old theme. We who 
 read one of Shakspere's plays for the hundredth time may occa- 
 sionally discover a subtlety which the most responsive audience 
 would miss, and which — alackaday ! — was not intended by 
 Shakspere. 
 
 2. Those in commission. " The task was committed to Ross in 
 I, ii, 66, but it must have been executed by deputy." 
 
 3. Are . . . come; in English the auxiliary formerly in 
 use with " come " was not " have," but " be," as still in German. 
 
 Spoke; in early modern English there was great lack of uni- 
 formity in regard to the pp. of strong verbs. ' ' Spoke, " " spoken, " 
 and even "spake" are found; so "strucken," "struck," 
 "strook," and "stricken." Even so late as our own century 
 and in such a writer as De Quincey, we find " I have rode. " Of. 
 Abbot §§ 348, 344, and Sweet, A New English Grammwr, % 1269. 
 
 4. Steevens thinks Shakspere may have had in mind the be- 
 havior of Essex, who was executed for treason February 25, 1601. 
 But Singer calls attention to the fact that Montaigne, with whose 
 writings Shakspere was familiar, says that three of the most infa- 
 mous persons he ever knew died admirable deaths. Perhaps the 
 
8c. IV.] NOTES 99 
 
 dramatic reason for this account of Cawdor's death is its indirect 
 influence upon the attitude of the audience towards Macbeth, 
 
 8. In Old English (Anglo-Saxon) there was a class of abstract 
 nouns ending in -ung. In Middle English this ending became 
 -inge, and as the ending of the present participle of verbs — which 
 had formerly been -ende — had likewise become -inge, the two orig- 
 inally distinct forms influenced each other very greatly, especially 
 in syntax. Nouns in -ing were formed from strong verbs — which 
 was rarely the case in Old English; and the government by the 
 verb of its olsject directly, without the intervention of a preposi- 
 tion, was also adopted for nouns in -ing. Cf. Sweet, op. cit. 
 § 1600, and Abbot, | 93. 
 
 9. Studied, not a pp., but one of those adjectives in -ed, of 
 which Schmidt, pp. 1417, 1418, gives numerous examples, mean- 
 ing " possessed of, endowed with, the thing expressed by the cor- 
 responding noun " ; cf. Lear, III, vii, 43: "Be simple answered" 
 = provided with a simple answer ; AWa Well, I, i, 232 : "The 
 fated sky " = able to command fate ; and such modern phrases 
 as, "a hard-hearted man," "a wrong-intentioned man," etc. 
 Malone, followed by some other editors, thinks the expression, 
 had been studied, was taken from the actor's profession, but no 
 proof of its technical use has been adduced. 
 
 10. Owed; cf. I, iii, 76. 
 
 11. As ; this is not an instance of the dropping of if after 
 as; in English of Shakspere's time, and before, if was not 
 necessary to the meaning, which was sufficiently expressed by as 
 and the pret. suhj. Of. note on that, I, ii, 60. Chaucer has: 
 "As eurteisly as it had been a mayde." — Cant. Tales, B. 1686. 
 The corresponding construction in Anglo-Saxon usesswti.' "losue 
 })& flSah, swa hg Sfyrht wSere," Joshua viii. 15 {i.e., Joshua fled, 
 as if he were afraid). 
 
 Careless ; here in the passive sense ; cf. "sightless substances," 
 I, V, 48, and "sightless couriers of the air," I, vii, 33. We still 
 use hopeless both actively and passively. For other adjectives of 
 the same class, see Abbot, § 3. 
 
 12. To find = of finding, by which one can find. It is really 
 the same construction as ' ' easy ways to die, " Antony and Cleo- 
 patra, V, ii, 359, and ' ' some falls are means the happier to arise," 
 Cymbeline, IV, ii, 403. 
 
100 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 « 
 
 19. The proportion = the due proportion, proper amount ; 
 cf. Romeo and Juliet, II, iv, 21 : "He fights as you sing prick- 
 song, keeps time, distance, and proportion." 
 
 23. The sendee and the loyalty = the loyal service, A««diady«," 
 ef. King Lear, I, iv, 233: " This milky gentleness and course of 
 yours." 
 
 27. Safe toward =^^ so as to preserve." — Kittredge. Black- 
 stone thinks it means "with a saving of"; Seymour, "with a 
 sure tendency toward"; Singer, "loyal toward"; Knight, 
 " everything that is safe as regards"; Elwin, "everything which 
 secures to you " ; Clar. Pr., " with a sure regard to." Schmidt 
 thinks the expression purposely strained and obscure. 
 
 30. Nor . . . no less. Double negatives merely emphasized the 
 negation in Middle English and early Modern English, as they 
 still do in the speech of the uneducated. In standard English 
 the logical impulse has predominated and established the same 
 usage as in classical Latin. For examples, see MStzner, Englische 
 Gr., iii, 144. 
 
 32. Tliere if I grow ; Libby thinks the emphasis is on I. 
 
 34. Wanton = unrestrained. 
 
 39. Th^ Prince of Cumberland; cf. App., pp. 175, 184. 
 
 42. Inverness; where Shakspere got his knowledge of Inver- 
 ness as the scene of the murder of Duncan may admit of ques- 
 tion. In Holinshed's account of Duncan and Macbeth, the 
 only time Inverness is mentioned (cf. App., p. 184) it is spelled 
 " Enuems " in the edition of Holinshed which Shakspere is sup- 
 posed to have used. In the previous edition of Holinshed it is 
 properly spelled "Enuernes." Cf. note on I, v, Inverness. 
 
 44. Best = leisure, not residue. 
 
 45. Harbinger; "An officer of the royal household, whose' 
 duty it was to ride in advance of the King and procure lodgings 
 for him and his attendants." 
 
 52. The eye viink; in Shakspere, wink at sometimes means 
 "give a significant look," but here it has the commoner mean- 
 ing, "shut, fail or i-efuse to see." Cf. Two Oentlmienof Verona, 
 n, iv, 98 : "Upon a homely object love can wink." Not, of the 
 previous lines, is not to be supplied here. 
 
 56. Banquet, in Elizabethan English, usually meant "dessert"; 
 here it seems rather to mean a "feast"; cf. Titus Aridron., V, ii. 
 
8c. v.] NOTES 101 
 
 194 : " This is the feast that I have bid her to, And tliis the ban- 
 quet she shall surfeit on," and other examples in Schmidt, s. v. 
 
 Scene V. 
 
 Inverness. A room in Macbeth's castle. This is not in Ff. {cf. 
 p. 83), but is correctly supplied on the basis of I, iv, 43. The 
 site of the castle to which one tradition assigns the murder of 
 Duncan is in Inverness, a few hundred yards from the railway 
 station, and is now occupied by a prison. Other traditions as- 
 sign the murder to Glarais (or G-lammis) Castle and to Cawdor 
 Castle, but these traditions are not even in harmony with the 
 play, much less with history ; for the former castle is seventy-five 
 miles from Inverness ; and although the latter is perhaps near 
 enough to Inverness (about eighteen miles) to satisfy the condi- 
 tions, Lady Macbeth could hardly have been so expeditious as to 
 have moved into it since Macbeth's accession to the thaneship of 
 Cawdor. Of course the location of the castle is of no significance 
 in the play. 
 
 Beading a letter. Clar. Pr. thinks she had read the letter be- 
 fore ; perhaps so. But perhaps it is just as well to suppose that 
 she is now reading it for the first time, but has already read sev- 
 eral sentences when she comes upon the stage. It is to be re- 
 membered, however, that stage letters are not constructed on the 
 principles followed in life. They contain merely what furnishes 
 to the audience a plausible excuse for the possessioii by the re- 
 cipient of certain information ; they are, as it were, mere sym- 
 bols of the transmission of information. Hence it is that in a 
 play we often find a person in possession of facts not contained 
 in a letter, although that letter was the only source of informa- 
 tion. Gf. note on I, vii, 49. 
 
 1. Success, as Staunton points out, has here, and in I, iii, 90, 
 its present meaning, although it more often, in Elizabethan 
 English, means "issue, result, fortune either good or bad. " He 
 might have added at least twenty-five other instances, two from 
 this play, viz., I, iii, 132, and I, vii, 4. 
 
 3. Th£ perfeetest report = either the most trustworthy infor- 
 mation (Johnson), or my own experience (Clar. Pr.). 
 
 5. Whiles ; in Elizabethan English, the three forms while, whiles, 
 
102 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 and whilst were all in use, as Clar. Pr. notes. The second, whUeg, 
 has become obsolete, although analogous forms still remain, e.g., 
 once, twice, needs, towards, etc. The ending -es which these 
 words have in Anglo-Saxon is orginally an ending of the geni- 
 tive case of nouns and adjectives. From the adverbial use of the 
 genitives of certain nouns, -es became a regular ending for adverbs, 
 and was thence extended to other particles. Whiles was not the 
 genitive of while, but an adverbial formation on the analogy of 
 such forms as were real genitives. Whilst is a later development 
 of whiles; according to some scliolars, brought about by the influ- 
 ence of the superlative of adjectives; according to others, brought 
 about by purely phonetic processes. The latter view seems sup- 
 ported by such provincial forms as wunst, for once. Cf. JV". E. D. , 
 «. ». "against"; Skeat, Princ. of Eng. Etymol., i, 341 ; Emer- 
 son, Hist, of Eng. Lang., § 290. 
 
 6. Missives ■= messengers ; used once more by Shakspere, AnX. 
 and Oleop., II, ii, 74, in the same sense ; it also had its present 
 meaning. 
 
 15. Fea/r ; according to Delius this means "fear for"; but it 
 clearly does not. 
 
 16. Milk of human hindness; Bodenstedt says: "We must 
 presume that the lady has too high an opinion of her husband." 
 But surely not ; no better analysis of his character has ever been 
 given than that which she gives here. 
 
 19. Illness = wickedness. 
 
 23 fE. A much disputed passage. Some editors close the quo- 
 tation before if; others carry it to the end of the sentence. 
 Johnson proposed to substitute me for it. 
 
 24 flf. Cf. App., pp. 177, 184. 
 
 27. Golden round = crown. 
 
 28. Metaphysical = supernatural ; Delius quotes The Puritan, 
 Act II, So. i: "Metaphysically and by a supernatural intelli- 
 gence." 
 
 34 fE. This is rather more effective than the introduction of the 
 breathless messenger would have been. 
 
 37. The raven ; some of the editors strangely suppose that by 
 the raven is meant the messenger who is almost dead for breath. 
 To say nothing of the remarkable assumption that scantness of 
 breath causes hoarseness, this shows lack of acquaintance with 
 
Sc. v.] NOTES 103 
 
 tlie superstitions of the time. Reginald Scot, Discoverie, etc., 
 p. 137, says : " [It is most impious] to prognosticate that ghests 
 approch to your house, upon the chattering of pies or haggis- 
 ters." The approach of an ordinary guest might be announced 
 by a magpie, but for such a visit as Duncan's the lioarse croaking 
 of a raven would alone be appropriate. This is practically tlie 
 opinion of Dr. B. Nicholson, the editor of Scot, who adds from 
 W. Perkins, Witchcraft (1613): " When a raven stands on a liigh 
 place and looks a particular way and cries, a corse comes thence 
 soon. " This latter superstition finds expression also in Davenant's 
 version of Macbeth, IV, iii, 33 ff : 
 
 " And yet the English Drums beat an Alarm, 
 As fatal to my Life as are the Crokes 
 Of Ravens, when they Flutter about the Windows 
 Of departing men." 
 
 88. Entrance and other words having r after a consonant were 
 formerly often pronounced with such a roll of the r as gave the 
 effect of an extra syllable. Even to-day some people say 
 "bretheren." 
 
 39. On metre see Introduction, p. xxxiv. 
 
 40. Jforto? = murderous, deadly. See HI, iv, 81; and IV, iii, 3. 
 
 43. Remorse = pity, relenting either before or after an evil deed; 
 cf. Venus and Adonis, 357: "'Pity,' she cries, 'some favour, 
 some remorse ! ' " 
 
 44. Compunctious msUings of nature = natural feelings of com- 
 punction. For, "of nature " = "natural," cf. Samlet, IV, vi, 
 21: "thieves of mercy " = merciful thieves. We still say "a 
 man of honor," "sisters of charity," "sisters of mercy." 
 
 45. Keep peace ietween = prevent from coming together, keep 
 apart. If a purpose is prevented from reaching its result, the 
 purpose fails. 
 
 47. Tahe is not, as Johnson suggests, "Take away my milk 
 and put gall into the place," but, as Schmidt explains it, " Change 
 into gall by your malignant power " ; cf. Merry Wives of Windsor, 
 IV, iv, 33: "He blasts the tree and takes the cattle "; Hamlet, I, 
 i, 163: " Then no planet strikes, No fairy takes, nor wilch hath 
 power to charm"; King Lear, II, iv, 166: "Strike her young 
 
104 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 bones, You taking airs, with lameness"; and ib., Ill, iv, 61: 
 " Bless thee from whirlwinds, star-blasting and taking." 
 
 48. Sightless; ef. I, vii, 23, and I, iv, 11. 
 
 50. PaU, very rarely used as a verb. Singer says it is " from 
 the Latin pallio, to wrap, to invest, to cover or hide as with a 
 mantle or cloak." But the verb here is more probably derived 
 from the noun "pall," which, in Shakspere's day, as now, 
 meant the black cloth covering the corpse at a funeral. Nichols, 
 in his edition of Machj/n's Diary, p. xxiii, quotes "The proceed- 
 inge to the funerall of a Enight in London," containing these 
 words: "The corpes, covered with a pall of blacke velvett, borne 
 by vj yeomen in blacke cotes " ; ef. also ibid., pp. 290, 293, 297, 
 etc. 
 
 53. Blanket of the dark would require no note, were it not that 
 some commentators have been offended by the phrase. White 
 properly says : "The man who does not apprehend the meaning 
 and the pertinence of the figure, had better shut his Shakespeare, 
 and give his days and nights to the perusal of — some more 
 correct and classic writer. " But the following of this advice would 
 have deprived the world of not a few Shakspere commentators. 
 "Blackness," "blackest," "blankness," and "blank height," 
 are among the words that have been proposed instead of " blan- 
 ket." Not less strangely, it has been proposed that "blanket" 
 was suggested by the "stage curtain, through which, probably, 
 while the house was yet but half-lighted, Shakspere had himself 
 often peeped." A somewhat similar expression is quoted by 
 Malone from Drayton's Mortimeriados : "The sullen night in 
 mistie rugge is wrapp'd." 
 
 56. Ignorant present = unknowing (Johnson), or obscure (De- 
 lius) — like other adjectives used passively ; cf. note on careless, 
 I, iv, 11. 
 
 62. Beguile the time; " Not wile away the time, but delude all 
 observers ; cf. I, vii, 81; IV, iii, 73; and Bicha/rd III, V, iii, 
 92." 
 
 63. The time = other men ; cf. previous note. 
 
 71. i?'oBOMr = countenance, face; cf. Meas. for Meas., IV, ii, 
 34: "A good favour you have, but that you have a hanging 
 look." 
 
so. VI.] NOTES 105 
 
 Scene VI. 
 
 Forsyth thinks it strange that in the description of Macbeth's 
 castle Shakspere should have overlooked " the magnificent sweep 
 of river and estuary and the grand domination of the different 
 mountain ranges " in the landscape surrounding Inverness. But, 
 as Paton notes, it was dark enough to require torches when Dun- 
 can reached the castle ; and there is nothing among the extremely 
 slight details given which might not be perceived in the twilight. 
 Of., however, Daniel's suggestion that "Torches" slipped into 
 the stage direction, by mistake, from the next scene. 
 
 The light-hearted talk of Duncan and Banquo, and the elabo- 
 rate courtesies between Duncan and Lady Macbeth, suspend, as 
 it were, for a moment, the progress of the tragedy ; but in so 
 doing, intensify the expectation of the audience. 
 
 3. Gentle senses = "our senses which are soothed by the brisk 
 sweet air. The same construction, in -which the [result of the] 
 action of the verb is expressed by applying an epithet to the 
 object, is found in EH, iv, 76." 
 
 4. Martlet is Rowe's emendation for Barlet of Ff. Martlet 
 means " martin," a migratory bird, and for that reason, as Clar. 
 Pr. points out, it is called. "this guest of summer." 
 
 Approve — prove, as often in Shakspere ; cf. Sonnets, Ixx, 5 : 
 " Slander doth but approve thy worth the greater." 
 
 5. Manaionry is Theobald's emendation for mamonry of Ff. 
 Pope proposed masorvry. 
 
 6. Jutty = jetty = " An outnook or corner standing out of a 
 house." — Florio's Italian Hid,., quoted by Malone. Walker 
 thinks a word has dropped out of the line ; Clar. Pr. suggests 
 " cornice" as fulfilling the conditions. 
 
 7. Ooign of vantage = convenient corner. 
 
 9. Most is Rowe's emendation for nmat of Ff. 
 
 11. Sometime = sometimes. The two forms are used indiffer- 
 ently by Shakspere. 
 
 13. Ood Hid = God reward. Hid being a contraction of yield 
 which originally meant "pay or repay" (O. E. gieldan). El win 
 paraphrases the whole passage — which has been found obscure 
 by some editors — ^thus : "The love of others is sometimes trouble- 
 
106 NOTES [Act I. 
 
 some to us, but ... we receive it with tlie thanks due to 
 love; in saying which I teach you how you should ask God's 
 blessing upon me for giving trouble to you." This is in the style 
 of the elaborate, and somewhat {wnderous, compliments of the 
 time. 
 
 16. Single = weak, with a play on double of the preceding line ; 
 cf. note on I, iii, 140. 
 
 20. Hermits were under obligations to pray for their benefac- 
 tors ; c/: Titua Andronieus, III, ii, il. Lady Macbeth says : "We 
 shall not forget to pray for you." 
 
 22. Purveyor here means practically the same as harMnger in I, 
 iii, 45. Really the functions of the two were diflEerent ; the lat- 
 ter providing lodgings, the former, food. Notice the accent. 
 
 23. JBolp, "holpen" {cf. "Thou, Lord, hast holpen me."— 
 Psalms Ixxxvi. 17) and "helped," were all three used formerly 
 as the pp. of "help." "Holp" I have heard, as both pp. and 
 pret., in the rural districts of South Carolina. The I was silent, 
 as it doubtless was in Shakspera's day. 
 
 26. In eompt = " subject to account." — Steevens. 
 
 38. Still = " always," the usual meaning in Shakspere ; cf. I, 
 vii, 8, and see Schmidt, s. v., for numerous examples. 
 
 31. By your leave, hostess. Clar. Pr. : " Here Duncan gives his 
 hand to Lady Macbeth, and leadsher into the castle." Some one 
 has suggested that he kisses her, but if so, he was rather tardy 
 in his salutation. Perhaps it is simply a phrase of courtesy ac- 
 companying his insistence that, although he is her king, she shall 
 precede him through the door. 
 
 Scene VIL 
 
 This scene is by no means the crisis of the play, but in it Mac- 
 beth's shrinking from the murder of Duncan is overcome, and he 
 is irrevocably committed to the whole series of events which fol- 
 low. Up to the moment of his decision, his actions seem in his 
 own control ; one can see how he might have acted differently ; 
 but from that moment to the end of the play every decision and 
 action is determined ; he is caught in the irresistible current of 
 events, and does only what he must. 
 
 Enter, a Sewek. A Sewer was originally an upper servant 
 
So. VII.] NOTES 107 
 
 wliose business it was to seat the guests at table, bring water for 
 their hands, etc. In Elizabethan times, when servants entered 
 with the dishes for a banquet, he preceded them ; cf. Ben Jensen's 
 SUent Woman, II, i: " And say nothing, but clap me a clean towel 
 about you like a sewer ; and, bareheaded, march afore it with a 
 good confidence.'' In our passage the action of these servants 
 suggests the fact that, while Macbeth and his wife are discussing 
 the murder, the king is at supper. 
 
 1. It has been suggested, with some plausibility, that there 
 should be a colon (or period) at the end of this line. Of the 
 editors who adopt this suggestion, some put a period after 
 "quickly " in 1. 2 ; others put no punctuation mark there. 
 
 3. Trwmmel = to catch, as in a net. Clar. Pr. quotes Cot- 
 grave's Diet, of the French and English Tongues : ' ' Tramail : m. 
 A Trammell, or net for Parti'idges." 
 
 4. Hiasurceme — its cessation, i.e., the cessation of the conse- 
 quence. Clar. Pr. points out that " surcease " is not etymologi- 
 cally connected with "cease," but is from " sursis," which is 
 from the same ultimate source as our verb "supersede." Exam- 
 ples of the use of "his" = its, are common in Shakspere and 
 other writers of the time, "his" being, indeed, the original 
 genitive of "it " as well as of " he." In Shakspere's time, how- 
 ever, the confusion arising from this double function was strongly 
 felt, and two experiments were made looking towards a substi- 
 tute : "it " was used without inflection, as in the famous couplet 
 in King Lea/r: "The hedge-sparrow fed the cuckoo so long. That 
 it's had it head bit oil by it young" ; and, later, the form " its" 
 was devised on the analogy of the possessive case of nouns. For 
 details see Lounsbury's Hist, of the Eng. Lang., pp. 165-167. 
 
 5. Of. App., p. 185. 
 
 6. But = only. Instead of sJwal, Ff. have schoole, which is re- 
 tained by some editors with the explanation that "This present 
 life is called a school, both because it is our state of instruction 
 and probation, and, also, because our own behavior in it instructs 
 others how to behave toward us, as is more fully expressed two 
 lines lower. 'Bank' means the same in this place as tench." 
 Shoal was suggested by Theobald, and has been pretty generally 
 adopted by editors ; this reading, which seems decidedly the 
 better, contrasts the shallows of time with the depths of eternity. 
 
108 NOTES [AOT I. 
 
 7. Jump = risk; ef. Cymb., V, iv, 188: "Jump the after-inquiry 
 upon your own peril." 
 
 8. 5iiM = always; cf. I, vi, 28, note. That = so that; cf. I, ii, 
 60, note. Cf. The Witch, V, i: "I do but think how each man's 
 punishment Proves still a kind of justice to himself." 
 
 11. Commends = "presents; ef. All's Well, V, i, 31': 'Since you 
 are like to see the king before me, commend this paper to his 
 gracious hand.'" — Steevens. 
 
 14. His host. On the obligations of a host in ancient times, 
 see Scott's TTie Pirate. 
 
 17. Faculties = "powers, prerogatives of office. See Henry VIII, 
 I, ii, 73: 'Traduced by ignorant tongues, which neither know 
 My faculties nor person.' " — Clar. Pr. 
 
 jtfe«i =" meekly. Shakspcre frequently uses the adjective 
 where we should use the adverb." — Clar. Pr. This may be due 
 to the fact that in Old English many adverbs were made from 
 adjectives by the addition of the ending -e, e.g., heard, adjective 
 ( = hard), hearde, adverb ; when final -e became silent and dropped 
 off (about the 14th century), adverbs of this class had the same 
 form as adjectives, and the use of a single form for both adjective 
 and adverb in words of this class may have been unconsciously 
 extended to words not jiroperly belonging to the class. 
 
 18. CTeasr = blameless ; cf. Antony arid ■ Cleopatra, V, ii, 132: 
 "I cannot project mine own cause so well To make it clear." 
 
 20. Taking-off; cf. Ill, i, 104, and King Lear, V, i, 65: "Let 
 her who would be rid of him devise His speedy taking off." 
 
 21. Why pity is compared to a babe may admit of question. 
 Paton thinks Shakspere may have known of the belief in the 
 "little Spectres called tarans, or the souls of unbaptized infants, 
 often seen flitting among the woods and secret places, bewailing 
 in soft voices their hard fate." 
 
 22. CheruUn has been altered by most editors to cherubim ; but 
 Shakspere uses "chenibin" as the singular and "cherubins" as 
 the plural. So also in Donne's A Funeral Elegy, 1. 50: "What 
 is't to us, alas ! if there have been An angel made, a throne or cheru- 
 bin ? " " Seraphin " was likewise used for " seraph " ; ef. Middle- 
 ton, The Witch, IV, ii: "Must burn in pure love like a seraphin." 
 If there is any biblical allusion in our passage, it is probably, as 
 has been suggested, to Psalms xviii. 10. In one of the formulae 
 
So. VII.] . NOTES . 109 
 
 given by Reginald Scot's continuator (p. 488) for raising the 
 spiiit Balkin, occurs the quotation: "Magnus es tu ben Elohim 
 qui super alas ventorum equitaris." 
 
 28. Macbeth's sentence is probably left unfinished, being inter- 
 rupted by the entrance of Lady Macbeth. A dash instead of 
 the period would niake this clearer; The objections which liave 
 been brought against the phrase o'erlea/ps itself are not deserving 
 of mention. 
 
 34. Would is not precisely the same here as should in the Eng- 
 lish of to-day. It does not mean "ought," but "demand to 
 be," thus preseiTing some of the original force of would ; cf. note 
 on II, i, 35. 
 
 43. Some editors explain the orTiameiit of life to be the crown ; 
 others, courage. Mr. M. F; Libby suggests the "golden opin- 
 ions " of 1. 33. I have so explained it to my classes for several 
 years, and am under the impression that I was so taught. The 
 whole passage then reads : " Do you desire to have the good 
 opinion of others, and at the same time forfeit your own esteem 
 by being too cowardly to do what you wish to do ? " 
 
 44. Apparently, Shakspere has put this hindpart-before, but 
 the confusion -is so subtle that one has to resort to analysis to be 
 sure that there is confusion. 
 
 45. This cat appears in the proverbs of several countries. A 
 good English exainple is in Heywood's TTiree Hundred Epigrams, 
 No. 358 (1562) : "The cat would eate fyshe but she wyll not 
 weate hir fgete." 
 
 47. Do more is Rowe's emendation for no more of Ff., which is 
 out of harmony with the context. Beast is, of course, in opposi- 
 tion to "man," spoken of by Macbeth. 
 
 49. Koester thinks a former scene has been omitted in which 
 Macbeth and his wife discuss the murder. But surely all that 
 could be brought out by such a scene is sufficiently brought out 
 by this. The fluctuation of Macbeth's feeling could hardly be 
 made more impressive than it is. The skilful dramatist pro- 
 duces all, and more than all, the effect of a long scene by a few 
 well-devised allusions to the events that would have been con- 
 tained in it, had it been composed. Of. the interview of Mac- 
 beth with the murderers, in, i, 73 fE. When critics insist upon 
 treating Shakspere's plays as if they were not plays, but life, upon 
 
110 NOTES . [Act I. 
 
 knowing when everything happened, and finding a place for 
 every event whether presented or referred to, they find them- 
 selves in a veritable slough of despond of time-analyses and iu- 
 consistencies and insoluble mysteries. 
 
 59. We fail! Whether these words should be followed by a 
 period or an exclamation point, has been much discussed. 
 There are at least three eflective modes of speaking the words. 
 A few attempts to find the best will be worth pages of comment. 
 But see the excellent discussion in Variorum. 
 
 60. The atiching-plaee. The meaning of the line is too clear to 
 need explanation ; but it is hard to determine what the raeta- 
 plior is. Steevens thinks it taken from the tuning of some such 
 musical instrument as a violin. Clar. Pr. thinks it rather from 
 some engine like a catapult. Perhaps it is not a genuine meta- 
 phor, after all, but a collocation of words, separately metaphor- 
 ical, but here combined with no intention of producing a single 
 image. 
 
 63. Cf. App., p. 178. 
 
 64. Wassail, originally a cup drunk at merry-makings with 
 certain interesting ceremonies, — for which see Layamon's Brut, 
 ii, 173-178. In Shakspere's day it had become a general term for 
 revelry. The word is derived from Old English "wses htfel" 
 (= be prosperous), a term like " prosit," "your health," or any 
 similar drinking phrase. 
 
 Convince = overcome ; cf. IV, iii, 143. 
 
 65-67. Clar. Pr. : "By the old anatomists the brain was 
 divided into three ventricles, in the hindermost of which they 
 placed the memory. Wlien the memory is converted by intoxi- 
 cation into a mere fume, then it fills the brain itself, the receipt 
 or receptacle of reason, which thus becomes like the alembic or 
 cap of a still." See the picture of a limbec in International Diet., 
 s. v., " alembic." 
 
 68. Drenched = drowned ; cf. King Lear, III, ii, 3 : "Spout 
 Till you have drench'd our steeples, drown'd the cocks." 
 
 72. Quell = murder. Clar. Pr. : " Manqtteller is used by 
 Wiclif for ' executioner,' in translating Mark vi. 37, and for 
 ' murderer,' 7lci« xxviii. 4." 
 
 73. Mettle is only a metaphorical use of the word " metal." In 
 old books they arc spelled alike, and it is often difficult or im- 
 
Sc. I.J NOTES 111 
 
 possible to tell which was intended ; for a clear example of the 
 metaphorical use, see IV, i, 89. 
 
 77. Other = otherwise ; cf. "Nor met with fortune other than 
 at feasts." — King John, V, ii, 58. 
 
 81. Mock the time; cf. I, v, 63. 
 
 ACT II. 
 
 Scene I. 
 
 Bearing a torch. In Ff. the stage direction is: "Enter Banquo, 
 and Fleance with a Torch before him." Torch sometimes means 
 a torch-bearer, just as trumpet means a trumpeter ; whether that 
 is the case here, it is impossible to decide. 
 
 4. Husbandry = thrift, frugality, economy. 
 
 5. Their is noted by the editors as referring to heaven, but the 
 inhabitants of heaven may be intended. 
 
 Thee may be the dative, or it may be that weakened form of 
 thou discussed by Gummere in note on Merch. of V., II, ii, 173. 
 
 7 fE. It is hard to determine exactly what is Banquo's state of 
 mind. The cursed thoughts which he wishes restrained may be 
 temptations which assail him, but may be only suspicions of 
 Macbeth. 
 
 13 f. This was suggested by Holiushed ; ef. App., p. 177. 
 
 14. Offices = rooms in which the servants and attendants 
 carried on their work. It is not necessary to change offices to 
 officers. Shakspere does not say that the gifts were given to the 
 offices. 
 
 15. Withal, see note on I, iii, 57. 
 
 16. Shut up = concluded. Clar. Pr. : " If we take 'shut' as 
 the preterite, we require some other word to complete the sense. 
 ' Shut up ' may, however, like ' concluded,' be used intransitively." 
 Apparently the expression was more dignified in tone than it 
 now is. 
 
 18. Beea/me the servant to defect = had to act as defect would 
 have it act. 
 
 19. Which, i.e., our will. Wrought ; see note on I, iii, 149. 
 32. Entreat an hour to serve; as if the hour were a person I 
 
113 NOTES [Act II. 
 
 25. If you shall presents the condition in rather different form 
 from if you will. It puts the emphasis upon the actual taking of 
 Macbeth's side by Banquo. No really satisfactory discussion of 
 the differences between Elizabetlian and Victorian usage in 
 regard to "shall" and "will," "should" and "would" has 
 ever been published ; and the subject is extremely difficult. 
 But the student can settle most cases himself by remembering 
 that "shall" originally expressed obligation, necessity, and then 
 mere futurity, while "will" developed to the expression of 
 futurity from the other direction, i.e., from intention, willing- 
 ness. By keeping in mind these facta, he will discover that tlie 
 Elizabethans felt "shall" and "will" to mean what we feel 
 them to mean, but that they looked at many actions from a differ- 
 ent point of view and so had different expressions for them. See 
 note on V, v, 17. 
 
 When His is probably purposely indefinite in its allusion to 
 what may be expected. 
 
 26. It is hard to determine what attitude we are expected to 
 regard Banquo as taking. Does he understand or suspect that 
 Macbeth is planning murder, and wish to assent to it just far 
 enough.to be with Macbeth if he succeeds, and against him if he 
 fails ? or does he think Macbeth plans an open revolt, such as, 
 according to HoUnshed, was neither uncommon nor regarded as 
 particularly base ? or, finally, are we to refuse to attempt to 
 settle the details of Banquo's character, merely accepting him as 
 honest, and regarding his actions and speeches as intended only 
 to motive the actions and speeches of Macbeth and to advance 
 the play ? 
 
 28. My 'bosom franclmed = my conscience free from wrong. 
 
 31. When my dririk is ready. The night-cup was, as Elwin 
 says, an habitual indulgence of the time ; but surely Lady Mac- 
 beth will understand this message as relating to a far different 
 matter. 
 
 33 ff. Some of the editors have suggested that if the dagger 
 had been floating in the air when he first saw it, Macbeth would 
 have had no doubt of its unreality, and that, therefore, it at first 
 seemed to be lying on a table. 
 
 86. Fatal = sent by fate. Sensible = ' ' capable of being per- 
 ceived by the senses." — Clar. Pr. 
 
8c. r.] NOTES 113 
 
 44 f. My eyes alone are fooled, or else they alone give trust- 
 worthy information. 
 
 46. Dudgeon = haft or handle. Whether so called because 
 often made of box-wood, or on account of crooked ridges to 
 keep the hand from slipping, is uncertain. 
 
 Qouts (= drops) is commonly pronounced to rhyme with 
 "shouts," but in this particular passage stage tradition is said 
 to retain the old pronunciation which makes it rhyme with 
 "boots." 
 
 48. Informs = gives information; ef. I, v, 33. Some think it 
 means " creates a form." 
 
 50. Abuse = pervert, as in Othello, I, i, 172-174 : "Is there not 
 charms By which the property of youth and maidhood May be 
 abused ? " or = put to a bad use, as in Ant. and 01., Ill, vi, 33, 
 33 : " Lepidus was grown too cruel ; That he his high authority 
 abused." 
 
