TEXT:
Enter MACBETH and BANQUO
MACBETH
So foul and fair a day I have not seen.
BANQUO
How far is't called to Forres? What are these,
So witherrd and so wild in their attire,
That look not like the inhabitants o' the earth,
And yet are on't? Live you? Or are you aught
That man may question? You seem to understand me,
By each at once her chappy finger laying
Upon her skinny lips: you should be women,
And yet your beards forbid me to interpret
That you are so.
MACBETH
Speak, if you can: what are you?
First Witch
All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of Glamis!
Second Witch
All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, thane of Cawdor!
Third Witch
All hail, Macbeth, thou shalt be king hereafter!
BANQUO
Good sir, why do you start, and seem to fear
Things that do sound so fair? I' the name of truth,
Are ye fantastical, or that indeed
Which outwardly ye show? My noble partner
You greet with present grace and great prediction
Of noble having and of royal hope,
That he seems rapt withal: to me you speak not.
If you can look into the seeds of time,
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
Speak then to me, who neither beg nor fear
Your favours nor your hate.
First Witch
Hail!
Second Witch
Hail!
Third Witch
Hail!
First Witch
Lesser than Macbeth, and greater.
Second Witch
Not so happy, yet much happier.
Third Witch
Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none:
So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!
First Witch
Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!
MACBETH
Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more:
By Sinel's death I know I am thane of Glamis;
But how of Cawdor? the thane of Cawdor lives,
A prosperous gentleman; and to be king
Stands not within the prospect of belief,
No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence
You owe this strange intelligence? Or why
Upon this blasted heath you stop our way
With such prophetic greeting? Speak, I charge you.
Witches vanish
NOTES:
Beards
As mentioned, the essay “What are these faces? Interpreting Bearded Women in Macbeth” is by Dr. Brett Greatley-Hirsch, in Renaissance Poetry and Drama In Context. It’s a great read!
Glamis
Glamis is a village in Angus, Scotland. The name is usually pronounced with one syllable (rhyming with “alms”) but at certain points in the text of Macbeth Shakespeare seems to give it two syllables. Glamis is the site of Glamis Castle - although the play does not take place here.
Sinel
The historical Macbeth’s father was called Findláech of Moray, Thane of Angus. As mentioned in the episode, the name became Sinel in the play perhaps because of the similarity between typographies for F and S in renaissance printing. It’d probably be more accurate to call him Finel, but somehow I’m attached to Sinel because that’s the line as I learned it…!