The Tragedy of Macbeth, Part II: The Seed of Banquo
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MALCOLM O Donalbain! Your statue rises tall.
Stare not so marble-eyed upon your brother.
Enter Ghost of Macbeth.
How, say you? Why, ’tis not your throne.
Exit Ghost of Macbeth.
What, gone so soon? Macbeth, thy spirit taunts.
Each morn thou perches owl-like on this sill,
only to depart as sudden. The dead should not
be granted such choice of place.
Enter Ghost of Banquo.
What, Banquo, too?
You join in this parade of ghosts, yet I
was not your taker. It is the walls of Dunsinane
that have trapped you.
Exit Ghost of Banquo.
Then I am alone.
Duncan and Donalbain dare not alight;
I am too low for such high souls to see.
Enter Macduff, Seyton, Siward, various Nobles and Attendants.
SIWARD My lord, Fleance’s men have swelled and now
do brandish arms.
SEYTON They’ve massed on our Scottish
shore and prepare the jump to Ireland. They’ll join
with Ross and mount a joint attack.
MALCOLM (aside) Fleance attack?
Can the witches speak so expedient?
I have become the puppet king, pulled
on strings of prophecy. A fruitless crown
have they placed on my head, teetering
in the winds of prediction.
SIWARD We must net this threat unto your throne,
before it gains by doubled strength.
MALCOLM Macduff?
Have you of late attended my wife?
MACDUFF No,
my lord. I’ve only met with her once, before
your wedding, that I might satisfy myself
of her nature.
MALCOLM Indeed? And were you satisfied?
MACDUFF Quite. She is a model of virtue.
SIWARD My lord,
we waste the time. We must stop Fleance!
MALCOLM (to Macduff ) What think you of Fleance?
MACDUFF As before:
the boy is barely yet a man, and poses
no real threat unto your throne.
MALCOLM I’d rather
around me such men than those
too ripe with manhood.
MACDUFF My lord?
MALCOLM You seem keen
to let young Fleance go.
MACDUFF Keen only that you,
supreme king, be sparing in your display
of armed strength.
MALCOLM We have let Fleance roam
long enough. But I’ll not send an army
to net a boy. He can be taken by
a few brave hands. I know just the men:
the very three villains who took his father’s
life.
SEYTON Pray, my lord, send not such lowly
creatures to perform a soldier’s work. They missed
Fleance already once, and the fate
of the throne must not rest in their hands.
MALCOLM The fate of the throne? What concern of yours
is this?
SEYTON Why, ’tis your fate too, my lord.
MALCOLM The seed of Banquo is only a threat if you
believe the witches speak true. Do you, Macduff?
MACDUFF So it seems, my lord.
MALCOLM True in all
matters?
MACDUFF So it seems.
MALCOLM Well then, you
have spoke it. Ho, thee!
Enter Attendant.
Summon those three men
waiting outside my door.
Exit Attendant.
Now leave me.
Exeunt Macduff, Seyton and Siward.
MALCOLM He admits the witches speak true, and thus
concedes
his own betrayal. O! Treachery
so close!
Enter Three Murderers.
ALL My liege.
MALCOLM You are the three that stopped the life of our
dear Banquo.
FIRST MURDERER By King Macbeth’s command.
MALCOLM He spoke of you.
SECOND MURDERER Who, my lord?
MALCOLM Why, Banquo. What, speak you not?
THIRD MURDERER He is in heaven, my lord.
MALCOLM Then heaven is not far from here. There is
another who needs sending. It is his son.
FIRST MURDERER Worm of trickery!
SECOND MURDERER He ’scaped by a mere hairskin, my lord.
THIRD MURDERER The father fought well, to distract us
from the son. A quick little boy was he, with a quicker
horse.
MALCOLM Because of you, this bane of prophecy
has remained a thorn in Scotland’s side.
Now you can right your misstep and conclude
the task you failed before.
FIRST MURDERER ’Twill be a privilege, my lord.
MALCOLM He prepares his jump to Ireland.
Move quick. Let Scotland down again, and you
will hang, I swear. Go to.
Exit Three Murderers.
MALCOLM Thus tomorrow the prophecy shall end.
If there lies no other seed of Banquo—
and ’tis certain Fleance is the only one—
then none other can claim my throne.
Yet what of Macduff? Did not the sisters say
he would divide? Macduff has been a loyal
friend. But too many types of loyalty
are able to comingle in a single person,
allowing the friend who saves my life to also
seduce my love and find no contradiction
in the work, no breach of the word “loyalty.”
Yes, Macduff. I see your plan. Why else
let Fleance abscond? Why, to see me toppled
and clear the way for yourself. Already
he’s chopped off one king’s head, and is well-practiced
in the art. He is, after all,
a man of no woman born, and such
a man can ne’er be trusted. Very well, then:
on this day I’ll settle all accounts,
and give Fleance company in his descent.
Tonight I shall greet Macduff in his sleep,
and reunite him with his loved ones.
Exit.