 51. On metre see Introd., p. xxxiv. 
 
 53. Hecate (dissyllabic, as always in Shakspere, except 1 Henry 
 Vi, III, ii, 64 ; it ought by rights to be trisyllabic, as it is in Spenser, 
 Jonson, Milton), one of the aspects of the triple goddess of classic 
 mythology, who was Luna and Cynthia in heaven, Diana on earth, 
 and Proserpina and Hecate in hell. As Hecate, she was, among 
 the ancients, the goddess of sorcery and witchcraft, being, e.g., 
 invoked by Medea in her dreadful incantations. The place she 
 occupied in sorcery in Shakspere's time, and later, may be under- 
 stood from the formula for raising the spirit of a person who has 
 hanged himself ; after the body has been cut down at midnight, 
 and the ceremonies begun, the necromancer says: "By the mys- 
 teries of the deep, by the flames of Banal, by the power of the 
 East and the silence of the night, by the holy rites of Hecate, I 
 conjure and exorcise thee, thou distressed Spirit, to present thy- 
 self here, and reveal unto me the cause of thy Calamity," etc. 
 Additions to R. Scot's Diacoverie of Witchcraft, ed. Nicholson, 
 p. 474. Pale is here an epithet transferred probably from the 
 dead to the goddess of the undeiworld and unlawful magic. In 
 HI, ii, 41, she is called blach Hecate, in allusion probably to the 
 moral quality of the rites associated with her. 
 
 Murder; the murderer is spoken of as the very incarnation of 
 the crime itself ; or perhaps the crime, in general, is personified. 
 
114 NOTES [Act II. 
 
 53. ^foniw'd = awaked, summoned. "Alarum "and "alarm" 
 (French alarme, from Italian alVarme = to arms !) are the same 
 word. The former developed from the latter in precisely the 
 same way in which elm, helm, become in the mouths of some 
 speakers "ellum," "helium." People who roll r sometimes say 
 " liarrum" for ha/rm. Alarum is a proper form and the similar 
 ones improper, simply because it has been accepted into the stand- 
 ard language and they have not. 
 
 54. HU watch; there is perhaps no superstition which makes 
 the howl of the wolf the special indicator of time to the murderer, 
 but none was needed. 
 
 55. Strides is Pope's emendation for sides, which stands in Ff. 
 Some editors have objected to the epithet ravishing, because of 
 " stealthy pace " in 1. 54, But whether ravishing really describes 
 strides or is an instance of the transfer of the epithet from the 
 person to the thing, it is easy to imagine Tarquin's approach 
 towards Lucrece, as fulfilling this description. See Shakspere's 
 Rape of Luerece. 
 
 57. For the constiiiction cf. Marls i. 24; Lulce iv. 34; King 
 Lear, I, i, 372. 
 
 58. WTiereabout bears the same relation to whereabouts that 
 toward bears to towards; the « is a relic of an old adverbial 
 ending -es from the genitive case of nouns ; ef. Sweet, New Eng. 
 Or., § 1504, and note on I, v, 5. 
 
 59. Take the present horror, etc. = take away the awful silence. 
 
 60. Which = horror ; it — time. 
 
 61. Words . . . gives. According to Clar. Pr., gives is an 
 instance of a verb in the sing, with a pi. subject ; the occurrence 
 of two sing, nouns between them is said to account for tlie 
 phenomenon. But it is more common nowadays to regard such 
 forms as real plurals, relics of the Northumbrian (Northern Eng- 
 lish) pi. in -es. In Middle English the pi. pr. Ind. of give might 
 be either giveth, gives, given, or give ; of these the last became the 
 standard form in Modern English, but the others were also in 
 use for a long time. See Sweet, New. Eng. Gr., §§ 1326, 1330, 
 1385, 1347, 1348, 1374. 
 
 63. The iell is supposed by some to be the clock striking 
 "two" (cf. V, i, 35); but surely it is the signal spoken of in 
 1. 33 of the present scene. 
 
So. II.] NOTES 115 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 Lady Macbeth has just met her husband ; he has goae to kill 
 Duncan, and she awaits his retui'n. The scene is located in the 
 same place as that in which Banquo and Macbeth met, and, later, 
 Macbeth awaited the summons of the bell. To flnd.a place in 
 which, in real life, all these events would appropriately occur, 
 might be difficult ; and tlie palace court — whicli is chosen by the 
 editors — seems hardly suitable for any of them except the Ban- 
 quo scene. But the stage is not life ; and the stage convention 
 which locates them all in the same place is necessary and easy to 
 accept. On the Elizabethan stage, it will be remembered, the 
 small amount of scenery used made it easy for a scene to have a 
 rather indefinite character, enabling it to serve for almost any- 
 thing. The location is not the significant thing, anyhow, but the 
 event. 
 
 Instead of presenting upon the stage the murder of Duncan, 
 Shakspere has taken the more impressive method of sliowing us 
 the eflEects of it upon Macbeth and his wife. Moreover, it is not 
 the murder itself, but the effects of it, with which we are con- 
 cerned. 
 
 1. Bold. It has been suggested that Lady Macbeth had been 
 drinking to keep np her courage. But perhaps she means only 
 that in making the grooms drunk, the drink has made her bold ; 
 in quenching them, has given her fire. She certainly had not 
 drunk much of the drugged posset ; and the dramatic effect of 
 her remark, taken literally, seems questionable. 
 
 3. The lellman acted as night-watchman and cried the hours, 
 announced deaths, and called on the faithful to pray for the 
 souls of the departed. Another of his duties is mentioned in 
 Webster's Duchess of Malfi, IV, ii : "I am the common bell- 
 man, That usually is sent to condemned persons The night before 
 they suffer." In all ages, probably, the screech of the owl has 
 been held an omen of evil ; cf. Scot, JHscoverie, p. 164 : " For 
 one will sale ; I had a dreame to-night, or a crowe croked upon 
 my house, or an owle flew by me and screeched (which augurie 
 Lucius Silla tooke of his death)." 
 
116 NOTES [Act II. 
 
 4. Staunton thought sternest not a good enough adjective, and 
 wished to substitute eterri'at. 
 
 5. Chrooms were servants of almost any sort ; here, of course, 
 oflScers of the royal household. The origin of the word is un- 
 certain ; it may come from O. E. guma, a man, but the r may 
 have been in the word originally. 
 
 6. Moch their charge = turn their guardianship into a mere 
 mockery. 
 
 "Posset is hot milk poured on ale or sack [i.e., wine like 
 sheri^], having sugar, grated bisket, and eggs, with other ingre- 
 dients, boiled in it, which all goes to a curd."— R. Holmes, Acad- 
 emy of Armourie, book iii, p. 84 (quoted by Malone). This thick 
 preparation was commonly eaten just before going to bed. 
 
 8. Macbeth [Within'\. Ff. have Enter Madieth as the stage 
 direction. It is clear that Lady Macbeth is alone when she next 
 speaks. It may be that on the Elizabethan stage Macbeth entered 
 here, not to the stage proper, but to the balcony above. But as 
 Pf. do not indicate his entrance after 1. 13, it is more probable 
 that Enter Macbeth merely indicates that Macbeth once more be- 
 gins to take part in the action. 
 
 10. Some editors think this means, " it is the attempt which 
 confounds us, not the deed " ; others, with more probability, " an 
 unsuccessful attempt {i.e., the attempt without the deed) would 
 be ruin." 
 
 13. had done = would certainly have done. This remark of 
 Lady Macbeth's is one of the many touches by which Shakspere 
 keeps tragedy from leaving the level of art and falling into the 
 sordid brutality of a police report. 
 
 16 f. Hunter rearranges these speeches thus : 
 
 Macbeth. Did not you speak ? 
 
 Lady Macbeth. When ? Now ? 
 
 Macbeth. As I descended. 
 
 Lady Macbeth. Ay. 
 
 He says: "Any agitation of spirit, or any incoherence of ideas 
 as the natural consequence, cannot demand that the lady, when 
 she has answered the inquiry of her guilty husband, ' Didst thou 
 not hear a noise ? ' by saying, ' I heard the owl scream and the 
 crickets cry : ' should then take up the husband's question, and 
 address him, ' Did you not speak ? ' but that this is also an in- 
 
8c. IL] NOTES 117 
 
 qiiiry of the conscience-stricken thane, whom every noise appals. 
 He was not satisfied with her first explanation. The sounds had 
 been no screaming of the owl, nO crying of the- cricket ; articu- 
 late sounds had fallen upon his ear, and he wislied and vainly [?] 
 hoped that it was from her lips, and not from those pi nnother, 
 that they had proceeded." But it is not necessary to take Lady 
 Macbeth's question as due to agitation of spirit ; and, with 
 Hunter's assignment of the speeches, why does he say Macbeth 
 "vainly" hoped the sounds were from her lips? Besides the 
 text ought always to be kept as it stands unless it is absolutely 
 unintelligible ; and this is not only intelligible but very effect- 
 ive, especially in the agitation shown in Macbeth's failure to 
 answer, as he starts at some new noise and asks about the occu- 
 pants of the second chamber. 
 
 33. That = so that; cf. I, ii, 60, note. 
 
 24. Them. "InO. B. the personal pronouns are used also as 
 reflexive pronouns, as they still are in such phrases as he looked 
 about him. O. B. self does not make a pronoun reflexive, but 
 simply emphasizes one that is already so." — Sweet, New Engl. Or., 
 § 1105. This use of the personal pronouns survived in Shakspere's 
 day, and still occurs in poetry and in a few fixed phrases in prose. 
 
 37. As = as if ; cf. note on I, iv, 11. 
 
 27 f. According to Ff. this is the way to print these lines, 
 making listening modify I. But many scholars prefer to put a 
 comma after hands and a period after _/««?■, taking listening with 
 me. 
 
 Hangman formerly meant any kind of executioner ; cf. Mereh. 
 of v., IV, i, 135 : " No, not the hangman's axe." 
 
 28. Listening in Elizabethan English could either take a direct 
 object, as here, or be used with to, as we now use it. 
 
 34. It, i.e., the thinking of them. 
 
 35. Methought is not a bit of bad grammar with me as the sub- 
 ject of thought. In O. E. there was, besides the verb pencan 
 "to think," the impersonal verb pynccm, "to seem." Of the 
 latter, two forms are preserved to us in methinks and methought, 
 meaning " it seems to me " and "it seemed to me." 
 
 35-40. Pf. print these lines in such a manner as makes it 
 doubtful where the cry of the voice ends. The voice which 
 Kenneth heard {cf. App., p. 180), spoke more than is contained in 
 
118 NOTES [ACT II. 
 
 these lines, and many editors think tlie whole of these lines the 
 speech of the voice ; but the weight of opinion seems in favor of 
 the punctuation we have adopted. The last four lines sound 
 more like the comments of Macbeth's unstrung mind than the 
 cry of the voice ; the declaration that he has murdered sleep sum- 
 mons before him a hurrying, confused throng of images of the 
 blessings of that which he has destroyed. 
 
 37. iJaBeZM«fea®«= tangled floss (silk). Florio (quoted by Clar. 
 Pr.) defines Bauella as "any kind of sleave or raw silke," and 
 Bauellare as "to rauell as raw silke." Shakspere used tlie verb 
 ravd in the sense of tangle in Two O. of Verona, III, ii, 53. 
 
 38. Death ; Warburton wished to substitute hirth, but Macbeth 
 is not speaking of the renewal of vigor and hope, but of the 
 cessation of troubles and anxieties. 
 
 39. Second course. In Shakspere's time, and earlier, the second 
 course in feasts was that in which were served the most solid 
 and nourishing dishes. Occasionally there were four courses in 
 a great feast, but usually only three, of which the first consisted 
 mainly of entrees; the second, mainly of roasts, etc. ; the third, of 
 pastry and confections ; for bills of fare see Two Vifteenth Cemtv/ry 
 Cook Books, pp. 57, 58, 68 ; Caxton's Boke of Curtesye, pp. 90, 92; 
 and The Boke of Keruynge (in The Balees Book), p. 374 fl. (all 
 published by the Early Eng. Text Soc). 
 
 40. Lady Macbeth's question, if it does not prove that Macbeth 
 has forgotten that he was telling what the voice said, and is now 
 like a man talking to himself, naming aloud the images that 
 crowd upon his fevered mind — at least suits well with it. 
 
 43 f. It is disputed by the editors whether these lines belong 
 to Macbeth or to the voice. Elwin says: "Having, under one 
 designation, murdered sleep, it exists no more for him under any 
 title or name.'' "White says : "These two lines, unless their 
 detailing of Macbeth's titles is the utterance of his distempered 
 fancy, sink into a mere conceit unworthy of the situation." In 
 the text I have followed the Cambridge editors in giving the 
 lines to the voice, but I incline to the other view. 
 
 55. Whether we take /ear* as meaning "feels fear of" and 
 eye as subject, or fea/rs as meaning " causes fear " and devil as 
 subject (as Delius prefers), makes little difierence. I do not 
 agree with him that the latter is more poetic. 
 
So. III.] NOTES 119 
 
 56. Oild is often used of smeai-ing with blood, because both 
 blood and gold were called red. Withal ; cf. I, iii, 57. 
 
 57. Quilt; perhaps, as Clar. Pr. suggests, by making Lady 
 Macbeth jest, Shakspere intended to enhance the horror of the 
 scene ; but the Elizabethans were very fond of puns and could 
 hardly resist making one, even under the most inappropriate cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 63. Whether the green one is made red or the green is made one 
 red is hotly disputed. I am inclined to favor the latter ; but the 
 punctuation of F, seems to be on the side of the former — it has 
 "the Greene one, Red." 
 
 69. Unattended ; firmness, which was once your attendant, has 
 left you. 
 
 70. Night-govm, not the garment in which he slept, but a dress- 
 ing-gown. Until comparatively recently, people wore no cloth- 
 ing in bed ; indeed, the common people did not a hundred years 
 ago. Gf. V, i, 5. 
 
 73. " While I have the thoughts of this deed, it were best not 
 know, or be lost to, myself. This is in answer to the lady's 
 reproof. " — Warburton. 
 
 Scene III. 
 
 On the general question of the authenticity of this scene, which 
 has been doubted by Coleridge and many others, see Introduc- 
 tion, p. xxi. On the draaiatic necessity for the scene, we may 
 quote Tom Taylor, one of the best of modern dramatists: "With 
 reference to the exigencies of the action, the knocking is of great 
 importance. It heightens the horror of the scene in a very 
 extraordinary degree, and also gives relief to the intensity of the 
 situation. Looking at the scene as a practical dramatist, I see 
 that it is absolutely necessary to get Macbeth oflE the stage. A 
 motive must be contrived for this. That motive is at once sup- 
 plied by the sudden knocking. It creates alarm, gets rid of Mac- 
 beth and his wife, raises the castle, and gives them time to dress 
 [undress ?] and nerve themselves to meet the crowd which will 
 shortly assemble, and to face the discovei^ of the murder which 
 cannot be longer deferred. Thus the knocking at the gate serves, 
 as almost everything does in Shakspere, a double purpose. It 
 intensifies the horror, and gets rid of Macbeth just when his 
 
120 NOTES [Act II. 
 
 absence is wanted. A practical dramatist always has to think 
 of this. Then a speech is necessary here, that Macbeth may 
 change his dress before he returns. There again comes in the 
 practical dramatist."— rmn«. JVeto Sh. Soc, 1874, p. 370 f. 
 
 The Porter, although he has apparently been asleep, is still in 
 the humorous and loquacious stage of drunkenness. Dr. Furni- 
 vall says he is a Scotch Porter in the philosophizing stage. 
 
 3. Porter of hell-gate. Whether on account of the passages in 
 Vergil (JEn., vi, 400, and viii, 396), or in order to provide a 
 counterpart to St. Peter, or merely because a porter was an indis- 
 pensable functionary, hell was commonly spoken of as having a 
 porter, and his name was usually given as Cerberus ! This might 
 seem to leave hell unprovided with a dog, but cf. Tell-lrothes 
 New-yeare> Gift, p. 4 : "I came to Cerberus (that Lubberly Por- 
 ter) who was makinge faste of the brand gates. . . . He heard 
 my trampling, and therefore asked who was there ? but wlien I 
 would not annsweare, he thought it was Lelaps his curre." The 
 old Miracle Plays may have had much to do with making the 
 Porter a familiar figure. 
 
 Should have, etc., = would certainly {ef. note on II, i, 35) be 
 kept busy turning the key. 
 
 Old ; cf. 3 Henry IV, II, iv, 23 : "By the mass, here will bo 
 old Utis (= high old times) : it will be an excellent stratagem." 
 This use of old was very common in Elizabethan slang. 
 
 4. Beelzebub properly has four syllables, but it was vulgarly 
 pronounced with only three, and is so spelt in the folios ; cf. also 
 Scot, Discoverie, pp. 186, 355. This suits the Porter. 
 
 5. The expectaiion of plenty. One of the grievances of the com- 
 mon people was that rich farmers hoarded grain, hay, etc., with 
 the intention of selling at high prices in years of scarcity ; that 
 such a " catterpillar " should hang himself when he finds that a 
 year of plenty is to be expected, and that the corn which he has 
 hoarded must be sold at a loss, seemed a fitting judgment of God 
 upon his wickedness. 
 
 Come in time probably means " You've come in time to get a 
 nice warm place " ; but Staunton thinks time is to be taken as 
 a "whimsical appellation for the farmer." 
 
 6. Napkins = handkerchiefs, a common use of the word. 
 
 8. In tV other deviVa name. Probably he was trying to think 
 
So. III.] NOTES 121 
 
 of Belial (as Hales and Nicholson suggest), but is too befuddled 
 to remember the name. A dash after in would make this clearer. 
 
 Equivocator alludes to the Jesuits and their doctrine of equivo- 
 cation, which gave great ofiEence in Shakspere'a time. An equivoke, 
 or equivocation, is originally a saying which means one thing to 
 the hearer and another to the speaker, but seems to have been 
 extended to include false statements accompanied by mental 
 reservations. The practice of small boys in regarding themselves 
 as free from the ordinary obligations of truthfulness, when they 
 speak with the hand "over the left [shoulder] " or " in the neck," 
 affords excellent examples of equivocation. As the Jesuits were 
 supposed to be plotting against the Protestant government of 
 England, they were held in special detestation. Malone thinks 
 that the present passage alludes specifically to Henry Garnet, 
 who was tried in March, 1606, for complicity in the Gunpowder 
 Plot. He notes, in connection with the farmer, that corn was 
 particularly plentiful in that year. 
 
 11. Oould not equivocate to heaven is thought by Clar. Pr. to 
 mean "could not attain heaven by equivocation " ; but it may 
 mean that, although skilful enough to deceive men, he could not 
 deceive God. 
 
 13. Tailors were commonly accused of stealing part of the 
 cloth furnished by their customers to be made into garments ; 
 cf. Stubbes, Display of Gorruptions, p. 34: "For if a man aske 
 them how much cloth, velvet, or silke wil make a cote, a dublet, 
 a cloke, a gowne, hosen, or the like, they must needs have so 
 much, as they may gaine the best quarter thereof to themselves. 
 . . . Besides that, it must be so drawne out, stretched, and 
 pulled in the sowing, as they get the best quarter of it that way 
 too." Therefore Scot, Discoverie, p. 118, poking fun at the be- 
 lievers in the genuineness of the apparition of Samuel evoked by 
 the Witch of Endor, says: " Belike he had a new mantell made 
 him in heaven ; and yet they sale Tailors are skantie there." 
 
 There seems to be no special significance in the hose being 
 French, as both loose and tight breeches were included under 
 that term. Probably French is used only to balance English — a 
 mere verbal quibble. 
 
 19. Cf. Am Well, rv, V, 56 : "They'll be for the flowery way" 
 that leads to the broad gate and the great fire." 
 
122 NOTES [Act II. 
 
 20. Aium ; cf. note on I, i, 9. Remember the porter = Don't 
 forget to tip him. 
 
 23. Till the second cock {cf. App., p. 178), i.e., about three 
 o'clock ; cf. Borneo and Juliet, IV, iv, 3 : " The second cock hath 
 crow'd, The curfew bell hath rung, 'tis three o'clock." It has 
 been suggested that what startled Macbeth may have been sounds 
 from this carousal. 
 
 26. Oood morrow; morrow originally means "morning," and 
 BO here. 
 
 28. Timsly = early. Florio defines the Italian molto a buon 
 hora as "very timely, very early." 
 
 34. Limited service = appointed duty ; cf. Meas. for Meas., IV, 
 ii, 176 : "having the hour limited." Clar. Pr. thinks Macduff 
 must have been a Lord of the Bedchamber ; but not necessarily, 
 for 1. 28 indicates that this was an interview on special business. 
 
 36 ff. Cf. App., p. 179. 
 
 40. Dire is readily understood now, but forty years before the 
 composition of Macbeth, George Gascoigne thought it necessary 
 to explain its meaning when he used it in his Jocasta (Roxb. Lib., 
 I, 285). 
 
 CWjMStwra = "uproar," "tumult," according to the diction- 
 aries of Shakspere's day. 
 
 41. Obscure bird; Walker and White wished to substitute 
 obscene, but obscure means "affecting darkness or obscurity." 
 
 43. Earthquakes were often spoken of as if the result of the 
 earth's being afflicted with ague and fever. 
 
 44 f. This seems to be a confusion of the two constructions 
 " cannot parallel it " and " cannot recall a fellow to it." 
 
 46 f. On the construction, cf. note on I, iii, 60 f. 
 
 50 f. Perhaps the expression here is purposely confused, to 
 indicate the agitation of Macduff. 
 
 54. Oorgon, i.e., an object as fatal to the sight as was the head 
 of Medusa (one of the three Gorgons), which turned to stone all 
 who looked upon it ; see Ovid, Met., v, 189-210 (which, in Arthur 
 Golding's translation, was probably the source of Shakspere's 
 knowledge), or Gayley's Classic Myths, pp. 225-227. 
 
 58. Deaths counterfeit, the image or imitation of death. So a 
 portrait is called a counterfeit of the person. 
 
 60 f. As at the final judgment the dead are to arise from their 
 
Sc. III.] NOTMS 133 
 
 graves, so the image of the great doom ouglit to be countenanced 
 by spirits. Sprite is the same word as spirit, and was formerly 
 used in any sense of the latter word ; cf. Ill, v, 27 ; and IV, i, 
 137. Countenance = lend countenance to. 
 
 62. Bing the hell is omitted by many editors, because it is sup- 
 posed to be a stage direction (repeated by error in Bell rings). 
 The fact that what's the business exactly completes the line, coun- 
 tenances this view. 
 
 64. Parley = conference, from Fr. parler, "to talk" ; Shak- 
 spere also uses the form parle. 
 
 66. Repetition does not imply that it has been told before ; it 
 merely means recital, as in " the repetition cannot make it less." — 
 Lucreee, 1285, and in our phrase, "the repetition of a poem.'' 
 
 70. Lady Macbeth's exclamation seems intended by Shakspere 
 to sound to the audience like an unsuccessful imitation of sur- 
 prised alarm and grief ; but this may be an over-subtle sugges- 
 tion ; Banquo's remarks also sound pretty tame, as Mr. Libby 
 points out. 
 
 72. Ff. indicate the entrance of Ross here ; but, because he 
 says nothing, many editors think he does not appear. 
 
 73. Chance = occurrence, happening ; from Lat. eadere, to fall, 
 to occur. 
 
 75. Mortality = life ; serious means "of importance," as op- 
 posed to the toys (= trifles) of the next line. 
 
 76. Toys invariably means ' ' trifles " or ' ' idle fancies " in Shak- 
 spere ; never " playthings." 
 
 Renown and grace are treated as so closely connected that they 
 form only one idea, and hence take a sing. verb. 
 
 77. Lees may have been regarded as sing.; it is certainly 
 treated so. 
 
 78. The world is compared to a wine-vault ; whether the 
 vault of the sky has anytliing to do with this figure, may be 
 doubted. 
 
 79. What is amiss f is supposed by Abbot, § 513, to belong 
 metrically to both 78 and 79. 
 
 80. Head; cf. the head of a river. 
 
 84. Badged = marked as with a distinctive token or symbol ; 
 cf. 2 Henry VI, III, ii, 300: " Murder's_^oi>imson badge." 
 
 89. E. K. Chambers calls Macbeth's killing of the grooms a 
 
124 NOTES [Act II. 
 
 "happy impulse." Perhaps the best immediate result of it is 
 that it helps bring about the flight of Malcolm and Donalbain. 
 Later, of course, it works against him ; cf. Ill, vi, 13 fE. Tlie 
 incident is taken, with modifications, from Holinshed ; cf. App., 
 p. 178. 
 
 91 S. " The whole speech is an unnatural mixture of far- 
 fetched and commonplace thoughts, that shows him to be acting 
 a part." Whether it makes that impression upon any of the dra^ 
 matis persanm is difficult to decide. If so, it is upon Macdufl 
 (see the following scene) ; and even at tliis point begins the opera- 
 tion of the forces which finally bring retribution. 
 
 93. Expedition = haate; cf. "expeditious." 
 
 94. Outrun ; we keep ran and run pretty well distinguished 
 as pret. and pp. respectively, but sung, rung, drunk, are often 
 used hb pret. j cf. what is said oi pp. under I, iv, 3. 
 
 Pauper is taken by some to be a noun; by others to be an 
 adj. = " slower." The former seems the better. 
 
 95. Anything white could be called silver, anything red, 
 golden; cf. II, ii, 56. Laced is thought by some to convey a 
 definite image of "little winding streams, like lace-work," 
 " little wavy patterns " ; but probably it is no more definite 
 than "trimmed, ornamented" would be; cf. Romeo and Juliet, 
 III, V, 8 : " Look, love, what envious streaks Do -lace the sever- 
 ing clouds in yonder east." 
 
 99. BreecVd = tlie blade covered as with breeches. The ex- 
 pression is so odd and even ludicrous that various emendations 
 have been suggested, such as "Unmanly reech'd," "Unmanly 
 drench'd," etc. It has also been suggested that breech refers to 
 the hilt of the dagger, as to the stock of a gun, but no ex- 
 ample of this use has been found ; and if there had been, it 
 would not alter the fact that the audience would think first of 
 breecTies. 
 
 101. Makers; the abbreviation '« for his is very common. In 
 serious passages like this, it probably indicates no more than a 
 rapid slurred pronunciation. 
 
 "Whether Lady Macbeth's fainting is genuine or pretended, it 
 serves the double dramatic purpose of cutting short the inquiry 
 about the killing of the chamberlains — into which the dramatist 
 does not wish to go farther at present — and of giving opportim- 
 
8c. III.] NOTES 125 
 
 ity, by the confusion attending it, for the "asides " of Malcolm 
 and Donalbain. 
 
 103. Argument = subject of conversation ; cf. 1 Hen/ry IV, 
 II, ii, 101 f. : " Now could thou and I rob the thieves and go 
 merrily to London, it would be argument foi' a week, laughter 
 for a month, and a good jest forever." 
 
 105. Auger-hole = any small, obscure hiding-place, where it 
 could not be discovered untjl too late. Witches are said by 
 Scot (cf. quotation, note on I, iii, 8) to be able to "go in and 
 out at awger holes," so also by Ben Jonsou in one of his notes on 
 his Masque of Qiieena. E. K. Chambers says "surely it means in 
 a hole made with a sharp point, as of an auger — or a dagger; cf. 
 line 100. Donalbain naturally fears his father's fate for himself 
 and his brother." If this means "in a wound," it is hard to see 
 how the fate hid there will rush out and seize them. 
 
 107. "This is no time for giving way to sorrow." Some think 
 that by the word brew'd Donalbain suggests that the teai-s thus 
 far shed for their father have not been genuine. 
 
 108. Upon th« foot of motion ; of motion = perhaps, moving. 
 "Our strong sorrow has not begun to move." 
 
 109. Frailties = frail bodies ; called frail because they will 
 sufier from exposure. 
 
 111. Question = inquire into. 
 
 113 ffi. I put myself into the protection of God, and thence 
 contend against the still undiscovered intention of treasonous 
 malice. Pretence and pretend often mean "intent" and "in- 
 tend" ;«/". King Lear, I, iv, 75 : "a very pretence and purpose 
 of unkindness," and also below, II, iv, 34. 
 
 116. Briefly = quickly; cf. Oyml)., V, v, 106 : " Briefly die their 
 joys That place them on the truth of girls and boys." 
 
 Manly readiness; to be "ready" is to be "dressed"; 
 "readiness" is "dress"; "manly readiness" is "such cloth- 
 ing as becomes a man." 
 
 120. Easy, one of the numerous examples of adj. used as adv. ; 
 but cf. note on I, vii, 17. 
 
 131. Dr. Porman, who saw the play in 1610, says that Donal- 
 bain fled to Wales ; perhaps he ha,d been reading Holinshed and 
 got Donalbain confused with Pleance; cf. App., p. 185. The 
 ■ flight of the two princes is to be found in App., p. 184. 
 
126 NOTES [Act II. 
 
 133. Even with plural subjects there is is rather more common 
 in older writers than there are ; ef. French il y a and German 
 es giebt. In colloquial speech we still use it. 
 
 123 f. The near, etc.; near is comparative degree (= nearer); 
 cf. Apius and Virginia (1575) : "I live and languish in my life, 
 as doth the wounded Deare : I thirst, I crane, I call and crie, 
 and yet am naught the neare.'' Donalbain, at any rate, suspects 
 his cousin Macbeth. 
 
 124 f. The murderous shaft has not yet pierced all at whom it 
 was aimed ; it has not finished its flight. 
 
 128 f. This very poor couplet contains a very poor pun, 
 \yhich is doubtless the reason for its existence. The Eliza- 
 bethans were as loth to let an opportunity to pun go by unused, 
 as is a person who has just discovered that he can pun, or a 
 hardened punster. 
 
 Scene IV. 
 
 This scene is of no particular force or beauty, but closes up, 
 for the time, the Duncan episode, and serves as a transition to 
 the events which follow. It is mainly narrative in effect, con- 
 taining an account of the monstrous natural phenomena which 
 accompanied the death of Duncan, and of the effect wliich the 
 flight of the princes has had on the public mind ; and it prepares 
 us to find Macbeth occupying the throne. The sole particulars in 
 which it advances the action are that last mentioned, and Mac- 
 duff's refusal to go to Scone, which, although it seems of no 
 great significance at the moment, nevertheless causes his later 
 peremptory refusal to attend Macbeth to come upon us not with 
 the shock of complete surprise, but as a thing that might have 
 been expected. Those of us who know the play well are apt to 
 read every event in the light of the whole play, but obviously 
 the events of a play have at the moment of their occurrence only 
 the significance which they display upon first seeing them pre- 
 sented ; later a new significance appears as we see their results. 
 This sounds like a truism ; too much closet study of Shakspere 
 has caused some of us to forget it. 
 
 4. Trifled; has made all I knew before seem trifles. Eliza- 
 bethan writers, it is said, use almost any noun or adjective as a' 
 
So. IV.] NOTES 137 
 
 verb, at pleasure (see Abbot, § 390). And so do we in collo- 
 quial speech ; but with us the language of writing or of formal 
 speech is more fixed and conventional. The difference is mainly 
 that the attitude of the Elizabethan towards the language in 
 which he wrote books was pretty nearly our attitude towards 
 the freest utterances of every-day life (even slang) ; whereas we, 
 in writing, feel bound by precedent. 
 5, 6. Metaphors from the theatre. 
 
 7. The traselUng lamp = the sun. On the phenomena of tliis 
 line, and 11. 13, 18, cf. App., p. 179. 
 
 8. JE^edominance is originally an astrological term, used of the 
 planet or sign ruling at any particular moment ; here there is 
 probably no suggestion of astrology. Darkness, the thought is, 
 may be caused either by the predominance of night or the with- 
 drawal of day ; have these dark deeds given night the ascendancy, 
 or have they driven day away in shame ? 
 
 12. Towering is a technical term in falconry, used of the 
 ascent of the bird to its " place," whence it drops upon its prey. 
 It was doubly unnatural that such a bird as a falcon, at the mo- 
 ment when it was preparing to strike, should liave been killed 
 by an owl that ordinarily attacked mice. But I do not believe 
 that either the owl or the rebellious horses mentioned below 
 " are symbolical of the disloyalty of Macbeth to his king." One 
 can so regard them ; but there is no reason to think they were 
 so intended by Shakspere or Holinshed ; they are merely ex- 
 amples of the general perturbation of nature. 
 
 15. Minions; cf. note on I, ii, 19. 
 
 17. As = as if ; cf. I, iv, 11. 
 
 18. Mat is the regular spelling of the pret. in Shakspere. 
 
 30. That may have as its antecedent either eyes or the personal 
 pronoun implied in mine. 
 
 24. Pretend — intend ; cf. II, iii, 114. 
 
 37. Still probably means " always," but this is one of the pas- 
 sages illustrating the transition to the meaning it now has. 
 
 28. Ravin up ; cf. Meas. for Meaa., I, ii, 133 : "Like rats that 
 ravin down their own life's bane." 
 
 29. lAhe ; we should say likel/y. 
 
 31. Scone was the place at which the kings of Scotland were, 
 at this time, commonly crowned ; see Holinshed, passim. On 
 
128 NOTES [Act III. 
 
 the famous marble chair, see Holinshed, v, 230. Shakspere took 
 the statements about the crowning of Macbeth and the burial of 
 Duncan — with some modifications — from Holinshed, ef. App., 
 p. 184. 
 
 33. Cohne-hUl is now called lona. In the ancient cemetery 
 of St. Oran are shown the tombs of forty-eight kings of Scot- 
 land. According to the local guide-book, the last king buried 
 there was Duncan. 
 
 35. Will you to Scone? In English of Shakspere's time, and 
 for several centuries earlier, after an auxiliary verb the verb of 
 motion was not expressed, but implied. The direction was ex- 
 pressed by the preposition to or from, or by an adverb ; cf. thither, 
 1. 86. 
 
 36. Fife was Macdufi's home. 
 
 40. Benison is the same word as ienediction ; the latter comes 
 directly from Latin, the former, from Latin through French. 
 
 40 f. E. K. Chambers thinks, "The old man rightly judges 
 Ross as a mere time-server." Mr. Libby finds in this scene con- 
 firmation of his view that Ross is aa intriguer, and ultimately 
 Macbeth's chief tool. But perhaps the old man really thinks Ross 
 able to turn bad into good, and foes into friends, and blesses 
 him sincerely. 
 
