SCENE 1: FORRES. THE PALACE. — Shakespeare Retold

[Enter BANQUO]

BANQUO

Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all,

You’ve got it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all things

As the weird women promised, and, I fear,

Those weird women promised, but, I fear

Thou play'dst most foully for't: yet it was said

You cheated awfully for it. They said that

It should not stand in thy posterity,

Your reign will not be passed down to your children,

But that myself should be the root and father

But that it’s me who’s going to be the father

Of many kings. If there come truth from them--

Of many kings. If they were talking truthfully—

As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine--

As, as with you, Macbeth, their words rang true—

Why, by the verities on thee made good,

Then, as you got the things that they predicted,

May they not be my oracles as well,

May they not prophesy the truth for me

And set me up in hope? But hush! No more.

And leave me full of hope? But quiet now!

[Sennet sounded. Enter MACBETH, as king, LADY MACBETH, as queen, LENNOX, ROSS, Lords, Ladies, and Attendants]

MACBETH

Here's our chief guest.

Here is our guest-of-honour.

LADY MACBETH

If he had been forgotten,

If we forgot him,

It had been as a gap in our great feast,

It would have left a hole in our great feast,

And all-thing unbecoming.

Which simply wouldn’t do.

MACBETH

To-night we hold a solemn supper sir,

Tonight we’ll host a solemn supper, sir;

And I'll request your presence.

I ask that you’ll attend.

BANQUO

Let your highness

I’ll let your highness

Command upon me; to the which my duties

Tell me what I should do; my obligations

Are with a most indissoluble tie

Are bound to you with string that can’t be broken,

For ever knit.

Remaining always tied.

MACBETH

Ride you this afternoon?

You riding later?

BANQUO

Ay, my good lord.

Yes, my good lord.

MACBETH

We should have else desired your good advice,

If not, we would have sought your good advice,

Which still hath been both grave and prosperous,

Which always has been sound and well-considered,

In this day's council; but we'll take to-morrow.

When council meets today; we’ll ask tomorrow.

Is't far you ride?

Are you riding far?

BANQUO

As far, my lord, as will fill up the time

As far as I can ride to fill the time

'Twixt this and supper: go not my horse the better,

From now to supper. If my horse is not fast,

I must become a borrower of the night

I’ll ride back in the darkness of the night,

For a dark hour or twain.

About an hour or two.

MACBETH

Fail not our feast.

Don’t miss our feast.

BANQUO

My lord, I will not.

MACBETH

We hear, our bloody cousins are bestowed

We hear the murderous Donalbain and Malcolm

In England and in Ireland, not confessing

Are in England and Ireland, not confessing

Their cruel parricide, filling their hearers

To murdering their father, telling stories

With strange invention: but of that to-morrow,

Made up of weird lies. Let’s talk tomorrow

When therewithal we shall have cause of state

Where also we have questions for our state

Craving us jointly. Hie you to horse: adieu,

That need our joint attention. Ride now; goodbye

Till you return at night. Goes Fleance with you?

Till later on. Is Fleance riding with you?

BANQUO

Ay, my good lord: our time does call upon's.

Yes, my good lord. It’s time we both set off.

MACBETH

I wish your horses swift and sure of foot;

I hope your horses canter fast and steady;

And so I do commend you to their backs. Farewell.

And so I wish you well in riding them. Goodbye.

[Exit BANQUO]

Let every man be master of his time

Now everyone can do just as they please

Till seven at night: to make society

Till seven o’clock tonight; to make our gathering

The sweeter welcome, we will keep ourself

More pleasurable, let’s spend the hours we have

Till supper-time alone: while then, God be with you!

Alone till suppertime. Till then, God be with you!

[Exeunt all but MACBETH, and an attendant]

Sirrah, a word with you: attend those men

Mister, a word with you: are those men waiting

Our pleasure?

To know what I desire of them?

ATTENDANT

They are, my lord, without the palace gate.

They are, my lord, outside the palace gate.

MACBETH

Bring them before us.

Bring them to me.

[Exit Attendant]

To be thus is nothing;

There’s no point being king

But to be safely thus.--Our fears in Banquo

Unless a safe king. All my fears of Banquo

Stick deep; and in his royalty of nature

Run deep. His natural wish to be a king

Reigns that which would be feared: 'tis much he dares;

Means that he should be feared. He’s very daring,

And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,

And, in addition to his fearless mind,

He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour

His wisdom steers his acts of gallantry

To act in safety. There is none but he

To be done safely. There is no one but him

Whose being I do fear: and, under him,

That I’m afraid of. And, when he’s around me,

My Genius is rebuked; as, it is said,

My instinct weakens, as it has been said

Mark Antony's was by Caesar. He chid the sisters

Mark Antony’s was by Caesar. He mocked the witches

When first they put the name of king upon me,

When they first told me that I would be king,

And bade them speak to him: then prophet-like

And asked they speak to him. Then, prophet-like,

They hailed him father to a line of kings:

They hailed him father to a line of kings.

Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown,

They crowned me, but my children won’t succeed me.

And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,

They handed me a useless royal sceptre

Thence to be wrenched with an unlineal hand,

That will be snatched for one not in my lineage,

No son of mine succeeding. If 't be so,

Because my son won’t follow me. If that’s so,

For Banquo's issue have I filed my mind;

For Banquo’s children, I’ve defiled my mind;

For them the gracious Duncan have I murdered;

For them, I murdered kind and generous Duncan;

Put rancours in the vessel of my peace

I poured a cup of poison in my conscience

Only for them; and mine eternal jewel

Only for them; and my eternal soul

Given to the common enemy of man,

I’ve handed to the devil on a plate

To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!

Just so they’re kings. The sons of Banquo, kings!

