Act III, Scene i Forres. A room in the palace Enter Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis all As the weird women promis'd, 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 up in hope? But hush! No more. "Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis all / As the weird women promis'd, and I fear / Thou playd'st most foully for't" = Banquo speaks in apostrophe to Macbeth, giving voice finally to the thought that so far has been only hinted at. "It should not stand in thy posterity" = kingship would not pass to your heirs (not be in your "posterity" that which follows after) "Why, by the verities on thee made good, / Should they not be my oracles as well / And set me up in hope?" = Considering the truths ("verities") that have been realized for you, why shouldn't those voices have spoken a true prophecy (oracle) for me too and given me reason to be hopeful? "But hush! No more" = Banquo's hushing of himself indicates, first, his awareness that others are approaching, and he does not want to be caught expressing potential treason (against the new king). This, then, is a suggestion of his cautious nature. But it can also suggest his essential morality. He knows that he is being tempted, that his own ambitions are on the verge of being galvanized, and he consciously tells himself to "hush," to freeze this line of thought before it goes any further (in the same way that he earlier resists going to sleep for fear of suffering dreams in which he might be tempted to cause the prophecy to be fulfilled). Finally apart from a consideration of Banquo's motivation the line may subtly foreshadow his being "hushed," of his very life being soon made "no more." "Sennet" = a trumpet fanfare (similar to a flourish) marking the arrival of a royal party Sennet sounded Enter, as king, LADY, as queen, LENNOX, ROSS, lords, ladies, and attendants Here's our chief guest. LADY If he had been forgotten, It had been as a gap in our great feast And all-thing unbecoming. Tonight we hold a solemn supper sir, And I'll request your presence. Let your highness Command upon me, to the which my duties Are with a most indissoluble tie Forever knit. "all-thing unbecoming" = entirely ("all-thing") inappropriate "solemn" = formal; ceremonious "indissoluble" = un-dissolvable; permanent. Though he may be speaking less than sincerely, Banquo's saying that he is "forever knit" to Macbeth is a strong foreshadowing line. Ride you this afternoon? Ay, my good lord.
"We should have else desired" = I ("We" Macbeth now using the imperial plural) would otherwise have requested We should have else desir'd your good advice, Which still hath been both grave and prosperous, In this day's council. But we'll take tomorrow. Is't far you ride? 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. "Which still hath been grave and prosperous" = which has always ("still") been serious and profitable. Notice a foreshadowing in the pun on "grave." "Go not my horse the better / I must become a borrower of the night / For a dark hour or twain" = if my horse does not go fast enough, I may have to ride in darkness for an hour or two ("twain") Fail not our feast. My lord, I will not. We hear our bloody cousins are bestow'd In England and in Ireland, not confessing Their cruel parricide, filling their hearers With strange invention. But of that tomorrow, 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? "parricide" = killing of a parent "strange invention" = bizarre stories "But of that tomorrow" = but we can talk about that tomorrow "cause of state / Craving us jointly" = matters of government that both of us will need to deal with Ay, my good lord. Our time does call upon's. I wish your horses swift and sure of foot. And so I do commend you to their backs. Farewell. Exit Let every man be master of his time Till seven at night. To make society the sweeter welcome, We will keep ourself till suppertime alone. While then, God be with you. Exeunt all but and an ATTENDANT Sirrah, a word with you. Attend those men Our pleasure? ATTENDANT They are, my lord, Without the palace gate. "master of his time" = take care of his own affairs "To make society the sweeter welcome / We will keep ourself till suppertime alone" = in order that I might look forward to the company of others, I will stay alone till suppertime "While then" = in the meantime; till then "Sirrah" = related to sir, and used as an address to one of inferior status "Attend those men / Our pleasure?" = Are those gentleman waiting for an audience with me? "Without" = outside "before us" = in front of me Bring them before us.