 ACT m. 
 
 Scene I. 
 
 •The Third Act contains, as it properly should in a five-act 
 play, the dramatic crisis, the turning-point of the action. Up 
 to this crisis Macbeth is successful in everything ; not only do 
 his plans succeed, but fortunate accidents perfect liis work. The 
 crisis comes, bringing with it a single failure ; out of the failure 
 springs ruin ; the powers of heaven and earth and hell seem all 
 to fight against him, and his own desperate plans for averting 
 destruction only bring it the more swiftly and surely upon liim. 
 Banquo must die if Macbeth is to wear in safety his ill-gotten 
 royalty ; warnings, natural as well as supernatural, have been given 
 against him, which cannot be disregarded. But the very means 
 Macbeth must take to secure his safety is the cause of his downfall. 
 
 The First Scene gives us just a glimpse of Banquo and Mac- 
 
Sc. I.] NOTES 129 
 
 beth, and the attitude of each toward the other, aud then hurries 
 us on to the arrangements for the murder. How long a time has 
 elapsed since the death of Duncan is dramatically a matter of 
 no consequence ; the important fact — the only fact which the 
 dramatist attempts to impress upon us — ^is that Banquo's sus- 
 picions of Macbeth and Macbeth's fears of Banquo have ripened. 
 
 7. Shine = are clear, or, better, are brilliantly fulfilled. 
 
 10. Banquo's attitude prepares the way for Macbeth's fear. 
 
 Sennet sounded is a pretty frequent stage direction. It indicates 
 a definite set of notes on a trumpet, and announced the approach 
 of persons of the highest rank. Exactly what was the difference 
 between it and a "Flourish" (which was also a definite set of 
 notes) I have been unable to discover ; but they were different ; 
 ef. Dekker's Satiromastix (Hawkins, Orig, Eng. Drama, iii, p. 144) : 
 "Trumpets sound a flourish, and then a sennet." For other 
 "soundings" — including " points of war" — see Trans. N. Sh. 
 Soc, 1880-85, pt. ii, p. 86*. 
 
 13. All-thing — entire\y . N.E.D. (i, 296, col. 3) quotes two ex- 
 amples of all-thing used adverbially with not ; something — ' ' some- 
 what," and nothing = "not at all" are common ; cf. I, iii, 96, 
 and 1. 131 of the present scene. 
 
 14. &Zm?i=" formal, official"; in All's Well, II, iii, 187, a 
 wedding feast is called " the solemn feast." 
 
 15. Let is changed by some editors to Set or Lay, because of 
 upon in the next line. 
 
 16. The often appears before which, because of its use as a 
 relative adjective. 
 
 21. Still = always. Cfrave (= weighty) had formerly all the 
 meanings of Latin gravis. 
 
 25. The letter = "fast enough" (i.e., "better by the amount 
 necessary to accomplish the object ") ; cf. Jack Jugler {Pour Old 
 Plays, p. 17): " But except sum of them come the sooner, I shall 
 knocke suche a peale, that al englond shal woreder " ; and Piers 
 Plowman (B), v., 198 . "But-if that a lous couthe haue lopen 
 J>e bettre, she sholde nougte haue walked on Jat welche, so was 
 it thredebare." 
 
 38. Clarke justly calls attention to the impressive fulfilment of 
 this promise. 
 
130 NOTES [ACT III. 
 
 33. Therewithal — besides, in addition to that. 
 
 34. Hie you ; ef. Hie thee, I, v, 24. 
 
 35. Fleance does not appear in tliis scene. He has already 
 been introduced in II, i, where anyone else would have done as 
 well as he, except for the fact that his existence must be made 
 familiar to the audience before he is made so important as he 
 becomes in III, iii. 
 
 37 f. On the style, ef. I, vi, 11 fl. On commend, cf. I, vii, 11. 
 
 41 f. The punctuation in the text was first givou by Theo- 
 bald ; Pf. have a comma after night and a colon after welcome. 
 Either punctuation gives a good sense. 
 
 43. While then = "till then,'' common in Elizabethan English; 
 cf. Lodge's Bosalynde, ap. As Ton Like It, Variorum ed., p. 364 : 
 "He after supper, to passe away the night while bedde time, 
 began a long discourse"; and ib. 376 : "Nothing can make me 
 forget Phoebe, while Montanus forget himself " ; and Rowley, 
 Search for Money, p. 39 : " The interim while then, hee bestowed 
 in preparing his incantations." 
 
 God he with you is the origin of "Good-bye " ; the intermediate 
 stages are " God be wi' ye," "God bwi' ye," " God bwye " ; for 
 the variation in the first syllable, cf. "God-speed" and "Good- 
 speed." Observe the requirements of the metre here. 
 
 44. Sirrah is the same word as Sir, — the rolling of the r gave 
 rise to the extra syllable. 
 
 48. But is taken by some as = except (Pf. have only a 
 comma after nothing) ; by others it is taken as the adversative 
 conjunction, and the clause is regarded as elliptical. If properly 
 read, the clause does not need to be finished. 
 
 50. Would/ cf. note on I, vii, 34. 
 
 51. To = in addition to ; cf. King John, I, 144 : "If I had his 
 [shape] . . . , And to his shape, were heir to all this land, " etc. 
 
 55. Genius; explained in the passage of Plutarch's life of An- 
 tonius which Shakspere had in mind : "Por thy demon, said he 
 (that is to say, the good angell and spirit that keepeth thee), is 
 afraid of his : and being couragious and high when he is alone, 
 becommeth fearf ull and timorous when he cometh neare unto the 
 other"; cf. Ant. and Gleop., II, iii, 18. 
 
 63. With was foi-merly used of the agency (whether personal 
 or not) producing an efiect ; we now use by in most such cases, 
 
8c. I.] NOTES 131 
 
 retaining with for the instrument. Gf. Wint. Tale, V, ii, 68 : 
 " Torn to pieces witll a bear." 
 
 63. Neither in the play nor in Holinshed are we told that 
 Macbeth had sons living ; whether the historical Macbeth hail 
 or had not, has no bearing upon the question. Cf. IV, iii, 216. 
 
 64. Piled = made foul ; " defiled " is derived from it ; cf. Metri- 
 cal Somilies, ed. Small, p. 56 : " He filed his sawel dedelye With 
 the filth of licherie." 
 
 66. Supposed to b§ suggested by Bamans ix. 23, 23 ; but it is 
 difficult to see any connection. The metaphor is simple enough. 
 
 67. Eternal jewel = his &ou\. 
 
 70. lAst is more commonly used in the plural to mean the 
 space marked out for combat. The original meaning of the 
 word is "boundary." 
 
 71. Champion = challenge to combat ; no other early instance 
 of the word in this sense is known. To the utterance or "at 
 utterance " implies a deadly combat, as opposed to a mere friendly 
 trial of skill. Usually the French phrase A Voutrance is used. 
 
 78. This allusion to a previous interview makes it possible to 
 dispense with the proof of his assertions. It also seems to give 
 both fulness and Continuity to thte action of the play. 
 
 79. Passed in probation = I passed in proof, etc. ; i.e., I went 
 over with you, one by one, the proofs. 
 
 80. " To bear in hand " is to delude with false hopes ; it is an 
 extremely common expression. 
 
 82. Notion = understanding ; cf. King Lear, I, iv, 248 : " His 
 notion weakens." 
 
 86. Predominant; cf. note on U, iv, 8. 
 
 87. OospelVd = imbued with the spirit of the Gospels ; cf. 
 Matt. V. 44. 
 
 88. To = as to ; cf. II, iii, 32. 
 
 92 ff. A knowledge of the different dogs here mentioned is not 
 at all essential to the understanding of the simile, but it may be 
 Interesting to note that in Shakspere's day any kind of bird-dog 
 was called a spaniel (see Harrison's Descr. of England, ii, pp. 41, 
 42, 43). The shough is now called a "shock" or "shock dog," 
 .from its long shaggy hair ; a water-rug is said to be a sort of 
 poodle ; a demi-wolf as its name indicates, was supposed to be 
 a cross between dog and wolf. 
 
132 NOTES [Act III. 
 
 93. Clept {— called, named) was going out of use in Shakspere's 
 time. 
 
 94. Valued file = list or catalogue in which their values are 
 given ; cf. our expression "priced catalogue." For ^e= list, 
 cf. V, ii, 8. 
 
 96. Housekeeper is merely a watch-dog, as distinguished from 
 a hunting-dog. 
 
 99. Addition — title or distinguishing epithet ; cf. I, iii, 10(). 
 tVom is to be taken with the idea of "distinction " implied in 
 particular addition. 
 
 103. Worst is prolonged for emphasis, and so satisfies metrical 
 I'equirements. " If you are better than even the very worst, you 
 can be trusted to revenge such wrongs as yours." 
 
 111. Trigged with = hauled about by. 
 
 113. OnH; cf. I, iii, 84, and III, i, 130. 
 
 115. Bloody distance = "Such a distance as mortal enemies 
 would stand at from each other, wlien their quarrel must be de- 
 termined by the sword. The metaphor is continued in the next 
 line." 
 
 117. My nea/r'st of life = my most vital parts ; for the con- 
 struction, ef V, ii, 11. 
 
 119. Bid my will avouch it = Command my will to take the 
 responsibility for the act ; i.e., give no other reason than that it 
 was my will to do so. 
 
 120. For = on account of. 
 
 121. Loves is pi. because more than one person is concerned ; 
 this is the regular usage of the time ; cf. Schmidt, s. v. 
 
 The idea of " obligation, necessity " needed with wail is already 
 sufficiently implied. 
 
 132. Who (relative or interrogative) was often used as the 
 object of a verb, as it now is in careless speech. 
 
 135. Shall is probably used because the actual occurrence is 
 thought of, not the willingness or intention of the speakers. 
 
 128. This promise removes from the stage the conversation 
 giving the dramatically unimportant directions for the murder ; 
 and that removal conceals the fact that, unless Macbeth knew 
 the moment of Banquo's return better than he himself did, the, 
 information could not be as definite as he promised. Advise = 
 "instruct," not "counsel." 
 
Sc. II.] NOTES 133 
 
 129. Thei^erfect spy has been greatly discussed, and the end is 
 not yet, though it is long since anything new has been said. 
 The three main interpretations are: first, I will inform you of 
 [the result of] the most accurate observation of the time ; second, 
 I will make you acquainted with the man who is the best spy of 
 the time, i.«., who knows it best ; third, I will inform you, by 
 means of the man who knows best, of the time. The objection 
 to the first is that no example of spy in the sense demanded is 
 known; to the second, that we should expect "as perfect" in- 
 stead of "S^« perfect." Of course emendations innumerable 
 have been proposed. 
 
 131. Something == somewhat ; cf. note on III, i, 13. From = 
 away from ; cf. IV, iii, 212. Always thought = always borne in 
 mind. 
 
 133. Bubs = roughnesses; cf. Henry V, 11, ii, 188 : "Every rub 
 is smoothed on our way." 
 
 138. Anon = immediately ; cf. I, i, 9. We a/re resohed = we 
 have decided. 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 Between tlie arrangements for the murder and the murder itself 
 some scene must intervene ; Shakspere has devoted it to increas- 
 ing the impression already made of the troubled state of Macbeth's 
 mind, and to displaying the fact that Macbeth has begun to avoid 
 his wife and to make plans without her advice or knowledge. 
 That Lady Macbeth sends for her husband may indicate not 
 only her fear of the effect of solitude upon him, but also her own 
 feminine desire for companionship. 
 
 4 fE. It has been suggested that this speech is better suited to 
 Macbeth than to his wife, and should be transferred to him. 
 
 9. Sorriest = most painful ; cf. II, li, 20. 
 
 11. All; we should say "any"; but if it be borne in mind 
 that without means "deprived of," the construction will seem 
 easy. The sentiment of this sentence is the same as Wint. Tale, 
 in, ii, 223: "What's gone, and what's past help. Should be 
 past grief." 
 
 13. Scoteh'd—iivhicU means "cut across" or "slashed" — ^is 
 Theobald's substitution for scorched of Ff. — whicli might mean 
 " skinned." Close in the next line bears out the emendation. 
 
134 NOTES [Act III. 
 
 16. Frame of things — the universe as an orderly structure ; cf. 
 Dryden, Song for St. CecUia'a Day : "From harmony, from heav- 
 enly harmony this universal frame began." Both the worlds, i.e., 
 the terrestrial and the celestial. On metre, see Introduction, 
 p. xxxiv. 
 
 30. Our peace is changed in the second folio to our place ; but 
 the change is not an improvement. 
 
 21. " The torture of the mini is compared to the rack ; hence 
 the use of the preposition on." — Clar. Pr. 
 
 23. Ecstasy is used of any mental disturbance, whether small or 
 great, pleasant or painful ; cf. IV, iii, 170. 
 
 33. Fitful is defined by Schmidt as " full of paroxysms "; by 
 Clar. Pr., as "intermittent." 
 
 25. ' ' Malice domestic, such as the treason of Macdonwald [or of 
 Macbeth ?] ; foreign levy, such as the invasion of Sweno." — 
 Clar. Pr. 
 
 30. Bemembrance, four syllables ; cf. note on I, v, 38. The line 
 apparently means "Don't neglect Banquo"; for Macbeth speaks 
 as if Banquo were to be present. 
 
 31. Present him eminence = treat him as eminent. 
 
 32. This line is imperfect botli in construction and in metre ; 
 something is supposed to have dropped out, or to have been cut 
 out. 
 
 That may mean "in that"; or the while that may mean "so 
 long as." 
 
 33. Lane = bathe. Must lave, etc. = are obliged to keep our 
 honor free from smirch by using streams of flattery. 
 
 34. Visards = masks. 
 
 37. Lives; see Abbot, §386. 
 
 38. Nature's copy's not eteme, — a legal metaphor. Clar. Pr. 
 quotes Cowel's £a«> i)ic*., ». B..' "Copyhold . . . is a tenure 
 [of land] for which the tenant hath nothing to shew but the copy 
 of the rolls [i.e., of the record of the grant] made by the steward 
 of his lord's court. . . . Some copyholds are fineable [i.e., can 
 be ended] at will and some certain : that which is fineable at will 
 the lord taketh at his pleasure." "Copy" is used to designate 
 this mode of holding property; cf. N.E.D., «. v. " Copy, 5." But 
 Clar. Pr. seems wrong in the application of the naetaphor: " Nat- 
 ure is here compared to a lord of the manor under whom men 
 
So. II.] NOTES 135 
 
 hold their lives by copyhold tenure." If this were true, the 
 expression should read "in them their copy from Nature is not 
 eterne "; it is the tenant, not the lord, who holds " copy" in th» 
 property ; the lord owns it absolutely by some other form, of 
 ^ tenure. It Seems better, therefore, to take God as the manorial 
 lord, and Nature {ef. II, ii, 7 : "Death and nature do contend 
 about them, whether they live or die") as the tenant by copyhold 
 tenure. The other interpretations of copy are not worth men- 
 tioning. 
 
 41. Cloistered, because bats frequent cloisters. Blach Hecate ; 
 cf. note on II, i, 52. 
 
 43. 8ha/rd-horne = borne on his stilf wings ; ef. Ant. and Oleop., 
 Ill, ii, 30: "They are his shards and he their beetle." The 
 wings of the beetle were so called because of their resemblance 
 to shards, or fragments of pottery. The reading shard-bom, 
 proposed by some, is unquestionably wrong. 
 
 43. Tawning peal, a peal which summons to sleep. 
 
 44. JVoie =" notoriety " ; and then "importance," because 
 worthy of note. "We still aay "a man of note." 
 
 45. Ohuek, a term of endearment, supposed to be a variant of 
 "chick." Macbeth's reply sounds almost as if the motive that 
 actuated him in concealing his plan was the desire to show his 
 wife that he was capable of conceiving and executing alone an 
 act which would make them safe, and that he was not the weak- 
 ling he had seemed at the murder of Duncan. 
 
 46. Seeling is a term in falconry for sewing up with flue silk 
 the eyelids of a hawk (for the purpose of taming it). 
 
 47. Scarf changes the figure a little, as it merely means to 
 blindfold with a scarf. 
 
 49. Bond has been taken to refer to the copy of 1. 38 ; but 
 that is not a bond. Richa/rd III, IV, iv, 77: " Cancel his bond 
 of life " has also been quoted, — perhaps properly. Mr. Libby, 
 who believes Banquo to have connived at the death of Duncan, 
 and to have alluded to it in the "indissoluble tie" of III, i, 17, 
 takes this to mean : their common guilt in trusting to the evil 
 sisters, their common guilty silence in ruining Cawdor, their 
 common guilty knowledge of Duncan's murder, and the hope of 
 Banquo, and fear of Macbeth, that Banquo's heirs would succeed 
 Macbeth. 
 
136 NOTES [Act HI. 
 
 50. Light thiekena, and by so doing becomes dark ; cf. Ant. and 
 Gleop., II, iji, 27: "Tliy lustre thickens when he shines by." 
 
 51. The rooky wood — the misty, gloomy wood. Cf. Promp- 
 torium Parvulorum : " Roky or mysty. Nebulosus." Others 
 think it means a wood frequented by rooks. 
 
 53. Whiles; cf. I, v, 5. Their preyt = the prey of each ; cf. 
 note on III, i, 121. 
 
 Scene III. 
 
 This scene would have been little discussed but for the interest 
 aroused in some minds in the question, "Who was the third 
 murderer 8 " Mr. A. P. Paton {Notes and Qu., Sept. 11, and Nov. 
 13, 1869, and Macbeth, Haranet ed., Edinb., 1877) argues that it 
 was Macbeth himself (see for discussion N. and Q., Oct. 2, Oct. 
 30, Nov. 13, Dec. 4, 1869) ; Mr. M. F. Libby {Some Jfm Notes on 
 Macbeth, Toronto, 1893) maintains that it was Ross, whom lie 
 regards as an ambitious intriguer and the chief spy and confidant 
 of Macbeth. In reply to both these theories it may be Ijriefly 
 said that this is a play, and that plays do not contain puzzles, 
 "of which the audience is challenged to think out the meaning." 
 Mysteries there may be ; not to be solved, however, but solely 
 for the purpose of producing the effect of mystery. It is said 
 that Shakspere emphasizes this mystery as a challenge to our 
 ingenuity ; but surely no more than he does the mystery as to 
 the purpose and destination of Banquo's last ride. Where was 
 he going ? what was his purpose ? was he plotting against Mac- 
 beth ? had his purpose been innocent, would he have given such 
 evasive answers as he did ? — all these are questions for the spill- 
 ing of ink, if one is to take upon him the mystery of things as if 
 he were Shakspere's spy. But Banquo's destination is a matter 
 of no consequence ; he takes his ride merely in order that he may 
 be killed as he returns. The third murderer is introduced to 
 free the lying-in-wait from stiffness and artificiality, and to cre- 
 ate in this scene the atmosphere of mystery which attends all the 
 murders in the play. It is the introduction of persons and acts 
 not absolutely necessary to the plot, and of allusions to events as 
 occurring in extra-scenical time, which gives to Shakspere's 
 plays the fulness and flexibility which have induced many to 
 discuss them as if they were life itself. 
 
So. IV.] NOTES 137 
 
 Applying to tliese theories the tests, not of the stage, but of 
 life, it seems possible to demonstrate their untenability. If any 
 inference is to be trusted, one may infer from III, iv, 31, that 
 Macbeth knew nothing of the escape of Fleance, which he cer- 
 tainly would have known had the third murderer been either he 
 or Ross, who entered the supper-room with him. 
 
 3. Delivers = reports ; cf. I, v, 10. 
 
 3. Offices z= "what we have to do " ; tautological. 
 
 5. The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day ; but by 
 1. 9 lights are needed, and in 1. 20 Fleance escapes by the aid of 
 darkness. 
 
 6. ia^6(Z was apparently developed from " late " independently 
 of "belated." 
 
 7. Timely = "welcome, appropriate to the time"; or is an 
 instance of transferred modifier =: " to gain the inn in time.'' 
 
 10. Note of expectation = list of those expected. 
 
 11. On the Elizabethan stage the horses were hobby-horses, 
 made by attaching at the rider's waist a framework represent- 
 ing the body and legs of a horse (see picture in Deuce's /ZZa«- 
 trations, after p. 576). The falling of man and horse, when the 
 man was killed, would be awkward ; and Halli well-Phillips sug- 
 gested this as the reason why the horses do not appear here as 
 they did in I, iii, 37, according to Dr. Porman. 
 
 19. Apparently it was not the third murdei-er, as Paton sug- 
 gests, but the first, who struck out the light. 
 
 20 f. In life this would be a queer remark to come from one 
 who had undertaken the murder for the sake of revenge on Ban- 
 quo. On the escape of Fleance, see App., p. 185. 
 
 21. This gives little countenance to the view that the third 
 murderer thought the others had pursued Fleance, and that con- 
 sequently Macbeth might fairly expect from the first murderer 
 later information. 
 
 Scene IV. 
 
 The appearance of the ghost in this scene has been prepared 
 for by the air-drawn dagger of II, i, and the allusion in in, ii, 
 to the nightly afliiction of terrible dreams. Lady Macbeth seems 
 not yet to know of Banquo's murder, and at the first appearance 
 
138 NOTES [Act III. 
 
 of the ghost, supposing that slie can easily quiet Macbeth, she 
 rejects Ross's suggestion that the guests leave ; but as Macbeth's 
 terror increases, she sees that there is soipe new element in it, the 
 nature of which she does not know and the effect of which she 
 cannot estimate ; and, terror-stricken at the blind contest, she sends 
 the guests away without order or ceremony. 
 
 Whether the ghost should be visible to the spectators or left to 
 the imagination, depends altogether on the relation existing in 
 each particular presentation of the play between the artistic cul- 
 tivation of the spectators and the resources of stage-mechanics. 
 One can conceive of devices capable of producing a ghost that 
 would be effective with the most sensitive and critical body of 
 spectators. 
 
 1 f. Of course they were to be seated in the order of their ranks. 
 
 At first and last seems to imply "the whole time," "from 
 the beginning to the end." Johnson suggested to instead of at. 
 
 3. Ourself, the "plural of royalty," already used a number of 
 times. 
 
 5. Ser state = the canopied chair of royalty ; cf. 1 Henry IV, 
 II, iv, 415 : "This chair shall be my state." 
 
 6. Bequire contains no hint of compulsion. 
 11. Anon; cf. I, i, 9. 
 
 14. There are three interpretations, two of which are ungram- 
 matical, and the third rather pointless and unsymmetiical in 
 structure : first, it is better outside thee than inside him ; second, 
 unpleasant as it is to have thee at the door, it is nevertheless 
 better than to have him alive within (this, of course, spoken, not 
 to the murderer, but as an aside) ; third, it is better to have the 
 blood on thy face than Banquo in the room. The passage 
 {Oymb., II, iii, 153) quoted to illustrate the grammatical irregu- 
 larity is not precisely similar, but, on the whole, the first inter- 
 pretation seems the best. 
 
 19. The nonpareil = the one without equal ; cf. Tw. Night, 
 I, V, 373: "Though you were crowned the nonpareil of beauty." 
 
 33. "As unconfined as the air which envelops the earth "; case 
 is used for any kind of envelope. 
 
 34. CrMed = enclosed in a narrow space ; a cn5 is a small 
 room ; cf. 3 Henry IV, in, i, 9 : " Why rather, sleep, liest thou 
 
80. IV.] NOTES 139 
 
 in smoky cribs, Upon uneasy pallets stretching thee . . . Than 
 in the perfumed chambers of the great ? " 
 
 25. To; Clar. Pr. prefers to regard Macbeth as prisoner to 
 doubts and fears, but suggests that perhaps he is represented as 
 shut in from everything but them. Saucy = insolent ; it had no 
 implication of playfulness. 
 
 38. Nature ; cf. II, ii, 7, and III, ii, 38. 
 
 39. Worm = serpent ; of. Midsummer NighVs Dream, III, ii, 71 : 
 " Could not a worm, an adder do so much ? " This was formerly 
 the common meaning. 
 
 33. We'M hear oursehes again = we will talk with each other 
 again. Some editors put a comma after hear, and interpret : 
 "We'll talk, when we are ourselves again"; but Macbeth surely 
 does not tell the murderer how much he is disturbed. 
 
 33. The cheer ; cf. "the hearty welcome," 1. 3 above. 
 
 33-35. A rather queer remark ; surely it was not then the 
 custom to put it as crudely as this. 
 
 34. A-maJcing; the a- is the remnant of the preposition on 
 = " in " ; maMng is a noun ; cf. note on I, iv, 8. 
 
 39. It is held by many that this is the ghost not of Banquo, 
 but of Duncan. But to say nothing of the fact that the stage 
 direction in Ff. calls it "the Ghost of Banquo," the wish for 
 Banquo's presence in 40, 41, is enough to settle the matter; he 
 enters here just when he is spoken of, exactly as he does below ; 
 cf 90, 91. There is no question of Duncan in this scene. 
 
 41. Orated = full of grace; not a. pp., but an adj. in -ed. 
 
 42. Who; pf. note on IH, i, 123. 
 
 44. Please't, a good example of the optatime. 
 
 46. This is effective on the stage, but how do the editors who 
 apply to Shakspere's plays the tests of life explain the failure to 
 reserve a chair for Banquo as well as for Macbeth ? 
 
 49. Have done ; is this plural, or an instance of singular sub- 
 ject with plural verb, through the influence of the adjacent ymt 1 
 
 55. Upon a thought = in a moment, with the speed of thought ; 
 cf 1 Henry IV, II, iv, 341: "And with a thought, seven of the^ 
 eleven I paid." 
 
 57. Shall = certainly will. Extend his passion = prolong his 
 suffering or agitation ; ' ' passion " is used of suffering or of any 
 strong emotion. 
 
140 NOTES [Act III. 
 
 60. proper stuff! — a sneer; proper means "beautiful," 
 "fine." 
 
 63. Flaws are, primarily, sudden gusts of -wind ; here used 
 eitlier, as Clar. Pr. suggests, for sudden bursts of emotion, or for 
 violent and apparently causeless movements. 
 
 64. To = in comparison with ; see Measure for Measure, III, i, 
 132: " The weariest life . . . is a paradise To what we fear 
 of death." 
 
 66. Authorised hy ■=, vouched for by ; probably accented on the 
 second syllable, as in Sonnets, xxxv, 6, and Lor>er''s Complaint, 104. 
 
 12. Monuments = torahs; maws = stomachs; for the thought, 
 cf. Scot, Discoverie of Witchcraft, ed. Nicholson, p. 81: "I am 
 not ignorant that some write, that after tlie death of Nabuchad- 
 nez-zar, his sonne Eilumorodath gave his bodie to the ravens to 
 be devoured, least afterwards his father should arise from death." 
 
 76. Humane statute = either " humane laws," or "the laws of 
 man," for human and humane were not distinguished either in 
 spelling or in pronunciation until later. Purged the gentle weal = 
 "purged the commonwealth, state, and made it gentle, orderly"; 
 an example of prolepsis; cf. I, vi, 8; for weal — commonwealth, 
 cf V, ii, 27. 
 
 81. Mortal murders = deadly wounds; ef. 28 above, where each 
 of the twenty gashes is said to be "a death to nature." 
 
 85. Muse = wonder, be amazed. 
 
 91 f. The editors in general find much difficulty in this pas- 
 sage, particularly in "and all to all." Some wish to read "call 
 to all"; tliose who retain "all " explain : "all good wishes to 
 all." But Macbeth is not merely drinking to them himself, he 
 is proposing the general joy of the whole table as the pledge or 
 toast which they all drink. His gesture and words would need 
 no commentary at a modern banquet. 
 
 95. Speculation = "power of vision"; in Othello, I, iii, 271, 
 the eyes are called "speculative instruments." 
 
 98. Only is said to be out of its proper place, but it certainly 
 is not; for this is not the same as "it only spoils the pleasure." 
 
 101. Arm'd refers not to the horn of the rhinoceros, but to 
 his thick hide or defensive armor. According to Pliny's Natural 
 History — a well-known book in Shakspere's time — -the Hyrcanian 
 forest (south of the Caspian Sea) was inhabited by fierce tigers. 
 
So. IV.] NOTES 141 
 
 105. If trembling I inhabit then ; the most difficult passage in 
 the play. Perhaps Henley's explanation is the best: " Shakspere 
 here used the verb inhabit in a neutral sense to express continu- 
 ance in a given situation ; and Milton has employed it in a similar 
 manner, Paradise Lost, vii, 163 : ' Meanwhile inhabit lax, ye pow- 
 ers of heaven.' " Others take tn-emhling as the object of inhabit 
 (quoting as precedent, PsaZms xxii. 3: "O thou that inhabitest 
 the praises of Israel ") ; of these, some think inhabit the ordinary 
 word (= to dwell in), others think it means to wear as a garment 
 or habit. Many substitute inhibit for inhabit ; some again taking 
 it neutrally (= to hang back or hesitate), and others, changing / 
 tom«, or then to thee, and explaining iraAiWi as "restrain." Besides 
 these, there are many wild conjectures. The general sense is clear 
 enough. Protest me = declare me, publish me as. The baby of a 
 girl = either a child's doll, or the puny offspring of an immature 
 mother. Baby, then as now, meant either an infant or a doll ; 
 for the former, cf. Schmidt, «. i>. ; for the latter, Sidney's Arcadia, 
 ed. 1724, ii, 460: "Young babes think babies of wonderful 
 excellency, and yet the babies are but babies." 
 
 107. Mockery = imitation, counterfeit appearance; cf. Henry V., 
 IV, Chor., 53: "Minding true things by what their mockeries be." 
 
 109. BroTce ; cf. note on I, iv, 3. 
 
 110. Admired = productive of wonder; cf. Tw. Nighty III, iv, 
 165: " Wonder not, nor admire not in thy mind." Here, as in 
 many other words, Shakspere's usage is nearer to the original 
 meaning of Latin words {cf. Nil admirari) than that of to-day, 
 not because of any etymological effort on his part, but because 
 words borrowed from a foreign language are nearer to the foreign 
 meaning when first used than they are later. On the form in 
 -ed, cf. Schmidt, 1417 f., and note on III, i, 94. 
 
 111. Overcome us like = suddenly overshadow us like, etc. 
 
 113 f. "You make me a stranger to my own character," or 
 "to my present state of mind." For disposition = character, 
 cf. As You lAhe It, IV, iii, 118: "The royal disposition of that 
 beast"; for it in the sense of " mood," cf. King Lea/r, I, iv, 243: 
 "Put away These dispositions that of late transform you From 
 what you rightly are " ; for owe = ' ' possess," cf. note on I, iv, 10. 
 Clar. Pr. thinks you refers not only to Lady Macbeth, but to all 
 the company. 
 
143 NOTES [ACT III. 
 
 119. Stand not upon the order of your going — do not insist upon 
 precedence. 
 
 132. It refers, Clar. Pr. thinks, to the murder of Banquo ; per- 
 haps it may refer to "blood " of the next clause. The punctua 
 tion of Ff. puts "they say " with " It will have blood." 
 
 123. Stones have ieen known to move is commonly taken to refer 
 to such incidents as the refusal of stones to cover the corpse of 
 a murdered man, thus revealing the murder and leading to the 
 discovery of the murderer. Paton sees here an allusion "to the 
 rocking stones, or stones of judgment, by which it was thought 
 the Druids tested the guilt or innocence of accused persons; at a 
 slight touch of the innocent, such a stone moved, but the 'secret 
 man of blood ' found that his best strength could not stir it." If 
 this be the allusion, Shakspere ought to have said : " Stones have 
 been known not to move." And trees to speah is said to be an 
 allusion to the story of the trees which revealed to ..Eneas the 
 murder of Polydorus, Vergil, JShieid, iii, 19-68. 
 
 124. Arigurea = augaviea; Shakspere uses "augurer" in the 
 sense of " augur." Understood' relations = the secret relations 
 between things, which are understood by the initiated. 
 
 125. Maggot-pies is a longer form of magpies. Choughs belong 
 to the crow family and, like magpies and rooks, can be taught to 
 speak. 
 
 128. How saj/^st thou, that, etc. , = what do you think of his refus- 
 ing to come ? It is noteworthy that not a word is said by either 
 Macbeth or Lady Macbeth about the events of the supper or about 
 Banquo's death. Wliatever may be the reason for this, the effect 
 of the conversation about Macduff is to carry the audience on 
 without a stop to the Macduff episode. To such skilful devices 
 as this the play owes in great part its extreme rapidity of move- 
 ment. 
 
 130. By the way — casually. 
 
 181 f. Cf. App., p. 186. 
 
 133. Betimes = early ; ef. timely. 
 138. As go o'er; we should insert t«. 
 
 140. Clar. Pr. thinks this means: "Which must be put in 
 action before people have an opportunity of examining "; it may 
 mean, however, " which demand such immediate action that I 
 shall not have time to consider them carefully." Libby thinks 
 
Sc. v.] NOTES 143 
 
 they are so disgraceful that Macbeth himself dare not examine 
 them. 
 
 141. Season = seasoning; that which gives vivacity. 
 
 143. Alm8e = deception; ef. note on II, i, 50. <&// Shakspere 
 treats as an adjective; ef. "by self and violent hands," V, viii, 70. 
 
 144. In deed (Theobald's emendation) is better than indeed of 
 Ff. 
 
 Scene V. 
 
 On the authenticity of the scene, see Introd., p. xxii. Dra- 
 matic purpose, in the proper sense of the word, it has none. 
 
 1. On Hecate, see Introd., p. xxiv, and note on 11, i, 52. 
 Angerly is used three times by Shakspere ; angrily, not at all. 
 
 After verbs like ' ' look, " ' ' smell, " etc., where we use an adjective, 
 Shaksperean usage prefers an adverb. 
 