Rather than so, come fate into the list,

Instead of that, come on then fate, let’s fight:

And champion me to the utterance! Who's there!

You’re champion, but I’ll fight till death! Who’s there?

[Re-enter Attendant, with two Murderers]

Now go to the door, and stay there till we call.

Now go to the door and wait there till I call you.

[Exit Attendant]

Was it not yesterday we spoke together?

We spoke together yesterday, I think?

FIRST MURDERER

It was, so please your highness.

We did, your highness.

MACBETH

Well then, now

Have you considered of my speeches? Know

Have you considered what I said? You must know

That it was he in the times past which held you

That it was Banquo previously who kept you

So under fortune, which you thought had been

So out of luck and favour, which you had thought

Our innocent self: this I made good to you

That I had caused. I proved this wasn’t me

In our last conference, passed in probation with you,

When we last spoke, providing you the proof

How you were borne in hand, how crossed, the instruments,

Of how you’d been misled, and how his agents

Who wrought with them, and all things else that might

Manipulated you, and so much so,

To half a soul and to a notion crazed

That even half a man, or someone crazy,

Say 'Thus did Banquo.'

Would say “Banquo did this.”

FIRST MURDERER

You made it known to us.

You told us that.

MACBETH

I did so, and went further, which is now

I did, and going further, which is now

Our point of second meeting. Do you find

The reason for our second meeting. Do you

Your patience so predominant in your nature

Have so much patience in your very nature

That you can let this go? Are you so gospelled

That you can let this go? Are you so godly

To pray for this good man and for his issue,

That you’ll pray for this man and for his children,

Whose heavy hand hath bowed you to the grave

A man who’s forced you to an early grave

And beggared yours for ever?

And left you poor forever?

FIRST MURDERER

We are men, my liege.

We are men, my lord.

MACBETH

Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men;

Yes, in a list of creatures, you are men;

As hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs,

Like hounds and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, mutts,

Shoughs, water-rugs and demi-wolves, are clept

Like lapdogs, gundogs, wolfhounds, all are called

All by the name of dogs: the valued file

As dogs by name. The list of what they’re good at

Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle,

The housekeeper, the hunter, every one

The watchdog, guard dog, each and every one

According to the gift which bounteous nature

Described by what the generous gifts of nature

Hath in him closed; whereby he does receive

They’ve each been given; and so, this is how

Particular addition from the bill

We differentiate those from a list

That writes them all alike: and so of men.

That says they’re all the same. The same for men.

Now, if you have a station in the file,

Now, if you think your place within this list

Not i' the worst rank of manhood, say 't;

Is not right at the wretched bottom, tell me,

And I will put that business in your bosoms,

And I’ll give you a job to take to heart,

Whose execution takes your enemy off,

Which, when it’s done, removes your enemy,

Grapples you to the heart and love of us,

And ties you to my firm, enduring love,

Who wear our health but sickly in his life,

Which currently is sick whilst Banquo’s living,

Which in his death were perfect.

But will be perfect when he’s dead.

SECOND MURDERER

I am one, my liege,

I’m one, sir,

Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world

Who’s had so many knocks within this world,

Have so incensed that I am reckless what

That I’m now furious and do not care what

I do to spite the world.

I do to others.

FIRST MURDERER

And I another

And I am another,

So weary with disasters, tugged with fortune,

So tired of the setbacks and misfortune,

That I would set my lie on any chance,

That I would risk my life for any chance

To mend it, or be rid on't.

To fix it, or die trying.

MACBETH

Both of you

Know Banquo was your enemy.

BOTH MURDERERS

True, my lord.

That’s true, sir.

MACBETH

So is he mine; and in such bloody distance,

So is he mine; and he’s so close to me

That every minute of his being thrusts

That every minute he’s alive is like

Against my near'st of life: and though I could

He’s stabbing at my heart. And though I could,

With barefaced power sweep him from my sight

With powers from being king, have him removed

And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not,

And have no problem with it, yet I must not,

For certain friends that are both his and mine,

Whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall

Whose trust I cannot lose, will cry for him

Who I myself struck down; and thence it is,

If I have had him killed; and that is why

That I to your assistance do make love,

I’m fondly asking you to help me out,

Masking the business from the common eye

To stop his murder being common knowledge

For sundry weighty reasons.

For many crucial reasons.

SECOND MURDERER

We shall, my lord,

We will, my lord,

Perform what you command us.

Do what you ask of us.

FIRST MURDERER

Though our lives--

For what we’ve lived through…

MACBETH

Your spirits shine through you. Within this hour at most

I see you’re resolute. Within the hour,

I will advise you where to plant yourselves;

I’ll tell you where you need to get positioned.

Acquaint you with the perfect spy o' the time,

You’ll need to scout the spot ahead of time,

The moment on't; for't must be done to-night,

And know the cue, which must be done tonight,

And something from the palace; always thought

Some distance from the palace. Don’t forget

That I require a clearness: and with him--

I mustn’t be suspected. And, with him—

To leave no rubs nor botches in the work--

So there’s no risk of this job going wrong—

Fleance his son, that keeps him company,

His son, Fleance, who also will be with him,

Whose absence is no less material to me

And whose removal is no less important

Than is his father's, must embrace the fate

Than is his father’s, must suffer the same fate

Of that dark hour. Resolve yourselves apart:

At that same time of night. Decide how you will do this:

I'll come to you anon.

I’ll come back soon.

BOTH MURDERERS

We are resolved, my lord.

My lord, we are decided.

MACBETH

I'll call upon you straight: abide within.

I’ll call you right away; wait for me there.

[Exeunt Murderers]

It is concluded. Banquo, thy soul's flight,

It’s done. Banquo, your soul will soon take flight,

If it find heaven, must find it out to-night.

And if you’re heaven-bound, you’ll know tonight.

[Exit]