"To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus" = to be as I am (king) means nothing if I cannot be assured of my position ("be safely thus") "Stick deep" = like thorns Exit ATTENDANT To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature Reigns that which would be fear'd. 'Tis much he dares. And, to that dauntless temper of his mind, He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor To act in safety. There is none but he Whose being I do fear, and under him My genius is rebuk'd, 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 plac'd a fruitless crown 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 fil'd my mind. For them the gracious Duncan have I murder'd, Put rancors 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! Rather than so, come fate into the list, And champion me to th' utterance! Who's there! "'This much he dares" = he is a daring man (willing to act on his ambitions) "dauntless temper" = fearless quality "that doth guide his valor / To act in safety" = that does lead him to apply his courage in careful ways (not "careful" in the sense of being timid; rather, in the sense of taking care to ensure success) "My genius is rebuk'd, as, it is said, / Mark Antony's was by Caesar" = my guiding spirit ("genius") has been made timid by Banquo's, just as, I have heard, the Roman Mark Antony's spirit was subdued by Caesar's (Brutus also having been the assassin of his king, the emperor Julius Caesar) "chid" = past tense of chide (scold) "Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, / And put a barren scepter in my gripe" = Recall that the structure of the clause "fair is foul and foul is fair" is based on the principle of chiasmus, which may be defined as criss-cross syntax a juxtaposition of phrases in which the order of the words in the first phrase is inverted (more or less) in the second phrase (for example, Say what you mean and mean what you say, or Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country). The lines "Upon my head they placed a fruitless (without profit or production in this case, without children) crown, / And put a barren (sterile) scepter (a wand or club carried by a king and symbolic of his power) in my gripe (grasp)" are not written in the form of chiasmus, but they still involve criss-crossing in terms of grammatical structure. The first line begins with a prepositional phrase, upon my head, and is followed by a phrase structured as verb-article-adjective-noun, placed a fruitless crown. The second line inverts those phrase patterns, beginning with the verbarticle-adjective-noun structure, put a barren scepter, and following with the prepositional phrase, in my gripe. Grammatically and in matters of content, then, the lines are equally weighted and echo the line "fair is foul and foul is fair" "Thence to be wrench'd with an unlineal hand" = thereafter to be wrestled from me by a child not of my blood line ("an unlineal hand") "No son of mine succeeding" = and I having no son as a successor (no heir). From a king's point of view, it is as important to have an heir to his crown as it is to be king in the first place. "issue" = children "fil'd" = defiled; soiled "Put rancors in the vessel of my peace / Only for them" = poured bitterness(es) into what should be a cup of sweet drink (peace of mind), and all for the sons of Banquo "mine eternal jewel" = my soul "common enemy of man" = the devil "Rather than so, come fate into the list, / And champion me to th' utterance" = instead of this, let fate come like a knight to a jousting tournament ("the list"), and fight as a champion against me to the death (to the "utterance" or utmost) // or possibly,... and fight for me...
Re-enter ATTENDANT with two MURDERERS Now go to the door and stay there till we call. Exit ATTENDANT Was it not yesterday we spoke together? It was, so please your highness. Well then, now Have you consider'd of my 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 instruments, Who wrought with them, and all things else that might To half a soul and to a notion craz'd Say, "Thus did Banquo!" "now / Have you consider'd of my speeches" = you have had time to think about what I had to say "That it was he who held you / So under fortune, which you thought had been / Our innocent self" = that he (Banquo) was responsible for the wretched circumstances of your life, while you had supposed that I, who am guiltless, had been at fault "made good" = proved "pass'd in probation with" = demonstrated to "borne in hand" = deceived "cross'd" = thwarted; frustrated "instrument" = means; methods You made it known to us. "wrought with them" = applied those means and methods "to half a soul and to a notion craz'd" = to a half-wit (a fool) and a mind gone mad. The sense of Macbeth's statement is that after all the "proof" he has provided, even "fools and madmen" would agree that Banquo is culpable and must be eliminated. 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 forever? "Our point of " = the reason for our "Do you find / Your patience so predominant in your nature / That you can let this go?" = Are you so patient that you're prepared to put up with this? "gospell'd" = so filled up with teachings of the Christian gospels "issue" = children "Whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave / And beggar'd yours forever" = whose (Banquo's and his heirs) cruelty has bent you down to death and forced your own sons hereafter to be beggars
