THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

Act 3 Scene 4

(Banquet prepared. Enter Macbeth as King, Lady Macbeth as Queen, Ross, Lennox, Lords, and attendants. Lady Macbeth sits)
l1l	Macbeth	 You know your own degrees# sit down. At first and last
l2l		The hearty welcome.
	Lords	Thanks to your majesty.
		(They sit)
l3l	Macbeth	 Ourself will mingle with society
l4l		And play the humble host. Our hostess keeps her state,
l5l		But in best time we will require her welcome.
l6l	Lady Macbeth	Pronounce it for me, sir, to all our friends,
l7l		For my heart speaks they are welcome.
		(Enter First Murderer to the door)
l8l	Macbeth	 See, they encounter thee with their hearts’ thanks.
l9l		Both sides are even. Here I’ll sit, i’ th’ midst.
l10l		Be large in mirth. Anon we’ll drink a measure
l11l		The table round.
		(To First Murderer)
		 There’s blood upon thy face.
l12l	First Murderer	(aside to Macbeth)
		 ’Tis Banquo’s, then.
l13l	Macbeth	’Tis better thee without than he within.
l14l		Is he dispatched?
l15l	First Murderer	My lord, his throat is cut. That I did for him.
l16l	Macbeth	Thou art the best o’ th’ cut-throats. Yet he’s good
l17l		That did the like for Fleance. If thou didst it,
l18l		Thou art the nonpareil.
	First Murderer	Most royal sir,
l19l		Fleance is scaped.
l20l	Macbeth	Then comes my fit again# I had else been perfect,
l21l		Whole as the marble, founded as the rock,
l22l		As broad and general as the casing air,
l23l		But now I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in
l24l		To saucy doubts and fears. But Banquo’s safe?
l25l	First Murderer	Ay, my good lord. Safe in a ditch he bides,
l26l		With twenty trenchèd gashes on his head,
l27l		The least a death to nature.
	Macbeth	Thanks for that.
l28l		There the grown serpent lies. The worm that’s fled
l29l		Hath nature that in time will venom breed,
l30l		No teeth for th’ present. Get thee gone. Tomorrow
l31l		We’ll hear ourselves again.
		(Exit First Murderer)
		
	Lady Macbeth	 My royal lord,
l32l		You do not give the cheer. The feast is sold
l33l		That is not often vouched, while ’tis a-making,
l34l		’Tis given with welcome. To feed were best at home.
l35l		From thence the sauce to meat is ceremony,
l36l		Meeting were bare without it.
		(Enter the Ghost of Banquo, and sits in Macbeth's place)
		
	Macbeth	 Sweet remembrancer.
l37l		Now good digestion wait on appetite,
l38l		And health on both.
	Lennox	May ’t please your highness sit?
l39l	Macbeth	Here had we now our country’s honour roofed
l40l		Were the graced person of our Banquo present,
l41l		Who may I rather challenge for unkindness
l42l		Than pity for mischance.
	Ross	His absence, sir,
l43l		Lays blame upon his promise. Please ’t your highness
l44l		To grace us with your royal company?
l45l	Macbeth	The table’s full.
	Lennox	Here is a place reserved, sir.
l46l	Macbeth	Where?
l47l	Lennox	Here, my good lord. What is ’t that moves your highness?
l48l	Macbeth	Which of you have done this?
	Lords	What, my good lord?
l49l	Macbeth	(to the Ghost)
		 Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake
l50l		Thy gory locks at me.
l51l	Ross	(rising)
		 Gentlemen, rise. His highness is not well.
l52l	Lady Macbeth	(rising)
		 Sit, worthy friends. My lord is often thus,
l53l		And hath been from his youth. Pray you, keep seat.
l54l		The fit is momentary. Upon a thought
l55l		He will again be well. If much you note him
l56l		You shall offend him, and extend his passion.
l57l		Feed, and regard him not.
		(She speaks apart with Macbeth)
		 Are you a man?
l58l	Macbeth	Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that
l59l		Which might appal the devil.
	Lady Macbeth	O proper stuff!
l60l		This is the very painting of your fear#
l61l		This is the air-drawn dagger which you said
l62l		Led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts,
l63l		Impostors to true fear, would well become
l64l		A woman’s story at a winter’s fire
l65l		Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself,
l66l		Why do you make such faces? When all’s done
l67l		You look but on a stool.
l68l	Macbeth	Prithee see there. Behold, look, lo—how say you?
l69l		Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak, too!
l70l		If charnel-houses and our graves must send
l71l		Those that we bury back, our monuments
l72l		Shall be the maws of kites.
		(Exit Ghost)
		
