The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (944 page)

Friends of my soul, you twain

Rule in this realm, and the gored state sustain.

Carry them away. At the moment we have to deal

with the general sorrow.

My dearest friends, you two

must rule this kingdom, and nurse the wounded state back to health.

KENT

I have a journey, sir, shortly to go;

My master calls me, I must not say no.

There is a journey, sir, I must shortly undertake:

my master calls me, I must not refuse.

ALBANY

The weight of this sad time we must obey;

Speak what we feel, not what we ought to say.

The oldest hath borne most: we that are young

Shall never see so much, nor live so long.

Exeunt, with a dead march

We must do as this sad time dictates;

we must say what we feel, not what we ought to say.

The oldest have suffered the most: we young ones

will never see as much, or live as long.

DUNCAN, King of Scotland

MALCOLM, his Son

DONALBAIN, his Son

MACBETH, General in the King's Army

BANQUO, General in the King's Army

MACDUFF, Nobleman of Scotland

LENNOX, Nobleman of Scotland

ROSS, Nobleman of Scotland

MENTEITH, Nobleman of Scotland

ANGUS, Nobleman of Scotland

CAITHNESS, Nobleman of Scotland

FLEANCE, Son to Banquo

SIWARD, Earl of Northumberland, General of the English Forces

YOUNG SIWARD, his Son

SEYTON, an Officer attending on Macbeth

BOY, Son to Macduff

An English Docto

 A Scotch Doctor

A Soldier

A Porter

An Old Man

A Desert Place

Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches

First Witch

When shall we three meet again

In thunder, lightning, or in rain?

When will the three of us meet again?

Will there be thunder, lightning or rain?

Second Witch

When the hurlyburly's done,

When the battle's lost and won.

We will meet when the commotion is over.

We will meet when the battle has been lost or won.

Third Witch

That will be ere the set of sun.

That will be before the sun sets.

First Witch

Where the place?

Where will we meet?

Second Witch

Upon the heath.

We’ll meet in the open field.

Third Witch

There to meet with Macbeth.

We’ll meet Macbeth there.

First Witch

I come, Graymalkin!

I’m coming, Graymalkin, gray cat of mine!

Second Witch

Paddock calls.

Paddock, my frog, calls me, too!

Third Witch

Anon.

Soon!

ALL

Fair is foul, and foul is fair:

Hover through the fog and filthy air.

Beautiful is ugly, and ugly is beautiful.

Let us float through the fog and filthy air.

Exeunt

Exit.

A Camp Near Forres.

Alarum within. Enter DUNCAN, MALCOLM, DONALBAIN, LENNOX, with Attendants, meeting a bleeding Sergeant

DUNCAN

What bloody man is that? He can report,

As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt

The newest state.

Who is this wounded man?

It seems he can report on the current state of the battle.

MALCOLM

This is the sergeant

Who like a good and hardy soldier fought

'Gainst my captivity. Hail, brave friend!

Say to the king the knowledge of the broil

As thou didst leave it.

He is a sergeant, who fought like a strong

and good soldier to keep me from capture.

My brave friend! Tell the king what you know

of the war when you left it.

Sergeant

Doubtful it stood;

As two spent swimmers, that do cling together

And choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald--

Worthy to be a rebel, for to that

The multiplying villanies of nature

Do swarm upon him--from the western isles

Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied;

And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling,

Show'd like a rebel's whore: but all's too weak:

For brave Macbeth--well he deserves that name--

Disdaining fortune, with his brandish'd steel,

Which smoked with bloody execution,

Like valour's minion carved out his passage

Till he faced the slave;

Which ne'er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,

Till he unseam'd him from the nave to the chaps,

And fix'd his head upon our battlements.

It was doubtful, just like two exhausted swimmers who cling

to each other and choke one another. Macdonwald

was like a rebel with many forces of nature in him.

He had a ready supply of foot soldiers and massive warriors.

Fortune smiled on his damned war, and looked just like a rebel’s

whore. But fortune was not strong enough. Brave Macbeth—

he deserves that name—went against fortune with his sword drawn,

and he cut through it all with blood until he faced Macdonwald.

He didn’t even shake hands or say goodbye to him. He just cut him

in two, and put Macdonwald’s head on our fort’s wall.

DUNCAN

O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!

Oh, my brave cousin! What a worthy man!

Sergeant

As whence the sun 'gins his reflection

Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break,

So from that spring whence comfort seem'd to come

Discomfort swells. Mark, king of Scotland, mark:

No sooner justice had with valour arm'd

Compell'd these skipping kerns to trust their heels,

But the Norweyan lord surveying vantage,

With furbish'd arms and new supplies of men

Began a fresh assault.

Just like when the sun rises and storms capable

of wrecking ships and awful thunder end—

that place where comfort seemed to come, instead

discomfort came. Listen to me, king of Scotland, listen:

No sooner did justice come armed with courage,

causing the foot soldiers to start running away,

did the Norwegian lord see his chance

to bring in more arms and new soldiers

and begin a fresh attack.

DUNCAN

Dismay'd not this

Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo?

Didn’t this worry our captains,

Macbeth and Banquo?

Sergeant

Yes;

As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.

If I say sooth, I must report they were