ACT 1
[Thunder. Enter the three Witches]
FIRST WITCH
Where hast thou been, sister?
Where have you been, sister?
SECOND WITCH
Killing swine.
Killing farmers’ pigs.
THIRD WITCH
Sister, where thou?
And sister, where’ve you been?
FIRST WITCH
A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap,
I met a sailor’s wife, sat with some chestnuts;
And munched, and munched, and munched:--
She ate them all! She scoffed them all herself!
'Give me', quoth I:
“Give me one”, I said.
'Aroint thee, witch!' the rump-fed ronyon cries.
“Get lost, you witch!” that greedy fat cow said.
Her husband's to Aleppo gone, master o' the Tiger:
Her husband is Aleppo bound, The Tiger’s captain.
But in a sieve I'll thither sail,
Towards him, in a sieve I’ll sail,
And, like a rat without a tail,
And like a rat without a tail,
I'll do, I'll do, and I'll do.
I’ll do a load of things to him.
SECOND WITCH
I'll give thee a wind.
I’ll send a wind for you.
FIRST WITCH
Thou'rt kind.
How kind you are.
THIRD WITCH
And I another.
I’ll send one too.
FIRST WITCH
I myself have all the other,
I control all other winds,
And the very ports they blow,
And from which place they blow,
All the quarters that they know
And which direction they will go,
I' the shipman's card.
Upon the Captain’s compass.
I will drain him dry as hay:
I’ll stop him drinking, dry as hay;
Sleep shall neither night nor day
He will not sleep at night nor day,
Hang upon his pent-house lid;
His eyelids closed to make it worse;
He shall live a man forbid:
He’ll live transfixed under my curse:
Weary se'nnights nine times nine
For eighty-one times, week by week
Shall he dwindle, peak and pine:
He’ll waste away from past his peak.
Though his bark cannot be lost,
Though his boat cannot be lost,
Yet it shall be tempest-tost.
It will be in a tempest tossed.
Look what I have.
Look what I’ve got here.
SECOND WITCH
Show me, show me.
Show me, show me.
FIRST WITCH
Here I have a pilot's thumb,
Here I have a pilot’s thumb,
Wrecked as homeward he did come.
Shipwrecked as he did homeward come.
[Drum within]
THIRD WITCH
A drum, a drum!
A drum, a drum!
Macbeth doth come.
Macbeth does come.
ALL
The weird sisters, hand in hand,
Us weird sisters, hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land,
Travellers over sea and land,
Thus do go about, about:
Dance around, around we go:
Thrice to thine and thrice to mine
Three times your way, three times to mine,
And thrice again, to make up nine.
Three times again to make it nine.
Peace! The charm's wound up.
Quiet now! The spell’s ready to cast.
[Enter MACBETH and BANQUO]
MACBETH
So foul and fair a day I have not seen.
Such dismal weather on this fateful day.
BANQUO
How far is't called to Forres? What are these
How far is it to Forres? What are these
So withered and so wild in their attire,
So haggard, dressed in scruffy, mangy clothes,
That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth,
That do not look like they live here on earth,
And yet are on't? Live you? Or are you aught
But yet they’re here? Are you alive? And can you
That man may question? You seem to understand me,
Reply to questions? You seem to understand me,
By each at once her chappy finger laying
For you all put a manky finger on
Upon her skinny lips: you should be women,
Your skinny lips. You look like you are women,
And yet your beards forbid me to interpret
But yet your beards prevent me from concluding
That you are so.
That you are.
MACBETH
Speak, if you can: what are you?
Speak, if you can. What are you?
FIRST WITCH
All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, thane of Glamis!
All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, Thane of Glamis!
SECOND WITCH
All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!
All hail, Macbeth! Hail to you, thane of Cawdor!
THIRD WITCH
All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!
All hail, Macbeth! You’ll be the king in future!