 2. Beldams = hags. In Middle English dam (or dame) meant 
 " mother," and Id- was a prefix used in such words as Tielfadeir 
 = grandfather, beldam{e) — grandmother. Beldame was then 
 used of any old woman, just as granny is, and finally of a hag, 
 or witch, because old women were so frequently regarded as 
 witches. 
 
 7. Close = secret. 
 
 13. Loves; if this play alone were to be taken into considera- 
 tion, one would be forced to the conclusion that loves here means 
 "is a devotee," or that there is some corruption in the text; for 
 interpreted in its ordinary sense, it is altogether out of harmony, 
 not only with the character of Macbeth and his attitude toward 
 the weird sisters, but equally so with the character of those 
 uncanny but dignified beings. Assuming the scene to be an 
 interpolation, however, this is at once recognizable as belong- 
 ing to the class of ideas exploited in Middleton's Witch ; there, 
 indeed, gaining the bestial love of mortal men is the main object 
 of thought and endeavor on the part of the witches. 
 
 15. The pit of Acheron; Acheron was, in classic mythology, 
 one of the rivers of the underworld ; here the name is given to 
 some pit supposed to be an entrance to hell. 
 
 24. A vaporous drop profound; Steevens: "The virus lunare 
 
144 NOTES [Act III. 
 
 of the ancients, a foam which the moon was supposed to shed, 
 when strongly solicited by enchantment." Clar. Pr. : "Deep, 
 and therefore ready to fall. Johnson however interprets ' a drop 
 that has profound, deep, or hidden qualities.' Whatever be the 
 meaning, the word rhymes to ' ground, ' which is the main rea- 
 son for its introduction here." 
 
 36. Sleights — devices. 
 
 29. Confusion = destruction ; ef. II, iii, 47. 
 
 32. Security = carelessness, over-confidence. 
 
 33. The stage direction in Ff. at this point is: "Musicke, and 
 a Song"; then, after 1. 35, comes: "Sing within. Come away, 
 come away, etc." In the Davenant version of Macbeth (1674) 
 the passage from 1. 33 reads : 
 
 'ULusick cmd Song. 
 
 Seccaie, Reecate, Meccate ! Oh come away : 
 Hark I am call'd, my little Spirit see, 
 Sits in a foggy Cloud, and stays for me. 
 
 Sing within. [Machine descends. 
 
 Come away Heccate, Heccate ! Oh come away : 
 Hec. I come, I come, with all the speed I may, 
 With all the speed I may. 
 Where's Stadling f 
 
 2. Here. 
 
 Hec. Where's jRwcHe ? 
 
 3. Here, and Hopper too, ^ind Helway too. 
 1. We want but you, we want but you : 
 
 Come away make up the Count. 
 Hec. I will but Noint, and the[n] I mount, 
 I will but, &c. 
 
 1. Here comes down one to fetch his due, a Kiss, 
 A Cull, a sip of blood. 
 
 And why thou staist so long, I muse, 
 Since th' Air's so sweet and good. 
 
 2. art thou come ; What News ? 
 AU goes fair for our delight, 
 Either come, or else refuse. 
 Now I'm fumish'd for the flight. 
 Now I go, and now I flye, 
 Malking my sweet Spirit and I. 
 
So. VI.] NOTHS 145 
 
 3. what a dainty pleasure's this, 
 
 To sail i' th' Air 
 
 While the Moon shines fair ; 
 
 To Sing, to Toy, to Dance and Kiss, 
 
 Over Woods, high Rocks and Mountains ; 
 
 Over Hills, and misty Fountains : 
 
 Over Steeples, Towers, and Turrets : 
 
 We flye by night 'mongst troops of Spirits. 
 
 No Ring of Bells to our Ears sounds. 
 
 No howles of Wolves, nor Yelps of Hounds ; 
 
 No, nor the noise of Waters breach, 
 
 Nor Cannons Throats our Height can reach. 
 1. Come let's make hast she'll soon be back again : 
 3. But whilst she moves through the foggy Air, 
 
 Let's -to the Cave and our dire Charms prepare. 
 
 When Middleton's The Witch was discovered, the whole pas- 
 sage, essentially as here given, was found in it. That this and 
 the later song (IV, i, 43) were composed for The Witeh is perhaps 
 susceptible of proof, see Introd., p. xix. Clar. Pr. thinks that 
 the arrangement in Ff. indicates that only two lines of this song 
 were sung ; but this is doubtful. 
 
 SCBNK VI. 
 
 Forres. The palace ; not in Ff. ; any other place would do 
 equally well. The purpose of the scene is to prepare the way 
 for the revolts of IV, iii, 182 fE. ; V, ii, 18 fE. ; V, iii, 1, 25; V, 
 iv, 10 ff. ; by showing the suspicions that are already aroused ; 
 and to continue the preparation for the Macduff and Malcolm 
 episodes. 
 
 Ff. do not give the name of the lord who talks with Lennox. 
 Johnson thought it should be Angus; in Dyce's copy of Fi 
 some one neai-ly contemporary with Shakspere wrote Moss; in the 
 Davenant version it is Beaton (i.e., Seyton), probably because in 
 that version Seyton deserts Macbeth in Act V, sc. iii. But, as 
 Johnson says, "nothing is said that might not with equal 
 propriety have been put into the mouth of any other disaffected 
 man " ; the name is of no consequence. 
 
 1. " What I have said is merely what you already know." 
 
 2. Onli/ ; ef. Ill, iv, 98. 
 
 10 
 
146 NOTES [Act III. 
 
 3. Swjie = conducted. Of. App., p. 179. 
 
 4. Marry; a very mild oath; originally = "by the Virgin 
 Mary ! " but the origin had been forgotten. 
 
 4. Why was f Because in early English am dead means " die, " 
 and was dead, "died" ? Or is it like the " was gone" of Omar 
 Khayyam ? — 
 
 " The Worldly Hope men set their Hearts upon 
 Turns Ashes — or it prospers ; and anon, 
 Like Snow upon the Desert's dusty Pace, 
 Lighting a little hour or two — was gone." 
 
 8. Who cannot want the thought, etc., is one of the passages in 
 which Shakspere seems to say the opposite of what he means. In 
 most, if not all, of these passages there are two negatives, — one 
 expressed in an adverb, and the other implied in a verb or other 
 word. It has been suggested that if two negatives when fully 
 expressed do not in Elizabethan English counteract each -other, 
 they ought not to do so in such cases as these. Cf. King Lear, 
 n, iv, 140 : " You less know how to value her desert Than she 
 to scant her duty," wliere the sense demands for «ca»< some such 
 word as "do, fulfil." TFiinS in our passage means "lack," "be 
 without." 
 
 10. Fact in Elizabethan English means a deed, usually an evil 
 deed. 
 
 19. AnH = if it. In Fi this an is always (except once) 
 spelled and, but for the sake of clearness it is now commonly 
 spelled without d. In origin it is merely a special use of the 
 ordinary conjunction and. 
 
 21. Broad words — too free speech. From = on account of. 
 
 33. Tyrant = usurper; not tyrant in the present sense. 
 
 37. Of= by. The moat pious Edward, i.e., Edward the Con- 
 fessor. 
 
 35. This looks like a transposition, but probably is not; cf. 
 Scot, Discoverie, p. 141: "The miracles wrought by Christ were 
 the raising up of the dead . . . the restoring of the lame to 
 lims," etc. In Shakspere occur such expressions as: "Impose 
 me to what penance your invention Can lay upon my sin " {Much 
 Ado, V, i, 383) ; ' ' You to your former honour I bequeath " {As 
 Tou Lilce It, V, iv, 193). 
 
Act IV.] NOTES 147 
 
 38. Exasperate; Clar. Pr. : " Verbs derived from Lalia parti- 
 cipial forma do not necessarily have a -d final in the pp.'" 
 
 40. With, i.e., with that as an answer. 
 
 43. Hums is not the word hums ; it represents an inarticulate 
 sound, well-known, but not easily expressed in letters. 
 
 43. That has for its antecedent the time. 
 
 48 f . Suffering country Under a hand accursed. An instance 
 of an arrangement of words common in Shakspere. Cf. V, viii, 
 66 : "Our exiled friends abroad," i.e., our friends exiled abroad ; 
 and Richard II, III, ii, 8 : "As a long-parted mother with her 
 child." 
 
 ACT rv. 
 
 The three scenes of the act complete the preparations for the 
 destruction of Macbeth. The interview with the weird sisters, 
 while it takes away his last hope against the succession of Bau- 
 quo's issue, nevertheless seems to guarantee him secuiity for the 
 immediate future, even the warning given him being one which 
 he apparently may safely disregard if he chooses. The massacre 
 of Macduff's wife and children so fills up the measure of Mac- 
 beth's evil deeds that not even his later somewhat movingly 
 solitary and hopeless misery can interfere with the feeling of 
 satisfaction — hardly of pleasure, I think — which the spectator 
 has in his death. The third scene unites Malcolm and MacduflE, 
 and, in the report of the massacre, incites them to immediate 
 and pitiless retribution. 
 
 Scene I. 
 
 The best commentary on this cauldron scene is perhaps the 
 first half of Ben Jonson's Masque of Queens, written and pre- 
 sented in 1609. Jonson's notes also afEoi-d an excellent view of 
 the manner in which an Elizabethan dramatist, in dealing with 
 such a subject, treated his materials. He drew upon ancient 
 poets, upon systematic treatises of magic, and upon popular 
 tradition, "reconciling," he says, "as near as we can, the prac- 
 tice of antiquity to the neoteric, and making it familiar with our 
 popular witchcraft.'' 
 
 The effect, upon the spectator or the reader, of these dark 
 
148 NOTES tAoT IV. 
 
 rites depends in no wise upon the knowledge that Shakspere had 
 authority, either particular or general, for each of the ingredi- 
 ents of the cauldron and for the ceremonies attending their com- 
 position. If, knowing what the ingredients are, we do not at 
 once feel their fitness for this hell-broth, no amount of authority 
 for them will avail. The parallel passages given are mainly in- 
 tended to remind us of the fact that to Shakspere's audience 
 these and similar practices were matters of common belief or 
 familiar dark rumor. 
 
 The following passage from the Masque of Queens seems worth 
 quoting : 
 
 Dame. But first relate me, what you have sought, 85 
 
 Where you have been, and what you have brought. 
 
 1 Sag. I have been all day looking after 
 
 A raven, feeding upon a quarter ; 
 
 And soon as she turn'd her beak to the south, 
 
 I snatched this morsel out of her mouth. 90 
 
 2 Hag. I have been gathering wolves' hairs. 
 
 The mad dog's foam and the adder's ears ; 
 The spurging of a dead man's eyes. 
 And all since the evening star did rise. 
 
 3 Hag. I last night lay all alone 95 
 
 On the ground, to hear the mandrake groan ; 
 And plucked him up, though he gi'ew full low ; 
 And as I had done, the cock did crow. 
 
 4 Hag. And I have been choosing out this skull 
 
 Prom oharnel houses that were full, 100 
 
 From private grots, and public pits : 
 And frighted a sexton out of his wits. 
 
 5 Hag. Under a cradle I did creep, 
 
 By day ; and when the child was asleep. 
 
 At night, I sucked the breath ; and rose, 105 
 
 And plucked the nodding nurse by the nose. 
 
 6 Hag. I had a dagger : what did I with that ? 
 
 Killed an infant to have his fat. 
 A piper it got, at a church ale. 
 
 7 Hag. A murderer, yonder, was hung in chains, 111 
 
 The sun and the wind had shrunk his veins ; 
 
Sc. I.] NOTES 149 
 
 I bit off a sinew ; I clipped his hair, 
 
 I brought off his rags that danced in the air. 
 
 8 Hag. The screech-owl's eggs, and the feathers black, 115 
 
 The blood of the frog, and the bone in his back, 
 I have been getting ; and made of his skin 
 A purset to keep sir Cranion in. 
 
 9 Hag. And I have been plucking, plants among, 
 
 Hemlock, henbane, adder's-tongue, 130 
 
 Kight-shade, moon-wort, libbard's-bane ; 
 And twice, by the dogs, was like to be ta'en. 
 
 10 Mag. I, from the jaws of a gardner's bitch. 
 
 Did snatch these bones, and then leaped the ditch: 
 Yet went 1 back to the house again, 135 
 
 KOled the black cat, and here's the brain. 
 
 11 Hag. I went to the toad breeds under the wall, 
 
 I charmed him out, and he came at my call ; 
 I scratched out the eyes of the owl before, 
 I tore the bat's wing; what, would you have more ? 130 
 Dame. Yes, I have brought, to help our vows, 
 JEornM poppy, cypress boughs, 
 The fig-tree wild that grows on tombs. 
 And juice that from the larch-tree comes, 
 The basilisk's blood, and the viper's skin: 135 
 
 And now our orgies let us begin. 
 
 1. Brinded = "Of a tawny or brownish colour, marked with 
 bars or streaks of a different hue ; also generally streaked, spotted ; 
 brindled."— JV. E. D. 
 
 3. Thrice, and once ; I have followed Ff. rather than Camb. Ed. 
 in the piinctuation, because I think it a little more likely that 
 the Second Witch says, "Yes, and besides that, the hedge-pig has 
 whined once, " than that the hedge-pig has whined po clamor- 
 ously and unprofessionally. 
 
 3. The cry of Hsirpier gives the final signal. 'Tis the precise, 
 magical moment for beginning the incantation. All sorts of 
 suggestions have been made as to the origin of the name Harpier: 
 Han'pya, a harpy ; haba/r, to practise witchcraft ; hoAyer, a crab ; 
 herpler, a waddler. But, like dozens of names of familiar spirits, 
 it seems to have no meaning; if it has one, it is certainly not 
 worth finding out, for a significant name that does not exhibit 
 its significance without the aid of a library is a failure on the 
 
150 NOTES [Act IV. 
 
 stage. It is well to bear in minil that the unintelligible is a 
 legitimate pigment in portraying the supernatural. 
 
 6. On metre, cf. Introd., p. xxxii. 
 
 7. Hm is changed to hagt by some editors. 
 
 8. Swdter'd here means "exuded." Whether the toad is ven- 
 omous has been seriously discussed ; it is sufficient that it was, 
 and is, so regarded. 
 
 10. In the punctuation of this line (and 20 and 35) I have fol- 
 lowed Ff. Double is not adjective, but verb. 
 13. "A slice of a snake from the fens." 
 
 13. Bake is probably due to the desire for a rhyme with make. 
 
 14. Newt, a sort of water lizard. 
 
 16. ^ori = forked tongue. The Mind-worm (or slow-worm) 
 was regarded as poisonous; cf. Timon of Athens, IV, iii, 183: 
 " The eyeless venom'd wonn." 
 
 33. Mummy is properly a sort of semi-fluid gum that oozes 
 from an embalmed body when heat is applied ; it ^as much used 
 as a medicine in Shakspere's time, though often spoken of as dis- 
 gusting. Maw; cf. Ill, iv, 73. Oulf apparently has the same 
 meaning. 
 
 24. Bavin'd = either " ravenous " or "glutted with prey." 
 
 27. The yew tree was regarded as poisonous, and often grew in 
 graveyards ; slips splintered off — by thunderbolt or storm ? — in 
 the eclipse of the moon would have, in addition, all the nncanni- 
 uess formerly associated with eclipses. 
 
 31. Drab= harlot. 
 
 32. SM) = of a slimy semi-fluidity. 
 
 33. Chaudron — the entrails. 
 
 34. Cauldron was a perfect rhyme for diaud/eon ; in Ff . it is 
 spelled without I, and it was so pronounced. 
 
 37. Baboon is accented on the first syllable. 
 
 38. In Ff. the stage direction is: "Enter Hecat, and the 
 other three Witches," — which is certainly right : there were 
 seven witches who danced about the cauldron; cf. Introd., p. 
 xxiii. 
 
 39. Commend; not in the sense in which it appears in I, vii, 11, 
 and m, i, 38. 
 
 43. After 1. 42 (43 being omitted) the Davenant version (1674) 
 has: — 
 
8c. 1.1 NOTES 151 
 
 MusicA; and Song. 
 
 Sec. Black Spirits, and white, 
 Red Spirits and gray ; 
 Mingle, mingle, mingle, 
 You that mingle may. 
 1. Witch. Tiffin, Tiffin, keep it stiff in, 
 
 Fire drake Puckey, make it luckey: 
 Lyer [i.e. Lya/rS] Robin, you must bob in. 
 Chor. A round, a round, about, about. 
 
 All ill come running in, all good keep out. 
 
 1. Here's the blood of a Bat ! 
 Hec. put in that, put in that. 
 
 2. Here's Lizard's brain, 
 Hec. Put in a grain. 
 
 1. Here's Juiqe of Toad, here's oyl of Adder 
 That will make the Charm grow madder. 
 
 2. Put in all these, 'twill raise the stanch; 
 
 nee. Nay here's three ownces of a red-hair'd Wench. 
 Chor. A round, a rowid, &c. 
 
 2. I by the pricking of my Thumbs, 
 
 Know somthing Wicked this way comes. 
 Open Locks, whoever Knocks. 
 
 These lines, like the song, "Come away," were written by 
 Middleton; see Introd., p. xix. 
 
 50. Conjure is always (except twice) pronounced by Shakspere 
 with the accent on the first syllable. 
 
 53. Testy, frothy, like yeast. 
 
 54. Confound; cf. II, ii, 11. Navigation = ships collectively; 
 not, as Schmidt thinks, "voyages by sea." 
 
 55. Bladed com, i.e., grain not yet in the ear, is certainly 
 lodged {i.e., beaten down so as to stay) with great difficulty, if 
 at all; but that fact only makes the remark the more appropriate. 
 A passage from Scot's Discoverie about the power of witches to 
 " transferre corne in the blade from one place to another" is 
 quoted by the editors, and other similar passages could easily be 
 cited, but they have nothing to do with lodging corn. 
 
 59. <?erTOm« = seeds, germs; cf. King Lear, III, ii, 8: "Crack 
 nature's moulds, all germins spill at once, That make ungrateful 
 
152 NOTES [Act IV. 
 
 man"; and TFirefer's Tale, IV, iv, 490: "Let Nature crush the 
 sides o' the earth together, And mar the seeds within.'' On tlie 
 whole passage, cf. Jonson's Maaqiie of Queens, 137-162. 
 
 65. Mn£, because it is a magic number ; cf. King Lear, III, iv, 
 136: "Met the night-mare, and her nine-fold." Farrow, origin- 
 ally meaning a pig, came to mean a litter of pigs. Sweaten is an 
 irregular form. 
 
 66. On this passage, as on several preceding, it is worth while 
 to compare the quotation from Jonson given on p. 148. 
 
 68. The armed head (i.e., head enclosed in a helmet; see note 
 on III, iv, 101) represents Macbeth 's own head, presented by 
 MacduflE to Malcolm; of. 1. 71. 
 
 73. To be eflEective this line must be spoken with pauses. 
 
 76. The bloody child is, of course, Macduff, who was "from 
 his mother's womb untimely ripped"; but Macbeth does not 
 bring this apparition (nor any of the others, it will be observed, 
 though each apparition shows how the oracular words are to find 
 fulfilment) into connection with the "word of promise." 
 
 80. Cf. App., p. 186. 
 
 83. This does not refer to a double bond; the assurance is 
 double sure, because he intends to have a bond as well as a prom- 
 ise. Double is, of course, used adverbially. 
 
 84. He will take a bond of Pate, bind it to the performance of 
 the promise, by killing Macduff. Lord Campbell's note on the 
 legal allusions here and in 99 is super-subtle ; it overleaps itself 
 and falls on the other. It will be noted, that, contrary to Holins- 
 hed, Shakspere makes Macbeth change his intention in regard to 
 Macduff at once (ef. App., p. 186); this obviates the necessity 
 of introducing a motive for the change, which would impede the 
 rapid movement of the play. 
 
 86. The crowned child with the tree ought to open Macbeth's 
 mind to the meaning of the next prediction ; but, of course, can- 
 not. 
 
 88. Sound; ef. I, v, 37. Top is too poetic to be put into prose; 
 if one cannot feel it, he had better go on to' the next line. 
 
 98. Dunsinane seems here, and here only, to have the right 
 accentuation; but cf. Trans. New 8h. 8oc., 1887-90, pp. 178, 179. 
 For the prediction, cf. App., p. 186. 
 
 95. Impress = compel into service, as soldiers were impressed. 
 
Sc. I.] NOTES 153 
 
 96. Bodements — omens or predictions. 
 
 97. SehelUon's head is Theobald's emendation for the Ff. read- 
 ing, Rebellious dead ; it seems certainly right. 
 
 98. Our high-pliiced Macbeth sounds queer from Macbeth him- 
 self; and the substitution of your for our does not help the 
 matter. It looks very much as if "Sweet bodements . : 
 mortal custom " (96-100) were an insertion by some one else. 
 
 99. Lease is, of course, a legal phrase. 
 
 100. Mortal custom = the custom of mankind. 
 
 106. Mdse often means music, or even a band of musicians, in 
 Elizabethan English. 
 
 113. Saw is changed by some editors to air. 
 
 117. Orach of doom = "the thunder-peal announcing the Last 
 Judgment."— Clar. Pr. 
 
 131. James I. was the first of the descendants of Banquo to 
 bear the twofold ball and treble sceptre. A golden orb or ball 
 was the emblem of sovereignty; James bore a twofold ball as 
 emblematic of his double coronation, at Scone and at Westmin- ' 
 ster. The treble sceptre is said by the editors to "symbolize the 
 three kingdoms, England, Scotland, and Ireland " ; but if one 
 may judge from the style and title assumed by Jair;es, this is in- 
 correct; he was, after Oct. 24, 1604, "The Most High and 
 Mightie Prince, James, by the Grace of God, King of Great Brit- 
 aine, Prance and Ireland, Defender of the Faith." 
 
 132. Metre defective. 
 
 123. Blood-bolter'' d = with the hair clotted with blood. 
 125-133. On the authenticity of these lines see Introd., p. 
 xzii. 
 
 136. Amazedly; we should say "amazed," but cf. Merch. of 
 Venice, I, i, 161 : "In Belmont is a lady richly left." 
 
 137. Sprites = spirits ; cf. note on II, iii, 60. 
 
 180. Antic (= quaint) is the same word as "antique"; the 
 steps of connection being "ancient," "old-fashioned," "queer." 
 Shakspere always accents it on the first syllable, whatever be its 
 meaning or its spelling. 
 
 144. Anticipatest = preventest. 
 
 145. Flighty = swift. Compare this figure with that in I, v, 
 43-45. O'ertooJe; cf. note on I, iv, 3. 
 
 147. Firstlings = first offspring; cf. Genesis iv. 4. 
 
154 NOTES [Act IV. 
 
 150. Cf. App., p. 186. 
 
 153. Trace him in his line — are hia descendants. 
 155. iSights has been changed by some editors to flights or 
 sprites; but the text is intelligible enough. 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 The interview of Lady Macbeth and Ross, the talk with the 
 xshild, and the warning by the unknown messenger, ai°e all 
 intended to emphasize the massacre which follows, and to lend 
 to the scene something of the full, natural flow of life. It has 
 been argued that Boss is acting a double part, and is in reality 
 the leader of the band of murderers ; but, obscure as some of his 
 speeches certainly are, I can see no support for such a theory ; 
 cf. Introd., p. xxi. That the unknown messenger was sent by 
 Lady Macbeth is attractive, but hardly admits of serious dis- 
 cussion. 
 
 3 f . "When we have committed no treason, fear often makes 
 us act in such a way as to be suspected of it." 
 
 7. Titles = things he possessed, had a title to, not merely the 
 designations of his rank ; cf. the phrases, "a title-deed," "in- 
 vestigate his title to the property," which, though not precisely 
 the same, show how the meaning in the present passage arose. 
 
 9. The natural touch = the sensibility, feeling, which nature 
 bestows. 
 
 11. Her young ones in the nest ; an absolute construction. 
 
 14. Cbs/c/. IV, iii, 161. 
 
 15. For = as for. 
 
 17. Mts = not "what befits the season," but "the violent 
 disorders of the time." 
 
 18 f. "When we are held to be traitors, and are yet con- 
 scious of no guilt." 
 
 19 f. This obscure expression may mean : (a) when we inter- 
 pret rumor in accordance with our fears, but know not what we 
 fear; (b) when we believe rumor in consequence of our fear, but, 
 etc. ; (c) when we have a reputation which is the result of our 
 vague fear of we know not what. 
 
 23. Each way and move is also very puzzling. The principal 
 emendations are : -"each way and none " ; " each way it moves " ; 
 " which way we move " ; " and each way move " ; "each way and 
 
Sc. II.] NOTES 155 
 
 wave." None of them is satisfactory; we must, perhaps, be con- 
 tented with knowing that the figure is that of an object tossed 
 helplessly about on a violent sea. 
 
 23. ,SAaZZ/ the omitted subject is probably "it," not "I," as 
 has'been suggested. 
 
 29. "I should disgrace myself and make you uncomfortable by 
 weeping." 
 
 30. Sirrah was used to inferiors and children ; cf. note on 
 III, i, 44. 
 
 32. With woi-ms = on worms; cf. Richa/rd II, III, ii, 175: "I 
 live with bread." 
 
 84. lAme; bird-lime is a sticky substance formerly used for 
 catching small birds ; it was spread on branches of trees or other 
 places on which the birds were accustomed to light. 
 
 35. GUn = snare. 
 
 42 f. The first half of this sounds very much like a current 
 saying (= what you say exhausts your wisdom). There is prob- 
 ably also a play on two meanings of wit — wisdom (or intelligence) 
 an^ wit (in the modern sense). 
 
 47. Bwears and lies = breaks his oath of allegiance. 
 
 55. Here the boy uses liars and swearers in the ordinary sense. 
 
 65. State of honour =: condition as a person of rank. / am 
 perfect in = 1 know all about. 
 
 66. Doubt = fear. 
 
 69. " It is too savage of me to frighten you thus." 
 
 70. Fell = deadly. 
 
 75. Sometime = sometimes; Cf. I, vi, 11. 
 
 80 f. & . . . where; for similar constructions, cf. Ab- 
 bot, § 279. 
 
 81. Mayst instead of may, because she is thinking of the 
 murderer who stands before her. 
 
 82. Shag-haired is Steevens's emendation for shagge-ear^d of 
 Fi and Pa. It means " having rough, shaggy hair." We follow 
 the Cambridge editors in retaining shag-ea/r^d. 
 
 83. Fry = offspring. 
 
 Scene HI. 
 
 The location of this scene was formerly given as "England. 
 A room in the king's palace " ; it is now usually made an out- 
 
156 NOTES [Act IV. 
 
 door scene, chiefly, perhaps, because of the mode of Ross's entry 
 (c/". 159-162) and the question addressed to the English doctor 
 in 140. The discussion between Malcolm and Macduff is not 
 very interesting; it cannot be pleaded in its favor that it "was 
 needed to supplement the meagre parts assigned to Malcolm and 
 Macdufif," for Malcolm is a mere lay figure, and is no less so be- 
 cause of this conversation ; and the additions to Macdufi's char- 
 acter that grow out of the conversation are not worth the time 
 and space. The reason for its existeuce seems to be that, follow- 
 ing as this scene does immediately upon the murder of MacduflE's 
 family, it would hardly do for Ross to come in at the beginning 
 with the news of that massacre ; something must be introduced 
 to make Ross's appearance in England seem natural ; and, strange 
 as it may appear, this conversation does so. If Malcolm and 
 Macduff are to be conversing when Ross finds them, it is accord- 
 ing to both nature and Holinshed that the subject of their con- 
 versation should be the campaign against Macbeth. The nature 
 of the conversation was suggested by Holinshed (cf. App., pp. 187 
 ff.), and its length was absolutely determined by the impossibility 
 of dealing more briefly with the chosen material. 
 
 3. Mortal = deadly. 
 
 4. Bestride our downfdWn Mrthdom = stand over our native land 
 to defend it; c^. ■ Falstafi's remark to Prince Hal, 1 Henry IV, 
 V, i, 122. 
 
 6. That; cf. I, ii, 60. 
 
 8. Syllable is used, Clar. Pr. thinks, to express the single cry 
 of agony. 
 
 10. To friend = as a friend, favorable. 
 
 13. Tyrant = usurper. WJwse sole name — whose name alone. 
 
 14. Of. App., p. 187. 
 
 15. Deserve is Theobald's emendation for discerne of Ff. 
 Some of the editors insert '<i« or is it before or after wisdom. If, 
 as is commonly held, a whole line or more has been lost, it is 
 dangerous to say that this line as it stands would not have made 
 sense when taken with the context. 
 
 19 f. Recoil In an imperial charge = revert (to evil) under a 
 king's command. 
 
 21 £E. "What I think of you cannot change you ; although 
 
Sc. III.] N0TH8 157 
 
 Lucifer, who was the brightest of the angels, fell, good angels 
 are still bright ; it would not do for grace to change its appear- 
 ance even if all foul things assumed that appearance." 
 
 3.5. "Perhaps the loss of your hopes is due to that which has 
 aroused my suspicions, namely, your hasty leavingof your unpro- 
 tected wife and children "; c/"., for a somewhat similar passage, 
 II, ii, 1 f. 
 
 29 f. "Do not regard my suspicions as intended to dishonor 
 you, but to secure my safety." For jealousy = suspicion, cf. King 
 Lear, V, i, 56 : "Jealous as the stung are of the adder." 
 
 33 f. Wear thou thy lorongs ; The title is affeer'd has been 
 much discussed. Affeered is a legal term meaning " confirmed." 
 The difficulty is to decide who is meant by thou; if Malcolm, it 
 means, " Wefar the wrongs thou now wearest, thy title to them 
 is confirmed"; if Tyranny is addressed, it means, "Keep pos- 
 session of the powers and honors thou hast wrongfully obtained, 
 tliy title to them is confirmed by the refusal of goodness to inter- 
 fere"; if Scotland is the antecedent, it means, "Continue to 
 endure the wrongs thou endurest, the title is settled." Either 
 the first or second of these is good. 
 
 41. Withal ; of. note on I, iii, 57. 
 
 48. More sundm) ways, an adverbial phrase = in more various 
 ways. 
 
 54. Being, of course, modifies him. 
 
 55. Conjineless = boundless, without confines. 
 
 57. In evils may go with more dam,ned, as it is commonly taken ; 
 but why not with to top (= to excel; cf. King Lear, I, ii, 31 : 
 "Edmund the base shall top the legitimate ") ? 
 
 58. iMxurious always means "lascivious " inShakspere. 
 
 59. Sudden = hasty. 
 
 64. Continent = restraining. 
 
 66. Intemperance is used in its wider, original sense of lack of 
 moderation in anything. 
 
 67. In nature may go with intemperance or with tyranny (= a 
 usurpation in its nature). 
 
 71. Oomoey = conduct. 
 
 73. The time you may so hoodwinh = You may so blind the 
 world; gf. I, v, 63. Hoodwink is a common term for "blind- 
 fold." 
 
158 NOTES [Act rv. 
 
 77. lU-compoted = badly compounded. Affection = inclination, 
 disposition. 
 
 78. StaneJiiesa = insatiable. 
 
 80. Sis = this one's ; ef. Merchant of Venice, IV, i, 54. 
 
 81. Sauces were used to stimulate appetite. 
 
 82. Forge = fabricate, make without cause. 
 
 86. Summer-seeming = Jjefitting tlie summer of life. ' ' Shak- 
 spere conceives of Avarice ('the good old-gentlemanly vice ' of 
 Byron) as a plant of Autumn and Winter, deeper rooted, more 
 lasting." — Allen. 
 
 87. The stDord of our slain kings, i.e., that which slew them. 
 
 88. Foisons = plenties. 
 
 89. Mere own = very own, belonging to no one else. Porta- 
 ble = endnTsMe ; cf. King Lear, HI, vi, 115: " How light and 
 portable my pain seems now." 
 
 90. With other graces weighed = balanced by the virtues you 
 possess. Other was often used formerly when the things previ- 
 ously mentioned did not belong to the same class as those under 
 immediate consideration. 
 
 93. Perseverance; accented on the second syllable; the verb 
 corresponding was pronounced persever; ef. Spenser, Amoretti, 
 ix, 8f. 9 : "Nor to the fire: for they consume not ever; Nor to 
 the lightning: for they still persever." 
 
 95. Belish = flavor; see 1. 59 above, and cf. Hamlet, III, iii, 92: 
 " Some act That has no relish of salvation in't." 
 
 96. In the division o^ = in every subdivision of. 
 
 98. This is clear enough, but several editors have wished to 
 change pour to sour. 
 
 99. Uproar is not known to occur elsewhere as a verb, but 
 that is surely no reason for changing it to uprear, uptea/r, or 
 uproot. 
 
 104. This seems to go grammatically and rhetorically with 
 nation miserable rather than with the last half of the sentence ; I 
 have therefore been so bold as to transfer the exclamation point 
 from the end of 103 to the end of 104. 
 
 105. Wholesom* days = days of health. Shakspere did not 
 observe the distinction het-ween wholesome and healthy now in- 
 sisted upon; cf. Hamlet, III, iv, 65: "Like a mildewed ear, 
 Blasting his wholesome brother " ; and King Lea/r I, iv, 230. 
 
80. in.] NOTES 159 
 
 107. Interdiction is, in ecclesiastical law, a decree prohibiting 
 an official from exercising his functions. 
 
 108. Blaspheme = slander. Breed — family, ancestry. 
 
 111. Died every day she lived ; doubtless suggested by 1 Corinth. 
 XV. 31: "I die daily." According to Delius, "this refers to the 
 daily mortification of the flesh by castigation " ; according to 
 Clar. Pr., "every day of her life v^as a preparation for death." 
 More probably it means that life upon earth seemed to her a 
 death, from which she yearned to depart and enter into eternal 
 life. 
 
 113. RepeaVst = recitest. 
 
 118. Trains = lures, plots. 
 
 119. Modest wisdom pluelcs = sober, becoming wisdom restrains. 
 
 135. For = as. 
 
 136. Forsworn = perjured. 
 
 133. Sere-approach/ cf. "here-remain," 1. 148. 
 
 134. See App., p. 189. 
 
 135. At a point = prepared. Florio defines the Italian " essere 
 in punto "as " to be in a readinesse, to be at a point." 
 
