I have seen the day, with my good biting falchion
I would have made them skip: I am old now,
And these same crosses spoil me. Who are you?
Mine eyes are not o' the best: I'll tell you straight.
I did, didn't I, my man?
I have seen the day when I could have made them dance
with my cutting light sword: I am old now,
and that's taken my ability. Who are you?
My sight is not very good: I should know you.
KENT
If fortune brag of two she loved and hated,
One of them we behold.
If fortune said that there were two people, one she loved and one she hated,
we see one of them here.
KING LEAR
This is a dull sight. Are you not Kent?
This is a sad sight. Aren't you Kent?
KENT
The same,
Your servant Kent: Where is your servant Caius?
I'm him,
your servant Kent: where is your servant, Caius?
KING LEAR
He's a good fellow, I can tell you that;
He'll strike, and quickly too: he's dead and rotten.
He's a good fellow, I can tell you that;
he'll attack, and quickly too: he's dead and rotting.
KENT
No, my good lord; I am the very man,--
No, my good lord; I am the very man–
KING LEAR
I'll see that straight.
I'll deal with that in a moment.
KENT
That, from your first of difference and decay,
Have follow'd your sad steps.
That has followed your sad steps ever since
your fortunes began to change.
KING LEAR
You are welcome hither.
You are welcome here.
KENT
Nor no man else: all's cheerless, dark, and deadly.
Your eldest daughters have fordone them selves,
And desperately are dead.
I am really the man: everything is unhappy, dark, and deadly.
Your eldest daughters have destroyed themselves,
and are dead through despair.
KING LEAR
Ay, so I think.
Yes, that's what I think.
ALBANY
He knows not what he says: and vain it is
That we present us to him.
He doesn't know what he's saying: it's no use
talking to him.
EDGAR
Very bootless.
Enter a Captain
Very useless.
Captain
Edmund is dead, my lord.
Edmund is dead, my lord.
ALBANY
That's but a trifle here.
You lords and noble friends, know our intent.
What comfort to this great decay may come
Shall be applied: for us we will resign,
During the life of this old majesty,
To him our absolute power:
To EDGAR and KENT
you, to your rights:
With boot, and such addition as your honours
Have more than merited. All friends shall taste
The wages of their virtue, and all foes
The cup of their deservings. O, see, see!
That means hardly anything at the moment.
You lords and noble friends, listen to my wishes.
Anything that can bring comfort to poor Lear
shall be given: as for me I will hand over,
for as long as this old Majesty is alive,
my absolute power to him:
I shall give you two your rights:
with all the additional rewards which your great deeds
richly deserve. All friends shall be paid
rewards for their virtue, and all enemies
shall be punished as they deserve. Oh! Look, look!
KING LEAR
And my poor fool is hang'd! No, no, no life!
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,
And thou no breath at all? Thou'lt come no more,
Never, never, never, never, never!
Pray you, undo this button: thank you, sir.
Do you see this? Look on her, look, her lips,
Look there, look there!
Dies
And my poor fool is hanged! No, no, no life!
Why should a dog, a horse, a rat, have life,
and you have no breath? You'll never come back,
never, never, never, never, never!
Please, undo this button: thank you, sir.
Can you see this? Look at her, look, her lips,
look there, look there!
EDGAR
He faints! My lord, my lord!
He faints! My lord, my lord!
KENT
Break, heart; I prithee, break!
Break, heart; please, break!
EDGAR
Look up, my lord.
Look up, my lord.
KENT
Vex not his ghost: O, let him pass! he hates him much
That would upon the rack of this tough world
Stretch him out longer.
Do not torture his spirit: let him go! You would have to really hate him
to stretch him out upon the rack of this harsh world
any longer.
EDGAR
He is gone, indeed.
Yes, he's gone.
KENT
The wonder is, he hath endured so long:
He but usurp'd his life.
It's amazing he survived so long:
he overthrew his life.
ALBANY
Bear them from hence. Our present business
Is general woe.
To KENT and EDGAR
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?
W
hen 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
As cannons overcharged with double cracks, so they
Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe:
Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,
Or memorise another Golgotha,
I cannot tell.
But I am faint, my gashes cry for help.
Yes, it did. Like it would worry sparrows before the eagle,
or lambs before the lion. I swear, they were like cannons
overcharged with cracks—they doubled twice over their attacks
against the enemy: whether they aimed for a bloodbath
or a second Crucifixion, who knows?
I am faint and my wounds need tending.
DUNCAN
So well thy words become thee as thy wounds;
They smack of honour both. Go get him surgeons.
Your words speak as highly of you as your wounds.
They speak of your honor. Go, and get him doctors.
Exit Sergeant, attended
Who comes here?
Who is coming?
Enter ROSS
MALCOLM
The worthy thane of Ross.
It is the worthy Thane of Ross.
LENNOX
What a haste looks through his eyes! So should he look
That seems to speak things strange.
He has such a hurried look about him! And looking that way,
Has so many strange things to say.
ROSS
God save the king!
God save the king!
DUNCAN
Whence camest thou, worthy thane?
Where have you come from, worthy thane?
ROSS
From Fife, great king;
Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky
And fan our people cold. Norway himself,
With terrible numbers,
Assisted by that most disloyal traitor
The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict;
Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof,
Confronted him with self-comparisons,
Point against point rebellious, arm 'gainst arm.
Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude,
The victory fell on us.
I’ve come from Fife, great King,
where the Norwegian flags fly
chilling our people. The King of Norway
was there with great numbers of men.
The thane of Cawdor began a conflict
until the war’s bridegroom himself,
wrapped in truth, confronted him with comparisons,
pointing out how they were both rebellious, and both armed well,
and it s
topped his extravagant spirit and the victory fell to us.
DUNCAN
Great happiness!
It makes me so happy to hear this!
ROSS
That now
Sweno, the Norways' king, craves composition:
Nor would we deign him burial of his men
Till he disbursed at Saint Colme's inch
Ten thousand dollars to our general use.
After that, Sweno, Norway’s king, wanted an agreement,
but we would not allow his men to be buried
until he paid us ten thousand dollars at Saint Colme’s.
DUNCAN
No more that thane of Cawdor shall deceive
Our bosom interest: go pronounce his present death,
And with his former title greet Macbeth.
The thane of Cawdor will no longer betray
the things important to us: order his death immediately.
And give his former title to Macbeth.
ROSS
I'll see it done.
I’ll see that it’s done.
DUNCAN
What he hath lost noble Macbeth hath won.
What he has lost, the noble Macbeth has won.
Exeunt
A Heath Near Forres
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare In Plain and Simple English (Translated) Page 573