Macbeth — Act 3, Scene 1in modern English, side by side

Forres. A Room in the Palace · Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Banquo, Lennox, Ross, Lords, Attendants, Servant, First Murderer, Second Murderer

Macbeth has been crowned king at Forres, and Duncan's sons have fled abroad under suspicion of their father's murder. But the witches promised that Banquo's descendants would inherit the throne, and tonight Macbeth hosts a feast — with Banquo as guest of honor and a secret plan to make sure he never arrives.

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Enter Banquo

Banquo

Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,

As the Weird Women promis’d;

So now you have it all — King, Cawdor, Glamis — everything the Weird Women promised;

and, I fear,

Thou play’dst most foully for’t;

and I'm afraid you played very foully to get it.

yet it was said

It should not stand in thy posterity;

But that myself should be the root and father5

Of many kings.

Yet they also said it wouldn't stay in your family, and that I would 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?10

If truth comes from them — and their words have shone true on you, Macbeth — why then, judging by how their prophecies about you came good, couldn't they be my oracles too, and give me reason to hope?

But hush; no more.10

But hush. No more of this.

Sennet sounded. Enter Macbeth as King, Lady Macbeth as Queen; Lennox,

Ross, Lords, and Attendants

Macbeth

Here’s our chief guest.

Here is our guest of honor.

Lady Macbeth

If he had been forgotten,

It had been as a gap in our great feast,

And all-thing unbecoming.

If he had been forgotten, it would have been a gap in our great feast — completely unfitting.

Macbeth

Tonight we hold a solemn supper, sir,15

And I’ll request your presence.

Tonight we're holding a formal supper, sir, and I want to request your presence.

Banquo

Let your Highness

Command upon me, to the which my duties

Are with a most indissoluble tie

For ever knit.20

Your Highness has only to command me; my duty is bound to you forever by a knot that can never be untied.

Macbeth

Ride you this afternoon?

Are you riding this afternoon?

Banquo

Ay, my good lord.

Yes, my good lord.

Macbeth

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.25

Otherwise we would have asked for your good advice — which has always been both thoughtful and profitable — in today's council; but tomorrow will do.

Is’t far you ride?

Are you riding far?

Banquo

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

’Twixt this and supper:

Far enough, my lord, to fill the time between now and supper.

go not my horse the better,

I must become a borrower of the night,

For a dark hour or twain.30

Unless my horse goes faster than expected, I'll have to borrow an hour or two of darkness from the night.

Macbeth

Fail not our feast.

Don't miss our feast.

Banquo

My lord, I will not.

My lord, I won't.

Macbeth

We hear our bloody cousins are bestow’d

In England and in Ireland;

We hear our murderous cousins have settled in England and Ireland.

not confessing

Their cruel parricide, filling their hearers35

With strange invention.

They won't confess to the cruel killing of their father, and they're filling their listeners' ears with strange stories.

But of that tomorrow,

When therewithal we shall have cause of state

Craving us jointly.

But that's a matter for tomorrow, when we'll also have state business that needs us both.

Hie you to horse:

Hurry to your horse;

adieu,

Till you return at night.

goodbye until you return tonight.

Goes Fleance with you?

Is Fleance going with you?

Banquo

Ay, my good lord: our time does call upon’s.40

Yes, my good lord — and it's time we were off.

Macbeth

I wish your horses swift and sure of foot;

I wish your horses speed and sure footing,

And so I do commend you to their backs.

and with that I commend you to their backs.

Farewell.—

Farewell.

_Exit Banquo._

Macbeth

Let every man be master of his time

Till seven at night;45

Let every man be master of his own time until seven tonight.

to make society45

The sweeter welcome, we will keep ourself

Till supper time alone:

To make your company all the sweeter when it comes, we will keep to ourselves until supper.

while then, God be with you.

Until then, God be with you.

_Exeunt Lady Macbeth, Lords, &c._

Macbeth

Sirrah, a word with you.

You there — a word with you.

Attend those men

Our pleasure?

Are those men waiting on our pleasure?

