"Tis his main hope: For where there is advantage to be given, Macd. Let our just censures Attend the true event, and put we on Industrious soldiership. Siw. [Exeunt, marching. SCENE V.-Dunsinane. Within the Castle. Enter, with drums and colours, MACBETH, SEYTON, and Soldiers. Mach. 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 forc'd with those that should be ours, We might have met them dareful, beard to beard, And beat them backward home. What is that noise? (A cry within, of women.) Sey. It is the cry of women, my good lord. Macb. I have almost forgot the taste of fears: The time has been, my senses would have cool'd 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 slaught'rous thoughts, Cannot once start me.-Wherefore was that cry? Sey. The queen, my lord, is dead. Macb. 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 pace from day to day, 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. Mach. Liar, and slave! (Striking him.) Macb. To doubt the equivocation of the fiend, And wish the estate o the world were now undone.— [Exeunt. SCENE VI.-The same. A Plain before the Castle. Enter, with drums and colours, MALCOLM, old SIWARD, MACDUFF, &c. and their Army, with boughs. Mal. Now near enough; your leavy screens throw down, And show like those you are:- -You, worthy uncle, Siw. SCENE VII.-The same. Another part of the Plain. Enter MACBETH. Macb. 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 young SIWARD. Yo. Siw. What is tky name? Macb. Thou'lt be afraid to hear it. Yo. Siw. No; though thou call'st thyself a hotter Than any is in hell. [name Macb. My name's Macbeth. Yo. Siw. The devil himself could not pronounce More hateful to mine ear. (a title Macb. No, nor more fearful. Yo. Siw. Thou liest, abhorred tyrant; with my I'll prove the lie thou speak'st. [sword (They fight, and young Siward is slain.) Macb. 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. Macd. That way the noise is :-Tyrant, show thy If thou be'st slain, and with no stroke of mine, I sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be; [Exit. Alarum. An easy may'st thou the intrenchant air Macd. Mach. Accursed be that tongue that tells me so, And break it to our hope.-I'll not fight with thee. And live to be the show and gaze o'the time. Here may you see the tyrant. Macb. I'll not yield, To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet, Siw. Some must go off: and yet, by these I see, So great a day as this is cheaply bought. [debt: Mal. Macduff is missing, and your noble son. Rosse. Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier's He only liv'd but till he was a man; The which no sooner had his prowess confirm'd In the unshrinking station where he fought, But like a man he died. Siw. Then he is dead? And that I'll spend for him. The usurper's cursed head: the time is free: King of Scotland, bail! Of this dead batcher, and his fiend-like queen; P. 381, c. 1, l. 7. i. e. when the storm is over. Id. 1. 13. Graymalkin!] To understand this passage, we should suppose one familiar calling with the voice of a cat, and another with the croaking of a toad, which in the north is called paddock. Id. . 15. Fair is foul, and foul is fair:] I believe the meaning is, that to us, perverse and malignant as we are, fair is foul, and foul is fair. JOHNSON. SCENE II. Id. l. 39. "Doubtful."-MALONE. Id. 1. 32. to that, &c.] i, e. in addition to that, or, to that end. Id.l.35. Of Kernes and Gallowglasses is supplied:] Kernes and Gallowglasses are light and heavy armed foot, "Hinc conjecturæ vigorem etiam adjiciunt arma quædam Hibernica, Gallicis antiquis similia, jacula nimirum peditum levis armaturæ quos Kernos vocant, nec non secures & lorica ferre peditum illorum gravioris armaturæ, quos Galloglassios appellant." Warai Antiq. Hiber. cap. vi. Id. l. 36. And fortune, on his damned quarrel-] Quarrel was formerly used for cause, or for the occasion of a quarrel, and is to be found in that sense in Holinshed's account of the story of Macbeth, who, upon the creation of the Prince of Cumberland, thought, says the historian, that he had a just quarrel to endeaYour after the crown. The sense therefore is, Fortune smiling on his execrable cause, &c. JOHNSON. Id. 1. 47. As whence the sun 'gins his reflexion-] The thought is expressed with some obscurity, but the plain meaning is this: As the same quarter, whence the blessing of day-light arises, sometimes sends us, by dreadful reverse, the calamities of storms and tempests; so the glorious event of Macbeth's victory, which promised us the comforts of peace, was immediately succeeded by the alarming news of the Norweyan invasion, Id. 2, 1. 