Macbeth (34 page)
Authors: William Shakespeare
What … night?
What is the time of night?
147
at odds
contending, striving
148
How say’st thou
what do you say (to the fact)
denies his person
refuses to come
150
send
i.e. send a messenger
151
by the way
indirectly
152
them
i.e. the nobles
153
fee’d
paid (to spy)
will
will go
154
betimes
speedily/early
155
bent
determined
156
means
methods
157
All … way
all other affairs shall be put aside
158
should I
even if I were to
159
were
would be
tedious
wearisome/time-consuming
go o’er
going on
160
head
(my) mind
to hand
be carried out
161
scanned
examined, scrutinized
162
season
food preservative such as salt/period of time assigned to an event/time during which a plant ripens
strange
extraordinary/alienating
self-abuse
violation of myself/self-deception
163
strange and self-abuse
strange self-abuse
164
initiate
new, inexperienced
wants
lacks/needs
hard use
toughening, persistent experience
165
young in deed
inexperienced in action (
in deed
puns on
indeed
)
1
angerly
angry
2
beldams
hags
3
saucy
impudent
4
trade and traffic
have dealings with
7
close
secret
8
bear
carry out
9
art
magic
11
wayward
perverse, willful
Acheron
a river in Hades, the classical underworld
15
pit of Acheron
hell
18
vessels
receptacles (presumably cauldrons)
provide
prepare/be equipped with
20
spend
use
21
dismal
devastating/ominous
fatal
deadly/destined
22
wrought
brought about/ performed
24
vap’rous drop
in response to powerful enchantments, the moon was supposed to release a foam that transformed the things it fell upon
profound
deep, complex/hanging heavily
26
sleights
tricks, cunning
27
artificial
false/produced by artifice or magic
28
illusion
illusory nature/power to deceive
29
confusion
destruction/mental disorder, irrationality
30
spurn
reject
31
’bove
above, beyond reach of
grace
virtue/fortune/ divine salvation
32
security
confidence in one’s safety
35
stays
waits
36
Come …
etc.
for text of song, see pp. 95–96
1
hit
coincided with
2
Which … further
i.e. there is no need for Lennox to elaborate
only I
I only
3
borne
tolerated/managed
4
pitied of
lamented by
he was dead
i.e. Macbeth only pitied Duncan after he was dead
5
walked too late
was alive only too recently/was out too late at night (there are reverberations of death in the words:
walked
often referred to the appearances of a ghost and
late
could mean dead)
want
lack
8
cannot … thought
does not think
monstrous
unnatural
10
fact
crime/truth
11
straight
straight away
12
pious
loyal, dutiful
13
thralls
captives, slaves
17
well
i.e. for himself
18
under his key
locked up
19
an’t
if it
20
so should Fleance
i.e. were Fleance to be imprisoned he too would be punished for killing his father
21
from
as a result of
broad
frank, unrestrained
cause … presence
because he failed to attend
24
bestows himself
is lodging
25
son of Duncan
i.e. Malcolm
26
holds … birth
withholds his birthright (the crown)
28
Of
by
pious
devout, holy
Edward
Edward the Confessor, who ruled England from 1042 to 1066
grace
honor/favor/divine virtue
29
malevolence of fortune
i.e. Malcolm’s misfortunes
30
Takes
detracts
respect
courtesy/regard (for Malcolm)
31
pray
ask, entreat (but surrounding references to Edward’s holiness add a religious sense)
upon his aid
in aid of Malcolm
32
wake
rouse, stir
Northumberland
Earl (or possibly, people) of Northumberland, a county in the north of England
Siward
son of the Earl of Northumberland
34
ratify
sanction, approve
35
meat
food
36
Free … banquets
free our feasts and banquets from
37
homage
acts of allegiance
free
freely given/noble/ unpolluted
38
report
account (of the situation in Scotland)
39
exasperate
exasperated (i.e. incensed)
their king
i.e. Edward
41
he
i.e. Macbeth
42
absolute
resolved/blunt
‘Sir, not I’
Macduff’s words to the messenger
43
cloudy
frowning/gloomy
turns me
i.e. turns (
me
is emphatic; the lord was not present)
44
hums
i.e. makes a noise of displeasure
who should
if to
rue
regret
45
clogs
burdens, hampers
47
Advise … caution
serve to warn him
distance
i.e. from Macbeth
50
that
so that
51
suffering … accursed
country suffering under an accursed hand
1
brinded
having fur marked with darker streaks (probably tabby)
2
hedge-pig
hedgehog
3
Harpier
the Third Witch’s familiar
5
entrails
intestines or bodily insides generally/contents of the cauldron
8
Sweltered
sweated, exuded
7
Days … got
for thirty-one days and nights has exuded poison produced while sleeping
10
toil
labor/dissent, turmoil
trouble
effort/disorder/distress
12
fillet
slice (of meat)
fenny
muddy/from the fens (swamps)
15
Wool
downy hair
16
fork
forked tongue
blindworm
adder/slow-worm (legless lizard)
17
howlet
owlet, young owl
23
mummy
substance used for embalming/dead flesh itself/substance made from dead bodies and used in magic (properly called “mummia”)
maw
throat/stomach
gulf
throat/stomach
24
ravined
ravaged by hunger/glutted with its prey
25
hemlock
poisonous plant
26
blaspheming
i.e. denying Christian beliefs
27
slips
sprigs/cuttings
yew
yew tree (often planted in graveyards and associated with death)
28
Slivered
cut off
29
Tartar
person from Central Asia (like the
Turk
, a Muslim)
30
birth-strangled
strangled at birth, probably by the mother (and thus unbaptized)
31
Ditch-delivered
born in a ditch
drab
prostitute
32
slab
viscous, glutinous
33
chaudron
intestines/insides in general
Enter … Witches
the following sequence (Hecate’s speech and the song) is probably by Thomas Middleton, apparently added for performances after Shakespeare’s retirement; there are six witches in the song (see p. 96)
‘Black spirits’, etc.
for text of song, see p. 96
44
pricking
tingling
47
black
deadly/evil/associated with the black arts
50
conjure
call upon solemnly (plays on sense of “magically invoke”)
profess
claim to know about/practice as a trade
52
Though
even if
53
yeasty
frothy
54
Confound
destroy, overthrow
navigation
shipping
55
bladed corn
i.e. where the blade (leaf) is still folded around the seed-containing ear
lodged
beaten flat
56
warders
guards
57
slope
bend down
59
germens
seeds/essential parts
tumble all together
collapse into whirling chaos/all fall at once
60
sicken
grows nauseously sated/begins to be destroyed itself
69
farrow
piglets
sweaten
sweated
70
gibbet
gallows
73
office
function
armed
armored, i.e. wearing a helmet
descends
i.e. through the trapdoor
80
harped
hit upon, guessed