	Lady Macbeth	 What, quite unmanned in folly?
l73l	Macbeth	If I stand here, I saw him.
	Lady Macbeth	Fie, for shame!
l74l	Macbeth	Blood hath been shed ere now, i’ th’ olden time,
l75l		Ere human statute purged the gentle weal#
l76l		Ay, and since, too, murders have been performed
l77l		Too terrible for the ear. The time has been
l78l		That, when the brains were out, the man would die,
l79l		And there an end. But now they rise again
l80l		With twenty mortal murders on their crowns,
l81l		And push us from our stools. This is more strange
l82l		Than such a murder is.
	Lady Macbeth	
		(aloud)
		 My worthy lord,
l83l		Your noble friends do lack you.
	Macbeth	I do forget.
l84l		Do not muse at me, my most worthy friends.
l85l		I have a strange infirmity which is nothing
l86l		To those that know me. Come, love and health to all,
l87l		Then I’ll sit down.
		(To an attendant)
		 Give me some wine. Fill full.
		(Enter Ghost)
l88l		I drink to th’ general joy of th’ whole table,
l89l		And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss.
l90l		Would he were here. To all and him we thirst,
l91l		And all to all.
	Lords	Our duties, and the pledge.
		(They drink)
l92l	Macbeth	(seeing the Ghost)
		 Avaunt, and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee.
l93l		Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold.
l94l		Thou hast no speculation in those eyes
l95l		Which thou dost glare with.
	Lady Macbeth	Think of this, good peers,
l96l		But as a thing of custom. ’Tis no other#
l97l		Only it spoils the pleasure of the time.
l98l	Macbeth	What man dare, I dare.
l99l		Approach thou like the ruggèd Russian bear,
l100l		The armed rhinoceros, or th’ Hyrcan tiger#
l101l		Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves
l102l		Shall never tremble. Or be alive again,
l103l		And dare me to the desert with thy sword.
l104l		If trembling I inhabit then, protest me
l105l		The baby of a girl. Hence, horrible shadow,
l106l		Unreal mock’ry, hence!
		(Exit Ghost)
		 Why so, being gone,
l107l		I am a man again. Pray you sit still.
l108l	Lady Macbeth	You have displaced the mirth, broke the good meeting
l109l		With most admired disorder.
	Macbeth	Can such things be
l110l		And overcome us like a summer’s cloud,
l111l		Without our special wonder? You make me strange
l112l		Even to the disposition that I owe,
l113l		When now I think you can behold such sights
l114l		And keep the natural ruby of your cheeks
l115l		When mine is blanched with fear.
	Ross	What sights, my lord?
l116l	Lady Macbeth	I pray you, speak not. He grows worse and worse.
l117l		Question enrages him. At once, good night.
l118l		Stand not upon the order of your going,
l119l		But go at once.
	Lennox	Good night, and better health
l120l		Attend his majesty.
	Lady Macbeth	A kind good-night to all.
		( 120B Exeunt Lords)
l121l	Macbeth	 It will have blood, they say. Blood will have blood.
l122l		Stones have been known to move, and trees to speak,
l123l		Augurs and understood relations have
l124l		By maggot-pies and choughs and rooks brought forth
l125l		The secret’st man of blood. What is the night?
l126l	Lady Macbeth	Almost at odds with morning, which is which.
l127l	Macbeth	How sayst thou that Macduff denies his person
l128l		At our great bidding?
	Lady Macbeth	Did you send to him, sir?
l129l	Macbeth	I hear it by the way, but I will send.
l130l		There’s not a one of them but in his house
l131l		I keep a servant fee’d. I will tomorrow,
l132l		And betimes I will, to the weird sisters.
l133l		More shall they speak, for now I am bent to know
l134l		By the worst means the worst. For mine own good
l135l		All causes shall give way. I am in blood
l136l		Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,
l137l		Returning were as tedious as go o’er.
l138l		Strange things I have in head that will to hand,
l139l		Which must be acted ere they may be scanned.
l140l	Lady Macbeth	You lack the season of all natures, sleep.
l141l	Macbeth	Come, we’ll to sleep. My strange and self-abuse
l142l		Is the initiate fear that wants hard use.
l143l		We are yet but young in deed.
		(Exeunt)
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