Learn English through story Macbeth by William Shakespeare

[Music]

Macbeth when a person is asked to tell

the story of Macbeth he can tell two

stories one is of a man called Macbeth

who came to the throne of Scotland by a

crime in the year of our Lord

10:39 and reigned justly and well on the

whole for 15 years or more this story is

part of Scottish history the other story

issues from a place called imagination

it is gloomy and wonderful and you shall

hear it a year or two before Edward the

Confessor began to rule England a battle

was won in Scotland against a Norwegian

King by two generals named Macbeth and

Banquo after the battle the generals

walked together towards forests in Elgin

sure where Duncan King of Scotland was

awaiting them while they were crossing a

lonely Heath they saw three bearded

women sisters

hand in hand wither Dan appearance and

wild in their attire speak who are you

demanded Macbeth hail Macbeth chieftain

of Glamis said the first woman hail

Macbeth chieftain of Cawdor said the

second woman hail Macbeth King that is

to be said the third woman then Banquo

asked what of me and the third woman

replied thou shalt be the father of

kings

tell me more said Macbeth by my father’s

death

I am chieftain of Glamis but the

chieftain of Kadir lives and the King

lives and his children live speak I

charge you the woman replied only by

vanishing as though suddenly mixed with

the air

Banquo and Macbeth knew then that they

had been addressed by witches and were

discussing their prophecies when two

Nobles approached one of them thanked

Macbeth in the King’s name for his

military services and the other said he

bade me call you chieftain of Cawdor

Macbeth then learned that the man who

had yesterday borne that title was to

die for treason and he could not help

thinking the third which called me King

that is to be Banquo he said you see

that the witches spoke truth concerning

me do you not believe therefore that

your child and grandchild will be Kings

Banquo frowned Duncan had two sons

Malcolm and Donalbain and he deemed it

disloyal to hope that his son Fleance

should rule Scotland he told Macbeth

that the witches might have intended to

tempt them both into villainy by their

prophecies concerning the throne

Macbeth however thought the prophecy

that he should be king too Pleasant to

keep to himself and he mentioned it to

his wife in a letter lady Macbeth was

the granddaughter of a king of Scotland

who had died in defending his crown

against the king who preceded Duncan and

by whose order her only brother was

slain to her Duncan was a reminder of

bitter wrongs her husband had royal

blood in his veins and when she read his

letter she was determined that he should

be king when a messenger arrived to

inform her that Duncan would pass a

night in Macbeth’s castle she nerved

herself for a very base action

she told Macbeth almost as soon as she

saw him that Duncan must spend the

sunless morrow she meant that Duncan

must die

and that the dead are blind we will

speak further said Macbeth uneasily and

at night with his memory full of

Duncan’s kind words he would fain have

spared his guests would you live a

coward demanded Lady Macbeth who seems

to have thought that morality and

cowardice were the same I dare do all

that may become a man replied Macbeth

who dared do more is none why did you

write that letter to me she inquired

fiercely and with bitter words egged him

on to murder and with cunning words she

showed him how to do it after supper

Duncan went to bed and two grooms were

placed on guard at his bedroom door Lady

Macbeth caused them to drink wine till

they were stupefied she then took their

daggers and would have killed the king

herself if his sleeping face had not

looked like her father’s Macbeth came

later and found the daggers lying by the

groom’s and soon with red hands he

appeared before his wife saying we

thought I heard a voice cry Sleep No

More Macbeth destroys the sleeping wash

her hands said she why did you not lead

the daggers by the grooms take them back

and smear the grooms with blood I dare

not

said Macbeth his wife dared and she

returned to him with hands red as his

own but a heart less white she proudly

told him for she scorned his fear the

murderers heard a knocking and Macbeth

wished it was a knocking which could

wake the dead it was the knocking of

Macduff the chieftain of Fife who had

been told by Duncan to visit him early

Macbeth went to him and showed him the

door of the King’s room Macduff entered

and came out again cry

Oh horror horror horror Macbeth appeared

as horror-stricken as Macduff and

pretending that he could not bear to see

life in Duncan’s murderers he slew the

two grooms with their own daggers before

they could proclaim their innocence

these murders did not shriek out and

Macbeth was crowned at Scone one of

Duncan’s sons went to Ireland the other

to England Macbeth was king but he was

discontented the prophecy concerning

Banquo oppressed his mind if Leonce were

to rule a son of Macbeth would not rule

Macbeth determined therefore to murder

both Banquo and his son he hired two

ruffians who slew Banquo one night when

he was on his way with flans to a

banquet which Macbeth was giving to his

Nobles Fleance escaped meanwhile Macbeth

and his queen received their guests very

graciously and he expressed a wish for

them which has been uttered thousands of

times since his day now good digestion

wait on appetite and health on both we

pray Your Majesty to sit with us said

Lennox a scotch noble but err Macbeth

could reply the ghost of Banquo entered

the banqueting-hall and sat in Macbeth’s

