Macbeth (18 page)

Lines 142–165:
Macbeth observes that Macduff is not present at court. He resolves to visit the three weyard sisters again. Lady Macbeth
encourages him to sleep. The gathering momentum of events is evident as Macbeth says that as he has come so far he can only go forward, and that they “are yet but young in deed.”

The three weyard sisters meet Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, who is angry about her exclusion from Macbeth’s affairs. Before she is called away by spirits, she says that she will be there when Macbeth next consults them, when they will “draw him on to his confusion.”

Lennox meets with another Lord and reports that Fleance is suspected of Banquo’s murder, but reveals his suspicions that Macbeth, “the tyrant,” is responsible for this and for Duncan’s death. The Lord informs Lennox that Macduff has joined Malcolm “in the English court” to ask the English king to make war with Macbeth. Lennox prays for assistance for their “suffering country.”

Lines 1–46:
The three weyard sisters are joined by Hecate and three others in singing and dancing, culminating in the announcement that “Something wicked this way comes” as Macbeth enters.

Lines 47–143:
Macbeth’s sense of his own power is emphasized as he commands the three weyard sisters to give him answers, even if it causes terrible consequences for the world. They agree, but ask if he wants the answers from them or their “masters.” Macbeth says to “Call ’em,” and the three weyard sisters summon three Apparitions before him. The first, an armed (armored) head, tells him to “beware Macduff.” The second, a bloody child, tells him that “none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth,” prompting Macbeth to declare that in this case he need not fear Macduff, but that he will kill him anyway. The Third Apparition, a crowned child holding a
tree, declares that Macbeth will be undefeated until Birnam Wood comes against him at Dunsinane Hill. Reassured, Macbeth declares “That will never be” and that he will “live the lease of nature,” returning once more to his preoccupation with time. He then asks the sisters if Banquo’s “issue” will ever reign, but they refuse to tell him. Confident in his power, Macbeth declares “I will be satisfied” and commands them to answer. In response, the sisters conjure an image of a line of eight kings, all descendants of a “blood-boltered” Banquo, who smiles at Macbeth. Macbeth is left astounded as the three weyard sisters vanish.

Lines 144–169:
Macbeth calls Lennox and demands to know if he saw the sisters. Lennox says that he did not and tells Macbeth that messengers have arrived with news of Macduff’s flight to England. Macbeth’s final aside reveals a sharp contrast to his indecision in Act 1 Scene 7, as he talks of how he will “crown” his “thoughts with acts,” “surprise” Macduff’s castle, and kill his wife and children.

Lady Macduff questions Ross about her husband’s flight to England, claiming that it was “madness” and that he cannot love her or “his babes” if he has left them in danger. Ross defends Macduff, but cannot stay. Lady Macduff tells her son that his father is dead and cynically responds to his claims that he is not by calling Macduff “a traitor” because he “swears and lies.” As they argue, a Messenger brings news of impending danger and urges her to run with her “little ones.” Lady Macduff asserts that she has “done no harm,” but acknowledges that this is a “womanly defence.” The Murderers enter and demand to know Macduff’s whereabouts, accusing him of treachery. His son denies this and is killed. Lady Macduff flees, pursued by the Murderers.

Lines 1–154:
In England, Malcolm does not trust Macduff, suspecting that he may have been sent by the tyrant Macbeth, particularly
since he has left his family behind. Macduff denies this, but Malcolm tests him by claiming that he is unfit to be king, describing his own vices. At first, Macduff politely denies this, but then breaks down and despairs for his country’s future, saying that Malcolm is unfit to live or rule. Malcolm reveals that it was a test and that he now believes in Macduff’s “good truth and honour,” reassuring him that he has none of the vices he claimed earlier.

Lines 155–275:
A doctor says that “a crew of wretched souls” is waiting for the English king to cure them and Malcolm explains to Macduff that the king can cure scrofula. His description of this, using terms such as “holy,” “healing,” “virtue,” and “grace,” contrasts with the evil and destruction associated with Macbeth’s tyrannical kingship. Ross arrives and reports Scotland’s suffering. Macduff asks for news of his family and Ross lies that they are “well.” He urges Malcolm to return to Scotland and Malcolm says that he intends to do so, with support from “Gracious England.” Ross breaks down and reveals the truth about Macduff’s family. Macduff is distraught. When Malcolm urges him to “Dispute it like a man,” Macduff says that he will do so, but that he must also “feel it as a man,” presenting a more emotional perception of masculinity than that held by the Macbeths.

A Doctor and a Gentlewoman wait for evidence of Lady Macbeth’s recent sleepwalking. The Gentlewoman describes how Lady Macbeth rises while still asleep, writes, and then conceals what she has written, but she refuses to repeat what is said during these episodes. Lady Macbeth enters, rubbing her hands as though she is washing them. Her speeches reveal her guilty conscience about the deaths of Duncan, Lady Macduff, and Banquo as she complains that “the smell of blood” is still on her hands. The repetitive and disjointed nature of her speech reflects her state of mind and contrasts sharply with her previous cool efficiency. The watchers realize the significance of the spectacle but the Doctor says that she is more in need of “divine” help than that of a physician.

In the first of six short scenes that run into each other—the pace of events is now at its quickest—Lennox and other Scottish noblemen discuss their intention to join with Malcom and Macduff near Birnam Wood. They reveal that “the tyrant” Macbeth is fortifying Dunsinane against the English.

