The Tragedy of Macbeth, Part II: The Seed of Banquo
Page 10
SCENE V
Scotland. Forest.
Enter Fleance, with Soldiers.
FLEANCE ’Tis strange. Her parents claim she did not come,
yet she’s not met us at the ship. This is
the trail where we last met. No trace at all.
I start to fear some dreadful deed. Spread
further, and raise the lanterns high.
FIRST SOLDIER Here my lord!
Fleance and others discover Fiona’s body.
FLEANCE O, cruel and unjust heaven! Here’s a sight
to rend the soul. The very visage of
an angel tumbled down to earth, but with
no cloud to stop the fall. O humanity!
How cruel and how callous thou art.
Fleance kneels and holds her.
FLEANCE ’Twere not for me, thou wouldst be safe, embraced
still by the family thou loved most. The reach
of my destiny runs too deep, harming
all who come too close. Had I heart
left to live, I’d lend it thee, to pump
the blood that flowed so nobly in thy veins.
SECOND SOLDIER My lord, we must make to the ship. These
woods
become unsafe.
FLEANCE My love, this time you shall
accompany, and like the albatross,
lead our voyage. Great Neptune shall weep
whilst he hosts, and Ireland will greet
you with profound celebrity.
THIRD SOLDIER My lord, we must depart.
FLEANCE Woe to thee, Malcolm.
I who gave my life to love shall learn
the ways of war; I who worshipped Venus
will turn my face to Mars.
“Avenge, thou mayst, Fleance!” Would I had
abided my father’s cry—then thou wouldst live,
O sweet Fiona. Now I shall obey.
Vengeance now will be my new companion,
and vengeance shall breed vengeance unto such extreme
that violence will but a prologue seem.
Exeunt.
SCENE VI
Dunsinane. Macduff ‘s chamber.
Macduff, sleeping.
Enter Malcolm.
MALCOLM Duncan slept in that very bed
when Macbeth did his deed. Am I,
then, too, a parricide?
’Tis strange. But yesterday I had never
dreamed of murder; now this arm that thrust
Donalbain so deep does by its own crave more,
as if all of Hades’ minions I’ve unleashed.
If I could but close the gates, I would;
but I fear the lock’s been picked, and the weight
of the world above cannot turn back
the hinge.
Macduff, if I think truly on the matter,
never did me harm; advised me well;
indeed, I never saw him with my wife.
I have become infected with this curse
called power, this insatiable trap
that leads to nothing but wanting more, that turns
our friends to foes, suitors to traitors, brothers
to villains. Even if imagined, our fancies
are real enough, and fancies beget plans,
and plans beget action.
Yet—I had a motive—what was it?
Man of no woman—tear my union—
I cannot recall. The early hour plagues
my memory.
The dagger shakes.
The deed must now descend or else forever
must I forego.
For the sake of our union, then.
Awake, O adulterer!
Malcolm stabs Macduff.
MACDUFF Am I stabbed by the one I loved the most?
Rest now, Lady Macduff: thou art avenged.
Rest now, boy: your coward father doth return.
Macduff dies.
MALCOLM Forgive me, Father: it seemed I saw your face
when I the dagger thrust. Did I then murder
Duncan? I can’t recall.
What a hideous death was this!
So noble was he in the act of dying,
as if to further scold his taker.
The blood has stained my arm entire—
It shall never wash out!
Exeunt.
SCENE VII
Dunsinane. Lady Malcolm’s bedroom.
Lady Malcolm, sleeping.
Enter Nurse and Doctor.
NURSE I tell you, she is not well. I heard
her cry out “murder.” She plots some treachery,
just like her mother.
DOCTOR Speech in sleep does not point to the doing.
NURSE I tell you— Hark!
LADY MALCOLM O king, do not murder!
NURSE There! ’Tis proof!
DOCTOR She spoke not to murder.
NURSE ’Tis but the same—her mind is occupied
with the deed.
DOCTOR ’Tis not the same. She is
a noble and virtuous queen—do not paint
her otherwise. Yet her mind is troubled.
Doctor wakes Lady Malcolm.
DOCTOR My queen, forgive the start.
LADY MALCOLM Is he safe?
DOCTOR Who, my queen?
LADY MALCOLM Macduff.
NURSE Why would he be otherwise?
LADY MALCOLM O! What a hideous dream.
DOCTOR My lady,
your mind is troubled. I pray you, take as physic
this root—’twill put you fast asleep.
LADY MALCOLM Most gracious,
but ’tis my spirit that suffers, for which no root
is strong enough.
NURSE Why so, my lady?
Answer you not?
DOCTOR Pray, nurse, leave us.