BANQUO
Good sir, why do you start; and seem to fear
What is alarming you? And why look scared
Things that do sound so fair? I' the name of truth,
At news that sounds so great? Tell me the truth,
Are ye fantastical, or that indeed
Are you just an illusion, or are you
Which outwardly ye show? My noble partner
What you appear to be? My noble friend here,
You greet with present grace and great prediction
You greeted by his title, then predicted
Of noble having and of royal hope,
Another noble title, maybe king,
That he seems rapt withal: to me you speak not.
Now he’s enraptured; you said nothing to me.
If you can look into the seeds of time,
If you can see what happens in the future
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
And know which crops will grow, and which will not,
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear
Then speak to me, as I won’t beg, nor fear,
Your favours nor your hate.
Your favours, nor your hate.
FIRST WITCH
Hail!
Hail!
SECOND WITCH
Hail!
Hail!
THIRD WITCH
Hail!
Hail!
FIRST WITCH
Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.
You’ll be less than Macbeth, but also greater.
SECOND WITCH
Not so happy, yet much happier.
You won’t be as happy, then much happier.
THIRD WITCH
Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:
Your children will be kings, but you will not.
So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!
So, all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!
FIRST WITCH
Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!
Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!
MACBETH
Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:
Wait there, confusing speakers, tell me more:
By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis;
Since my dad Sinel died, I’m Thane of Glamis,
But how of Cawdor? The thane of Cawdor lives,
But how come thane of Cawdor? He’s still living,
A prosperous gentleman; and to be king
And he’s a prosperous man; and me as king
Stands not within the prospect of belief,
Is unequivocally beyond belief,
No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence
The same as thane of Cawdor. Tell me where
You owe this strange intelligence? Or why
You learnt this puzzling information? Or why
Upon this blasted heath you stop our way
Upon this wretched heath, you stopped our journey
With such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you.
To tell us of these prophecies? Speak up!
[Witches vanish]
BANQUO
The earth hath bubbles, as the water has,
Like bubbles pop and vanish, so the earth
And these are of them. Whither are they vanished?
Has made them disappear. Where did they go?
MACBETH
Into the air; and what seemed corporal melted
Into thin air, and what seemed real melted,
As breath into the wind. Would they had stayed!
Much like a breath of wind. I wished they’d stayed!
BANQUO
Were such things here as we do speak about?
Did what we’re talking of just really happen?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
Or did we eat hallucinogenic plants
That takes the reason prisoner?
That stopped us thinking strait?
MACBETH
Your children shall be kings.
Your children will be kings.
BANQUO
You shall be king.
You will be king.
MACBETH
And thane of Cawdor too: went it not so?
And thane of Cawdor, too. That’s what they said, right?
BANQUO
To the selfsame tune and words. Who's here?
That is exactly what they said. Who’s coming?
[Enter ROSS and ANGUS]
ROSS
The king hath happily received, Macbeth,
Macbeth, the king was happy when he heard
The news of thy success; and when he reads
The news of your success; and when he learnt
Thy personal venture in the rebels' fight,
Of your achievements fighting off the rebels,
His wonders and his praises do contend
He was so overawed in admiration,
Which should be thine or his: silenced with that,
He struggled how to tell you; he was speechless,
In viewing o'er the rest o' the selfsame day,
And then he heard what happened next that day,
He finds thee in the stout Norweyan ranks,
With you amidst the huge Norwegian army,
Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make,
Not scared of dying, like those you were killing,
Strange images of death. As thick as hail
With sights of death all ’round you. Like a hail-storm,
Came post with post; and every one did bear
Came message after message, each proclaiming
Thy praises in his kingdom's great defence,
How well you fought defending all of Scotland,
And poured them down before him.
Each one presented to the king.
ANGUS
We are sent
We’re sent
To give thee from our royal master thanks;
To pass the king’s appreciation to you;
Only to herald thee into his sight,
We’re here to take you to the king,
Not pay thee.
Not to reward you.
ROSS
And, for an earnest of a greater honour,
And, in advance of other greater honours,
He bade me, from him, call thee thane of Cawdor:
The king said I should call you thane of Cawdor:
In which addition, hail, most worthy thane!
And therefore, hail to you, most worthy Thane!
For it is thine.
The title’s yours.
BANQUO
What, can the devil speak true?