 136 f. "May the chance of success be as certain as the justice 
 of our quarrel" ; ef. Richard III, I, iv, 194 (Folio): "I charge 
 you as you hope for any goodness.'' 
 
 140-159. On the purpose of these lines and the supposed com- 
 pliment to James I, cf. Introd., pp. xvi. fE. 
 
 141. There are a crew ; cf. "there are a number of," etc. 
 
 143. Conmnees = overcomes ; ef. I, vii, 64. 
 
 143. The great assay of an-t = the-best attempts of physicians. 
 
 144. Cf. App., p. 191. 
 
 145. Presently = immediately ; cf. note on I, i, 9. 
 
 146. The evil = scrofula, the king's evil. The power to heal 
 this disease by touching, accompanied by prayer, was claimed by 
 or for many kings of England, not to speak of the claim main- 
 tained by the kings of France. Besides Edward the Confessor, 
 Henry 11, Henry VH, Henry VHI, Elizabeth, James I, Charles I, 
 Charles U, and Queen Anne, are definitely mentioned as practis- 
 ing the touch. Usually Edward is regarded as the first to whom 
 the power was given, but William Tooker, in his Chcmsima, sine 
 Donum Sanationis, is said to maintain that it was first bestowed 
 upon King Lucius or Lud, a British king of the second, century 
 
160 NOTES [Act IV. 
 
 A.D. Delrio, Disq. Mag., I, iii, § 4, p. 24 ff., has a learned dis- 
 cussion of the whole subject, followed by an attempt to prove 
 that, as Elizabeth was not of the true Church, her cures were 
 either fictitious or accomplished by the aid of the devil. There 
 is no scientific diflSculty in maintaining that many genuine cures 
 were performed by these kings, as well as by seventh sons of 
 seventh sons, who also had the gift. 
 
 148. Here-remain; ef. "here-approach," 133. 
 
 149. Solicits = prevails upon by entreaty. 
 
 150. Strangely-visited = strangely afllicted, visited with strange 
 visitations. 
 
 152. Mere = Yeiy; i.e. the despair and only the despair; ef. 
 1. 89. 
 
 153. In Shakspere's day it was customary to hang a gold coin 
 (a rose-noble, it is said, i.e., a sixteeu-shilling piece) about the 
 neck of the patient. Charles n had a special medal coined for the 
 purpose. It is not known that Edward the Confessor used either. 
 
 156. With = along with, besides. 
 
 160. My countryman; Steevens says that Malcolm discovers 
 Boss to be his countryman, while he is yet at a distance, by his 
 dress, and this certainly seems a proper inference ; but it raises 
 the question whether upon the Elizabethan stage the characters 
 in this play appeared in Scotch dress. 
 
 168. Means was used as either singular or plural. 
 
 170. A modern ewiosy = a trivial excitement. "Belonging to 
 the present time," "familiar," "ordinary," "insignificant," are 
 the steps in the development of this meaning of modern ; ef, 
 AlVs Well, II, iii, 2: "To make modern and familiar, things 
 supernatural and causeless," and As Tou Like It, II, vii, 156: 
 "Full of wise saws and modern instances (i.e., trite proofs)." 
 For ecstasy see in, ii, 22. 
 
 170 f. Elliptical and ungrammatical, but clear. On who for 
 wJiom, see note on III, i, 122. 
 
 178. Or ere = ere, before. This or has no connection with the 
 or which appears in "he or I" "either . . . or" ; but is 
 the same in meaning and almost the same in origin as ere. In 
 Middle English it was used alone to mean "before," but it is 
 now used only in this archaic, reduplicated expression or ere (and 
 the modified form or ever). Ere comes from O.E. <6r ; or comes 
 
Sc. III.] NOTES 161 
 
 from a possible O.E. dr (unumlauted form of ch-) or from Old 
 Norse (ir; all meaning "before." They sichen, i.e., the flowers 
 ■wither. 
 
 174. Nice = fancifully minute. 
 
 175 f. They come so thick that the report of one that hap- 
 pened an hour before is treated as a bit of ancient history, of no 
 concern to those who keep up with the news. 
 
 176. Teems = brings forth. 
 
 177-179. This is not an example of misplaced punning by 
 Shakspere on well and peace, but one of the recognized modes 
 of breaking the news of a death ; cf. Cleopatra's fear (Antony 
 and Cleopatra, U, iv, 31 ff.) that, when the messenger says 
 Antony is "well," he means "dead." A number of similar 
 examples in Shakspere can be found in Schmidt's Lexicon, 
 s. ■»». "well" and "peace"; and announcements of death made 
 in these terms are not uncommon in the literature of the 
 time. 
 
 177. Children ; three syllables ; of. note on I, v, 38. 
 
 181. There should, I think, be no comma at the end of this 
 line. 
 
 185. For that = because. Either/o?- or that woulcL mean the 
 same ; ef. 'notes on I, ii, 10, 60. Power = army. 
 
 188. Doff= put away, get rid of. 2>q^ comes from do off, as 
 don from do on. 
 
 191. On the construction, cf. 197 below. 
 
 192. Oi/eea out = proclaims. 
 
 195. Latch = catch. The verb is obsolete, but the latch of a 
 door illustrates the meaning. 
 
 196. A fee-grief = one belonging to a single person, like an 
 estate owned in fee {i.e., absolutely). 
 
 203. Cf III, vi, 42. 
 
 206. QvMrry, originally the portions of the hart given to the 
 hounds; then the heap of game captured in the chase. _ 
 
 209 f. The passage from "Webster's White Devil, II, i ("Poor 
 heart, break : Those are the killing griefs that dare not speak ") 
 usually quoted, is similar, but that from Montaigne (with the 
 accompanying quotation from Seneca) contains an entirely differ- 
 ent thought. 
 
 210. O^er fraught = over-burdened. 
 
162 NOTES [Act IV. 
 
 212. And I must le from thence ! = And I was obliged to be 
 away. On from, ef. Ill, i, 131. 
 
 214. Medicines is usually dissyllabic in Elizabethan English ; cf. 
 V, ii, 27. 
 
 216. He hag rw children seems to apply to Macbeth, and to be 
 spoken in answer to the suggestion contained in 214 f. Some 
 editors, who take it to mean Macbeth, understand the thought to 
 be that if Macbeth had had children, he could not so heartlessly 
 have murdered the children of another. Still others think that 
 Malcolm is meant, and that MacduflE says, "No one who is him- 
 self a father could suggest that I be comforted." In opposition 
 to the application of the words to Macbeth, it is said that, accord- 
 ing to Buchanan, Macbeth had a son, Luthlac. But it does not 
 appear that Shakspere had ever read Buchanan ; Holinshed was 
 his authority, and he mentions no son. The non-appearance of 
 any son of Macbeth's in the play is rather against the supposition 
 that Shakspere's conception of the situation called for any ; de 
 non existentibua et non apparentibus eadem est ratio. Macduff can 
 hardly mean Malcolm ; he would not reply at his king instead of 
 to him. 
 
 218. Dam means "mother"; it might be used of a hen, just 
 as we can talk of chickens and their mother. 
 
 220. Dispute it = strive against it. 
 
 225. iVatijAt means, in Elizabethan English, either "worthless" 
 or "vile." 
 
 229. Convert = turn, used intransitively, as in Richa/rd II, V, 
 iii, 64: "Thy overflow of good converts to bad." 
 
 232. Intermimon = deXaj, anything that comes in between; 
 ef. King Lear, II, iv, 33: "Deliver'd letters, spite of inter- 
 mission." 
 
 235. Tune ; Ff. have time ; but the two words are easily con- 
 fused in manuscript. Manly, like other adverbs from adjectives 
 in -ly, has the same form for both adjective and adverb. 
 
 237. Ova- lack is nothing but our leave — all we lack is to take 
 oui' leave of the king. 
 
 239. Put on = incite, set to work. Instruments ; ef. Ill, i, 80. 
 
AOT V NOTES 163 
 
 ACT V. 
 
 Scene I. 
 
 4. Steevens says : " This is one of Shakspere's oversights. He 
 forgot that he had shut up Macbeth in Dunsinane, and surrounded 
 him with besiegers." But we liave not yet been told of any sucli 
 siege, and nothing in the scenes which follow obliges us to regard 
 Macbeth's retreat into the .castle before the advancing English 
 forces as occurring previous to this scene. 
 
 5. Night-gown = dressing-gown / cf. II, ii, 70. 
 
 6 f. Ritter regards this as a reminiscence of the letter she 
 received from Macbeth. But if that be the case, why should she 
 write ? Perhaps her over-burdened heart tries to find relief in 
 written utterances as well as in spoken. 
 
 8. Although we say "fast a-sleep," we no longer speak of a 
 "fast sleep." 
 
 10. Effects of watching = actions that belong to one's waking 
 ■ hours. For this meaning of effects, cf. King Lear, I, i, 188: 
 
 "That good effects may spring from words of love "; for otlier 
 meanings and their inter-rrelations, see Schmidt, p. 351. For 
 watch = wake (without any implication of looking out for any- 
 thing) cf. Taming of the Shrew, IV, i, 308 : "She shall watch all 
 night," where the context makes the meaning certain. 
 
 11. Slumiery = taking place in sleep. 
 
 13. Actual performances = actions, in contradistinction to 
 thought or speech. 
 
 20. Stand dose = keep concealed, — a common expression. 
 
 25. Their sense is shut ; Ff . have are shut. It has been sug- 
 gested that are was repeated by mistake from the preceding line. 
 But Shakspere may have written are because of the plural con- 
 tained in their, the eyes being two. The plural in Sonnets, cxii, 
 11 (" My adder's sense To critic and to flatterer stopped are ") 
 may be due to the intervention of the two nouns. 
 
 35. Hell is murhy is thought by Steevens to be a contemptuous 
 repetition of what she, in her fancy, hears Macbeth say. Many 
 other scholars regard it as the utterance of her own dread. 
 
 36. Fie was formerly much more emphatic than now. 
 
164 NOTES [Act V. 
 
 45. Go to ; here a phrase of reproof, but in many passages in 
 Shalcspere and the Bible a plirase of encouragement. Tou refers 
 to Lady Macbeth, as 1. 48 shows. 
 
 53. Charged = burdened. 
 
 63. Ore'g = of his ; cf. note on I, iii, 84. 
 
 75. Annoyance is used in its older sense of injui^. This sen- 
 tence prepares us for the suicide which comes later. 
 
 76. StiU = always. 
 
 77. Mated = stricken powerless. This word mate has no con- 
 nection with inate (= match), but is from the Persian shah mat 
 (= the king is dead), which survives in chess as check-mate. 
 
 Scene II. 
 
 The authenticity of this scene has been doubted (see Introd., 
 p. xzii) ; but a narrative scene of this kind seems necessary to set 
 forth clearly the situation and to lead up to the more active scenes 
 which follow. 
 
 3. Bis unde Siwa/rd ; according to Holinshed, Siward was his 
 grandfather. It has been suggested that the mistake arose from 
 the fact that "nephew" meant grandson as well as nephew; but 
 Holinshed, if my memory serves me, nowhere calls Malcolm the 
 nephue of Siward. Cf. App., p. 184. 
 
 3. Revenges ; on this use of the plural, cf. note on III, i, 121. 
 Bewr is used by Shakspere of any person or thing that concerns 
 
 one very much whether for joy or sorrow ; so, in Hamlet I, ii, 183, 
 "my dearest foe " means " the foe I hate most." 
 
 4. Alarm ; cf. note on II, i, 53. 
 
 5. The mortified man = either " one who has abandoned him- 
 self to despair, " or " one who has subdued his passions and be- 
 come a hermit," or "a dead man," — probably the last. But it 
 is impossible to see any basis for the suggestion that connects this 
 passage with the well-known superstition that the corpse of a 
 murdered man will begin to bleed in the presence of the mur- 
 derer; cf. App., p. 178. 
 
 8. MU; cf. Ill, i, 94. 
 
 10. ZThroKj* = beardless ; cf. Tempest, II, i, 350: "Till new- 
 born chins Be rough and razorable. " 
 
 11. Protest = declare; cf. Ill, iv, 105. 
 
8c. III.] NOTES 165 
 
 12. Cf. App., p. 189. 
 
 13. Lesser ; cf. I, hi, 65. 
 
 15. Distemper' d cause = discontented party; but some editors 
 change caiise to course, — and corse has also been proposed. 
 
 18. Minutely may, as Delias says, be either adjective or adverb 
 (= happening every minute). Faithhreach refers to his treachery 
 in killing his king. 
 
 19. In command ; cf. "in an imperial charge," IV, iii, 30. 
 
 20. For the comparison of a title to a robe, cf. I, iii, 108, 145. 
 23. Pestered was formerly both stronger in meaning and more 
 
 dignified in tone than it now is. 
 
 27. Medicine. Clar. Pr. ; " It may be doubted •whether medicine 
 is here to be taken in its modem sense, as the following line 
 inclines us to believe, or according to most commentators, in the 
 sense of 'physician,' like the French medecin." It had both 
 meanings. SicUi/ weal ; cf. Ill, iv, 76. 
 
 30. This is a pretty bad example of change of metaphor, and 
 the lines are weaker than even rhyme-tags usually are. 
 
 Scene III. 
 
 Macbeth is still belying upon the predictions of the weird 
 sisters, but the affliction of his own thoughts, the desertions of 
 his followers, the distressing condition of his wife, have brought 
 him to such a state of restlessness and heartsickness that not 
 the most absolute trust in the predictions can avail him. Such 
 a glimpse of him before the fulfilment of the prophecies, could 
 hardly have been omitted without changing the whole character 
 of the end of the play. 
 
 3. Taint; Walker doubted whether this intransitive use of 
 taint was good English ; but it both was and is. Gf. Twelfth 
 Might, ni, iv, 145: "Lest the device take air and taint"; and 
 we frequently hear of meat tainting. Of. App., p. 189. 
 
 5. Mortal consequences = all consequence.? pertaining to mortals. 
 
 Me is dative = to me. To take it as accusative would make a 
 very awkward construction. 
 
 8. Epicurism and effeminacy are common charges brought by 
 one nation against its neighbor, or even by one section of a coun- 
 
166 - NOTES [ActV. 
 
 try against another section. According to Holinshed v, 281 f., 
 it was during the reign of Malcolm that gluttony and gormandiz- 
 ing were introduced into Scotland from England. 
 
 9. The mind I sway by, the mind by -which my movements are 
 directed. 
 
 10. Sag is explained by English editors ; it is too well known 
 in this country to need explanation. 
 
 11. Loon, not the bird, but "a rogue, lout, worthless fellow.'' 
 In F, it is spelled " lown," — a spelling peculiar to the south of 
 England, as "loon" is to the north and to Scotland. 
 
 15. LHy-liver'd ; cowardice was supposed to be due to a white 
 liver. 
 Patch = fool ; cf. Florio : " Paezo, a foole, a patch, a madman." 
 
 20. Push = assault; but a queer word for tlie context. 
 
 21. Disseat is Capell's emendation for dis-eate of Pi, which 
 was changed in Fj to disease. Dr. Furness reads dis-ease {= 
 trouble, afflict). Percy proposed chair instead of cheer. Various 
 combinations of these readings can be made, and have been made 
 by the commentators. The objections to each are so many and 
 so obvious that they need not be stated. Perhaps the least 
 objectionable is Dr. Furness's : Will cheer me ever or dis-ease ww 
 now = " will bring at once permanent relief or affliction." 
 
 22. My way of life is a- mere periphrasis for "my life"; cf. 
 way of youth (= youth) in Massinger's Tlie Roman Actor, I, ii, 35, 
 and A Very Woman, IV, ii, 44. Johnson wished to change way 
 to May, and several scholars have followed him ; but the change is 
 unnecessary, even if it were appropriate for Macbeth to speak of 
 his "May of life." To reject a reading in Shakspere because it 
 implies a mixed metaphor is unwarrantable. 
 
 23. Sear = dry, withered ; now more commoiily spelled "sere." 
 28. Fain deny = gladly refuse. 
 
 35. Moe is the reading of P, Pa, and is retained in the Cam- 
 bridge edition. It means "more," but is not exactly the same 
 word. In Old English there was a neuter noun (and adverb) mA 
 as well as the adjective mAra. Traces of this difference were 
 preserved in later English in the tendency to use mo (moe) as a 
 jilural adjective, and mare as the singula/r ; cf. Kittredge, Observ. 
 on TroUus, § 64. Skirr — scour ; cf. Eenry V, IV, vii, 64 : " We 
 will come to them And make them skirr (= hurry) away." 
 
So. m.] NOTES 167 
 
 39. Cure her ; Pi omits her. Some editors regard the omission 
 as intentional, and assert that Macbeth "generalizes both his 
 command and his [following] question." But is not this inclu- 
 sion of himself in his remarks more eflEective when implied than 
 when definitely stated ? 
 
 40. Thou is probably used here not because Macbeth's attitude 
 towards the Doctor has changed since 1. 37, where lie used your, 
 but because this passage is in a higher, more impassioned style 
 than that. Abbot (§ 231) says: " Thou iu Shakespeare's time 
 was, very much like ' du ' now among the Germans, the pronoun 
 of (1) affection towards friends, (2) good-humoured superiority 
 to servants, and (3) contempt or anger to strangers. It had, 
 however, already fallen somewhat into disuse, and, being re- 
 garded as archaic, was naturally adopted (4) in the higher poetic 
 style and in the language of solemn prayer." This is true in 
 general, but it needs the limitation added by Abbot: "It should 
 be remarked, however, that this use is modified sometimes by 
 euphony, and sometimes by fluctuations of feeling." 
 
 43. OWmoMS = causing forge tfulness ; cf. "insane root," I, 
 iii, 74. 
 
 44. Many scholars are offended by the occurrence of stuffed and 
 stuff in the same line; some have proposed to substitute for the 
 former some such word as foul, dogg'd,, fraught, presii'd,; or for the 
 latter, grief, had, matter, slough, or freight. But why not re-write 
 the plays ? Malone and Dyce quoted some thirty or forty 
 examples of similar expressions from Shakspere and other writers 
 of that day, and it would be easy to produce ten times as many. 
 This act alone contains six ; cf. V, i, 49, 78 ; V, ii, 19 ; V, 
 viii, 50, 60, 72. 
 
 48. Staff, the general's baton (Clar. Pr.) or a lance (Schmidt). 
 
 50. Dispatch = haste. Cast was the technical term for making 
 a diagnosis by inspection of the urine. 
 
 55. Bhuba/rb and senna (spelled Cyme Fi, Omny Fa Fs) were 
 used as purgatives. 
 
 59. Bane originally meant a "slayer," then "that which kills 
 (particularly poison)," then " death," then "ruin." 
 
168 NOTES [Act V. 
 
 Scene IV. 
 
 See App., p. 189. 
 
 3. Nothing ; cf. note on I, iii, 96^ 
 
 6. JDiscojjery = reconnoitring ; cf. King Lear, V, i, 53 : "Here 
 is the guess of their true strength and forces By diligent dis- 
 covery. " 
 
 10. Our setting down before it = our besieging it; cf. Ooriolanus 
 I, ii, 27 : "Let us alone to guard Corioli : If they set down 
 bef ore's . . . Bring up your army." We should say sit, 
 rather than set, in such a phrase. 
 
 11. Advantage to be given; this passage is supposed to be 
 corrupt, partly because it is a strange expression, and partly 
 because given is used in the next line. Instead of to be given, 
 various substitutes have been proposed : to be gone, to be got, to be 
 gotten, to be taken, to be ta'en, to 'em given, to be gained, given to 
 fke. 
 
 13. More and Jess =: greater and smaller; i.e., important and 
 unimportant persons. 
 
 14 f. Ijet our just censures, etc. Let our opinions on the con- 
 dition of Macbeth's forces await the decisive event of battle, 
 when such opinions may be just ; meanwhile let us not be over- 
 confident. This is practically what Siward says immediately 
 afterwards. 
 
 18. Owe, in the ordinary modern sense. 
 
 20. Arbitrate = determine, decide. 
 
 Scene V. 
 
 5. Forced = strengthened ; probably there is no metaphor of 
 stuffing, as Collier supposed, connecting this witli such expres- 
 sions as "force-meat." 
 
 8. Exit. This stage direction and that in 1. lH are not in Ff., 
 nor the Davenaiit version (1674), but were supplied by Dyce. 
 Clar. Pr. suggests that Seyton may remain and receive the news 
 from one of the women attending Lady Macbeth ; but as stage 
 business this seems almost incredible. 
 
 10. CooVd is not strong enough for some of the editors ; they 
 suggest instead 'coWd ( = recoiled), quaiVd. But, as Clar. Pr. 
 
So. v.] NOTES 169 
 
 points out, cool is used of freezing cold in King John, 11, i, 479 : 
 " Cool and congeal again to what it was." 
 
 11. Fell of hair = hair, covering of hair. Wdl means the skin 
 of an animal, particularly a skin with the hair or wool ; also a 
 covering of hair or wool. In the present passage it has the 
 latter meaning. 
 
 13. Treatise = story or discourse. Mouse ; cf. Ill, ii, 53. 
 
 13. As; cf. I, iv, 3. Supped full with = supp'd full on ; cf. IV, 
 ii, 33. 
 
 15. Start = Btartle ; cf. AlVa Well, V, iii, 333 : "Every feather 
 starts you." 
 
 17. She should have died hereafter, is supposed by some editors 
 to mean, "Her death ought to have been postponed to a more 
 appropriate time." This is also the interpretation of the Davenant 
 version (1674), which reads : " She should have di'd hereafter, 
 I brought Her here, to see my Victi[m]es, not to Die." But 
 what we have here is not a reply to Seyton's announcement ; to 
 that there is no reply. The whole of Macbeth 's speech, including 
 this line and the next, is spoken to himself, and with no thought of 
 any listener. Scene iii. had shown him to us, sick at heart and 
 despairing of happiness or honor, deserted by his followers, and 
 keenly sensible what a miserable failure he had made of his life. In 
 this scene he reaches a lower depth of misery. Not only does he 
 feel the failure of his own life, he regards life itself as without 
 purpose or significance. With the death of his wife has passed away 
 the last person attached to him by any other bond than fear. In 
 a sort of benumbed silence he has received the announcement of 
 tlie breaking of his last human tie, and slowly all his desolation, 
 heartsickness, sense of life's failure, shape themselves into the 
 feeling that nothing makes any difference. " She would have 
 had to die some day ; there would have come a time for such an 
 announcement. Why wish to postpone it till tomorrow ? 
 Postpone as you will, morrow follows morrow in the same petty, 
 meaningless course, and lands us at last, deceived and befooled, 
 in the dust of an endless death." 
 
 Many editors, of course, have maintained this interpretation of 
 should as "would inevitably," but it was from Professor Kit- 
 tredge that I first learned to see that what Macbeth says here 
 ibout life is no mere untimely utterance of unmotived pessimism, 
 
170 NOTES [Act V. 
 
 but grows immediately out of the dramatic situation, and that 
 the connection between the parts is perfect. 
 
 31. Recorded time = the time included in the plan of the 
 universe. 
 
 33. " So likewise the days of the past have served only to light 
 fools to their death "; as if this had been the only purpose of 
 the light, — the struggles and deeds of men being of no real 
 significance, and they being fools to assign any to them. 
 
 23. I see no reason to believe that this, or any other line of 
 this passage, was suggested by the famous verses of Catullus : 
 
 " Soles ocoidere et redire possunt, 
 Nobis, cum semel occidit brevis lux, 
 Nox est perpetua una dormienda." 
 
 But it may be worth noting that they were translated into 
 Italian by Tasso, and thence into English by Samuel Daniel, 
 Sbakspere's contemporary. 
 
 35. The comparison of life to the stage and man to a player is 
 a commonplace of literature. It appears in England in the 
 Polycrctticua (iii, 8) of John of Salisbury (died 1180), and seems 
 to have been used in every succeeding age. 
 
 31. / say seems nearly equivalent to "I declare," "I assert," 
 but some editors omit it. 
 
 37. This three mile ; this is used instead of theu because the 
 distance is regarded as a single thing, three miles being merely 
 the measure of it ; mile is used instead of miles because it was 
 formerly customary to put nouns of measure in the singular 
 rather than the plural ; we still say " a hundred yoke of oxen,'' 
 " a hundred head of cattle," " a fleet of fifty sail " ; we also say 
 " a two-foot rule," but that is a slightly difEerent construction. 
 
 40. Cling = wither, shrivel. Sooth = truth ; cf. "in sooth." 
 
 42. PiM in is changed by Johnson to pall in (= languish in) ; 
 but it is possible to get a meaning from the text as it stands, 
 and the metrical difficulty arising from the accent of in is not 
 serious. 
 
 43. Equivocation; originally a saying that could be taken in 
 either of two senses ; then a saying which sounds tme, but is 
 not ; then a lie of any sort. 
 
 44. The story of the moving wood has been found in the legends 
 
So. VII.] NOTES 171 
 
 of many countries ; but there is no reason to think that Shakspere 
 had any other authority for it than Holinshed ; cf. App., p. 189. 
 
 49. Gin; cf. I, ii, 25. A-weary ; according to N. E. D., the 
 a- in this word is due entirely to analogy. There were many 
 pairs of words (due to different causes), such as alive, live, 
 adown, down, amid, mid, amend, mend, arise, rise, awake, wake, 
 which suggested the idea that a- was a prefix that could be 
 used for emphasis, euphony, or merely to give an arcliaic look 
 to a word ; it was, therefore, often prefixed to words where it 
 had no historical or etymological basis. 
 • 50. Estate was unnecessarily changed to state by Pope. 
 
 51. Wrach is the same word as wreck; Clar. Pr. says wreck 
 scarcely ever occurs in the old editions ; Schmidt says never. Of. 
 wj-estle, wrastle ; thresh, thrash ; etc. 
 
 53. Ha/rneas = armor ; cf. App., p. 189. 
 
 Scene VI. 
 
 1. Lea/oy is the older form of leafy. It has v instead of /, 
 because formerly /was always pronounced like « when it came 
 between two vowels ; so grief gives grievous, from life comes 
 alive (e being at one time pronounced in the latter but not in the 
 former), from sTieaf, sheaves, etc. 
 
 2. Show = appear; cf. I, in, 54. 
 
 4. Battle = a division of an army ; cf. App., p. 182, for a pas- 
 sage showing how the word was used. 
 
 10. Harbingers here meaj|p nothing more than "things which 
 announce the coming of " ; cf. note on I, iv, 45. 
 
 SCBKB VII. 
 
 The death of Young Si ward at the hands of Macbeth makes an 
 efEective setting for the fight with Macduff. Good battle scenes 
 to study in connection with these are 1 Henry IV, V, iii, iv. 
 
 1 f. Bear-baiting was a favorite amusement in Shakspere's 
 day, and the most famous place for such exhibitions was Paris 
 Garden, only a few hundred yards distant from Shakspere's 
 theatre. The bear was tied to a stake, and then dogs were set 
 upon him. 
 
172 NOTES [Act V. 
 
 7. Than any is = than any that is ; cf. Abbot, § 244.. 
 
 18. Either thou, Macbeth ; of course this is left unfinished, but 
 tliat is no I'eason for supposing that a line has been lost. 
 
 32. BruUed = reported, noised, announced. 
 
 24. Gently rendered = peaceably delivered, surrendered without 
 a struggle. 
 
 29. That strike betide «« = that fight on our side, or that in- 
 tentionally miss us. 
 
 Scene VIII. 
 
 In Ff. this is not a separate scene, but a part of scene vii. 
 
 1. Play the Soman fool is not an allusion to any particular per- 
 son ; to play the Roman fool is to commit suicide, as many noble 
 Romans did when there seemed no longer any reason for living. 
 
 2. Lives = living men. 
 
 4. Of all men else; of course this is illogical, but it is much 
 more forcible than the logical "of all men" or "more than all 
 men else "; of which two constructions it is, according to Abbot 
 (§ 409), a combination. Abbot gives examples of similar confu- 
 sions, including our modern "I like it the best of any." It may 
 be remarked, however, that he misunderstands the construction 
 of " He is the best man that I have ever seen." 
 
 7 f . Thou Moodier villain than terms can give thee out ! Terms 
 = words, expressions; cf. "technical terms." Giveout — declare, 
 express. For the word-order, cf. All's Well, III, iv, 36 ; "This 
 unworthy husband of his wife " =: This husband who is unworthy 
 of his wife. 
 
 9. Intrenchant means really "incapable of being cut," but here 
 it is used to mean "retaining no trace of a cut" ; cf. Tempest, 
 III, iii, 63 f . : "Wound the loud winds, or with bemock'd-at 
 stabs Kill the still-closing watei-s"; and Bamlet, I, i, 146 : " the 
 air invulnerable ; " ih., TV, i, 44 : " the woundless air." 
 
 13. Must not = is under obligation or necessity not to ; this 
 assertion of the negative is rather stronger than the mere nega- 
 tion of the positive. Of. App., p. 190. 
 
 13. Despair thy charm ; despair, like many other verbs, needed 
 no preposition to connect it with its object. 
 
 14. ATigd ; among the ' ' Diverse names of the divell " given by 
 
So. VIII.] NOTES 173 
 
 Reginald Scot in liis Discourse of Diveh and Spirits (ed. Nichol- 
 son, pp. 436 t.) are : " tlie angell of the Lord " (based on a mis- 
 understanding of Psalms XXXV. 5 f.), "tlie cruell angell," "the 
 nngell of Sathan," "the angell of hell." Still = alvfays, con- 
 tinually. 
 
 30. Palter = equivocate. 0-n the "amphibologies of oracles," 
 see Scot's Dlscoverie, ed. Nicholson, p. 107 f. Clar. Pr. cites the 
 cases of Croesus, Epaminondas, Pyrrhus, Henry IV. 
 
 24. Gage = gazing-stock. 
 
 36. Painted upon a pole = painted on a cloth suspended on a 
 pole. Writ was a correct form of the^^. 
 
 39. Sailed; cf. the expression "bear-baiting." 
 
 32. The last = the last means, the only thing left to do. 
 
 33. Does not warlike weaken this line ? ^ 
 
 34. Damn'd be him is probably a combination (or sonfusion) of 
 "Damn him," and "Damned be he" ; cf. note on 1. 4. 
 
 86. Go off z= die, "A singular euphemism." — Clar. Pr. 
 
 40. Only . . . lut; pleonastic. 
 
 43. Unshrinking station is a good example of transference of 
 epithet. 
 
 44. Cause of sorrow is changed by some to course of sorrow ; by 
 some it is taken as equivalent to "sorrow " ; but perhaps it is bet- 
 ter to take these words in their ordinary meaning, and to regard 
 it in 1. 46 as referring only to sorrow. ' 
 
 48. Hairs ; some have suspected here a pun on hairs and heirs, 
 but it is to be hoped none was intended. 
 
 49. In Elizabethan Euglisli one may either wish things for a 
 person, or wish the person to the things. 
 
 53. Part«(Z = departed ; cf. App., p. 191. Paid his sem-e; cf. 
 1. 39. 
 
 54 f. Of. App., p. 190. 
 
 55. The time is free = the world now eiijoys liberty, freedom 
 from tyranny. 
 
 56. Pearl is — ^plausibly — changed by some editors to peers. 
 
 61. Tour several loves = the love of each of y6u ; cf. Ill, i, 131. 
 63. Of App., p. 190. 
 66. Exiled friends abroad; cf. 1. 7. 
 
 70. Sdf and violent hands is perhaps an example of hendiadys 
 = her own violent hands ; cf HI, Iv, 143. 
 
174 NOTES [ACT V. 
 
 71. What is probably a relic of the old indefinite pronoun (= 
 anything). 
 
 74 f. There can be little doubt that the actor, in speaking 
 these lines, addressed the audience rather than the dramatis per- 
 aonm, and made this utterance of thanks serve as a sort of 
 epilogue. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 The following passages from Holinshed's Chronicles contain the 
 stories which Shakspere used as the basis of Macbeth. AU but the 
 last two are from Holinshed's Historie of Scotland ; those two are 
 from the Sistorie of England. 
 
 I have followed the example of Dr. Furness in printing them in 
 the order in which they come in Holinshed, because thereby Shak- 
 spere's free mode of dealing with his materials is, to a certain degree, 
 brought out. The part corresponding to any passage of the play 
 can be found by consulting the references given in the notes. I have 
 followed the text of the reprint of 1807. 
 
 CONSTANTINB [a.D. 903]. 
 
 Malcolme sonne to king Donald was appointed by king Constan- 
 tine to haue the leading of the Scotish armie, conteining the number 
 of twentie thousand men. The same Malcolme also at the same 
 time was created heire apparant of the realme, hauing Cumberland 
 assigned vnto him for the maintenance of his estate. And euen then 
 y . „„ it was ordeined, that he which should succeed to the 
 ' '^' crowne after the kings deeeasse, should euer inioy that 
 
 prouince. (V, 237) 
 
 In the meane time Malcolme being sore wounded in the battell [of 
 Brunanburh], escaped ; yet with great danger, and in an horsse- 
 litter was conueied home into his countrie. ... (V, 338) 
 
 Duffs [a.d. 968]. 
 
 After the corps of Indulph was remooued vnto Colmekill and there 
 buried, Duffe the sonne of K. Malcolme was crowned K. at Scone 
 with all due solemnitie. In the beginning of his reigne, Culene the 
 Sonne of K. Indulph was proclaimed prince of Cumberland. (V, 
 333) 
 
 In the meane time the king [Duffe] fell into a languishing disease, 
 not so greeuous as strange, that none of his physicians could per- 
 ceiue what to make of it. For there was seene in him no token, that 
 either choler, melancholic, flegme, or any other vicious humor did 
 any thing abound, whereby his bodie should be brought into such 
 decaie and consumption (so as there remained vnnetn anie thing 
 vpon him saue skin and bone). . . But about that present 
 
176 APPENOIX 
 
 time there was a murmuring amongst the people, how the king was 
 vexed with no natural sicknesse, but by sorcerie and magical! art, 
 practised by a sort of witches dwelling in a towne of Murrey land, 
 called Fores. 
 