NURSE (aside) Leave you, I shall, but not ’til I finish
my task. I thought it would be simpler; yet she
resembles too much my daughter. No matter. I must
see it through. Farwell, Macbeth.
If I have my say, tomorrow I’ll
undo thy wedding day.
Exit Nurse.
DOCTOR Pray, take this root, my lady. Thou shalt
sleep well, and sleep shall make thee well.
LADY MALCOLM ’Tis the place,
I fear, that makes me unwell.
DOCTOR Your mother I also did attend.
LADY MALCOLM What was she like?
DOCTOR Far from your likeness. I am no man of spirit,
but if I were, I would also point
to this place where your mother lived,
and dreamt as she slept, and walked as she dreamt.
These stones are held by no mere mortar.
As unphysic-like as it may be,
to advise you to hasten from this place
would be the only remedy in my bag.
LADY MALCOLM You have performed your service graciously.
I pray you, leave me now.
Doctor exits.
LADY MALCOLM He advises too well, and echoes my own
thoughts of late. Malcolm vowed a life
free of blood and witchery—within
these short hours his vows are broken twice.
What worth, then, is a wedding vow?
His murder of his brother, in the heat
of battle, might be a sin forgiven. But
to murder sweet Macduff! In this, he’s torn
our union asunder. I shall not
sleep beside a murderer.
On the morrow I will depart this place
and return to my Iona.
O mother! Would you had never conceived!
Exit.
SCENE VIII
Dunsinane. Ramparts.
MALCOLM Some water and
this arm comes clean; some more,
and so does this. Can murder wash away
so quick? Can murderers keep walking thus,
breathing free, unpunished by their act?
Where has judgment gone? It must lurk in
the afterlife. I think ’tis better, then,
that I live longer here.
Enter Three Murderers.
Yet there seems
no end to the blood that I must spill
to keep my kingdom safe—and keep it safely mine.
What say you, Banquo?
Fleance lives? Yet more blood to spill.
FIRST MURDERER My lord? To whom do you in counsel
speak?
MALCOLM Why, my guide to the world below.
FIRST MURDERER Yet I see none.
MALCOLM Why dost thou return?
SECOND MURDERER We have done the deed.
THIRD MURDERER Fleance is dead.
MALCOLM Which one performed the deed?
ALL ’Twas I—
FIRST MURDERER ’Twas all of us, my lord.
MALCOLM By whose order?
FIRST MURDERER Why, yours, my lord.
MALCOLM Where then is the blood?
Murderers hold out their sleeves.
ALL ’Tis here.
MALCOLM But ’tis not on my sleeve.
FIRST MURDERER My lord?
MALCOLM Your deed is done. Mine, I fear, is yet to come.
FIRST MURDERER (aside, to other murderers) He suffers from
some malady . . . ’twill be short time before he learns
Fleance still lives. Let us quickly flee this place.
Exit Three Murderers, running.
MALCOLM So. Fleance is dead. Donalbain is dead.
Macduff is dead. And Cawdor does not live,
except in me. Then, there are none left to fear.
Yet still I feel unsafe. Danger, where
dost thou lurk?
Bell rings.
VOICE Murder! Murder! Macduff lives no more!
Enter Seyton, Siward, various Nobles and Attendants.
ATTENDANT My lord! Macduff has been slain!
MALCOLM Where?
ATTENDANT Where he slept. Three men, garments stained
in blood, were spotted fleeing our castle. Suspicion
falls on them.
MALCOLM Where is Macduff?
ATTENDANT My lord?
He’s slain.
MALCOLM But where is he now?
ATTENDANT Gone
to heaven, I suppose.
SIWARD My king, we must
pursue the murderers.
MALCOLM Pursue.
Exit Attendants.
SIWARD This castle is unsafe.
MALCOLM To be safe,
we must be safe from ourselves.
Pursue!
Exeunt all but Seyton and Siward.
SEYTON (aside, to Siward) Note you not who’s absent here?
SIWARD Who?
SEYTON Why, the queen. How doth she sleep so sound
despite alarums of murder?
SIWARD I cannot fathom.
SEYTON Why, because she is the root.
SIWARD She?
SEYTON She has begun erasing all too close
to her throne. If only she’d spared sweet
Macduff! We shall be next.
SIWARD Star of villainy!
We must inform Malcolm!
SEYTON In his present
state, he will not hear. Fear not—tomorrow
I’ll convince the king.
SIWARD ’Til then. For now, I’ll join the chase.
O bloody night!
Exit Siward.
SEYTON O opportunity!
I shall seize thee in confusion yet.
Sweet Syna, prepare thee Scotland soon to wed.
O Seyton! Prepare thee, too, to grandfather kings!
Exit.