What? Were the witches truthful?
MACBETH
The thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me
The thane of Cawdor is alive! Why do you
In borrowed robes?
Lend me his name?
ANGUS
Who was the thane lives yet;
The former Thane’s alive,
But under heavy judgment bears that life
But following a judgement, he’s condemned
Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was combined
To rightly lose his life. Whether he sided
With those of Norway, or did line the rebel
With the Norwegian King, or told his soldiers
With hidden help and vantage, or that with both
Some secrets that would help, or maybe both
He laboured in his country's wreck, I know not;
To bring his country down, I do not know;
But treasons capital, confessed and proved,
But treason has been proved, and he’s confessed,
Have overthrown him.
So he’ll be killed.
MACBETH
[Aside]
Glamis, and thane of Cawdor!
I'm Thane of Glamis, and Cawdor!
The greatest is behind.
The best is yet to come.
[To ROSS and ANGUS]
Thanks for your pains.
Thanks for your troubles.
[To BANQUO]
Do you not hope your children shall be kings,
Do you not hope your children will be kings
When those that gave the thane of Cawdor to me
When those that said that I'd be thane of Cawdor
Promised no less to them?
Have promised you no less?
BANQUO
That trusted home
If we can trust them,
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,
Then maybe you will end up being king
Besides the thane of Cawdor. But 'tis strange:
As well as thane of Cawdor. But it's strange:
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
And oftentimes, to get us into trouble,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Satanic forces feed us half the truth
Win us with honest trifles, to betray's
To coax us with minutia, then betray us
In deepest consequence.
With devastating impact.
Cousins, a word, I pray you.
Friends, can I have a word?
MACBETH
[Aside]
Two truths are told,
The witches told two truths,
As happy prologues to the swelling act
But they're just warm-ups to the main event
Of the imperial theme.--I thank you, gentlemen.
Whereby I will be king. I thank you, gentlemen.
[Aside]
This supernatural soliciting
Enticement from those witches
Cannot be ill, cannot be good: if ill,
Cannot be bad, nor can't be good. If bad,
Why hath it given me earnest of success,
Why start out with a promise of success
Commencing in a truth? I am thane of Cawdor:
That then came true? I am the thane of Cawdor.
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion
If good, why am I dwelling on a thought
Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair
That is so awful, all my hair stands upright
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,
And makes my heart thump, walloping my ribs,
Against the use of nature? Present fears
At thoughts of killing him? My current fears
Are less than horrible imaginings:
Are not as awful as my dreadful visions.
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
My thought of murder, now just fantasy,
Shakes so my single state of man that function
Is shaking me so much, I barely function
Is smothered in surmise, and nothing is
Through overwhelming thoughts, and nothing's real
But what is not.
But my imagination.
BANQUO
Look, how our partner's rapt.
Look, he's overwhelmed.
MACBETH
[Aside]
If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me,
If fate will make me king, then fate might crown me
Without my stir.
Without my intervention.
BANQUO
New horrors come upon him,
His new titles
Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mould
He wears like brand new clothes that don’t quite fit
But with the aid of use.
Until they’ve been worn in.
MACBETH
[Aside]
Come what come may,
What happens now,
Time and the hour runs through the roughest day.
The worst will pass, for time rolls anyhow.
BANQUO
Worthy Macbeth, we stay upon your leisure.
Macbeth, good man, we'll wait until you're ready.
MACBETH
Give me your favour: my dull brain was wrought
Apologies. My witless mind was wandering
With things forgotten. Kind gentlemen, your pains
With thoughts I've now forgotten. Gents, your troubles
Are registered where every day I turn
Are etched into my mind and everyday
The leaf to read them. Let us toward the king.
I will recall them. Let's go see the king.
Think upon what hath chanced, and, at more time,
Let's ponder what has happened, and in time,
The interim having weighed it, let us speak
Once we've digested what occurred, let's talk
Our free hearts each to other.
Together openly about it.
BANQUO
Very gladly.
Good call.
MACBETH
Till then, enough. Come, friends.
Till then, enough. Come, friends.
[Exeunt]