We are men, my liege. 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 valu'd file Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle, The housekeeper, the hunter, every one According to the gift which bounteous nature Hath in him clos'd, whereby he does receive Particular addition from the bill That writes them all alike. And so of men. Now, if you have a station in the file, Not i' th' worst rank of manhood, say 't And I will put that business in your bosoms, 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. "Ay, in the catalogue And so of men" = In general: Yes, in the general list of natural creatures, you are classified as men, in the same way that several kinds of dogs are listed, all of them being named ("clept") dogs. But the most important list (the "valu'd file") separates the magnificent dogs from the mere mutts, speaking of the specific traits ("particular addition") that identify the great ones. And this is just as true of men as of dogs. Observe that Macbeth persuades the men by using the same strategy that his wife has used on him, namely by taunting them with the idea that they will be less than manly if they fail to do a hard deed. "curs" = mutts "shoughs" = shaggy dogs "water-rugs" = rough-haired water dogs "demi-wolves" = half-dogs, half-wolves "subtle" = cunning "housekeeper" = guard dog "bounteous" = bountiful; generous "clos'd" = included "if you have a station in the file, / Not i' th' worst rank of manhood" = if you have a place in the file not among the worst (but among the best) of men "put that business in your bosoms" = give to you the job that you will take to heart "Whose execution takes your enemy off / Grapples you to the heart and love of us" = the doing of which eliminates your foe and holds ("grapples") you close to me "Who wear our health but sickly in his life, / Which in his death were perfect" = who (referring to himself) is sick while Banquo lives but would be complete and healthy if he were dead SECOND MURDERER I am one, my liege, Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world Have so incens'd that I am reckless what I do to spite the world. And I another, 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. "blows and buffets" = These verbs are often used to describe the assaults done by harsh winds to ships at sea, and remind us of the "bark" that "shall be tempest-toss'd" by a witch. "incens'd" = outraged "I am reckless what / I do to spite the world" = I don't care what I do, even with the possibility that I'll be caught and punished in this world "tugg'd with fortune" = pulled about (like, say, a ragdoll) by fate "set my life on any chance / To mend it or be rid on't" = stake my life on any gamble in order to repair it or end it "on't" = of it Both of you Know Banquo was your enemy.
BOTH MURDERERS True, my lord. 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 bare-fac'd 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, 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. Though our lives 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' th' time, The moment on't, for't must be done tonight, And something from the palace, always thought 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 MURDERERS We are resolv'd, my lord. I'll call upon you straight. Abide within. Exeunt MURDERERS "in such bloody distance" = This metaphor is derived from fencing, wherein "distance" refers to the measure of space between the fencers. Being within "bloody distance" is being close enough for the fighters (as opposed to those who are simply fencing for sport) to draw blood. The phrase "bloody distance," therefore, is the equivalent of hatred. "near'st of life" = vital organs "bid my will avouch it" = and allow that my will (as a king) is enough to justify ("avouch") it "wail his fall" = lament his being killed "thence" = therefore "to your assistance do make love" = appeal to you for help "Masking the business from the common eye / For sundry weighty reasons" = keeping the matter a secret from the public for various ("sundry") important ("weighty") reasons "perfect spy o' th' time" = exact moment at which to act "something from" = somewhat at a distance from "always thought / That I require a clearness" = keeping constantly in mind that I am not to be implicated in your action "To leave no rubs nor botches in the work" = leaving no rough spots ("rubs") or mistakes ("botches") in this job "no less material" = not less relevant (just as important) "must embrace the fate / Of that dark hour" = must also accept the fate realized in that dire moment "Resolve yourselves apart" = make up your minds in private. In a way, this is poor advice that Macbeth gives the murderers, for, in effect, he is allowing them a chance to change their minds just as he had temporarily done in his "if it were done" soliloquy. Making up their minds "apart," the murderers could exercise their free will, make use of their angelic nature, and decline evil's invitation to act with "fell purpose." "I'll come to you anon" = I'll be with you soon "straight" = directly "Abide within" = wait inside It is concluded. Banquo, thy soul's flight, If it find heaven, must find it out tonight. Exit