THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

Act 4 Scene 1

(A Cauldron. Thunder. Enter the three Witches)
l1l	First Witch	 Thrice the brinded cat hath mewed.
l2l	Second Witch	Thrice, and once the hedge-pig whined.
l3l	Third Witch	Harpier cries “’Tis time, ’tis time.”
l4l	First Witch	Round about the cauldron go,
l5l		In the poisoned entrails throw.
l6l		Toad that under cold stone
l7l		Days and nights has thirty-one
l8l		Sweltered venom sleeping got,
l9l		Boil thou first i’ th’ charmèd pot.
l10l	All	Double, double, toil and trouble,
l11l		Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
l12l	Second Witch	Fillet of a fenny snake,
l13l		In the cauldron boil and bake.
l14l		Eye of newt and toe of frog,
l15l		Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
l16l		Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting,
l17l		Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing,
l18l		For a charm of powerful trouble,
l19l		Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
l20l	All	Double, double, toil and trouble,
l21l		Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
l22l	Third Witch	Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
l23l		Witches’ mummy, maw and gulf
l24l		Of the ravined salt-sea shark,
l25l		Root of hemlock digged i’ th’ dark,
l26l		Liver of blaspheming Jew,
l27l		Gall of goat, and slips of yew
l28l		Slivered in the moon’s eclipse,
l29l		Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips,
l30l		Finger of birth-strangled babe
l31l		Ditch-delivered by a drab,
l32l		Make the gruel thick and slab.
l33l		Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron
l34l		For th’ ingredience of our cauldron.
l35l	All	Double, double, toil and trouble,
l36l		Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
l37l	Second Witch	Cool it with a baboon’s blood,
l38l		Then the charm is firm and good. AMiddleton> 
		(Enter Hecate and the other three Witches)
l39l	Hecate	 O, well done! I commend your pains,
l40l		And everyone shall share i’ th’ gains.
l41l		And now about the cauldron sing
l42l		Like elves and fairies in a ring,
l43l		Enchanting all that you put in.
		(Music and a song)
l44l	Hecate	> Black spirits and white, red spirits and grey,
l45l		Mingle, mingle, mingle, you that mingle may.
l46l	Fourth Witch	Titty, Tiffin, keep it stiff in#
l47l		Firedrake, Puckey, make it lucky#
l48l		Liard, Robin, you must bob in.
l49l	All	Round, around, around, about, about,
l50l		All ill come running in, all good keep out.
l51l	Fourth Witch	Here’s the blood of a bat.
l52l	Hecate	Put in that, O put in that!
l53l	Fifth Witch	Here’s leopard’s bane.
l54l	Hecate	Put in a grain.
l55l	Fourth Witch	The juice of toad, the oil of adder.
l56l	Fifth Witch	Those will make the younker madder.
l57l	Hecate	Put in, there’s all, and rid the stench.
l58l	A Witch	Nay, here’s three ounces of a red-haired wench.
l59l	All	Round, around, around, about, about,
l60l		All ill come running in, all good keep out.
l61l	>
Second Witch	 By the pricking of my thumbs,
l62l		Something wicked this way comes.
		(Knock within)
l63l		Open, locks, whoever knocks.
		(Enter Macbeth)
l64l	Macbeth	 How now, you secret, black, and midnight hags,
l65l		What is ’t you do?
	All The Witches	A deed without a name.
l66l	Macbeth	I conjure you by that which you profess,
l67l		Howe’er you come to know it, answer me.
l68l		Though you untie the winds and let them fight
l69l		Against the churches, though the yeasty waves
l70l		Confound and swallow navigation up,
l71l		Though bladed corn be lodged and trees blown down,
l72l		Though castles topple on their warders’ heads,
l73l		Though palaces and pyramids do slope
l74l		Their heads to their foundations, though the treasure
l75l		Of nature’s germens tumble all together
l76l		Even till destruction sicken, answer me
l77l		To what I ask you.
	First Witch	Speak.
	Second Witch	Demand.
	Third Witch	We’ll answer.
l78l	First Witch	Say if thou’dst rather hear it from our mouths
l79l		Or from our masters.
	Macbeth	Call ’em, let me see ’em.
l80l	First Witch	Pour in sow’s blood that hath eaten
l81l		Her nine farrow# grease that’s sweaten
l82l		From the murderer’s gibbet throw
l83l		Into the flame.
	All The Witches	Come high or low,
l84l		Thyself and office deftly show.
		(Thunder. First Apparition: an armed head)
l85l	Macbeth	 Tell me, thou unknown power—
	First Witch	He knows thy thought.
l86l		Hear his speech, but say thou naught.
l87l	First Apparition	Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth, beware Macduff,
l88l		Beware the Thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.
		(Apparition descends)
l89l	Macbeth	 Whate’er thou art, for thy good caution thanks.
l90l		Thou hast harped my fear aright. But one word more—
l91l	First Witch	He will not be commanded. Here’s another,
l92l		More potent than the first.
		(Thunder. Second Apparition: a bloody child)
l93l	Second Apparition	 Macbeth, Macbeth, Macbeth.
l94l	Macbeth	Had I three ears I’d hear thee.
l95l	Second Apparition	Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn
l96l		The power of man, for none of woman born
l97l		Shall harm Macbeth.
		(Apparition descends)
l98l	Macbeth	 Then live, Macduff—what need I fear of thee?
l99l		But yet I’ll make assurance double sure,
l100l		And take a bond of fate thou shalt not live,
l101l		That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies,
l102l		And sleep in spite of thunder.
		(Thunder. Third Apparition: a child crowned, with a tree in his hand)
		 What is this
l103l		That rises like the issue of a king,
l104l		And wears upon his baby-brow the round
l105l		And top of sovereignty?
	All The Witches	Listen, but speak not to ’t.
l106l	Third Apparition	Be lion-mettled, proud, and take no care
l107l		Who chafes, who frets, or where conspirers are.
l108l		Macbeth shall never vanquished be until
l109l		Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill
l110l		Shall come against him.
		(Apparition descends)
		