34. flout the sky.] The banners may be poetically described as waving in mockery or defiance of the sky. The sense of the passage, however, collectively taken, is this: Where the triumphant flutter of the Norweyan standards ventilates or cools the soldiers who had been heated through their efforts to secure such numerous trophies of victory. Id. 1. 39. Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof] Lapt in proof, is, defended by armour of proof. By Bellona's bridegroom we may understand Macbeth, but why, the critics have not told us. Id. 1. 48.--Saint Colmes' inch,] Colmes' inch, now called Inchcomb, is a small island lying in the Firth of Edinburgh, with an abbey upon it, dedicated to St. Columb; called by Camden, Inch Colm, or The Isle of Columba. P. 382, c. 1, 1. 2. "his present death," - MALONE. SCENE III. Id. 1. 15. Aroint thee, witch!] Aroint, or avaunt, be gone. POPE. Id. l. 15.--the rump-fed ronyon-] The chief cooks in noblemen's families, colleges, religious houses, hospitals, &c. anciently claimed the emoluments or kitchen fees of kidneys, fat, trotters, rumps, &c., which they sold to the poor. The weird sister in this scene, as an insult on the poverty of the woman who had called her witch, reproaches her poor abject state, as not being able to procure better provision than offals. Ronyon means scabby or mangy-woman. Fr. rogneux. Id. 1. 26. --the shipman's card,] The card is the paper on which the winds are marked under the pilot's needle; or perhaps the sea-chart, so called in our author's age. Id Id. l. 30. He shall live a man forbid :] i. e. as one under a curse, an interdiction. To bid is originally to pray. As to forbid therefore implies to prohibit, in opposition to the word bid in its present sense, it signifies by the same kind of opposition to curse, when it is derived from the same word in its primitive meaning. 1. 41. The weird sisters, hand in hand,] These weird sisters, were the Fates of the northern nations; the threel hand-maids of Odin. He nominantur Valkyrie, quas quodvis ad prælium Odinus mittit. He viros morti destinant, et victoriam gubernant. Gunna, et Rota, et Parcarum minima Skullda: per aëra et maria equitant semper ad morituros eligendos; et cædes in potestate habent. Bartholinus de Causis contemptæ à Danis adhuc Gentilibus mortis. It is for this reason that Shakspeare makes them three; and calls them, Posters of the sea and land; and intent only upon death and mischief. How-| ever, to give this part of his work the more dignity, he intermixes, with this Northern, the Greek and Roman superstitions; and puts Hecate at the head of their enchantments. And to make it still more familiar to the common audience (which was always his point) he adds, for another ingredient, a sufficient quantity of our own country superstitions concerning witches; their beards, their cats, and their broomsticks. So that his witch-scenes are like the charm they prepare in one of them; where the ingredients are gathered from every thing shocking in the natural world, as here, from every thing absurd in the moral. But as extravagant as all this is, the play has had the power to charm and bewitch every audience, from that time to this. WARBURTON. The Valkyrie, or Valkyriur, were not barely three in number. The learned critic might have found in Bartholinus, not only Gunna, Rota et Skullda, but also Scogula, Hilda, Condula, and Geiroscogula. Bartholinus adds that their number is yet greater, according to other writers who speak of them. They were the cupbearers of Odin, and conductors of the dead. They were distinguished by the elegance of their forms; and it would be as just to compare youth and beauty with age and deformity, as the Valkyrie of the North with the Witches of Shakspeare. STEEVENS, P. 382, c. 1,1.61.——thane of Glamis!] The thaneship of Glamis was the ancient inheritance of Macbeth's family. The castle where they lived is still standing, and was lately the magnificent residence of the earl of Strathmore. Id. 1. 63. ——thane of Cawdor!] Dr. Johnson observes, in his Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, that part of Calder Castle, from which Macbeth drew his second title, is still remaining. Id. l. 67. Are ye fantastical,] By fantastical, he means creatures of fantasy or imagination: the question is, Are these real beings before us, or are we deceived by illusions of fancy?] JOHN SON. Id. 1. 