 Wherevpon, albeit the author of this secret talke was not knowne : 
 yet being brought to the kings eare, it caused him to send foorth- 
 with certeine wittie persons thither, to inquire of the truth. They 
 that were thus sent, dissembling the cause of their iornie, were 
 receiued in the darke of the night into the castell of Fores by the 
 lieutenant of the same, called Donwald, who continuing faithful! to 
 the king, had kept that castell against the rebels to the kings vse. 
 Vnto him therefore these messengers declared the cause of their 
 comming, requiring his aid for the accomplishment of the kings 
 pleasure. 
 
 The souldiers, which laie there in garrison, had an inkling that 
 there was some such matter in hand as was talked of amongst the 
 people ; by I'eason that one of them kept as concubine a yoong 
 woman, which was daughter to one of the witches as his paramour, 
 who told him the whole maner vsed by hir mother & other hir com- 
 panions, with their intent also, which was to make awaie the king. 
 The souldier hauing learned this of his lemman, told the same to his 
 fellowes, who made report to Donwald, and Me shewed it to the 
 kings messengers, and therewith sent for the yoong damosell which 
 the souldier kept, as then being within the castell, and caused hir 
 vpon streiet examination to confesse the whole matter as she had 
 scene and knew. Wherevpon learning by hir confession in what 
 house in the towne it was where they wrought/their misohiefous 
 mysterie, he sent foorth souldiers about the middest of the night, 
 who breaking into the house, found one of the witches rosting vpon 
 a woodden brooh an imago, of wax at the fier, resembling in each 
 feature the kings person, made and deuised (as is to be thought) by 
 craft and art of the diuell : an other of them sat reciting certeine 
 words of inchantment, and still basted the image with a certeine 
 liquor verie busilie. 
 
 The souldiers finding them occupied in this wise, tooke them 
 togither with the image, and led them into the castell, where being 
 streictlie examined for what purpose they went about such manner 
 of inchantment, they answered, to the end to make away the king : 
 J ... oa for as the image did waste afore the fire, so did the 
 
 ' '"' bodie of the king breake foorth in sweat. And as for 
 
 the words of the inchantment, they serued to keepe him still waking 
 . ... .,_ from sleepe, so that as the wax euer melted, so did the 
 
 • "'• kings flesh : by the which meanes it should haue come 
 
 to passe, that when the wax was once cleane consumed, the death of 
 the king should immediatlie follow. So were they taught by euill 
 spirits, and hired to worke the feat by the nobles of Murrey land. 
 The standers by, that heard such an abhominable tale told by these 
 witches, streightwaies brake the image, and caused the witches 
 (according as they ha4 well deserued) to bee burnt to death. 
 
 It was said that the king at the verie same time that these things 
 were a dooing within the castell of Pores, was deliuered of his lan- 
 guor, and slept that night without anie sweat breaking foorth vpon 
 
APPENDIX 17'}' 
 
 him at all, & the next dale being restored to his strength, was able 
 to doo anie maner of thing that lay in man to doo, as though he had 
 not bfiene sioke before anie thing at all. But howsoeuer it came to 
 passe, truth it is, that when he was restored to his perfect health, he 
 gathered a power of men, & with the same went into Murrey land 
 against the rebels there, and chasing them from thence, he pursued 
 them into Rosse, and from Rosse into Cathnesse, where apprehend- 
 ing them, he brought them backe vnto Fores, and there caused 
 them to be. hanged vp, on gallows and gibets. 
 
 Amongest them there were also certeine yoong gentlemen, right 
 beautifull and goodlie personages, being neere of kin vnto Donwald 
 capteine of the eastell, and had beene persuaded to be partakers with 
 the other rebels, more through the fraudulent counsell of diuerse 
 wicked persons, than of their owne accord: wherevpon the foresaid 
 Donwald lamenting their case, made earnest labor and sute to the 
 king to haue begged their pardon; but hauing a plains deniall, he 
 conceiued such an inward malice towards the king (though he 
 shewed it not outwardlie at the first) that the same continued still 
 T 2S boiling in his stomach, and ceased not, till through 
 ' ^' setting on of his wife, and in reuenge of such vnthanke- 
 
 fulnesse, h^e found meanes to murther the king within the foresaid 
 eastell of Pores where he vsed to soiourne. For the king being in 
 that countrie, was accustomed to lie most commonlie within the 
 same eastell, hauing a speeiall trust in Donwald, as a man whom he 
 neuer suspected. 
 
 But Donwald, not forgetting the reproch which his linage had 
 susteined by the execution of those his kinsmen, whome the king 
 for a spectacle to the people had caused to be hanged, could not but 
 shew manifest tokens of great grief e at home amongst his familie: 
 T 2fi which his wife perceiuing, ceassed not to trauell with 
 ' ^' him, till she vnderstood what the cause was of his dis- 
 
 pleasure. Which at length when she had learned by his owne rela- 
 tion, she as one that bare no lesse malice in hir heart towards the 
 king, for the like cause on hir behalfe, than hir husband did for his 
 friends, counselled him (sith the king oftentimes vsed to lodge in 
 his house without anie gard about him, other than the garrison of 
 the eastell, which was wholie at his commandement) to make him 
 awaie, and shewed him the meanes whereby he might soonest accom- 
 plish it. 
 
 Donwald thus being the more kindled in wrath by the words of his 
 wife, determined to follow hir aduise in the execution of so heinous 
 an act. Whervpon deuising with himselfe for a while, which way 
 h6e might best accomplish his curssed intent, at length gat opportu- 
 nitie, and sped his purpose as foUoweth. It chanced that the king 
 vpon the dale before he purposed to depart foorth of the eastell, was 
 long in his oratorie at his praiers, and there continued till it was 
 late in the night. At the last, comming foorth, he called such afore 
 him as had / faithfullie serued him in pursute and apprehension of 
 y» . - „ the rebels, and giuing them heartie thanks, he bestowed 
 
 ' *' sundrie honorable gifts amongst them, of the which 
 
 number Donwald was one, as he that had beene euer accounted a 
 most faithful seruant to thfe king. 
 
178 APPENDIX 
 
 At length, hauing talked with them a long time, he got him into 
 his priuie chamber, onelie with two of his chamberlains, who hauing 
 I Tii 63 brought him to bed, came foorth againe, and then fell 
 ' ' to banketting with Donwald and his wife, who had pre- 
 
 pared diuerse delicate dishes, and sundrie sorts of drinks for their 
 reare supper or collation, wherat they sate vp so long, till they had 
 charged their stomachs with such full gorges, that their heads were 
 I v" e4 "° sooner got to the pillow, but asl6epe they were so 
 ' "' fast, that a man might haue reraooued the chamber 
 
 ouer them, sooner than to haue awaked them out of their droonken 
 sleepe. 
 
 Then Donwald, though he abhorred the act greatlie in heart, yet 
 through instigation of his wife hee called foure of his seruants vnto 
 him (whome he had made priuie to his wicked intent before, and 
 framed to his purpose with large gifts) and now declaring vnto them, 
 after what sort they should worke the feat, they gladlie obeied his 
 instructions, & spSedilie going about the murther, they enter the 
 TT i"i 21 chamber (in which the king laie) a little before cocks 
 
 • ' crow, where they secretlie cut his throte as he lay sleep- 
 
 ing, without anie buskling at all : and immediatlie by a posterne 
 gate they caried foorth the dead bodie into the fields, and throwing 
 it.vpon an horsse there prouided readie for that purpose, they conuey 
 it vnto a place, about two miles distant from the castell, where they 
 staied, and gat certeine labourers to helpe them to turne the course 
 of a little riuer running through the fields there, and digging a d6epe 
 hole in the chanell, they burie the bodie in the same, ramming it vp 
 with stones and grauell so closelie, that setting the water in the right 
 course againe, no man could perceiue that anie thing hadb^ene newlie 
 digged there. This they did by order appointed them by Donwald 
 as is reported, for that the bodie should not be found, & by bleeding 
 (when Donwald should be present) declare him to be guiltie of the 
 murther. 
 
 For such an opinion men haue, that the dead corps of anie man 
 being slaine, will bWed abundantlie if the murtherer be present. 
 But for what consideration soeuer they buried him there, they had 
 no sooner finished the worke, but that they slue them whose helpe 
 they vsed herein, and streightwaies therevpon fled into Orknie. 
 
 Donwald, about the time that the murther was in dooing, got him 
 amongst them that kept the watch, and so continued in companie 
 with them all the residue of the night. But in the morning when 
 the noise was raised in the kings chamber how the king was slaine, 
 his bodie conueied awaie, and the bed all beraied with bloud ; he with 
 the watch ran thither, as though he had knowne nothing of the mat- 
 ter, and breaking into the chamber, and finding cakes of bloud in 
 the bed, and on the floore about the sides of it, he foorthwith slue 
 ... the chamberleins, as guiltie of that heinous murther, 
 
 11, 111, wo ^jjj ^jjgjj jjjjg ^ jjjg^ij jjjg^jj running to and fro, he ran- 
 
 ' "' ^■^ sacked euerie corner within the castell, as though it had 
 beene to haue scene if he might haue found either the bodie, or anie 
 of the murtherers hid in anie priuie place : but at length comraing 
 to the posterne gate, and finding it open, he burdened the chamber- 
 leins, whome he had slaine, with all the fault, they hauing the keies 
 
APPENDIX 179 
 
 of the gates committed to their keeping all the night, and therefore 
 it could not be otherwise (said he) but that they were of eounsell in 
 the committing of that most detestable murther. 
 
 Pinallie, such was his ouer earnest diligence in the seuere inquisi- 
 TT ••■ ni tion and triall of the offenders heerein, that some of the 
 ttt'"' 14. ^°^^^ began to mislike the matter, and to smell foorth 
 ' ^'* shrewd tokens, that he should not be altogither clears 
 
 himselfe. But for so much as they were in that oountrie, where 
 he had the whole rule, what by reason of his friends and authoritie 
 togither, they doubted to vtter what they thought, till time and 
 place should better serue therevnto, and heerevpon got them awaie 
 euerie man to his home. For the space of six moneths togither, after 
 -- . _ this heinous murther thus committed, there appeared no 
 
 ' ^' sunne by day, nor moone by night in anie part of the 
 
 realme, but still was the skie couered with continuall clouds, and 
 TI 'i' tT sometimes such outragious winds arose, with lightenings 
 
 ' * *> and tempests, that the people were in great feare of 
 
 present destrnetion. (V, 233, 235) 
 
 CULENE [a.d. 973]. 
 
 Monstrous sights also that were seene within the Scotish kingdome 
 that yeere were these : horsses in Louthian, being of singular beautie 
 Hi 1« ^'"^ swiftnesse, did eate their owne flesh, and would in 
 
 ' ^' no wise taste anie other meate. In Angus there was a 
 
 gentlewoman brought foorth a child without eies, nose, hand, or 
 II iv 12 "'°°'* '^'^^'"^ "^^^ ^ sparhawke also strangled by an owle. 
 
 ' ' Neither was it anie lesse woonder that the sunne, as be- 
 
 fore is said, was continuallie couered with clouds for six moneths 
 space. But all men vnderstood that the abhominable murther of king 
 Duffe was the cause heereof, which being reuenged by the death of 
 the authors, in maner as before is said ; Culene was crowned as law- 
 full successor to the same DufEe at Scone, with all due honor and 
 solemnitie, in the yeere of our Lord 972. (V, 237) 
 
 Kenneth [a.d. 976]. 
 
 At what time the blind loue he bare to his owne issue, caused him 
 to procure a detestable fact, in making away one of his neerest kins- 
 men. This was Malcolme the sonne of king BufEe, created in the 
 beginning of Kenneths reigne prince of Cumberland, by reason 
 whereof he ought to haue succeeded in rule of the kingdome after 
 Kenneths death. Whereat the same Kenneth grdeuing not a little, 
 for that thereby his sonnes should be kept from inioieng the crowne, 
 found meanes to poison him. (V, 245) 
 
 Thus might he s&me happie to all men, hauing the loue both of his 
 lords and commons : but yet to himselfe he seemed most vnhappie, 
 as he that could not but still line in continuall feare, least his 
 wicked practise concerning the death of Malcolme Duffe should 
 come to light and knowledge of the world. For so commeth it to 
 passe, that such as are pricked in conscience for anie secret offense 
 
180 APPENDIX 
 
 committed, haue euer an vnquiet mind. And (as the fame goeth) 
 it chanced that a voice was heard as he was in bed in the night time 
 jj .. „_ to take his rest, vtterine vnto him these or the lilie 
 ' ' woords in effect : " Thinle not Kenneth that the wicked 
 
 slaughter of Malcolme Duffe by thee eontriued, is kept secret from tlie 
 knowledge of the eternall God : thou art he that didst conspire the 
 innocents death, enterprising by traitorous meanes to doo that to 
 thy neighbour, which thou wouldest haue reuenged by cruell pun- 
 ishment in anie of thy subiects, if it had beene offered to thy selfe. 
 It shall therefore come to passe, that both thou thy selfe, and thy 
 issue, through the iust vengeance of alraightie God, shall suffer 
 woorthie punishment, to the infamie of thy house and familie for 
 euermore. For euen at this present are there in hand secret prac- 
 tises to dispatch both th^e and thy issue out of the waie, that other 
 male inioy this kingdome which thou doost indeuour to assure vnto 
 thine issue." _ The king with this voice being stricken into great 
 dread and terror, passed that night without anie sleepe comming in 
 his eies. (V, 347) 
 
 DUNCANE [a.d. 1034]. 
 
 After Malcolme succeeded his nephue Duncane the sonne of his 
 daughter Beatrice : for Malcolme had two daughters, the one which 
 was this Beatrice, being giuen in manage vnto one Abbanath 
 Crinen, a man of great nobilitie, and thane of the lies and west 
 parts of Scotland, bare of that mariage the foresaid Duncane ; the 
 other called Doada, was marled vnto Sinell the thane of 61am- 
 mis, by whom she had issue one Makbeth a valiant gentleman, and 
 one that if he had not bfiene somewhat cruell of nature, might haue 
 bfiene thought most/woorthie the gouernemeut of a realme. On the 
 other part, Duncane was so soft and gentle of nature, that the people 
 I ■■ 24 wished the inclinations and maners of these twocousms 
 ' "' to haue bfiene so tempered and interchangeablie bestowed 
 
 betwixt them, that where the one had too much of clemencie, and 
 the other of crueltie, the meane vertue betwixt these two extremities 
 might haue reigned by indifferent partition in them both, so should 
 Duncane haue proued a woorthie king, and Makbeth an excellent 
 capteine. . . . 
 
 Banquho the thane of Lochquhaber, of whom the house of the 
 Stewards is descended, the which by order-of linage hath now for a 
 long time inioied the crowne of Scotland, euen till these our dales, 
 as he gathered the finances due to the king, and further punished 
 somewhat sharplie such as were notorious offendois, being assailed 
 by a number of rebels inhabiting in that countrie, and spoiled of the 
 monie and all other things, had much a doo to get awaie with life, 
 after he had receiued sundrie grieuous wounds amongst them. Yet 
 escaping their hands, after hee was somewhat recouered of his hurts, 
 and was able to ride, he repaired to the court, where making his 
 complaint to the king in most earnest wise, he purchased at length 
 that the offenders were sent for by a sergeant at armes, to appeaie 
 to make answer vnto such matters as should be laid to their charge: 
 but they augmenting their inischiefous act with a more wicked 
 
APPENDIX 181 
 
 deed, after they had misused the messenger with sundrie kinds of 
 reproches, they flnallie slue him also. 
 
 Then doubting not but that for such contemptuous demeanor 
 against the kings regall authoritie, they should be inuaded with all 
 J .. P the power the king could make, Makdowald one of 
 
 ' '*' great estimation among them, making first a confed- 
 
 eracie with his neerest friends and kinsmen, tooke vpon him to be 
 chiefe capteine of all such rebels as would stand against the king, 
 in maintenance of their grieuous offenses latelie committed against 
 him. Manie slanderous words also, and railing tants this Makdow- 
 ald vttered against his prince, calling him a faint-hearted milke- 
 sop, more meet to gouerne a sort of idle moonks in some cloister, 
 than to haue the rule of such valiant and hardie men of warre as the 
 Scots were. He vsed also such subtill persuasions and forged allure- 
 ments, that in a small time he had gotten togither a mightie 
 I ii 12 power of men ; for out of the westerne lies there came 
 
 ' ' vnto him a great multitude of people, offering them- 
 
 selues to assist him in that rebellious quarell, and out of Ireland in 
 hope of the spoile came no small number of Kernes and Gallo- 
 glasses, offering gladlie to serue vnder him, whither it should please 
 him to lead them. 
 
 Makdowald thus hauing a mightie puissance about him, incountered 
 I ii 14 ^""^ ^^'^^ °^ '^^ kings people as were sent against 
 J ..' g him into Lochquhaber, and discomfiting them, by 
 
 ' ' mere force tooke their capteine Malcolme, and after 
 
 the end of the battell smote off his head. This ouerthrow being 
 notified to the king, did put hiin in wonderfull feare, by reason of 
 his small skill in warlike affaires. Calling therefore his nobles to a 
 councell, he asked of them their best aduise for the subduing of 
 Makdowald & other the rebels. Here, in sundrie heads (as euer it 
 happeneth) were sundrie opinions, which they vttered according to 
 euerie man his skill. At length Makbeth speaking much against 
 the kings softnes, and ouermuch slacknesse in punishing offend- 
 ers, whereby they had such time to assemble togither, he promised 
 notwithstanding, if the charge were committed vnto him and vnto 
 Banquho, so to order the matter, that the rebels should be shortly 
 vanquished & quite put downe, and that not so much as one of 
 them should be found to make resistance within the countrie. 
 
 And euen so it came to passe : for being sent f oorth with a new 
 power, at his entring into Lochquhaber, the fame of his comming 
 put the enimies in such feare, that a great number of them stale 
 secretlie awaie from their capteine Makdowald, who neuerthelesse 
 inforced thereto, gaue battell vnto Makbeth, with the residue which 
 _ . . ^ „ remained with him : but being ouercome, and fleeing for 
 
 ' "' refuge into a castell (within the which his wife & 
 
 children/were inclosed) at length when he saw how he could neither 
 defend the hold anie longer against his enimies, nor yet vpon sur- 
 render be suffered to depart with life saued, hee first slue his wife 
 and children, and lastlie himselte, least if he had yeelded simpKe, 
 he should haue beene executed in most cruel wise for an example to 
 other. Makbeth entring into the castell by the gates^ as then set 
 open, found the carcasse of Makdowald lieng dead there amongst 
 
18S APPENDIX 
 
 the residue of the slaine bodies, which when he beheld, remitting no 
 peece of his cruell nature with that pitifull sight, he caused the head 
 I ii 2<t ^° ^ ^^^ °^' ^'^^ ^^ ypon a poles end ^ and so sent it as 
 ' ' a present to the king, who as then laie at Bertha. The 
 
 headlesse trunke he commanded to bee hoong vp vpon an high paire 
 of gallowes. . . . 
 
 Thus was iustice and law restored againe to the old accustomed 
 
 course, by the diligent means of Makbeth. Immediatlie wherevpon 
 
 I ii 61 woord came that Sueno king of Norway was arriued in 
 
 ' ■ Fife with a puissant armie, to subdue the whole realme 
 
 of Scotland. .■ . . (V, 264-266) 
 
 The crueltie of this Sueno was such, that he neither spared man, 
 woman, nor child, of what age, condition or degree soeuer they 
 were. Whereof when K. Duncane was certified, he set all slouthfull 
 and lingering delaies apart, and began to assemble an armie in 
 most sp^edie wise, like a verie valiant capteine : for oftentimes it 
 happeneth, that a dull coward and slouthfull person, constreined by 
 necessitie, becomraeth verie hardie and actiue. Therefore when his 
 whole power was come togither, he diuided the same into thrde 
 battels. The first was led by Makbeth, the second by Banquho, & 
 the king himselfe gouerned in the maine battell or middle ward, 
 wherein were appointed to attend and wait vpon his person the 
 most part of all the residue of the Scotish nobilitie. 
 
 The armie of Scotishmen being thus ordered, came vnto Culros, 
 where inoountering with the enemies, after a sore and cruell foughten 
 I ii B battell, Sueno remained victorious, and Malcome with 
 
 ' ' his Scots discomfited. [Duncan fled to the castle of 
 
 Bertha, and, being besieged by Sweno, entered into treacherous 
 negotiations with him, and offered food for his starving army.] 
 
 The Scots heerevpon tooke the iuice of mekilwoort berries, and 
 mixed the same in their ale and bread, sending it thus spiced & 
 confectioned, in great abundance vnto their enimies. They reioisjng 
 that they had got meate and drinke sufiicient to satisfie their bellies, 
 fell to eating and drinking after such greedie wise, that it seemed 
 they stroue who might deuoure and swallow vp most, till the opera- 
 tion of the berries spread in such sort through all the parts of their 
 bodies, that they were in the end brought into a fast dead sleep, that 
 in manner it was vnpossible to awake them. Then loorthwitn Dun- 
 cane sent vnto Makbeth, commanding him with all diligence to 
 come and set vpon the enimies, being in easie point to be ouercome. 
 Makbeth making no delaie, came with his people to the place, where 
 his enimies were lodged, and first killing the watch, afterwards 
 entered the campe, and made such slaughter on all sides without anie 
 resistance, that it was a woonderf uU matter to behold, for the Danes 
 were so heauie of sleepe, that the most part of them were slaine and 
 neuer stirred : other that were awakened either by the noise or other 
 Wales foorth, were so amazed and dizzie headed vpon their wakening, 
 that they were not able to make anie defense : so that of the whole 
 number there escaped no more but onelie Sueno himselfe and ten 
 other persons, by whose help he got to his ships lieng at rode in the 
 mouth of Tale. (V, 367) 
 
 But whilest the people were thus at their processions [of rejoicing 
 
APPENDIX 183 
 
 for the victory], woord was bi-ought that a new flfot of Danes was 
 arriued at Kingoorne, sent thither by Canute king of England, in 
 reuenge of his brother Suenos ouerthrow. To resist these euimies, 
 which were alreadie landed, and busie in spoiling the countrie; 
 Makbeth and Banqiiho were sent with the kings anthoritie, who 
 hauing with them a conuenient power, incountred the enimies, slue 
 part of them, and chased the other to their ships. They that escaped 
 J . . „ . and got once to their ships, obteined of Makbeth for a 
 
 ' '"' great summe of gold, that such of their friends as were 
 
 slaine at this last bickering might be buried in Saint Colmes Inch. 
 . . . And these were the warres that Duncane had with forrcu 
 enimies, in the seuenth ySere of his reigne. Shortlie after happened 
 a strange and vncouth woonder, which afterward was the cause of 
 much trouble in the realme of Scotland, as ye shall after heare. It 
 fortuned as Makbeth and Banquho iournied towards Fores, where the 
 J J. king then laie, they went sporting by the waie togither 
 
 ' ... without other companie, saue onelie themselues, passing 
 
 I, iii, 38, thorough the woods and fields, When suddenlie in the 
 I, iii middest of a laund, there met them three women in 
 
 I, iii, 40 strange and wild apparell, resembling creatures of elder 
 l' iii' 41 'world, whome when they attentiuelie beheld, woonder- 
 
 ' ' ing much at the sight, the first of them spake and said ; 
 
 I, iii, 48 "AH haile Makbeth, thane of Glammis^' (for he had 
 I iii 71 latelie entered into that dignitie and office by the 
 death of his father Sinell). The second of them said ; 
 "Haile Makbeth thane of Cawder." But the third said; "All 
 haile Makbeth that heereafter shalt be king of Scotland." 
 
 Then Banquho ; " What manner of women (saith he) are you, that 
 I iii 55 s^Pme so little fauourable vnto me, whereas to my fel- 
 ^ ' ' low heere, besides high offices, ye assigne also the king- 
 
 dome, appointing foorth nothing for me at all?" "Yes (saith the 
 first of them) we promise greater benefits vnto thee, than vnto him, 
 for he shall reigne in deed, but with an vnluckie end : neither shall 
 he leaue anie issue behind him to succeed in his place, where contrari- 
 lie thou in dSed shalt not reigne at all, but of thee those shall be 
 borne which shall gouerne the Seotish kingdome by long order of 
 continuall descent." Herewith the foresaid women vanished imme- 
 diatlie out of their sight. This was reputed at the first but some 
 I iii 53 vaine fantasticall illusion by Mackbeth and Banquho, 
 l' iii' 86 insomuch that Banquho would call Mackbeth in iest, 
 I iii' 118 '^^"^ °^ Scotland ; and Mackbeth againe would call 
 
 ' ' him in sport likewise, the father/of manie kings. But 
 
 afterwards the common opinion was, that these women were either 
 I iii 32 *^® weird sisters, that is (as ye wojild say) the goddesses 
 
 ' ' of destinie, or else some nymphs or feiries, indued with 
 
 knowledge of prophesie by their necromantieall science, bicause euerie 
 thing came to passe as they had spoken. Por shortlie after, the thane 
 I ii 67 Cawder being condemned at Pores of treason against 
 
 ' ' the king committed ; his lands, linings, and olEees were 
 
 giuen of the kings liberaUtie to Mackbeth. 
 
 The same night after, at supper, Banquho tested with him and 
 said ; ' ' Now Mackbeth thou hast obteined those things which the 
 
184 APPENDIX 
 
 two former sisters prophesied, there remaineth onelie for thde to pur- 
 I iii 121 chase that which the third said should come to passe. ["] 
 
 ' ' Wherevpon Mackbeth reuoluing tlie thing in his mind, 
 
 began euen then to deuise how he might atteine to the kingdome : 
 but y«t he thought with himselfe that he must tarie a time, whicli 
 I iii 143 s'^oul'l aduance him thereto (by the diuine prouidence) 
 
 ' ' as it had come to passe in his former preferment. But 
 
 shortlie after it chanced that king Duncane, hauing two sonnes by 
 V il 2 ^^ ^'^^ ^''^ch was the daughter of Siward earle of 
 I iv ' SO Northumberland, lie made the elder of them called Mal- 
 
 ' ' colme prince of Cumberland, as it were thereby to appoint 
 
 him his successor in the kingdome, immediatlie after his deoeasse. 
 Mackbeth sore troubled herewith, for that he saw by this means his 
 I iv 48 hope sore hindered (where, by the (Jld lawes of the realme, 
 
 ' ' the ordinance was, that if he that should succeed were 
 
 not of able age to take the charge vpon himselfe, he t hat was next of 
 bloud vnto him should be admitted) he began to take oounsell how 
 he might vsurpe the kingdome by force, hauing a iust quarell so to 
 doo (as he tooke the matter) for that Duncane did what in him lay to 
 defraud him of all maner of title and claime, which lie might in time 
 to come, pretend vnto the crowne. 
 The woords of the three weird sisters also (of whom before ye haue 
 
 I T 25 heard) greatlie incouraged him herevnto, but speciallie 
 ' ' his wife lay sore vpon him to attempt the thing, as she 
 
 that was verie ambitious, burning in vnqueneh'able desire to beare 
 the name of a qudene. At lengjth tlierefore, communicating his pur- 
 posed intent with his trustie friends, amongst whome Banquho was 
 the chiefest, vpon confidence of their promised aid, he slue the king 
 J, .. at Bnuerns, or (as some say) at Botgosuane, in the sixt 
 
 ' * yeare of his reigne. Then hauing a companie about him 
 
 of such as he had made priiiie to his enterprise, he caused himselfe 
 
 II Iv 31 to be proclamed king, and foorthwith went vnto Scone, 
 ' ' where (by common consent) he receiued the inuesture of 
 
 the kingdome according to the accustomed maner. The bodie of 
 Duncane was first conueied to Elgine, & there buried in kinglie 
 II iv 33 ^'^^ ' ^^^ afterwards it was remoued and conueied 
 
 ' ' vnto Colmekill, and there laid in a sepulture amongst 
 
 his predecessors, in the yeare after the birth of our Sauiour, 
 1046. 
 
 Malcolme Cammore and Donald Bane the sons of king Duncane, 
 for feare of their lines (which they might well know that Mackbeth 
 would sSeke to bring to end for his more sure confirmation in the 
 estate) fled into Cumberland where Malcolme remained, till time that 
 saint Edward the sonne of EChelred recouered the dominion of Eng- 
 Tl ■■■ 121 l8,nd from the Danish power, the which Edward receiued 
 Tl' '"' 122 Malcolme by way of most friendlie enterteinment : but 
 
 > "•> Donald passed ouerinto Ireland, where he was tenderlie 
 
 cherished by the king of that land. Mackbeth, after the departure 
 thus of Duncanes sonnes vsed great liberalitie towards the nobles of 
 the realme, thereby to win their f auour, and when he saw that no man 
 went about to trouble him, he set his whole intention to mainteine 
 iastice, and to punish all enormities and abuses, which had chanced 
 
APPENDIX 185 
 
 through the feeble and slouthfuU administration of Duncane. (V, 
 268, 269) 
 
 He caused to be slaine sundrie thanes, as of Cathnes, Sutherland, 
 Stranauerne, and Eos, because through them and their seditious at- 
 tempts, much trouble dailie rose in the realme. ... He made 
 manie holesome laws and statutes for the publike weale of his subiects. 
 (V, 270) 
 
 But this was a counterfet zeale of equitie shewed by him, partlie 
 against his naturall inclination to purchase thereby the fauour of the 
 people. Shortlie after, he began to shew what he was, instead of 
 equitie practising crueltie. For the pricke of conscience (as it chanceth 
 euer in tyrants and such as atteine to anie estate by vnrighteous 
 I vii 5 means) caused him euer to feare, least he should be 
 ' ' serued of the same cup, as he had ministred to his prede- 
 
 cessor. The woords also of the three weird sisters, would not out of 
 his mind, which as they promised him the kingdome, so likewise did 
 III i 59 ^^^^ promise it at the same time vnto the posteritie of 
 III' i' 14 Banquho. He willed therefore the same Banquho with 
 
 ' ' his Sonne named Pleanee, to come to a supper that he 
 
 had prepared for them, which was in deed, as he had deuised present 
 death at the hands of certeine murderers, whom he hired to execute 
 that deed, appointing them to meete with the same Banquho and his 
 Sonne without the palace, as they returned to their lodgings, and 
 III i 131 *'^®'^® *° ^^®^ ttem, so that he would not haue his house 
 
 ' ' slandered, but that in time to come he might cleare hira- 
 
 selfe, if anie thing were laid to his charge vpon anie suspicion that 
 might arise. 
 
 It chanced yet by the benefit of the darke night, that though the 
 III iii 20 ^**^'"^^^''eslaine, thesonneyetbythehelpeofalmightie 
 
 ' .' God reseruing him to better fortune, escaped that dan- 
 
 ger : and afterwards hauin^ some inkeling (by the admonition of 
 some friends which he had in the court) how his life was sought no 
 lesse than his fathers, who was slaine not by chance medlie (as by 
 the handling of the matter Makbeth would haue had it to appeare) 
 but eueri vpon a prepensed deuise : whererpon to auoid further 
 perill he fled into Wales. ... (V, 371) 
 
 But to returne vnto Makbeth, in continuing the historic, and to begin 
 where I left, ye shall vnderstand thatufter the contriued slaughter of 
 III Ti Banquho, nothing prospered with the foresaid Makbeth : 
 
 ' for in maner euerie man began to doubt his owne life, 
 
 and durst vnneth appeare in the kings presence ; and euen as there 
 
 III vi 34 ^®™ ™*°^e that stood in feare of him, so likewise 
 ' ' stood he in feare of manie, in such sort that he began 
 
 to make those awaie/ by one surmized cauillation or other, whome 
 he thought most able to worke him anie displeasure. . . 
 
 Further, to the end he might the more cruellie oppresse his sub- 
 iects with all tyrantlike wrongs, he builded a strong castell on the 
 
 IV i 93 *°P "^ ^'^ ^^^ ^^^^ called Dunsinane, situate in Gowrie, 
 ' ' ten miles from Perth, on such a proud height, that 
 
 standing there aloft, a man might behold well neere all the coun- 
 tries of Angus, Fife, Stermond, and Ernedale, as it were lieng vnder- 
 neath him. This castell then being founded on the top of that 
 
186 APPENDIX 
 
 high hill, put the realme to great charges before it was finished, 
 for all the stufle necessarie to the building, could not be brought 
 vp without much toile and bnsinesse. But Makbeth being once 
 determined to haue the worke go forward, caused the thanes of 
 each shire within the realme, to come and helpe towards that build- 
 ing, each man his course about. 
 
