in Macbeth — Shakespeare, William; Middleton, Thomas, rev.
Metadata
Play
Macbeth
Author
Shakespeare, William; Middleton, Thomas, rev.
Year (catalogued)
1623
First performance
1606
Decade
1620s
Genre
Tragedy
Play type
Adult Professional
Company
King's Men
Speech prefix(es)
Hec.
Words
265
Characters
1395
Typicality
0.40 (cosine to cluster centroid)
TCP id
A11954.31
BritDrama no.
1496
Cluster
Cluster 20 — Conjurers, witches & physicians
Important excerpts
No keyword-matching excerpt could be extracted (the cluster label doesn't share vocabulary with this character's speech).
Full speech
Have I not reason (Beldames) as you are? Saucy, and overbold, how did you dare To Trade, and Traffic with Macbeth, In Riddles, and Affairs of death; And I the Mistress of your Charms, The close contriver of all harms, Was never called to bear my partly, Or show the glory of our Art? And which is worse, all you have done Hath be but for a wayward Son, Spiteful, and wrathful, who (as others do) Loves for his own ends, not for you. But make amends now: Get you gone, And at the pit of Acheron Meet me in the Morning: thither he Will come, to know his Destiny. Your Vessels, and your Spells provide, Your Charms, and every thing beside; I am for the Air: This night I'll spend Unto a dismal, and a Fatal end. Great business must be wrought ere Noon. Upon the Corner of the Moon There hangs a vaporous drop, profound, I'll catch it ere it come to ground; And that distilled by Magic slights, Shall raise such Artificial Sprights, As by the strength of their illusion, Shall draw him on to his Confusion. He shall spurn Fate, scorn Death, and bear His Hope's above Wisdom, Grace, and Fear: And you all know, Security Is Mortals chiefest Enemy. Hark, I am called my little Spirit see Sits in a Foggy cloud, and stays for me. Oh well done: I commend your pains, And every one shall share in the gains: And now about the Cauldron sing Like Elves and Fairies in a Ring, Enchanting all that you put in.
Plot summary
Plot — Macbeth
With the aid of some treacherous noblemen, the Norwegians have attacked Scotland. In the ensuing battle, Macbeth is instrumental in expelling the invaders, and is created Thane of Cawdor. Before he learns of this honour, he is greeted with the title by three witches who tell him he is to be King; they also tell Banquo that, though he will not be King himself, his descendants will. King Duncan names his son Malcolm the heir apparent, and invites himself to Macbeth’s castle, where Macbeth murders him, abetted by his wife. The night is troubled by unnatural, portentous events. When the assassination is discovered, Malcolm and Donalbain flee the country; suspicion falls on them, and the succession on Macbeth. Macbeth is troubled by the witches’ prophecy about Banquo. He has Banquo murdered, but Fleance escapes; Banquo’s ghost then appears when Macbeth wishes him present at a feast. Hecate rebukes the witches for failing to involve her in their dealings with Macbeth. Disgraced after his failure to attend Macbeth’s feast, Macduff goes to England to rally military support against Macbeth, who has become an egregious tyrant. The witches show Macbeth three apparitions which warn him to beware of Macduff, but also assure him that he cannot be harmed by anybody born of a woman, and that he shall never be defeated until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane; he is also shown a vision confirming that Banquo’s heirs will rule Scotland. Learning of Macduff's defection, Macbeth has his wife and family killed; grief steels Macduff's resolve. Lady Macbeth begins sleepwalking, disintegrates psychologically, and dies, possibly by suicide. When the English army enters Scotland with Malcolm at its head, the thanes join it, but Macbeth puts his trust in the witches’ prophecies. They prove to have been misleading: the English army disguise their numbers by carrying branches from Birnam Wood as they advance on Dunsinane, and Macduff proves not to have been born of woman but prematurely ripped from his mother’s womb. Macduff kills Macbeth, and Malcolm is established as King of Scotland; he awards his thanes the new style of earls.