70. Of noble having,] Having, is estate, possession, fortune. Id. I. 71. That he seems wrapt withal;] Rapt is rapturously affected, extra se raptus. Id. c. 2, 1. 9. By Sinel's death,] The father of Macbeth. Id. 1. 24 -eaten of the insane root,] The insane root is the root which makes insane, and which the commentators have not discovered. Id. 1. 35. His wonders and his praises do contend, Which should be thine, or his : &c.] i. e. private admiration of your deeds, and a desire to do them public justice by commendation, contend in his mind for pre-eminence.-Or,— There is a contest in his mind whether he should indulge his desire of publishing to the world the commendations due to your heroism, or whether he should remain in silent admiration of what no words could celebrate in proportion to its desert. Id. 1. 39. As thick as tale,] Meaning, 'that the news came as thick as a tale can travel with the post. Id. 1. 45. "Only to herald," &c.-MALONE. Id. l. 55. Mr Malone reads, "Whether he was combin'd "With those of Norway," &c. Id. l. 66. trusted home,] i. e. entirely, thoroughly relied on, or perhaps we should read thrusted home. Id. 1. 77. This supernatural soliciting—] Solici ting for information. WARBURTON. Soliciting is rather, in my opinion, incitement, than information JOHNSON. P. 383, c. 1, l. 5. — seated—] i. e. fixed, firmly placed. Id. 1. 9. single state of man,] Dr. Johnson says, that the single state of man seems to be used by Shakspeare for an individual, in opposition to a commonwealth or conjunct body But Mr. Steevens thinks that the single state of Macbeth may signify his weak and debile state of mind. Id Id. Id. 1. 9. -function Is smother'd in surmise; and nothing is But what is not.] All powers of action are oppressed and crushed by one overwhelming image in the mind, and nothing is present to me but that which is really future. Of things now about me I have no perception, berg intent wholly on that which has yet no exist ence. JOHNSON. 1. 19. Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.] i. e. time and occasion a carry the thing through, and bring it to some determined point and end, let its nature be what it will. Mrs. MONTAGUE. 1. 21. don. Id. l. 23. favour: i. e. indulgence, par my dull brain was wrought-] My head was worked, agitated, put into commotion. SCENE IV. Id. 1. 50. Tu find the mind's construction in the face: Dr. Johnson seems to have understood the word construction in this place in the sense of frame or structure; but the school-term was, I believe, intended by Shakspeare. The meaning is- We cannot construe or discover the disposition of the mind by the lineaments of the face. MALONE. Id. 1. 69, - full of growing] is, exuberant, perfect, complete in thy growth. Id. c. . 2, 1. 3. —— hence to luverness.] Dr Joheson observes, in his Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland, that the walls of the castle of Macbeth, at Inverness, are yet standing. STEEVENS. Id. 1. 10 The prince of Cumberland!] The crown of Scotland was originally not hereditary. When a successor was declared in the lifetime of a king (as was often the case), the title of Prince of Cumberland was immediately bestowed on him as the mark of his designation. Cumber land was at that time held by Scotland of the crown of England, as a fief. Metaphysical, which Dr. Warburton has justly observed, means something supernatural, seems, in our author's time, to have had no other meaning. In the English Dictionary, by H. C. 1655, Metaphysics are thus explained; "Supernatural arts." P. 383, c. 2, l. 70. The raven himself is hoarse,] The following is, in my opinion, the sense of this passage: Give him tending; the news he brings are worth the speed that made him lose his breath. [Erit Attendant] 'Tis certain now-the raven himself is spent, is hoarse by croaking this very message, the fatal entrance of Duncan under my battlements. Lady Macbeth (for she was not yet unsered) was likelier to be deterred from her desiga than encouraged in it by the supposed thought that the message and the prophecy (though equally secrets to the messenger and the raven) had deprived the one of speech, and added harshness to the other's note. Unless we absurdly suppose the messenger acquainted with the hidden import of his message, speed alone had intercepted his breath, as repetition the raven's voice; though the lady considered both as organs of that destiny which hurried Dunean into her meshes. FUSELI. Id. l. 77. language, signifies pity. P. 384, c. 1, 1. 