place not noticing the ghost Macbeth

observed that if Banquo were present he

could say that he had collected under

his roof the choicest chivalry of

Scotland

Macduff however and curtly declined his

invitation

the king was again pressed to take a

seat and Lennox to whom Banquo’s ghost

was invisible showed him the chair where

it’s at but Macbeth with his eyes of

genius

saw the ghost he saw it like a form of

mist and blood and he demanded

passionately which of you have done this

still none saw the ghost but he and to

the ghost Macbeth said thou canst not

say I did it

the ghost glided out and Macbeth was

impudent enough to raise a glass of wine

to the general joy of the whole table

and to our dear friend Banquo whom we

miss the toast was drunk as the ghost of

Banquo entered for the second time began

cried Macbeth you are senseless mindless

hide in the earth thou horrible shadow

again none saw the ghost but he what is

it your Majesty sees asked one of the

nobles the Queen dared not permit an

answer to be given to this question she

hurriedly begged her guests to quit a

sick man who was likely to grow worse if

he was obliged to talk Macbeth however

was well enough next day to converse

with the witches whose prophecies had so

depraved him he found them in a cavern

on a thunderous day they were revolving

round a cauldron in which were boiling

particles of many strange and horrible

creatures and they knew he was coming

before he arrived answer me what I asked

you said the king would you rather hear

it from us or our masters as the first

witch call them replied Macbeth

thereupon the witches poured blood into

the cauldron and grease into the flame

that licked it and a helmeted head

appeared with the visor on so that

Macbeth could only see its eyes he was

speaking to the head when the first

witch said gravely

he knows they thought

and a voice in the head said Macbeth

beware Macduff the chieftain of life

they had then descended into the

cauldron till it disappeared one word

more pleaded Macbeth

he will not be commanded said the first

witch and then a crowned child ascended

from the cauldron bearing a tree in his

hand the child said Macbeth shall be

unconquered ball till the wood of Birnam

climbs Dunsinane Hill that never will be

said Macbeth and he asked to be told if

Banquo’s descendants would ever rule

Scotland the cauldron sank into the

earth music was heard in a procession of

phantom Kings filed past Macbeth behind

them was Banquo’s ghost in each King

Macbeth saw a lightness to Banquo and he

counted eight Kings then he was suddenly

left alone

his next proceeding was to send

murderers to McDuff’s Castle they did

not find Macduff and asked Lady Macduff

where he was she gave a stinging answer

and her questioner called Macduff a

traitor

thou liest shouted Macduff’s little son

who was immediately stabbed and with his

last breath entreated his mother to fly

their murderers did not leave the castle

while one of its inmates remained alive

Macduff was in England listening with

Malcolm to a doctor’s tale of cures

wrought by Edward the Confessor when his

friend Ross came to tell him that his

wife and children were no more at first

Ross dared not speak the truth and

turned Macduff’s

right sympathy with sufferers relieved

by royal virtue into sorrow and hatred

but when Malcolm said that England was

sending an army into Scotland against

Macbeth Rus blurted out his news and

Macduff cried all dead did you say all

my pretty ones and their mother did you

say all his sorry hope was in revenge

but if he could have looked into

Macbeth’s castle on Dunsinane Hill he

would have seen at work a force more

solemn than revenge retribution was

working for Lady Macbeth was mad she

walked in her sleep amid ghastly dreams

she was want to wash her hands for a

quarter of an hour at a time but after

all her washing would still see a red

spot of blood upon her skin it was

pitiful to hear her cry that all the

perfumes of Arabia could not sweeten her

little and canst thou not minister to a

mind diseased inquired Macbeth of the

doctor but the doctor replied that his

patient must minister to her own mind

this reply gave Macbeth a scorn of

medicine throw physic to the dogs

he said I’ll none of it one day he heard

a sound of women crying an officer

approached him and said the Queen Your

Majesty is dead out brief candle

muttered Macbeth meaning that life was

like a candle at the mercy of a puff of

air he did not weep he was too familiar

with death presently a messenger told

him that he saw a Birnam wood on the

March Macbeth called him a liar and a

slave and threatened to hang him if he

had made a mistake

if you are right you can hang me he said

from the turret windows of Dunsinane

castle Birnam wood did indeed appear to

be marching every soldier of the English

army held aloft a bow which he had cut

from a tree in that wood and like human

trees they climbed Dunsinane Hill

Macbeth had still his courage he went to

battle to conquer or die and the first

thing he did was to kill the generals

son in single combat Macbeth then felt

that no man could fight him and live and

when Macduff came to him

blazing for revenge Macbeth said to him

go back I have spilt too much of your

blood already my voice is in my sword

replied Macduff and hacked at him and

bade him yield I will not yield said

Macbeth but his last hour had struck he

fell Macbeth’s men were in retreat when

Macduff came before Malcolm holding a

king’s head by the hair hail king he

said and the new king looked at the old

so malcolm reigned after macbeth but in

years that came afterwards the

descendants of Banquo were kings

[Music]