SCENE VII. The same. Another Part of the Plain. Enter MACВЕТН. Macb. They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, But, bearlike, I must fight the course.1-What's he, Am I to fear, or none. : Enter Young SIWARD. Thou'lt be afraid to hear it. Yo. Siw. What is thy name? Yo. Siw. No; though thou call'st thyself a hotter name Than any is in hell. Macb. My name's Macbeth. Yo. Siw. The devil himself could not pronounce a title More hateful to mine ear. Macb. No, nor more fearful. Yo. Siw. Thou liest, abhorred tyrant; with my sword I'll prove the lie thou speak'st. Macb. [They fight, and Young Siward is slain. Thou wast born of woman. But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, Alarums. Enter MACDUFF. [Exit. Macd. That way the noise is.-Tyrant, show thy face: If thou be'st slain, and with no stroke of mine, 1 "But, bearlike, I must fight the course." This was a phrase at bearbaiting. "Also you shall see two ten dog courses at the great bear."Antipodes, by Brome. I cannot strike at wretched kernes, whose arms [Exit. Alarum. Enter MALCOLM and Old SIWARD. Siw. This way, my lord. -The castle's gently ren dered: The tyrant's people on both sides do fight; The noble thanes do bravely in the war; The day almost itself professes yours, And little is to do. Macb. Why should I play the Roman fool, and die On mine own sword? Whiles I see lives, the gashes Do better upon them. Re-enter MACDUFF. Macd. Turn, hell-hound, turn. Macb. Of all men else I have avoided thee; Macd. Macb. [They fight. Thou losest labor: As easy may'st thou the intrenchant air 2 1 Bruited is reported, noised abroad; from bruit (Fr.). 2 "The intrenchant air," the air which cannot be cut. With thy keen sword impress, as make me bleed. I bear a charmed life, which must not yield To one of woman born. Macd. Macb. Accursed be that tongue that tells me so, Macd. Then yield thee, coward, Here may you see the tyrant. Macb. I'll not yield To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet, [Exeunt, fighting. Retreat. Flourish. Re-enter, with drum and colors, MALCOLM, Old SIWARD, ROSSE, LENOX, ANGUS, CATHNESS, MENTETH, and Soldiers. Mal. I would the friends we miss were safe arrived. Siw. Some must go off; and yet, by these I see, So great a day as this is cheaply bought. Mal. Macduff is missing, and your noble son. 1 "That palter with us in a double sense," that shuffle with ambiguous expressions. Rosse. Your son, my lord, has paid a soldier's debt. He only lived but till he was a man; The which no sooner had his prowess confirmed But like a man he died. Siw. Then he is dead? Rosse. Ay, and brought off the field; your cause of sorrow Must not be measured by his worth, for then It hath no end. Siw. Had he his hurts before? Rosse. Ay, on the front. Why, then, God's soldier be he! Had I as many sons as I have hairs, I would not wish them to a fairer death.1 And so his knell is knolled. Mal. He's worth more sorrow, And that I'll spend for him. Siw. He's worth no more ; They say, he parted well, and paid his score; And so, God be with him!-Here comes newer comfort. Re-enter MACDUFF, with MACBETH's head on a pole.2 Macd. Hail, king! for so thou art. Behold, where stands The usurper's cursed head: the time is free : 1 "When Siward, the martial earl of Northumberland, understood that his son, whom he had sent against the Scotchmen, was slain, he demanded whether his wounds were in the fore part or hinder part of his body. When it was answered, in the fore part,' he replied, 'I am right glad; neither wish I any other death to me or mine. "-Camden's Remaines. 2 These words, " on a pole," Mr. Steevens added to the stage direction from the Chronicle. The stage directions of the players are often incorrect, and sometimes ludicrous. 3 "Thy kingdom's pearl," thy kingdom's wealth or ornament. Rowe altered this to peers, without authority. All. Hail, king of Scotland! [Flourish. Mal. We shall not spend a large expense of time, Of this dead butcher, and his fiendlike queen; [Flourish. Exeunt. 1 "Malcolm, immediately after his coronation, called a parliament at Forfair; in the which he rewarded them with lands and livings that had assisted him against Macbeth. Manie of them that were before thanes were at this time made earles; as Fife, Menteith, Atholl, Levenox, Murrey, Caithness, Rosse, and Angus." - Holinshed's History of Scotland, p. 176. THIS play is deservedly celebrated for the propriety of its fictions, and solemnity, grandeur, and variety of its action; but it has no nice discriminations of character: the events are too great to admit the influence of particular dispositions, and the course of the action necessarily determines the conduct of the agents. The danger of ambition is well described; and I know not whether it may not be said, in defence of some parts which now seem improbable, that in Shakspeare's time it was necessary to warn credulity against vain and illusive predictions. The passions are directed to their true end. Lady Macbeth is merely detested; and though the courage of Macbeth preserves some esteem, yet every reader rejoices at his fall. JOHNSON. |