 At the last, when the tume fell vnto Makduile thane of Fife to 
 build his part, he sent workemen with all n6edfull prouision, and 
 commanded them to shew such diligence in euerie behalfe, that no 
 occasion might be giuen the king to find fault with him, in that he 
 came not himselfe as other had doone, which he refused to doo, for 
 doubt least the king bearing him (as he partlie vnderstood) no great 
 good will, would laie violent hands vpon him, as he had doone vpon 
 diuerse other. Shortlie after, Makbeth coraming to behold how the 
 worke went forward, and bicause he found not Makduffe there, he 
 was sore offended, and said; I perceiue this man will neuer obeie ray 
 commandements, till he be ridden with a snaffle : but I shall prouide 
 well inough for him. Neither could he afterwards abide to looks 
 vpon the said Makduffe, either for that he thought his puissance 
 ouer great ; either else for that he had learned of certeine wizzards, 
 in whose words he put great confidence (for that the prophesie had 
 IV i Tl happened so right, which the thrle faries or weird sisters 
 
 ' ' had declared vnto him) how that he ought to take hfied 
 
 of Makduffe, who in time to come should seeke to destroie him. 
 TV i «2 ■^"'^ suerlie herevpon had he put Makduffe to death, 
 
 ' ' but that a certeine witch, whome hee had in great trust, 
 
 had told that he should neuer be slaine with man borne of anie 
 TV ■ SO woman, nor vanquished till the wood of Bernane came 
 --Xr' }' Oil to the castell of Dunsinane. By this prophesie Makbeth 
 
 ' ' put all feare out of his heart, supposing he might 
 
 doo what he would, without anie feare to be punished for the same, 
 for by the one prophesie he bel6eued it was vnpossible for anie man 
 to vanquish him, and by the other vnpossible to slea him. This 
 vaine hope caused him to doo manie outragious things, to the 
 gr^euous oppression of his subiects. At leTigth Makduffe, to auoid 
 perill of life, purposed with himselfe to passe into England, to pro- 
 TTT ■ anff ""'■^ Malcolms Cammore to claime the crowne of Scot- 
 
 ' ^'' ■**'"• land. But this was not so seeretlie deuised by Mak- 
 duffe, but that Makbeth had knowledge giuen him tlieveof : for 
 kings (as is said) haue sharps sight like vnto Lynx, and long ears 
 like vnto Midas. For Makbeth had in eureie noble mans house, one 
 TTT • l<il ®^'^ fellow or other in f§e with him, to reueale all that 
 
 ' ^^' was said or doone within the same, by which slight he 
 
 oppressed the most part of the nobles of his realme. 
 
 immediatlie then, being aduertised where about Makduffe went, 
 TV ■ 1 4.2 ^^ came hastily with a great power into Fife, and f oorth- 
 TV ■' ISO ^'*''^ besieged the castell where Makduffe dwelled, 
 
 ' '' trusting to haue found him therein. They that kept 
 
 the house, without anie resistance opened the gates, and suffered 
 him to enter, mistrusting none euill. But neuerthelesse Makbeth 
 most cruellie caused the wife and children of Makduffe, with all 
 other whom he found in that castell, to be slaine. Also he confls- 
 
APPENDIX 187 
 
 cated the goods of MakduflFe, proolamed him traitor, and coniined 
 him out of all the parts of his realme ; but Makduffe was alreadie 
 escaped out of danger, and gotten into England vnto Malcolme Cam- 
 more, to trie what purchase hSe might/make by means of his sup- 
 IV iii 14 P0'''> to reuenge the slaughter so cruellie executed on 
 
 ' ' his wife, his children, and other friends. At his com- 
 
 ming rnto Malcolme, he declared into what great miserie the estate 
 of Scotland was brought, by the detestable cruelties exercised by the 
 tyrant Makbeth, hauing committed manie horrible slaughters and 
 murders, both as well of the nobles as commons, for the which he 
 was hated right mortallie of all his liege people, desiring nothing 
 more than to be deliuered of that intoUerable and most heauie yoke 
 of thraldome which they susteined at such a caitifes hands. 
 IV iii Malcolme hearing Makduffes woords, which he vt- 
 
 ' tered in verie lamentable sort, for mfiere compassion 
 
 and verie ruth that pearsed his sorrowful hart, bewailing the miserable 
 state of his countrie, he fetched a deepe sigh ; which Makduffe per- 
 ceiuing, began to fall most earnestlie" in hand with him, to enter- 
 prise the deliuering of the Scotish people out of the hands of so 
 cruell and bloudie a tyrant, as Makbeth by too manie plaine experi- 
 ments did shew himselfe to be : which was an easie matter for him 
 to bring to passe, considering not onelie the good title he had, but 
 also the earnest desire of the people to haue some occasion ministred, 
 whereby^ they might be reuenged of those notable iniuries, which 
 they dailie susteined by the outragious crueltie of Makbeths mis- 
 gouernauce. Though Malcolme was verie sorowfull for the oppres- 
 sion of his countriemen the Scots, in maner as Makduffe had 
 declared ; yet doubting whether he were come as one that meant 
 IV iii 18 '*'if6i"s<51i* as he spake, or else as sent from Makbeth 
 
 ' ' to betraie him, he thought to haue some further triall, 
 
 and therevpon dissembling his mind at the first, he answered as 
 foUoweth. 
 
 " I am trulie verie sorie for the miserie chanced to my countrie of 
 Scotland, but though I haue neuer so great affection to relieue the 
 same, yet by reason of certeine incurable vices, which reigne in me, 
 IV iii 61 ^ *"" nothing meet thereto. First, such immoderate 
 
 ' ' lust and voluptuous sensualitie (the abhominable foun- 
 
 teine of all vices) foUoweth me, that if I were made king of Scots, I 
 should seeke to defloure your maids and matrones, in such wise that 
 mine intemperancie should be more importable vnto you, than the 
 bloudie tyrannic of Makbeth now is." Heerevnto Makduffe an- 
 swered: "This suerlie is a verie euill fault, for manie noble princes 
 and kings haue lost both Hues and kingdomes for the same; neuer- 
 thelesse there are women enow in Scotland, and therefore follow my 
 counsell. Make thy selfe king, and I shall conueie the matter so 
 wiselie, that thou shalt be so satisfied at thy pleasure in such secret 
 wise, that no man shall be aware thereof." 
 
 Then said Malcolme, " I am also the most auaritious creature on 
 
 IV iii 78 ^^^ earth, so that if I were king, I should seeke so 
 
 ' ' manie waies to get lands and goods, that I would slea 
 
 the most part of all the nobles of Scotland by surmized accusations, 
 
 to the end I might inioy their lands, goods, and possessions; and 
 
188 APPENDIX 
 
 therefore to shew you what mischiefe may insiie on you through mine 
 vnsatiable oouetousnes, I will rehearse vnto you a fable. There was 
 a fox hauing a sore place on him ouerset with a swarme of flies, that 
 continuallie sucked out hir [sic] bloud : and when one that came by 
 and saw this manner, demanded whether she would haue the flies 
 driuen beside hir, she answered no : for if these flies that are alreadie 
 full, and by reason thereof sucke not verie egerlie, should be chased 
 awaie, other that are emptie and fellie an hungred, should light in 
 their places, and sucke out the residue of my blond farre more to 
 my greeuanoe than these, which now being satisfied doo not much 
 annoie me. Therefore saith Malcolme, suffer me to remaine where 
 I am, least if I atteine to the regiment of your realme, mine vn- 
 quenchable auarice may prooue such; that ye would tbiuke the dis- 
 pleasures which now grieue you, should s6eme easie in respect of the 
 vnmeasiirable outrage, which might insue through my comming 
 amongst you." 
 
 Makdnffe to this made answer, " how it was a far woorse fault 
 than the other: for auarice is the root of all mischiefe, and for that 
 crime the most part of our kings have bfene slaine and brought to 
 their finall end. Yet notwithstanding follow ray counsel], and teke 
 vpon thfie the crowne. There is gold and riches inough in Scotland 
 to satisfie thy grfiedie desire." Then -said Malcolme againe, "lam 
 IV iii Ol fii^t'iermore inclined to dissimulation, telling of leas- 
 ' ' . ings, and all other kinds of deceit, so that I naturallie 
 reioise in nothing so much as to betraie & deceiue such as put anie 
 trust or confidence in my woords. Then sith there is nothing that 
 more becommeth a prince than constancie, veritie, truth, and iustice, 
 with the other laudable fellowship of those faire and noble vertues 
 which are comprehended onelie in soothfastnesse, and that lieng 
 vtterlie ouerthroweth the same; you s6e how vnable I am to gouerne 
 anie prouince or region: and therefore sith you haue remedies to 
 cloke and hide all the rest of my other vices, I praie you find shift to 
 cloke this vice amongst the residue." 
 
 Then said Makduffe: "This yet is the woorst of all, and there I 
 IV iii loo^**'^® thee, and therefore sale; Oh ye vnhappie and 
 ' ' miserable Scotishmen, which are thus scourged with so 
 
 manie and sundrie calamities, ech one aboue other! Ye haue one 
 curssed and wicked tyrant that now reigneth ouer you, without anie 
 right or title, oppressing you with his most bloudie crueltie. This 
 other that hath tne right to the crowne, is so replet with the incon- 
 stant behauiour and manifest vices of Englishmen that he is nothing 
 woorthie to inioy it: for by his owne confession he is not onelie 
 auaritious, and giuen to vnsatiable lust, but so false a traitor withall, 
 that no trust is to be had in anie woord he speaketh. Adieu Scot- 
 land, for now I account my selfe a banished man for euer, without 
 comfort or consolation : " and with these woords the brackish teares 
 trickled downe his cheekes verie abundantlie. 
 
 At the last, when he was readie to depart, Malcolme tooke him by 
 IV iii 124.^^^ sleeue, and said: "Be of good comfort Makduffe, 
 
 ' • for I have none of these vices before remembred, but 
 
 haue iested with thee in this manner, onelie to prooue thy mind: for 
 diuerse times h&retofore hath Makbeth sought by this manner of 
 
APPENDIX 189 
 
 meanes to bring me into his hands, but the more slow I haue shewed 
 my selfe to condescend to thy motion and request, the more diligence 
 shall I vse in accomplishing the same." Incontinentlie heerevpon 
 they imbraced ech other, and promising to be faithful! the one to the 
 other, they fell in consultation how they might best prouide for all 
 their businesse, to bring the same to good efEect. Soone after, 
 MakdufEe repairing to the borders of Scotland, addressed his letters 
 with secret dispatch vnto the nobles of the realme, declaring how 
 Malcolme was confederat with him, to come hastilie into Scotland to 
 claime the crowne, and therefore he required them sith he was right 
 inheritor thereto, to assist him with their powers to recouer the same 
 out of the hands of the wrongful! vsurper. 
 
 In the meane time, Malcolme purchased such fauor at king 
 TV i"" « 34 Edwards hands, that old Siward earle of Northumber- 
 ' "' land was appointed with ten thousand men to go with 
 
 him into Scotland, to support him iu this enterprise, for recouerie of 
 his right. After these newes were spread abroad in Scotland, the 
 nobles drew into two seuerall factions, the one taking part with 
 Makbeth, and the other with Malcolme. Hferevpon insued often- 
 times sundrie bickerings, & diuerse light skirmishes : for those that 
 were of Malcolmes side, would not leopard to ioine with their enimies 
 in a pight field, till his comming out of England to their support. 
 But after that Makbeth perceiued his enimies power to increase, by 
 such aid as came to them foorth of England with his aduersarie 
 Malcolme, he recdiled backe into Fife, there purposing to abide in 
 „ .. ^„ campe fortified, at the eastell of Dunsinane, and to 
 
 ' "' fight with his enimies, if they ment to pursue him; 
 
 howbeit some gf his friends aduised him, that it should be best for 
 him, either to make some agreement with Malcolme, or else to fifie 
 with all speed into the lies, and to take his treasure with him, to the 
 eud he might wage sundrie great princes of the realme to take his 
 part, & reteine strangers, in whome he might better trust than in his 
 owne subieOts, which stale dailie from him : but he had such con- 
 „ ... „ fidence in his prophesies that he beleeued he should 
 
 ' "'' neuer be vanquished, till Birnane wood were brought to 
 
 Dunsinane ; nor yet to be slaine with anie man, that should be or 
 was borne of anie woman. 
 
 Malcolme following hastilie after Makbeth, came the night before 
 „ . thebattell vnto Birnane wood, and when his armie had 
 
 ' ^^ rested a while there to refresh them, he commanded 
 
 euerie man to get a bough of some trSe or other of that wood in his 
 hand, as big as he might beare, and to march foorth therewith in 
 such wise, that on the next morrow they might come closelie and 
 without sight in this manner within view of his enimies. On the 
 morrow when Makbeth beheld them comming in this sort, he first 
 maruelled what the matter ment, but in the end reinembred hiraselfe 
 
 V 4.4. ^^^^ "^^ prophesie which he had heard long before that 
 ' ^' time, of/the comming of Birnane wood to Dunsinane 
 
 eastell, was likelie to be now fulfilled. Neuerthelesse, hebroughthis 
 men in order of battell, and exhorted them to doo valiantlie, howbeit 
 
 V B2 '^'^ enimies had scarselie cast from them their boughs, 
 • ^' when Makbeth perceiuing their numbers, betooke him 
 
190 APPENDIX 
 
 streict to flight, whom Makdufle pursued with great hatred euen till 
 
 V .. J he came vnto Lunfannaine, where Makbeth perceiuing 
 ' ' that MakduSe was hard at his backe, leapt oeside his 
 
 horsse, saieng ; " Thou traitor, what meaneth it that thou shouldest 
 
 V viii 9 ^^^'^ ^^ vaine follow me that am not appointed to be 
 ' ' slaine by anie creature that is borne of a woman, come 
 
 on therefore, and reeeiue thy reward which thou hast deserued for 
 thy paines," and, therewithall he lifted up his swoord thinking to 
 haue slaine him. 
 
 But Makduffe quicklie auoiding from his horsse, yer he came at 
 him, answered (with his naked swoord in his hand) saieng : "It is 
 true Makbeth, and now shall thine insatiable erueltie haue an end, 
 for I am euen he that thy wizzards haue told th^e of, who was neuer 
 
 V viii 15 ^'"'"^ °^ "^y mother, but ripped out of her woinbe : " 
 ' ' therewithall he stept vnto him, and slue him in the 
 
 place. Then cutting his head from his shoulders, he set it vpon a 
 
 V viii 54 P°^^' ^""^ brought it vnto Malcolme. This was the 
 ' ' end of Makbeth, after he had reigned 17 y^eres ouer 
 
 the Scotishmen. In the beginning of his reigne he accomplished 
 manie woorthie acts, verie profitable to the commonwealth (as ye 
 haue heard) but afterward by illusion of the diuell, he defamed the 
 same with most terrible erueltie. He was slaine in the yfore of the 
 incarnation, 1057, and in the 16 yeere of king Edwards reigne ouer 
 the Englishmen. 
 
 Malcolme [a.d. 1057]. 
 
 Malcolme Cammore thus recouering the relme (as ye haue heard) 
 by support of king Edward, in the 16 y^ere of the same Edwards 
 reigne, he was crowned at Scone the 25 day of Aprill, in the yfere 
 of our Lord 1057. Immediatlie after his coronation he called a 
 parlement at Forfair; in the which he rewarded them with lands 
 and linings that had assisted him against Makbeth, aduancing them 
 to fles and offices as he saw cause, & commanded that speciallie 
 those that bare the surname of anie offices or lands, should haue 
 and inioy the same. He created manie carles, lords, barons, and 
 knights. Manie of them that before were thanes, were at this time 
 made earles, as Fife, Menteth, AthoU, Leuenox, Murrey, Cathnes, 
 
 V viii GS I^'Oss^' ^""i Angus. These were the first earles that 
 • ' haue Wene heard of amongst the Scotishmen (as their 
 
 histories doo make mention). (V, 273-277) 
 
 Edward the CoNrEssoa. 
 
 About the thirteenth yeare of king Edward his reigne (as some 
 write) or rather about the ninetfeenth or twentith yeare, as should 
 appeare by the Scotish writers, Siward the/noble earle of Northum- 
 berland with a great power of horssemen went into Scotland, and in 
 battell put to flight Mackbeth that had vsurped the crowne of Scot- 
 land, and that doone, placed Malcolme sumamed Camoir, the sonne 
 of Duncane, sometime king of Scotland, in the gouernement of that 
 
APPENDIX 191 
 
 realme, who aftervfard slue the said Maekbeth, and then reigned in 
 quiet. . . . 
 
 It is recorded also, that in the foresaid battell, in which earle 
 Siward vanquished the Scots, one of Siwards sonnes chanced to be 
 slaine, whereof although the father had good cause to be sorowfuU, 
 yet when he heard that he died of a wound which he had receiued in 
 fighting stoutlie in the forepart of his bodie, and that with his face 
 to the enimie, he greatlie-reioised thereat, to heare that he died so 
 manfuUie. But here is to be noted, that not now, but a little before 
 (as Henrie Hunt, saith) that earle Siward, went into Scotland him- 
 selfe in person, he sent his sonne with an arniie to conquere the 
 land, whose hap was there to be slaine : and when his father heard 
 the newes, he demanded whether he receiued the wound whereof he 
 V viii 46 •Ji^'^i i'^ t-lis f°'^6part of the bodie, or in the hinder part: 
 
 ' ' and when it was told him that he receiued it in the 
 forepart ; I reioise (saith he) euen with all my heart, for I would 
 not wish either to my sonne nor to my selfe any other kind of death. 
 (I, 7481) 
 
 As hath bfiene thought he was .inspired with the gift of prophesie, 
 anij. also to haue had the gift of healing infirmities and diseases. 
 He vsed to helpe those that were vexed with the disease, oom- 
 IV iii 146™'°°'''^ called the Kings euill, and left that vertue as it 
 ' ' were a portion of inheritance vnto his successors the 
 
 Kings of this realme, (I, 754) 
 
ABBREVIATIONS 
 
 adj. = adjective. 
 
 adv. = adverb. 
 
 op. = printed in. 
 
 Abbot = E. A. Abbot : A 
 Shakespearian Ctramma/r, Lon- 
 don, 1S84. 
 
 cf. = compare. 
 
 Clar. Pr. = Macbeth, ed. W. 
 G. Clark and W. A. Wright (in 
 the N Clarendon Press Series), 
 Oxford, 1880. 
 
 Donee's lUuatrations = Francis 
 Douce : Illustrations of Shahs- 
 peare, London, 1839. 
 
 ed. = edited by. 
 
 e.g. = for example. 
 
 Pr. = French. 
 
 f. or flE. = and the follow- 
 ing. 
 
 Ff = the four folio editions. 
 
 Fi, etc., = the first folio, 
 etc. 
 
 ib. = the same book. 
 
 N. E. D. = ^ New English 
 Dictionary, Oxford, 1884 . 
 
 0. E. = Old English (i. e., 
 English before the Norman Con- 
 quest). 
 
 op. cit. — the work previously 
 cited. 
 
 passim = in many places. 
 
 ptc. .= participle. 
 
 pp. — past participle. 
 
 Schmidt = A. Schmidt: A 
 Shakespeare Lexicon, Berlin and 
 London, 1886. 
 
 Scot = Reginald Soot : The 
 Discoverie of Witchcraft, ed.B. 
 Nicholson, London, 1886. 
 
 s. V. = under the word. 
 
 s.w. = under the words. 
 
 Trans. N. Sh. Soc. = l¥am- 
 actions of the New Shakspere 
 Society, London. 
 
 Var. or Varionim. ~ Macbeth, 
 ed. H. H. Furness, Philadelphia, 
 [no date] third edition. 
 
INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 Abuse, n., 143. 
 
 Abuse, v., 113. 
 
 Acheron, 143. 
 
 Acts and scenes, division into, 83. 
 
 Actual performances, 163. 
 
 Addition, 96, 132. 
 
 Adjective as Adverb, 125." 
 
 Admired, 141. 
 
 Advantage to be given, 168. 
 
 Adverb for Adjective, 143, 153. 
 
 Adverbs, 108. 
 
 Advise, 133. 
 
 Afeard, 95. 
 
 Affection, 158. 
 
 Affeer'd, 157. 
 
 Alarm, 164. 
 
 Alarum'd, 114. 
 
 All to all, 140. 
 
 All-thing, 129. 
 
 A-making, 139. 
 
 Amazedly, 153. 
 
 An, conj., 146. 
 
 Angel, 172. 
 
 Angerly, 143. 
 
 Annoyance, 164. i 
 
 Anon, 85, 122, 133, 138. 
 
 Antic, 153. 
 
 Anticipatest, 153. 
 
 Approve, 105. 
 
 Arbitrate, 168. 
 
 Are . . . come, 98. 
 
 Argument, 125. 
 
 Arm'd, 140. 
 
 Armed head, 152. 
 
 Aroint, 91. 
 
 As, 99, 117, 137, 169. 
 
 Assay, 159. 
 
 At first and last, 138. 
 
 Auger-hole, 125. 
 
 Augures, 143. 
 
 Authorized, 140. 
 
 Avouch, 132. 
 
 A-weary, 171. 
 
 Babe, 108. 
 Baby, 141. 
 
 Baboon, 150. 
 
 Badged, 123. 
 
 Baited, 173. 
 
 Bake, 150. 
 
 Bane, 167. 
 
 Bank and slioal, 107. 
 
 Banquet, 100. 
 
 Banquo, 111, 112. 
 
 Banqm''s gho>.t, 138, 139. 
 
 Ballet, 105. 
 
 Battle, 171. 
 
 Beards, 93. 
 
 Beast, 109. 
 
 Beelzebub, 120. 
 
 Beguile the time, 104. 
 
 Beldams, 143. 
 
 Bell invites me, 114. 
 
 Bellman, 115. 
 
 Bellona's bridegroom, 89. 
 
 Benison, 128. 
 
 Beside, 172. 
 
 Bestride, 156. 
 
 Betimes, 142. 
 
 Birthdom, 156. 
 
 "Black Spirits," 151. 
 
 Bladed corn, 151. 
 
 Blanket of the dark, 104. 
 
 Blaspheme, 159. 
 
 Blind-worm's sthig, 150. 
 
 Blood-bolter'd, 153. 
 
 Bloody child, 152. 
 
 Bloody distance, 133. 
 
 Bloodier villain than, 173. 
 
 Bodements, 153. 
 
 Bold, 115. 
 
 Bond, 135, 152. 
 
 Borne, 146. 
 
 Borne in hand, 131. 
 
 Borrowed robes, 96. 
 
 Bosom interest, 90. 
 
 Both the worlds, 134. 
 
 Breech'd, 124. 
 
 Breed, 159. 
 
 Brew'd, 135. 
 
 Brief candle, 170. 
 
 Briefly, 135. 
 
194 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 Brinded, 149. 
 Broad words, 146. 
 Bruited, 173. 
 But, 107, 130. 
 By the way, 142. 
 
 Cabd, 92. 
 
 Careless, 99. 
 
 Casine; air, 138. 
 
 Cast, 167. 
 
 Cat i' the adage, 109. 
 
 Cauldron, 150. 
 
 Cause of sorrow, 173. 
 
 Cawdor, 89, 90, 96. 
 
 Censures, 168. 
 
 Chair for gfioBt, 139. 
 
 Champion, 131. 
 
 Chance, 123, 159. 
 
 Charge, 116. 
 
 Charged, 164. 
 
 Chaudron, 150. 
 
 Cheer, «., 139. 
 
 Cheer, v., 166. 
 
 Cherubin, 108. 
 
 Children, 161, 162. 
 
 Choke, 86. 
 
 Choughs, 1*3. 
 
 Chuek, 135. 
 
 Clear, 108. 
 
 Clept, 132. 
 
 Cliiie, 170. 
 
 Cloister'd, 135. 
 
 Close, adj., 143, 163. 
 
 Close, v., 133. 
 
 Cock, second, 122. 
 
 Coign of vantage, 105. 
 
 Colme-kill, 138. 
 
 Combustion, 122. 
 
 Come, 97. 
 
 " Come away," 144. 
 
 Come in time, 120. 
 
 Commend, 150. 
 
 Commends, 108. 
 
 Commission, 98. 
 
 Composition, 90. 
 
 Compt, 106. 
 
 Compunctious visitings, 103. 
 
 Confineless, 157. 
 
 Confound, 151 ; confounds, 116. 
 
 Confronted, 89. 
 
 Confusion, 144. 
 
 Conjure, 151. 
 
 Continent, 157. 
 
 Convert, 162. 
 
 Convey, 157. 
 
 Convince, 110 ; convinces, 159. 
 
 Cool'd, 168. 
 
 Copy, 134. 
 
 Corporal, 94. 
 Countenance, 123. 
 Counterfeit, 122. 
 Countryman, 160. 
 Course, second, 118. 
 Coz, 154. 
 Crack, 88. 
 Crack of doom, 153. 
 Crew, 159. 
 Cribb'd, 138. 
 Ci-isis of play, 128. 
 Crowned child, 152. 
 Cry of the voice, 117, 118. 
 Cumberland, Prince of, 100. 
 Cure, 167. 
 
 Dagger, location of, 112. 
 
 Dam, 163. 
 
 Dear 164. 
 
 Death of each day's life, 118. 
 
 Delivers, 137. 
 
 Demi-wolf, 131. 
 
 Deny, 166. 
 
 Deserve, 156. 
 
 Despair thy charm, 172. 
 
 Died every day, 159. 
 
 Dire, 132. 
 
 Discovery) 168. 
 
 Disgrace, 155. 
 
 Dispatch, 187. 
 
 Disposition, 141. 
 
 Dispute, 163. 
 
 Disseat, 166. 
 
 Distemper'd cause, 165. 
 
 Division, 158. 
 
 Doff, 161. 
 
 J)ogi>, 131. 
 
 Dollars, 90. 
 
 Double, double, 150. 
 
 Double TiegativeH, 100. 
 
 Double sure, 152. 
 
 Doubly redoubled, 88. 
 
 Doubt, 155. 
 
 Drab, 150. 
 
 Dramatis personce, 2, 88. 
 
 Drenched, 110. 
 
 Drink is ready, 112. 
 
 Dudgeon, 113. 
 
 Dunsinane, 153. 
 
 Each way and move, 154. 
 Earnest, 95. 
 Earthquakes, 122. 
 Easy, 135. 
 Eat, 137. 
 
 Ecstasy, 134, 160. 
 Edward, 146. 
 Effects, 163. 
 
INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 195 
 
 Else, of all men, 172. 
 Entrance, 103. 
 Entreat an hour, 111. 
 Epicures, 165. 
 Equivocate, 121. 
 Equivocation, 170. 
 Equivocator7l21. 
 -es, adv. ending, 101, 102. 
 
 Estate, 171. 
 
 Evil, the King's, 159. 
 
 Exasperate, 147. 
 
 Exiled friends abroad, 173. 
 
 Expectation of pleijty, 130. 
 
 Expedition, 124. 
 
 Extend his passion, 139. 
 
 FiOT, 146. 
 
 Faculties, 108. 
 
 Fail, 110. 
 
 Fain, 166. . 
 
 Fair is foul, 85. 
 
 Faith-breach, 165. 
 
 Familiar spirits, 84. 
 
 Tan, 89. 
 
 Fantastical, 93, 96. 
 
 Farrow, 153. 
 
 Fast sleep, a, 163. 
 
 Fatal, 113. 
 
 Favour, 97, 104. 
 
 Fear, 102. 
 
 Fears, 96, 118. 
 
 Fee-grief, 161. 
 
 Fell, «.., 169. 
 
 Fell, adj., 155. 
 
 Fenny snake, 150. 
 
 Fie, 163. 
 
 Fife, 89. 
 
 File, 133, 164. 
 
 Filed, 131. 
 
 FiUet, 150. 
 
 Firstlings, 153. 
 
 Fitful, 134. 
 
 Fits, 154. 
 
 Flaws, 140. 
 
 Fleanoe, 130. 
 
 Flighty, 158. 
 
 Flout, 89. 
 
 Foisons, 158. 
 
 Fools o' the other senses, 113. 
 
 Foot of motion, 125. 
 
 For, 86, 133, 159 ; for that, 161. 
 
 Forbid, 92. 
 
 Forced, 168. 
 
 Forge, 158. 
 
 Fork, 150. 
 
 Forres, 93. 
 
 Forsworn, 159. 
 
 Fortune, 87. 
 Foul and fair, 92. 
 Frailties, 125. 
 Frame of things, 134. 
 Franchised, 112. 
 Free, 173. 
 From, 132, 162. 
 Fry, 155. 
 Function, 97. 
 
 Gallowqlasses, 87. 
 Gaze, 173. 
 Genius, 130. 
 Gentle, 105, 140. 
 Gently render'd, 172. 
 Germins, 151. 
 Gild, 119. 
 
 'Gin, 155, 171 : 'gins, 8 
 Gives, 114. 
 Gives out, 161. 
 Glamis, 93. 
 Go to, 164. 
 
 God be with you, 130. 
 God 'ild, 105. 
 Golden round, 102. 
 Golden stamp, 160. 
 Golgotha, 88. 
 Good morrow, 122. 
 Gorgon, 123. 
 GospeU'd, 131. 
 Gouts, 118. 
 Graced, 139. 
 Grave, 139. 
 Graymalkin, 84. 
 Green one, 119. 
 Grooms, 116. 
 Guilt, 119. 
 Gulf, 150. 
 
 Ha1> done it, 116. 
 Hail, 95. 
 Hair, 158. 
 Hairs, 173. 
 Hand of God, 135. 
 Hangman, 117. 
 Harbinger, 100. 
 Harbingers, 171. 
 Harness, 171. 
 Harpier, 149. 
 Have done, 139. 
 Having, 94. 
 Head, 123. 
 Hecate, 118. 
 Hendiadys, 100, 173. 
 IJere-approach, 159. 
 Here-remain, 160. 
 Hermits, 106. 
 Hie thee, 130. 
 
196 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 High-placed Macbeth, 153. 
 His, 107, 158. 
 Hiss the speaker, 161. 
 Hit your thought, 145. 
 Holp, 106. 
 Home, 96. 
 Honest triQes, 96. 
 Hoodwink, 157. 
 Horses on stage, 137. 
 Hose, French, 131. 
 Host, 108. 
 Housekeeper, 132. 
 Hover, 85. 
 
 How sayst thou, 148. 
 Humane, 94, 140. 
 Hume, 147. 
 Hurlyburly, 84. 
 Husbandry, 111. 
 Hyrcan tiger, 140. 
 
 loKORANT present, 104. 
 'lid, 105. 
 
 Ill-composed, 158. 
 Illness, 102. 
 Imperial charge, 156. 
 Imperial theme, 96. 
 Impress, 152. 
 In command, 165. 
 Infinitive, 99. 
 Informs, 113. 
 -ing, 99. 
 Inhabit, 141. 
 Inhibit, 141. 
 Insane root, 95. 
 Instruments, 162. 
 Intemperance, 157. 
 Interdiction, 159. 
 Interim, 97. 
 Intermission, 162. 
 Intrenehant, 172. 
 Inverness, 100, 101. 
 It will have blood, 143. 
 Its, 107. 
 
 Jealousy, 157. 
 Jewel, eternal, 131. 
 Jump, 108. 
 Jutty, 105. 
 
 Keep peace, 103. 
 Kerns, 87. 
 Killing swine, 91. 
 King's evil, 159. 
 
 Laced, 134. 
 Lack, 162. 
 
 Lapp'd in proof, 89. 
 Last, 173. 
 
 Latch, 161. 
 Lated, 137. 
 Latin Words, 141. 
 Laves, 134. 
 Lavish, 89. 
 Lease, 153. 
 Leave, 106, 163. 
 Leavy, 171. 
 Lees, 123. 
 Lesser, 94, 165. 
 Levy, foreign, 134. 
 Like, 127. 
 Lily-liver'd, 166. 
 Limbec, 110. .^ 
 Lime, 155. 
 
 Limited service, 123. 
 Line, 96. 
 List, 131. 
 Listening, 117. 
 Lives, »., 172. 
 Lives, v., 134. 
 Lodged, 151. 
 Loon, 166. 
 Loves, n., 132, 
 Loves, v., 143. 
 Luxurious, 157. 
 
 Macbeth, coustn of Duncan, 88. 
 
 Maobeth's children, 131, 162. 
 
 Macdonwald, 86. 
 
 Maggot-pies, 143. 
 
 Marcolm, 86. 
 
 Malice, domestic, 134. 
 
 Manly, mi. 
 
 Manly readiness, 135. 
 
 Mansionry, 105. 
 
 Marry, 146. 
 
 Martlet, 105. 
 
 Masque of Queens, 147. 
 
 Mated, 164. 
 
 Maw, 150 ; maws, 140. 
 
 Me, 165. 
 
 Meausj 160. 
 
 Medicine, 165. 
 
 Medicines, 163. 
 
 Meek, 108. 
 
 Memorize, 88. 
 
 Mere, 158, 160. 
 
 Metaphysical, 103. 
 
 Methought, 117. 
 
 Mettle, 110. 
 
 Milk of human kindness, 102. 
 
 Minion, 87 ; minions, 137. 
 
 Minutely, 165. 
 
 Missives, 102. 
 
 Mock, 111, 116. 
 
 Mockery, 141. 
 
 Modern, 160. 
 
INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 197 
 
 Modest wisdom, 159. 
 
 Moe, 166. 
 
 Monuments, 140. 
 
 More and less, 168. 
 
 Mortal, 103, 140, 153, 156, 165. 
 
 Mortality, 133. 
 
 Mortified man, 164. 
 
 Motion, foot of, 125. 
 
 Move, eaeli way and, 154. 
 
 Moving vfood, 170. 
 
 Mummy, 150. 
 
 Murljy, hell is, 163. 
 
 Muse, 140. 
 
 Must, 162, 172. 
 
 Napkins, 120. 
 Natural touch, 154. 
 Nature, 139. 
 Naught, 163. 
 Nave, 87. 
 Navigation, 151. 
 Near, 126. 
 Near'st of life, 132. 
 Newt, 150. 
 Nice, 161. 
 
 Night-gown, 119, 163. 
 Nine, 152. 
 Noise, 153. 
 Nonpareil, 138. 
 Nor ... no less, r.30. 
 Norway's King, 90. 
 Note, 135. 
 
 Note of expectation, 137. 
 Nothing, 95, 168. 
 Notion, 131. 
 
 Obliviods, 167. 
 
 Obscure bird, 122. 
 
 O'er-fraught, 161. 
 
 O'erleaps itself, 109. 
 
 Of, 94, 146. 
 
 Offices, 111, 137. 
 
 Old, 120. 
 
 On, 94, 132, 164. 
 
 One red, 119. 
 
 Only, 140, 145, 173. 
 
 Or ere, 160. 
 
 Order of going, 143. 
 
 Ornament of flte, 109. 
 
 Other, 111. 
 
 Other devil's name, 120. 
 
 Other three witches, 150. 
 
 Ourself, 138. 
 
 Ourselves, 139. 
 
 Outrun, 124. 
 
 Overcome, 141. 
 
 Owe, 94, 141, 168. 
 
 Owed, 99. 
 
 Paddock, 84. 
 