Servant

They are, my lord, without the palace gate.50

They are, my lord — outside the palace gate.

Macbeth

Bring them before us.

_Exit Servant._

Macbeth

To be thus is nothing,

But to be safely thus.

To be king is nothing unless I am safely king.

Our fears in Banquo

Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature

Reigns that which would be fear’d:55

My fears about Banquo run deep, and in his kingly nature there is something that deserves to be feared.

’tis much he dares;55

And, to that dauntless temper of his mind,

He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valour

To act in safety.

He dares a great deal, and on top of that fearless temper of his he has a wisdom that guides his courage to act safely.

There is none but he

Whose being I do fear:

He is the only man alive I'm afraid of;

and under him

My genius is rebuk’d; as, it is said,60

Mark Antony’s was by Caesar.

beside him my guardian spirit is put to shame — the way Mark Antony's, they say, was beside Caesar's.

He chid the sisters

When first they put the name of king upon me,

And bade them speak to him;

He scolded the sisters when they first put the name of king on me, and told them to speak to him;

then, prophet-like,

They hail’d him father to a line of kings:

and then, like prophets, they hailed him as father to a line of kings.

Upon my head they plac’d a fruitless crown,65

And put a barren sceptre in my gripe,

Thence to be wrench’d with an unlineal hand,

No son of mine succeeding.

On my head they placed a fruitless crown and shoved a barren scepter into my grip — to be wrenched away by a hand outside my family, since no son of mine will succeed me.

If’t be so,

For Banquo’s issue have I fil’d my mind;

If that's how it is, then it's for Banquo's descendants that I've corrupted my mind;

For them the gracious Duncan have I murder’d;70

for them I've murdered the gracious Duncan;

Put rancours in the vessel of my peace

Only for them;

for them alone I've poured bitterness into the cup of my peace;

and mine eternal jewel

Given to the common enemy of man,

To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!

and I've given my eternal jewel — my soul — to the devil, mankind's common enemy, all to make them kings: the seed of Banquo, kings!

Rather than so, come, fate, into the list,75

And champion me to th’ utterance!—

Rather than that, come, fate, into the arena, and fight me to the death!

Who’s there?—

— Who's there?

Enter Servant with two Murderers

Macbeth

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

Now go to the door and stay there until we call.

_Exit Servant._

Macbeth

Was it not yesterday we spoke together?

Wasn't it yesterday that we spoke together?

First Murderer

It was, so please your Highness.

It was, if it please your Highness.

Macbeth

Well then, now80

Have you consider’d of my speeches?

Well then — have you thought over what I told you?

Know

That it was he, in the times past, which held you

So under fortune, which you thought had been

Our innocent self?

You should know that it was Banquo who, in times past, kept you down in your fortunes — the man you blamed on innocent me.

This I made good to you

In our last conference, pass’d in probation with you85

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.”

I proved this to you at our last meeting: I walked you through the evidence of how you were strung along, how you were blocked, what tools were used, who worked with them, and everything else that would make even half a soul or a cracked mind say, "Banquo did this."

First Murderer

You made it known to us.90

You made it known to us.

Macbeth

I did so; and went further, which is now

Our point of second meeting.

I did — and I went further, which is the point of this second meeting.

Do you find

Your patience so predominant in your nature,

That you can let this go?

Do you find patience so dominant in your natures that you can let this pass?

Are you so gospell’d,

To pray for this good man and for his issue,95

Whose heavy hand hath bow’d you to the grave,

And beggar’d yours forever?

Are you so full of gospel meekness that you'd pray for this good man and for his children — a man whose heavy hand has bent you toward the grave and beggared your families forever?

First Murderer

We are men, my liege.

Macbeth

Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men;

As hounds, and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs,100

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

All by the name of dogs:

Yes — in the catalogue you pass for men, the way hounds, greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, shaggy lapdogs, water-dogs, and half-wolves are all called by the name of dog.

the valu’d file

Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle,

The housekeeper, the hunter, every one

According to the gift which bounteous nature105

Hath in him clos’d;

But the ranking list separates the swift, the slow, the cunning, the watchdog, the hunter — each according to the gift that generous nature has sealed inside him,

whereby he does receive

Particular addition, from the bill

That writes them all alike:

and each receives a particular title beyond the plain list that writes them all down alike.

and so of men.

