The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) (952 page)

Porter

Marry, sir, nose-painting, sleep, and

urine. Lechery, sir, it provokes, and unprovokes;

it provokes the desire, but it takes

away the performance: therefore, much drink

may be said to be an equivocator with lechery:

it makes him, and it mars him; it sets

him on, and it takes him off; it persuades him,

and disheartens him; makes him stand to, and

not stand to; in conclusion, equivocates him

in a sleep, and, giving him the lie, leaves him.

Well, sir, it causes the nose to turn red

and it makes one sleep and urinate a lot.

It causes lust, but it takes away lust, as well.

meaning, it causes one to feel lustful but takes

away the ability to do anything about it. Lots

of drinking makes a man feel lustful, but it

renders him useless, in this regard. It turns his on,

and it turns him off. It makes him have an erection,

but the erection does not stay. Drink makes a man dream

of having sex, but then drink knocks the man down,

and the dream leaves.

MACDUFF

I believe drink gave thee the lie last night.

I believe drink knocked you down last night.

Porter

That it did, sir, i' the very throat on

me: but I requited him for his lie; and, I

think, being too strong for him, though he took

up my legs sometime, yet I made a shift to cast

him.

That it did, sir. Drink got me in the very throat. But I

got back at him for knocking me down. I was too strong

for him. Although he made my legs unsteady, I vomited

him up again.

MACDUFF

Is thy master stirring?

Is Macbeth awake?

Enter MACBETH

Our knocking has awaked him; here he comes.

Our knocking woke him up; here he comes.

LENNOX

Good morrow, noble sir.

Good morning, noble sir!

MACBETH

Good morrow, both.

Good morning to both of you!

MACDUFF

Is the king stirring, worthy thane?

Is the king awake yet, worthy thane?

MACBETH

Not yet.

Not yet.

MACDUFF

He did command me to call timely on him:

I have almost slipp'd the hour.

He commanded me to wake him up early.

I almost missed the hour he wanted me here.

MACBETH

I'll bring you to him.

I’ll take you to him.

MACDUFF

I know this is a joyful trouble to you;

But yet 'tis one.

I know this is a joyful trouble to you

to have him here, but trouble all the same.

MACBETH

The labour we delight in physics pain.

This is the door.

The effort we enjoy overcomes the pain.

Here is the door.

MACDUFF

I'll make so bold to call,

For 'tis my limited service.

I will go in and wake him,

since it is my job to do so.

Exit

LENNOX

Goes the king hence to-day?

Does the king leave today?

MACBETH

He does: he did appoint so.

He does, that is what he planned.

LENNOX

The night has been unruly: where we lay,

Our chimneys were blown down; and, as they say,

Lamentings heard i' the air; strange screams of death,

And prophesying with accents terrible

Of dire combustion and confused events

New hatch'd to the woeful time: the obscure bird

Clamour'd the livelong night: some say, the earth

Was feverous and did shake.

The night has been stormy; where we slept

our chimneys were blown down and people are saying

they heard laments and cries in the night, and strange

screams of death, and voices speaking in other languages

predicting terrible events and a sad time to come.

The veiled bird called out all night long: some say the earth

was feverish and trembled.

MACBETH

'Twas a rough night.

It was a rough night.

LENNOX

My young remembrance cannot parallel

A fellow to it.

In my short lifetime I cannot remember

another like it.

Re-enter MACDUFF

MACDUFF

O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart

Cannot conceive nor name thee!

Oh, horror, horror, horror! There are no words

to describe the unbelievable thing I have just seen!

MACBETH
LENNOX

What's the matter.

What’s the matter?

MACDUFF

Confusion now hath made his masterpiece!

Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope

The Lord's anointed temple, and stole thence

The life o' the building!

Confusion has created his masterpiece!

A sacrilegious murderer has broken

into the temple and has stolen its life!

MACBETH

What is 't you say? the life?

What are you saying? What do you mean, ‘the life?’

LENNOX

Mean you his majesty?

Do you mean the king?

MACDUFF

Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight

With a new Gorgon: do not bid me speak;

See, and then speak yourselves.

Go into the bedroom and witness the awful sight

yourselves. What is there will make you freeze in horror.

Do not ask me to describe it.

Go and see for yourselves and then you can describe it.

Exeunt MACBETH and LENNOX

Awake, awake!

Ring the alarum-bell. Murder and treason!

Banquo and Donalbain! Malcolm! awake!

Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit,

And look on death itself! up, up, and see

The great doom's image! Malcolm! Banquo!

As from your graves rise up, and walk like sprites,

To countenance this horror! Ring the bell.

Wake up! Wake up! Murder and treason!

Banquo and Donalbain! Malcolm! Wake up!

Shake off your sleep that is like death,

and look at death itself! Get up, get up,

and see the face of death! Malcolm! Banquo!

Get out of your grave-like beds and walk like spirits

to witness this horror. Ring the bell.

Bell rings

Enter LADY MACBETH

LADY MACBETH

What's the business,

That such a hideous trumpet calls to parley

The sleepers of the house? speak, speak!

What’s going on? What causes that hideous

trumpet to wake the sleepers of the house?

Speak! Tell me!

MACDUFF

O gentle lady,

'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak:

The repetition, in a woman's ear,

Would murder as it fell.

Oh, gentle lady, it is not for you to hear

what I cannot speak. To repeat it, in a woman’s

ear, would kill as the words were spoken.

Enter BANQUO

O Banquo, Banquo,

Our royal master 's murder'd!

Oh, Banquo, Banquo,

Our royal master has been murdered!

LADY MACBETH

Woe, alas!

What, in our house?

Oh, no! How awful!

Here, in our house?

BANQUO

Too cruel any where.

Dear Duff, I prithee, contradict thyself,

And say it is not so.

It would be too cruel no matter where it happened.

Dear Duff, please, say you are lying.

Say it is not so.

Re-enter MACBETH and LENNOX, with ROSS

MACBETH

Had I but died an hour before this chance,

I had lived a blessed time; for, from this instant,

There 's nothing serious in mortality:

All is but toys: renown and grace is dead;

The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees

Is left this vault to brag of.

If I had died just an hour before this happened,

I would have had a blessed life. But from this moment on,

there’s nothing serious that makes life worthwhile.

Everything is of little importance: the famous and graceful

king is dead. The wine of life has been poured, and all that

is left in the barrel to speak of is dregs.

Enter MALCOLM and DONALBAIN

DONALBAIN

What is amiss?

What’s wrong here?

MACBETH

You are, and do not know't:

The spring, the head, the fountain of your blood

Is stopp'd; the very source of it is stopp'd.

You are, and do not know it:

the spring, the head, the fountain of your blood

has stopped. The very source of it has stopped.

MACDUFF

Your royal father 's murder'd.

Your royal father has been murdered.

MALCOLM

O, by whom?

Oh? Who did it?

LENNOX

Those of his chamber, as it seem'd, had done 't:

Their hands and faces were an badged with blood;

So were their daggers, which unwiped we found

Upon their pillows:

They stared, and were distracted; no man's life

Was to be trusted with them.

The guards of his bedroom, it seems, have done it.

Their hands and faces were marked with blood.

So were their daggers, which we found, un-wiped,

upon their pillows: they stared at us, distracted.

No man’s life was to be trusted with them.

MACBETH

O, yet I do repent me of my fury,

That I did kill them.

I regret now that I was so furious I killed them.

MACDUFF

Wherefore did you so?

Why did you go and do that?

MACBETH

Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious,

Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man:

The expedition my violent love

Outrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan,

His silver skin laced with his golden blood;

And his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in nature

For ruin's wasteful entrance: there, the murderers,