THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH

Act 2 Scene 2

(Enter Lady Macbeth)
l1l	Lady Macbeth	 That which hath made them drunk hath made me bold.
l2l		What hath quenched them hath given me fire. Hark, peace!—
l3l		It was the owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman
l4l		Which gives the stern’st good-night. He is about it.
l5l		The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms
l6l		Do mock their charge with snores. I have drugged their possets
l7l		That death and nature do contend about them
l8l		Whether they live or die.
		(Enter Macbeth above)
		
	Macbeth	 Who’s there? What ho?
		(Exit)
l9l	Lady Macbeth	 Alack, I am afraid they have awaked,
l10l		And ’tis not done. Th’ attempt and not the deed
l11l		Confounds us. Hark!—I laid their daggers ready#
l12l		He could not miss ’em. Had he not resembled
l13l		My father as he slept, I had done ’t.
		(Enter Macbeth below)
		 My husband!
l14l	Macbeth	I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?
l15l	Lady Macbeth	I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry.
l16l		Did not you speak?
	Macbeth	When?
	Lady Macbeth	Now.
	Macbeth	As I descended?
l17l	Lady Macbeth	Ay.
	Macbeth	Hark!—Who lies i’ th’ second chamber?
l18l	Lady Macbeth	Donalbain.
	Macbeth	
		(looking at his hands)
		 This is a sorry sight.
l19l	Lady Macbeth	A foolish thought, to say a sorry sight.
l20l	Macbeth	There’s one did laugh in ’s sleep, and one cried “Murder!”
l21l		That they did wake each other. I stood and heard them.
l22l		But they did say their prayers and addressed them
l23l		Again to sleep.
	Lady Macbeth	There are two lodged together.
l24l	Macbeth	One cried “God bless us” and “Amen” the other,
l25l		As they had seen me with these hangman’s hands.
l26l		List’ning their fear I could not say “Amen”
l27l		When they did say “God bless us.”
l28l	Lady Macbeth	Consider it not so deeply.
l29l	Macbeth	But wherefore could not I pronounce “Amen”?
l30l		I had most need of blessing, and “Amen”
l31l		Stuck in my throat.
	Lady Macbeth	These deeds must not be thought
l32l		After these ways. So, it will make us mad.
l33l	Macbeth	Methought I heard a voice cry “Sleep no more,
l34l		Macbeth does murder sleep”—the innocent sleep,
l35l		Sleep that knits up the ravelled sleave of care,
l36l		The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,
l37l		Balm of hurt minds, great nature’s second course,
l38l		Chief nourisher in life’s feast—
	Lady Macbeth	What do you mean?
l39l	Macbeth	Still it cried “Sleep no more” to all the house,
l40l		“Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor
l41l		Shall sleep no more, Macbeth shall sleep no more.”
l42l	Lady Macbeth	Who was it that thus cried? Why, worthy thane,
l43l		You do unbend your noble strength to think
l44l		So brain-sickly of things. Go get some water
l45l		And wash this filthy witness from your hand.
l46l		Why did you bring these daggers from the place?
l47l		They must lie there. Go, carry them, and smear
l48l		The sleepy grooms with blood.
	Macbeth	I’ll go no more.
l49l		I am afraid to think what I have done,
l50l		Look on ’t again I dare not.
	Lady Macbeth	Infirm of purpose!
l51l		Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead
l52l		Are but as pictures. ’Tis the eye of childhood
l53l		That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed
l54l		I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal,
l55l		For it must seem their guilt.
		(Exit)
		
		(Knock within)
		
	Macbeth	 Whence is that knocking?—
l56l		How is ’t with me when every noise appals me?
l57l		What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes.
l58l		Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
l59l		Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
l60l		The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
l61l		Making the green one red.
		(Enter Lady Macbeth)
l62l	Lady Macbeth	 My hands are of your colour, but I shame
l63l		To wear a heart so white.
		(Knock within)
		 I hear a knocking
l64l		At the south entry. Retire we to our chamber.
l65l		A little water clears us of this deed.
l66l		How easy is it then! Your constancy
l67l		Hath left you unattended.
		(Knock within)
		 Hark, more knocking.
l68l		Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us
l69l		And show us to be watchers. Be not lost
l70l		So poorly in your thoughts.
l71l	Macbeth	To know my deed ’twere best not know myself.
		(Knock within)
l72l		Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou couldst.
		( 72 Exeunt)