7. And pall thee-] i. e. wrap thyself in a pall. To pall, however, in the present instance (as Mr. Douce observes), may simply meanto wrap, to invest. Id. 18. That my keen knife- The word knife, which at present has a miliar undignitied meaning, was anciently used to express a sword or dagger. Id. 1. 10. Great Glamis! worthy Cawdor!] Shakspeare has supported the character of Lady Macbeth by repeated efforts, and never omits any opportunity of adding a trait of ferocity, or a mark of the want of human feelings to this monster of his own creation. The softer passions are more obliterated in her than in her husband, in proportion as her ambition is greater. She meets him here on his arrival from an expedition of danger, with such a salutation as would have become one of his friends or vassals; a salutation apparently fitted rather to raise his thoughts to a level with her own purposes, than to testisfy her joy at his return, or manifest an attachment to his person: nor does any sentiment expressive of love or softness fall from her throughout the play. While Macbeth himself, amidst the horrors of his guilt, still retains a character less fiend-like than that of his queen, talks to her with a degree of tenderness, and pours his complaints and fears into her bosom, accompanied with terms of endearment. STEEVENS. Id. 1. 23. Your face, my thane, is as a book, where men May read, &c.] that is, thy looks are such as will awaken men's curiosity, excite their attention, and make room for suspicion. Id. l. 35. To alter favour ever is to fear:] Favour is-look, countenance. SCENE VI. Id. 42. This castle hath a pleasant seat:] This short dialogue between Duncan and Banquo, whilst they are approaching the gates of Mac Id. beth's castle, has always appeared to me a striking instance of what in painting is termed repose. Their conversation very naturally turns upon the beauty of its situation, and the pleasantness of the air; and Banquo observing the martlets' nests in every recess of the cornice, remarks, that where those birds most breed and haunt, the air is delicate. The subject of this quiet and easy conversation gives that repose so necessary to the mind after the tumultuous bustle of the preceding scenes, and perfectly contrasts the scene of horror that immediately succeeds. It seems as if Shakspeare asked himself, What is a prince likely to say to his attendants on such an occasion? Whereas the modern writers seem, ou the contrary, to be always searching for new thoughts, such as would never occur to men in the situation which is represented. -This also is frequently the practice of Homer, who, from the midst of battles and horrors, relieves and refreshes the mind of the reader, by introducing some quiet rural image, or picture of familiar domestic life. Sir J. REYNOLDS. pains, And thank us for your trouble.] This passage is undoubtedly obscure, and the following is the best explication of it I am able to offer : Marks of respect, importunately shown, are sometimes troublesome, though we are still bound to be grateful for them, as indications of sincere attachment. If you pray for us on account of the trouble we create in your house, and thank us for the molestations we bring with us, it must be on such a principle. Herein I teach you that the inconvenience you suffer, is the result of our affection; and that you are therefore to pray for us, or thank us, only as far as prayers or thanks can be deserved for kindnesses that fatigue, and honours that oppress. are, in short, to make your acknowledgments for intended respect and love, however irksome our present mode of expressing them may have proved.-To bid is here used in the Saxon sense-to pray. STEEVENS. Id. 1. 65. We rest your hermits.] Hermits, for beadsmen. You Id. 1. 72 Your servants ever, &c] The sense is: -We, and all who belong to us, look upon our lives and fortunes not as our own properties, but as things we have received merely for your use, and for which we must be accountable, whenever you please to call us to our audit; when, like faithful stewards, we shall be ready to answer your summons, by returning you what is your own. SCENE VII. Id. c. 2. l. 5. Enter--a Sewer.] A sewer was an officer so called from his placing the dishes upon the table. Asseour, French; from asseoir, to place. CC |