	Macbeth	 That will never be.
l111l		Who can impress the forest, bid the tree
l112l		Unfix his earth-bound root? Sweet bodements, good!
l113l		Rebellious dead, rise never till the wood
l114l		Of Birnam rise, and on ’s high place Macbeth
l115l		Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath
l116l		To time and mortal custom. Yet my heart
l117l		Throbs to know one thing. Tell me, if your art
l118l		Can tell so much, shall Banquo’s issue ever
l119l		Reign in this kingdom?
	All The Witches	Seek to know no more.
l120l	Macbeth	I will be satisfied. Deny me this,
l121l		And an eternal curse fall on you! Let me know.
		(The cauldron sinks. Hautboys)
l122l		Why sinks that cauldron? And what noise is this?
l123l	First Witch	Show.
l124l	Second Witch	Show.
l125l	Third Witch	Show.
l126l	All The Witches	Show his eyes and grieve his heart,
l127l		Come like shadows, so depart.
		(A show of eight kings, the last with a glass in his hand; and Banquo)
l128l	Macbeth	 Thou art too like the spirit of Banquo. Down!
l129l		Thy crown does sear mine eyeballs. And thy hair,
l130l		Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first.
l131l		A third is like the former. Filthy hags,
l132l		Why do you show me this?—A fourth? Start, eyes!
l133l		What, will the line stretch out to th’ crack of doom?
l134l		Another yet? A seventh? I’ll see no more—
l135l		And yet the eighth appears, who bears a glass
l136l		Which shows me many more# and some I see
l137l		That twofold balls and treble sceptres carry.
l138l		Horrible sight! Now I see ’tis true,
l139l		For the blood-baltered Banquo smiles upon me,
l140l		And points at them for his.
		(Exeunt kings and Banquo)
		 What, is this so?
l141l	>
[Hecate]	Ay, sir, all this is so. But why
l142l		Stands Macbeth thus amazedly?
l143l		Come, sisters, cheer we up his sprites,
l144l		And show the best of our delights.
l145l		I’ll charm the air to give a sound
l146l		While you perform your antic round,
l147l		That this great king may kindly say
l148l		Our duties did his welcome pay.
		(Music. The Witches dance, and vanish)
l149l	>
Macbeth	 Where are they? Gone? Let this pernicious hour
l150l		Stand aye accursèd in the calendar.
l151l		Come in, without there.
		(Enter Lennox)
		
	Lennox	 What’s your grace’s will?
l152l	Macbeth	Saw you the weird sisters?
	Lennox	No, my lord.
l153l	Macbeth	Came they not by you?
	Lennox	No, indeed, my lord.
l154l	Macbeth	Infected be the air whereon they ride,
l155l		And damned all those that trust them. I did hear
l156l		The galloping of horse. Who was ’t came by?
l157l	Lennox	’Tis two or three, my lord, that bring you word
l158l		Macduff is fled to England.
	Macbeth	Fled to England?
l159l	Lennox	Ay, my good lord.
l160l	Macbeth	(aside)
		 Time, thou anticipat’st my dread exploits.
l161l		The flighty purpose never is o’ertook
l162l		Unless the deed go with it. From this moment
l163l		The very firstlings of my heart shall be
l164l		The firstlings of my hand. And even now,
l165l		To crown my thoughts with acts, be it thought and done:
l166l		The castle of Macduff I will surprise,
l167l		Seize upon Fife, give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword
l168l		His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls
l169l		That trace him in his line. No boasting like a fool#
l170l		This deed I’ll do before this purpose cool.
l171l		But no more sights!
		(To Lennox)
		 Where are these gentlemen?
l172l		Come bring me where they are.
		(Exeunt)