 Pall, 104. 
 
 Palter, 173. 
 
 Parallel, 123. 
 
 Parley, 123. 
 
 Parted, 173. 
 
 Passion, 139. 
 
 Past panic, 97, 98, 134, 141, 147, 
 
 153. 
 Patch, 166. 
 Pauser, 124. 
 Peace, 134, 161. 
 Peak, 92.- 
 Pent-house, 92. 
 Perfect in, 155. 
 Perfect spy, 133. 
 Perfectest report, 101. 
 Perseverance, 158. 
 Personal venture, 95. 
 Pester'd, 165. 
 Place, 127. 
 Please't, 139. 
 Plucks, 159. 
 Point, at a, 159. 
 Pole, 173. 
 Portable, 158. 
 Porter, 120. 
 Posset, 116. 
 Posters, 92. 
 Pour, 158. 
 Power, 161. 
 Predominance, 127. 
 Predominant, 131. 
 Present, adj., 90, 114. 
 Present him eminence, 134. 
 Presently, 159. 
 Pretence, 135. 
 Pretend, 127. 
 Preys, 136. 
 Primrose way, 131. 
 Prince of Cumberland, 100. 
 Probation, 131. 
 Profound, 143. 
 Proof, 89. 
 Proper, 140. 
 Proportion, 100. 
 Prospect of belief, 94. 
 Protest, 141, 164. 
 Pull in, 170. 
 Puns, 119, 126, 173. 
 Purveyor, 106. 
 Push, 166. 
 Put on, 163. 
 
 QUAEKEL, 87. 
 
 Quarry, 87, 161. 
 Quell, 110. 
 Question, 93, 135. 
 
198 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 Rat without a tail, 91. 
 Ravell'd sleave, 118. 
 Raven, 102. 
 Ravin up, 137. 
 Ravin 'd, 150. 
 Ravishing strides, 114. 
 Readiness, manly, 1S5. 
 Reading a letter, 101. 
 Rebellion's head, 152. 
 Rebellious, 89, 152. 
 Rebels' flght, 95. 
 Recoil, 1^. 
 Recorded time, 170. 
 Bdalive omitted, 172. 
 Relish, 158. 
 
 Remember the porter, 122. 
 Remembrance, 134. 
 Remorse, 103. 
 Renown and grace, 183. 
 Repeat'st, 159. 
 Repetition, 123. 
 Require, 138. 
 Resolved, 133. 
 Respective construction, 94. 
 Rest, 100. 
 Revenges, 164. 
 Roman fool, 172. 
 Ronyon, 91. 
 Rooky, 136. 
 Round, 102, 152. 
 Rubs, 133. 
 Rumor, hold, 154. 
 Kump-ied, 91. 
 
 '8 ( = his), 124, 164. 
 
 Sate toward, 100. 
 
 Sag, 166. 
 
 Saucy, 139. 
 
 Savage, 155. 
 
 Say, 170. 
 
 Scann'd, 142. 
 
 Scarf, 135. 
 
 School of time, 107. 
 
 Scone, 127. 
 
 Score, 173. 
 
 Scotch'd, 133. 
 
 Sear, 166. 
 
 Season, 143. 
 
 Seated, 96. 
 
 Second cock, 122. 
 
 Second course, 118. 
 
 Security, 144. 
 
 Seeling, 135. 
 
 Seems, 88. 
 
 Self and violent hands, 173. 
 
 Self-comparisons, 89. 
 
 Senna, 167. 
 
 Sennet, 129. 
 
 Se'nnights, 92. 
 
 Sensible, 113. 
 
 Sergeant, 86. 
 
 Servant to defect, 111. 
 
 Service and loyalty, 100. 
 
 Setting down, 168. 
 
 Sewer, 106. 
 
 Shag-ear'd, 155. 
 
 Shake hands, 87. 
 
 Shall, 112, 132, 139. 
 
 Shard-borne, 135. 
 
 Shine, 129. 
 
 Shoal of time, 107. 
 
 Shough, 131. 
 
 Should, 120, 169. 
 
 Show, 94, 171. 
 
 Shut up, 111. 
 
 Sicken, 161. 
 
 Sieve, 91. 
 
 Sightless, 104. 
 
 Sights, 154. 
 
 Sinell, 94. 
 
 Single, 96, 106. 
 
 Sirrah, 130, 155. 
 
 Siward, 164. 
 
 Skirr, 166. 
 
 Slab, 160. 
 
 Sleave, 118. 
 
 Sleights, 144. 
 
 Slumbery, 163. 
 
 So . . . as, 88. 
 
 Sole, 156. 
 
 Solemn, 129. 
 
 Solicits, 160. 
 
 Something, 133. 
 
 Sometime, 105, 155. 
 
 Sooth, 170. 
 
 Sorriest, 133. 
 
 Spaniel, 131. 
 
 Speculation, 140. 
 
 Spoke, 98. 
 
 Sprite, 123 ; sprites, 153. 
 
 Spy o' the time, 133. 
 
 Staff, 167. 
 
 Stage, 127, 170. 
 
 Stake, 171. 
 
 Stanchless, 158. 
 
 Stand upon, 142. 
 
 Start, 169. 
 
 State, 138. 
 
 State of honour, 155. 
 
 Steal, 126. 
 
 Stern'st, 116. 
 
 Stieking-place, 110. 
 
 StUl, 106, 108, 127, 129, 164, 173. 
 
 Stones move, 142. 
 
 Sttmns, 83. 
 
 Strange garments, 97. 
 
INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 199 
 
 Strangely-visited, 160. 
 
 Strides, 114. 
 
 Studied, 99. 
 
 Stuff, 167. 
 
 Success, 101. 
 
 Sudden, 157. 
 
 Suffering country, 147. 
 
 Suggestion^ 96. 
 
 Suicide of Lady Macbeth, 164. 
 
 Summer-seeming, 158. 
 
 Supp'd full with, 169. 
 
 Surcease, 107. 
 
 Surmise, 97. 
 
 Surveying vantage, 88. 
 
 Sway, 166. 
 
 Swears and lies, 155. 
 
 Sweaten, 152. 
 
 Swelter'd, 150. 
 
 Syllable, 156. 
 
 Tailor, English, 121. 
 
 Taint, 165. 
 
 Take, 103. 
 
 Taking off, 108. 
 
 Tale, thick as, 95. 
 
 Teems, 161. 
 
 Thane, 88. 
 
 That, 90, 95, 108, 117, 134, 156. 
 
 The better, 129. 
 
 The which, 129. 
 
 Thee, HI. 
 
 Thee without, 138. 
 
 Them, 117. 
 
 There is, 126. 
 
 Therewithal, 130. 
 
 Thick as hail, 95. 
 
 Thickens, 136. 
 
 Third murderer, 136. 
 
 This three mile, 170. 
 
 Thou, 167. 
 
 Thrice and once, 149. 
 
 Time, 104, 157, 173. 
 
 Time and the hour, 97. 
 
 Timely, 122, 137. 
 
 Titles, 154. 
 
 To omitted, 142. 
 
 To, 130, 131, 139, 140. 
 
 To find, 99. 
 
 To friend, 156. 
 
 To that, 86. 
 
 Top, v., 157. 
 
 Top of sovereignty, 153. 
 
 Torch, HI. 
 
 Torture of the mind, 134. 
 
 Towering, 127. 
 
 Toys, 123. 
 
 Trace, 154. 
 
 Tragic irony, 98. 
 
 Trains, 159. 
 Traitors, 154. 
 Trammel, 107. 
 Transpose, 156. 
 Travelling lamp, 127. 
 Treatise, 169. 
 Treble-sceptres, 153. 
 Trees speak, 142. 
 Trembling, 141. 
 Trifled, 126. 
 Tugg'd with, 132. 
 Tune, 162. 
 Two-fold balls, 153. 
 Tyranny, 157. 
 Tyrant, 146, 156. 
 
 Unattended, 119. 
 Understood relations, 143. 
 Unrongh, 164. 
 Unshrinking station, 173. 
 Upon a thought, 139. 
 Uproar, 158. 
 Use, 96. 
 Utterance, to the, 131. 
 
 Valocb, 87. 
 
 Valued file, 132. 
 
 Vantage, 88, 105. 
 
 Vault, 123. 
 
 Verl) omitted after will, 128. 
 
 Verbs from nouns, 126. 
 
 Vessel of peace, 131. 
 
 Visards, 134. 
 
 Visitings of nature, 103. 
 
 Want, 146. 
 Wanton, 100. 
 Warlike, 173. 
 Warranted quarrel, 159. 
 Was dead, 146. 
 Wassail, 110. 
 Watch, 114. 
 Watching, 163. 
 Water-rug, 131. 
 Way of life, 166. 
 We fail, 110. 
 Weal, 140. 
 Weigh'd, 158. 
 Weird sisters, 92. 
 Well at peace, 161. 
 Western Isles, 86. 
 What, 174. 
 Whereabout, 114. 
 Which, 87,111. 
 While that, 134. 
 While then, 130. 
 Whiles, 101, 136. 
 
200 
 
 INDEX TO NOTES 
 
 Who, 132, 139, 160. 
 
 Wholesome, 158. 
 
 Will, 112. 
 
 Winds, 92. 
 
 Wink, 100. 
 
 Wish, 173. 
 
 Wit 155 
 
 With, 130, 147, 155, 160. 
 
 Withal, 94, 111, 157. 
 
 Without all, 133. 
 
 Worm, 139. 
 
 Worst, 132. 
 Would, 109, 130. 
 Wracli, 171. 
 Writ, 173. 
 Wrongs, 157. 
 Wrought, 97, 111. 
 
 Yawnino peal, 135. 
 Testy, 151. 
 Tew, 150. 
 Toung in deed, 143. 
 
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 thews Manly, Ph.D., Professor of English in the University of Chicago. With 
 Portrait. Cloth, 60 cents 
 
 Boards, 40 cents 
 
 Burke's Speech on Conciliation with America. Edited, with intro- 
 duction and notes, by Albert S. Cook, Ph.D., L.H.D., Professor of the English 
 Language and Literature in Yale University. With Portrait of Burke. 
 
 Cloth, 50 cents 
 Boards, 35 cents 
 
 Milton's L' Allegro, II Penseroso, Comus, and Lycidas. Edited, 
 
 with introductions and notes, by William P. Trent, A.M., Professor of English 
 in the University of the South. With Portrait of Milton. Cloth, 75 cents 
 
 Boards, 50 cents 
 
 Macaulay's Essays on Milton and Addison. Edited, with introduc- 
 tion and notes, by James Greenleaf Croswell, A.B., Head-master of the 
 Brearley School, New York. With Portrait. Cloth, 75 cents. 
 
 Boards, 50 cents 
 
LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 
 
 The following volumes of the series are also ready : 
 
 SOUTHEY'S Life OF Nelson. Edited, with introduction and notes, by Edwin 
 L. Miller, A.M., of the Englewood High School, Illinois. With Portrait of 
 Nelson. ^5 ^g„t5 
 
 Scott's Woodstock. Edited, with introduction and notes, by Bliss Perry, A.M., 
 Professor of Oratory and ^Esthetic Criticism in Princeton University With 
 Portrait of Sir Walter Scott. jj,oo 
 
 MacAULAy's Essay on Milton. Edited, with introduction and notes, by 
 James Greenleaf Croswell, A.B., Head-master of the Brearley School, New 
 York, formerly Assistant Professor of Greek in Harvard University. With Portrait 
 of Macaulay. 60 cents 
 
 Shakspere's a Midsummer Night's Dream. Edited, with introduction 
 
 and notes, by George Pierce Baker, A.B., Assistant Professor of English in 
 Harvard University. With Frontispiece, " Imitation of an Elizabethan Stage." 
 
 60 cents 
 
 Webster's First Bunker Hill Oration, together with other Addresses 
 relating to the Revolution. Edited, with introduction and notes, by Fred 
 NEwrroN Scott, Ph.D., Junior Professor of Rhetoric in the University of Michizan 
 With Portrait of Daniel Webstfer. So cints 
 
 Shakspere's As You Like It. With an introduction by Barrett Wendell, 
 A.B., Professor of English in Harvard University, and notes by William Lyon 
 Phelps, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of English Literature in Yale University. 
 Portrait. 60 cents 
 
 Defoe's History of the Plague in London. Edited, with introduction 
 
 and notes, by Prof. G. R. Carpenter, of Columbia University. With Portrait 
 of Defoe. ■ 75 cents 
 
 IrvING's Tales of a Traveller. With an introduction by Brandee 
 Matthews, Professor of Literature in Columbia University, and explanatory 
 notes by the general editor of the series. With Portrait of Irving. $1.00 
 
 Scott's MarMION. Edited with introduction and notes, by Robert Morss 
 LovETT, A.B., Assistant Professor of English in the University of Chicago. 
 With Portrait of Sir Walter Scott. 75 cents 
 
 J. 
 
 Macaulay's Life of Samuel Johnson. Edited, with introduction and 
 notes, by the Rev, Huber Gray Buehler, of the Hotchkiss School, Lakeville, 
 Conn. With Portrait of Johnson. 50 cents 
 
 " Differ as we may about the best way of teaching English literature we are likely 
 to agree that this series is built in the main upon the right lines. It is unexceptionable 
 in its outward form and habit. It gives us in every case a clearly printed text, suffi- 
 ciently annotated, but not, as a rule, overweighted with pedantic comments; a bio- 
 graphical and critical introduction ; a bibliography, through which the student can find 
 his way to the literary and historical setting of the particular classic on which he is 
 engaged ; a chronological table and some hints to teachers — often of a most suggestive 
 and helpful character. In every case we thus have a book edited according to an ex- 
 cellent general plan. ' . . ." — The Educational Review. 
 
8 LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 
 
 COMMENTS ON THE SERIES 
 
 " These three books, then {referring to the three Shakspere Comedies 
 of the Series), as we reconsider them, are seen to have one admirable 
 element ; namely, ideas. A teacher, or any one else for that matter, 
 who studies them, will get something new about the teaching of English. 
 A good teacher will do better work with them, not only in these particu- 
 lar plays, but along the whole line, through a certain ferment of the 
 imagination, a vitalization of thought, which comes to pass in studying 
 these volumes. Such, indeed, is the main service rendered by this 
 series as a whole. An examination of the . . . volumes already pub- 
 lished impresses one strongly with a feeling of life and vigor . . . The 
 work of the general editor is one of the strong points of the series, 
 nowhere showing to better advantage than in his selection of responsible 
 editors for the separate volumes. They are a very representative set of 
 men — representative, that is, of the younger set of teachers of English 
 Literature. The series as a whole has great pedagogic value for the 
 English student. The Suggestions to Teachers, as developed by the 
 different editors, would make an admirable comment on the report of the 
 Conference on English to the Committee of Ten. One volume or another 
 may not fall in very well with one's views, but when one considers them 
 all, one cannot deny that they offer a very inspiring and suggestive display 
 of scholarly work." — From the Educational Review, for April, 1897. 
 
 ' ' I want to express my hearty appreciation of the labors of those 
 who have compiled this excellent series, and of the publishers who have 
 made it possible for high-school pupils to enter upon the study of Litera- 
 ture with so much enjoyment. Indeed, so helpful are the notes and 
 suggestions that I have sometimes thought that a young person with 
 this series in his possession could almost obtain a liberal education with- 
 out the aid of a teacher." 
 
 — Edith L. Swain, Laconia High School, Lakeport, N. H. 
 
 " I am not in the habit of writing testimonials, but a regard for the 
 highest interests of our young people preparing for college work, makes 
 it my duty to commend in unqualified terms your most excellent series 
 of English Classics. Nothing has been left undone. The editor, 
 the annotator, the printer, the binder, has each in turn shown himself 
 master of his work. The books need only to be known to be used, and 
 they must soon find a way into every secondary school whose instructors 
 ir. English are real teachers, intelligent and up to date." 
 
 — A. F. Nightingale, Supt. of High Schools, Chicago. 
 
 "After comparison with others, I believe that your series is the 
 most scholarly and at the same time the most teachable of any at present 
 in the market." — ^John MacDuffie, School for Girls, Springfield, Mass. 
 
LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 
 
 "The set which you are getting out is on the whole much superior 
 to ^ny with which I am familiar. I am delighted to think it is a 
 possibility." — George D. Knights, English Master, The Hamilton 
 
 School, Philadelphia, 
 
 " Of all the numerous editions which have been recently published, 
 I consider yours the best that I have seen." 
 
 — Elmer James Bailey, State Normal School, New Paltz, N, Y. 
 
 " The series is a credit to American scholarship." 
 — Martin W, Sampson, Professor of English, University of Indiana. 
 
 " As a series the books have two strong points : there is a unity of 
 method in editing that I have seen in no other series ; the books are freer 
 from objections in regard to the amount and kind of editing than any 
 other series I know." 
 
 — Byron Groce, Master in English, Boston Latin School. 
 
 " With their clear type, good paper, sober and attractive binding — 
 good enough for any library shelves — with their introductions, sug- 
 gestions to teachers, and notes, I do not see how much more could be 
 desired." — Prof, D. L. Maulsby, Tufts College. 
 
 " Admirably adapted to accomplish what you intend — to interest 
 young persons in thoughtful reading of noble literature. The help 
 given seems just what is needed ; its generosity is not of the sort to 
 make the young student unable to help himself. I am greatly pleased 
 ■with the plan and with its execution." — Prof. C. B. Bradley, Univer- 
 sity of California ; Member of English Conference of the National 
 Committee of Ten. 
 
 ' ' The series is admirably planned, the ' Suggestions to Teachers ' 
 being a peculiarly valuable feature. 
 
 — Prof. Katherine Lee Bates, Wellesley College. 
 
 " The introductions, the suggestions to teachers, the chronological 
 tables, and the notes are most admirable in design and execution. The 
 editor-in-chief and his associates have rendered a distinct service to 
 secondary schools." — Charles C. Ramsay, Principal of Durfee High 
 
 School, Fall River, Mass. 
 
 "It is the, most attractive, most consistent, most nracticable, and 
 at the same time most scholarly series for college preparation, yet 
 produced." — Principal George H. Browne, Cambridge Mass. 
 
LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 
 
 Cooper's ' Last of the Mohicans. ' 
 
 "We have adopted the 'Last of the Mohicans' in one of our 
 classes and 6nd it an admirable edition in every particular. " 
 
 — T. E. Lyon, The Barnard School, N. Y. 
 
 " It is of the same high grade as the others of your ' English Classic 
 Series ' which we have introduced. We shall continue to use your books 
 next year, in those classes preparing for the '98 and 'gg examinations." 
 — David Allen Center, Woodbridge School, N, Y, City. 
 
 Tennyson's 'Princess.' 
 
 " I am delighted with the ' Introduction ' and ' Suggestions.' It is 
 so comfortable to find an editor who does not ask us to spoil the delicate 
 beauty of the poem by extreme analysis." 
 
 — Miss Eliza F. Hammond, Leicester Academy, Leicester, Mass. 
 
 ' ' The work maintains the high standard already attained throughout 
 
 the entire series of ' English Classics.' These volumes have been used 
 
 in Harvard School with excellent results, and I can assure the publishers 
 
 that the English masters of the school heartily recommend the edition." 
 
 — Frank Poole Johnson, Harvard School, N, Y. 
 
 ' Macbeth." 
 
 "The editing of Macbeth is what one would expect from Prof. 
 Manly, scholarly and literary. . . . Perhaps the most pleasing section 
 of that portion of the book is concerned with ' sign-board criticism.' I 
 think you are to be thanked as well as congratulated for the excellence 
 of the series to which these books belong." 
 
 — Prof. Elmer Wentworth, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 
 
 " Any pupil must become interested in the great dramatist who has 
 such a pleasing text as is presented in your publication. " 
 
 — Miss M. F. Rice, Robinson Seminary, Exeter, N. H. 
 
 " With accurate scholarship Dr. Manly seems to me to combine 
 extraordinary good sense in his treatment of Shakspere. I will intro- 
 duce the volume to my colleagues and friends, as it seems to me the best 
 guide to ' Macbeth.' " 
 
 — Prof. W. H. Carruth, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kan. 
 
 " I think it is the best edition I have ever seen — certainly the best 
 text-book. The ' Suggestions to Teachers ' are admirable, and the notes 
 are so full and clear as to enable the student to understand the subject 
 thoroughly; and hence they excite interest and encourage him to the study 
 of classic literature." 
 
 — J. T. MuRFEE, Marion Military Inst., Marion, Ala. 
 
LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 
 
 Scott's ' Marmion." 
 
 " I decided upon your Scott's ' Marmion ' and Burke's ' Speech ' for 
 class use, as they are unquestionably the best editions of the series that 
 I have seen." — Ezra Lehman, Cumberland Valley Normal School, Ship- 
 
 pensburg, Pa. 
 
 " The notes , . . sensible and pertinent, not leading the young 
 student into labyrinths of learned analysis, comparisons and quotations, 
 but proving, as notes should be, a real aid, and not, as is too often the 
 case with annotations of to-day, a cause for further perplexity." 
 
 — J, A. Shaw, The Highland Military Academy, Worcester, Mass. 
 
 'Burke's Speech.' 
 
 "The editorial work is worthy of the masterpiece of one of the- 
 greatest orators of all time. The introduction prepares the way by a 
 most lucid statement of the history necessary to comprehend the points- 
 covered in this great oration. The clearness, the accuracy and fulness. 
 of the introductory investigations are followed by the oration itself, 
 arranged in such a way as to make the mastery of its arguments easy, 
 and their retention in the memory permanent. The notes, both explan- 
 atory of the allusions in the speech, and illustrative of its wonderful 
 oratorical richness, give a unique value to this edition, and must greatly 
 enhance the editor's reputation in a comparatively new field." 
 — Jacob Cooper, D.D., D.C.L., LL.D., Professor in Rutgers College. 
 
 " We are now using your Burke's ' Conciliation with America' witb 
 very great satisfaction." 
 
 — Byron Groce, Public Latin School, Boston, Mass. 
 Carlyle's 'Burns.' 
 
 " Permit me to express the pleasure I have found in reading your 
 Farrand's edition of Carlyle's ' Burns.' It is a remarkable example of 
 editing, exactly adapted to its purpose." 
 
 — RoBKRT H. Nichols, Ph.D., The Hill School, Pottstown, Pa. 
 
 "Enough is given to make the study of Burns a delight to the right- 
 minded pupil, and to open the door for the teacher into a new and 
 broader appreciation of the two great Scotchmen." 
 — ^Albert Edward Bailey, A.B. .Worcester Academy, Worcester,Mass. 
 
 " It seems to me the edition of Carlyle's ' Burns,' edited by Mr. 
 Farrand, is the best for school use. I am particularly pleased with the 
 specimen topics for written exercises and examination papers. " 
 
 — Helen Marshall, Norwich Feinale Academy, Norwich, Coon. 
 
 "It pleases me decidedly better than any other edition that I have: 
 seen. The introduction is suggestive and the ' Notes ' are what they 
 profess to be — ' explanatory.' " — Caroline Carpenter, Lasell Seminary 
 
 for Young Ladies, Auburndale, Mass. 
 
LONGMANS^ ENGLISH CLASSICS 
 
 Irving's ' Tales of a Traveller.' 
 
 " I feel bound to say that, if the series of English Classics is 
 carried out after the plan of this initial volume, it will contribute much 
 •toward making the study of literature a pure delight." 
 
 — Prof. A. G. Newcomer, Leland Stanford Jr. University. 
 
 " I have looked through the first volume of your English Classics, 
 Irving's ' Tales of a Traveller,' and do not see how literature could be 
 made more attractive to the secondary schools." — Prof. Edward A. 
 Allen, University of Missouri ; Member of the English Conference of 
 the National Committee of Ten. 
 
 " I have received your Irving's 'Tales of a Traveller' and examined 
 it with much pleasure. The helpful suggestions to teachers, the 
 judicious notes, the careful editing, and the substantial binding make it 
 the most desirable volume for class use on the subject, that has come to 
 ■my notice." — Edwin Cornell, Principal of Central Valley Union 
 School. N. Y. 
 
 •George Eliot's • Silas Marker.' 
 
 "This book is really attractive and inviting. The introduction, 
 :particularly the suggestions to pupils and teachers, is a piece of real 
 ihelpfulness and wisdom." 
 
 — D. E. Bowman, Principal of High School, Waterville, Me. 
 
 "The edition of 'Silas Marner' recently sent out by you leaves 
 •nothing undone. I find the book handsome, the notes sensible and 
 •clear. I'm glad to see a book so well adapted to High School needs, 
 .and I shall recommend it, without reserve, as a safe and clean book to 
 :put before our pupils." 
 
 — ^James W. McLane, Central High School, Cleveland, O. 
 
 ;ScoTT's ■ Woodstock.' 
 
 "Scott's ' Woodstock,' edited by Professor Bliss Perry, deepens the 
 ■impression made by the earlier numbers that this series, Longmans' 
 English Classics, is one of unusual excellence in the editing, and will 
 ■prove a valuable auxiliary in the reform of English teaching now 
 ■.generally in progress. . . . We have, in addition to the unabridged 
 text of the novel, a careful editorial introduction ; the author's intro- 
 duction, preface and notes ; a reprint of ' The Just Devil of Woodstock'; 
 .and such foot-notes as the student will need as he turns from page to 
 •page. Besides all this apparatus, many of the chapters have appended 
 :a few suggestive hints for character-study, collateral reading and dis- 
 'Cussions of the art of fiction. All this matter is so skillfully distributed 
 ■that it does not weigh upon the conscience, and is not likely to make the 
 
LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS ij 
 
 student forget that he is, after all, reading a novel chiefly for the 
 pleasure it affords. The entire aim of this volume and its companions 
 is literary rather than historical or linguistic, and in this fact their chief 
 value is to be found." — The Dial. 
 
 ' ' I heartily approve of the manner in which the editor's work has 
 been done. This book, if properly used by the teacher and supple- 
 mented by the work so clearly suggested in the notes, may be made of 
 great value to students, not only as literature but as affording oppor- 
 tunity for historical research and exercise in composition." 
 
 — Lillian G. Kimball, State Normal School, Oshkosh, Wis. 
 
 Defoe's ' History of the Plague in London.' 
 
 ' ' He gives an interesting biography of Defoe, an account of his 
 works, a discussion of their ethical influence (including that of this 
 'somewhat sensational' novel), some suggestions to teachers and students, 
 and a list of references for future study. This is all valuable and sugges- 
 tive. The reader wishes that there were more of it. Indeed, the criticism 
 I was about to offer on this series is perhaps their chief excellence. 
 One wishes that the introductions were longer and more exhaustive. 
 For, contrary to custom, as expressed in Gratiano's query, 'Who riseth 
 from a feast with that keen appetite that he sits down ? ' the young 
 student will doubtless finish these introductions hungering for more. 
 And this, perhaps, was the editor's object in view, viz., that the intro- 
 ductory and explanatory matter should be suggestive and stimulating 
 rather than complete and exhaustive ! " — Educational Review. 
 
 " I have taken great pleasure' in examining your edition of Defoe's 
 ' Plague in London.' The introduction and notes are beyond reproach, 
 and the binding and typography are ideal. The American school-boy 
 is to be congratulated that he at length may study his English from 
 books in so attractive a dress." — George N. McKnight, Instructor in 
 English, Cornell University. 
 
 " I am greatly obliged to you for the copy of the 'Journal of the 
 Plague.' I am particularly pleased with Professor Carpenter's intro- 
 duction and his handling of the difficult points in Defoe's life. " — Ham- 
 mond Lamont, A.B., Associate Professor of Composition and Rhetoric 
 in Brown University. 
 
 Macaulay's ' Essay on Milton.' 
 
 " I have examined the Milton and am much pleased with it ; it fully 
 sustains the high standard of the other works of this series ; the intro- 
 duction, the suggestions to teachers, and the notes are admirable." 
 
 — William Nichols, The Nichols School, Buffalo, N. Y. 
 
14 LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS 
 
 ' ' I have never seen notes on a text that were more admirable than 
 these. They contain just the information proper to impart, and are 
 unusually well expressed." 
 
 — Charles C. Ramsay, Principal of Fall River High School. 
 
 Coleridge's "Ancient Mariner.' 
 
 "It is the best edition of the poem that I know of. The editor 
 points out precisely the things that a class should observe; the questions 
 are searching and suggestive; the notes lucid and literary." — Professor 
 Martin W. Sampson, University of Indiana, Bloomington, Ind. 
 
 " If your series of English Classics is to be judged by this volume, 
 I do not hesitate to pronounce it superior to any other with which I am 
 familiar. Mr. Bates' edition is the best annotation of the ' Ancient 
 Mariner ' I have yet seen." 
 
 — L. L. Rice, Cumberland University, Lebanon, Tenn. 
 
 " I am especially pleased with the brevity, pointedness and suggest- 
 ifveness of the notes." 
 
 — William J. Harrington, S.J., Detroit College, Detroit, Mich. 
 
 ' ' Does more than any school edition we know, to help the young 
 student to an appreciation of the poem." — Journal of Pedagogy, 
 
 Milton's ' L' Allegro, II Penseroso,' etc. 
 
 " Professor Trent's sympathetic treatment on the literary side of 
 the subject matter, makes the introductions and notes of more than usual 
 interest and profit; and I think that it is just such editing as this that 
 our younger students need in approaching the works of the great poets." 
 
 — J. Russell Hayes, Assistant Professor of English, Swarthmore 
 
 College, Pa. 
 
 " I have given this book a thorough class-room test and am much 
 pleased vnth it. I would lay stress upon the fact that it gives the 
 student accurate and judicious aid." 
 
 — Principal W. D. Mooney, Franklin, Tenn. 
 
 Shakspere's ' Merchant of Venice.' 
 
 "The book . . . is a model of thorough scholarship." — Principal 
 Margaret J. Evans, Carleton College, Northfield, Minn. 
 
 " Its superior point of excellence is, that it insists, in all proper 
 places, upon finding out what the poet meant to say rather than what, in 
 a hidden way, he intended to darkly hint. I know of no other edition 
 that brings out this valuable 'point' so well." — Professor Enoch 
 Perrine, A.m., Litt. D., Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pa. 
 
LONGMANS' ENGLISH CLASSICS n 
 
 Shakspere's • As You Like It.' 
 
 " Professor Wendell's Introduction is written in a charming and 
 
 interesting style and is marked by discriminating judgment and the 
 
 presentation of just the facts needed for an intelligent study of the play. 
 
 The same good sense also marks Professor Phelps' notes and comments." 
 
 — B. M. C. DURFEE, High School, Fall River, Mass. 
 
 Webster's 'Bunker Hill Oration.' 
 
 " The introduction is very good, and the criticism of Webster's style 
 is excellent." — Boston Pilot. 
 
 ' ' We have seen no better school edition of this work, which is now 
 included in the preparatory reading required by all the leading colleges 
 of the country." — The Critic, New York. 
 
 Macaulay's 'Life of Samuel Johnson.' 
 
 "A remarkable school edition. I have seen nothing more satisfac- 
 tory in the editing of any classic." 
 
 —John C. Grant, The Harvard School, Chicago. 
 
 " Of all the numerous editions which have been recently published 
 I consider yours the best that I have seen. The entire make-up is 
 unusually good, while the price is noticeably cheap." — Prof. Elmer 
 James Bailey, State Normal School, New Paltz, N. Y. 
 
 Milton's ' Paradise Lost.' 
 
 " Allow me to say that Mr. Hale's essay is a creditable addition to 
 the immense bulk now existing of writing on Miltonic themes.'' 
 
 —Samuel Thurber, Master in Girls' High School, Boston, Mass. 
 
 De Quincey's ■ Revolt of a Tartar Tribe.' 
 
 " I have gone over the Introduction and notes with great care and 
 with yet greater pleasure. Dr. Baldwin shows the greatest felicity in 
 the selection of matter and the deft expression of salient points in 
 De Quincey's strange life and character." — M. H. Turk, Professor of 
 English, Hobart College, Geneva, N. Y. 
 
 " The Suggestions for Teachers are likely to be of great value, not 
 only because many teachers need assistance in such work, but also 
 because they must tend to introduce the uniformity of method that is 
 hardly less valuable than the uniformity of the courses themselves.'' 
 
 — The Educational Review, February, 1896. 
 
i6 LONGMANS- ENGLISH CLASSICS 
 
 It has been the aim of the publishers to secure editors 
 of high reputation for scholarship, experience, and skill, 
 and to provide a series thoroughly adapted, by uniformity 
 of plan and thoroughness of execution, to present educa- 
 tional needs. The chief distinguishing features of the 
 series are the following: 
 
 1. Each volume contains full "Suggestions for Teach- 
 ers and Students," with bibliographies, and, in many cases, 
 lists of topics recommended for further reading or study, 
 subjects for themes and compositions, specimen examina- 
 tion papers, etc. It is therefore hoped that the series will 
 contribute largely to the working out of sound methods- 
 in teaching English. 
 
 2. The works prescribed for readijtg are treated, in 
 every case, as literature, not as texts for narrow Unguistic 
 study, and edited with a view to interesting the student in 
 the book in question both in itself and as representative of 
 a literary type or of a period of literature, and of leading 
 him on to read other standard works of the same age or 
 kind understandingly and appreciatively. 
 
 3. These editions are in every case specially prepared, 
 and they represent original work of scholars and men of 
 letters who are conversant with the topics of which they 
 treat. Great care has been taken to ensure accuracy in 
 the reproduction of the most authoritative text of each- 
 author. 
 
 4. Colleges and preparatory schools are both repre- 
 sented in the list of editors, and it is intended that the 
 series shall exemplify the ripest methods of American 
 scholars for the teaching of English — the result in some 
 cases of years of actual experience in secondary school 
 work, and, in others, the formulation of the experience 
 acquired by professors who observe carefully the needs of 
 students who present themselves for admission to college. 
 
 5. The volumes are uniform in size and style, are well 
 printed and bo,und, and constitute a well-edited set of 
 standard works, fit for permanent use and possession — a. 
 nucleus for a library of English literature. ,