It's the same with men.

Now, if you have a station in the file,

Not i’ th’ worst rank of manhood, say’t;110

Now, if you have a place in that ranking, and not in the lowest grade of manhood, say so,

And I will put that business in your bosoms,

Whose execution takes your enemy off,

Grapples you to the heart and love of us,

and I'll trust you with a piece of business whose execution removes your enemy and fastens you to my heart and love.

Who wear our health but sickly in his life,

Which in his death were perfect.115

My health is sickly while he lives; his death would make it perfect.

Second Murderer

I am one, my liege,

Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world

Hath so incens’d that I am reckless what

I do to spite the world.

I am one, my liege, whom the vile blows and knocks of the world have so enraged that I don't care what I do to spite the world.

First Murderer

And I another,120

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.

And I'm another — so worn down by disasters, so battered by fortune, that I'd stake my life on any gamble that would either mend it or be rid of it.

Macbeth

Both of you

Know Banquo was your enemy.125

Both of you know that 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;

He's my enemy too — and at such close and bloody quarters that every minute he stays alive is a thrust at the very core of my life.

and though I could

With barefac’d power sweep him from my sight,130

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:

I could sweep him from my sight with open royal power and let my will alone justify it — but I must not, because of certain friends who are both his and mine, whose loyalty I can't afford to lose. Instead I'd have to publicly mourn the fall of the very man I struck down.

and thence it is

That I to your assistance do make love,135

Masking the business from the common eye

For sundry weighty reasons.

That is why I am courting your help — masking the business from the public eye, for various weighty reasons.

Second Murderer

We shall, my lord,

Perform what you command us.

My lord, we will perform what you command.

First Murderer

Though our lives—140

Even if our lives—

Macbeth

Your spirits shine through you.

Your spirit shines 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;

Within this hour at most, I'll tell you where to station yourselves and give you perfect intelligence on the timing — the exact moment.

for’t must be done tonight

And something from the palace;145

It must be done tonight, and at some distance from the palace;

always thought145

That I require a clearness.

and always remember that I must be kept clear of suspicion.

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 fate150

Of that dark hour.

And along with him — to leave no rough edges or botches in the work — his son Fleance, who rides with him, and whose removal matters as much to me as his father's, must embrace the fate of that dark hour.

Resolve yourselves apart.

Make up your minds in private;

I’ll come to you anon.

I'll come to you soon.

Both Murderers

We are resolv’d, my lord.

We are resolved, my lord.

Macbeth

I’ll call upon you straight:

I'll call for you shortly;

abide within.

wait inside.

_Exeunt Murderers._

Macbeth

It is concluded.155

It is settled.

Banquo, thy soul’s flight,155

If it find heaven, must find it out tonight.

Banquo, your soul's flight, if it is going to find heaven, must find it tonight.

_Exit._

Famous lines in this scene

“To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus.” line 52

Being king means nothing, Macbeth says, unless his position is secure. The line is famous because it captures the play's central irony: murdering Duncan bought Macbeth the crown but not safety or peace, and his fear of losing power now drives him to further murders, beginning with Banquo's.

“Upon my head they plac’d a fruitless crown, And put a barren sceptre in my gripe” line 65

Macbeth complains that the witches gave him a "fruitless" crown and "barren" scepter — royal power that will die with him, since they promised the throne to Banquo's descendants, not his. The sterile imagery is famous for exposing what truly torments Macbeth: he sinned to benefit another man's children.

“mine eternal jewel Given to the common enemy of man” line 73

Macbeth's "eternal jewel" is his immortal soul, and the "common enemy of man" is the devil. The phrase is famous as his clearest admission that he has traded salvation itself for the crown — and that the bargain may end up making only Banquo's descendants kings.

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