Macbeth issues orders, confident that the prophecies mean he is invincible. A frightened servant reports that there are “ten thousand” English soldiers and Macbeth sends him away, angry at his cowardice. He calls for Seyton. His speech as he waits reveals a weariness with life: he feels he has “lived long enough” and his actions mean that his life will hold not honor and friendship but “Curses.” He instructs Seyton to bring his armor. When he inquires after his wife, the doctor reports that Lady Macbeth is “troubled” and Macbeth tells him to cure her “diseased” mind, but is told that it is a patient alone who can deal with their own conscience.

The English forces arrive at Birnam Wood and camouflage themselves with tree branches to disguise their numbers.

As Macbeth defiantly issues orders to Seyton, a cry is heard and Seyton is sent to investigate. Macbeth contemplates how he would once have been disturbed by such a noise, but now that he has “supped full with horrors” he is no longer affected. Seyton returns with news of Lady Macbeth’s death, and Macbeth’s response is weary and resigned as he describes life as “a walking shadow,” a “tale” “Signifying nothing.” A messenger brings news that he has seen Birnam Wood moving. Angry, then resigned, Macbeth vows to fight on.

Malcolm commands the English forces to throw off their camouflage and places the English soldier Siward and his son at the head of the army.

Macbeth fights, unafraid because he can only be killed by one “not born of woman.” He kills young Siward and exits. Macduff passes across the stage, searching for Macbeth, and then Siward leads Malcolm to the defeated castle. Macbeth re-enters, scorning escape in suicide. Macduff finds him and they fight, but Macbeth claims that he bears “a charmed life” because of the prophecy. Macduff replies that he was “from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped.” Roused by Macduff’s threats that he will be kept captive like “rarer monsters,” Macbeth refuses to yield and they exit fighting, then re-enter after “Alarums,” and Macbeth is slain. Macduff drags him away. As Malcolm and Siward discuss the battle, Ross informs Siward of his son’s death. Macduff enters, bearing Macbeth’s severed head, and hails Malcolm as “King of Scotland.” Malcolm makes his noblemen into earls and expresses his intention to deal with matters “in measure, time and place,” emphasizing a return to order.

The best way to understand a Shakespeare play is to see it or ideally to participate in it. By examining a range of productions, we may gain a sense of the extraordinary variety of approaches and interpretations that are possible—a variety that gives Shakespeare his unique capacity to be reinvented and made “our contemporary” four centuries after his death.

We begin with a brief overview of the play’s theatrical and cinematic life, offering historical perspectives on how it has been performed. We then analyze in more detail a series of productions staged over the last half-century by the Royal Shakespeare Company. The sense of dialogue between productions that can only occur when a company is dedicated to the revival and investigation of the Shakespeare canon over a long period, together with the uniquely comprehensive archival resource of promptbooks, program notes, reviews, and interviews, held on behalf of the RSC at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust in Stratford-upon-Avon, allows an “RSC stage history” to become a crucible in which the chemistry of the play can be explored.

Finally, we go to the horse’s mouth. Modern theater is dominated by the figure of the director, who must hold together the whole play, whereas the actor must concentrate on his or her part. The director’s viewpoint is therefore especially valuable. Shakespeare’s plasticity is wonderfully revealed when we hear directors of highly successful productions answering the same questions in very different ways.

Macbeth
is one of the most frequently performed of all Shakespeare’s plays. Its central place in the repertory has resulted in a full stage history.
Simon Forman, the Elizabethan quack doctor and astrologer, described a production he saw at the Globe in 1611. Scholars, however, believe that the play with its oblique references to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was first written and performed around 1606 as a tribute to King James I, who was also James VI of Scotland. It is impossible to say whether or not Forman gives an accurate account of the production he saw (it has also been suggested that the document is a fabrication, but the balance of evidence very strongly supports its authenticity). His perception may have been filtered through a reading of Holinshed’s
Chronicles
, the play’s main source. And the version Forman witnessed may have been different from that which survives (see the discussion in the introduction of Middleton’s possible revisions). It is striking that he makes no reference to Macbeth’s second visit to the weyard sisters. Nevertheless, Forman’s report is of inestimable value as the only detailed eyewitness report of the performance of a Shakespearean tragedy in Shakespeare’s lifetime:

Whatever the relationship of Forman’s report to the play as it was first performed, there is evidence of the text being cut and adapted from the earliest times. Two early theater promptbooks survive, one based on a copy of the 1623 Folio belonging to the University of Padua, and the other, known as the “Smock Alley” promptbook, on the play as it was performed in Dublin after the 1660s.

Despite being one of the most frequently performed of all Shakespeare’s plays, few modern productions include Hecate or the music and songs, although Restoration and many later adaptations featured
spectacular visual effects. Samuel Pepys records his view of the play in his diary in 1667 as “one of the best plays for a stage, and variety of dancing and music, that ever I saw.” Though alien to modern sensibilities, the idea that
Macbeth
was above all notable for its singing and dancing was commonplace in the late seventeenth- and eighteenth-century theater.

Although we know little of the play’s original performance, it is assumed that Richard Burbage, the leading tragedian with the King’s Men, played the title role. The main part has been played by the dramatic giants of succeeding ages from Thomas Betterton to David Garrick, John Philip Kemble to Edmund Kean, William Charles Macready to Henry Irving, John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier to Anthony Hopkins, Ian McKellen, and Antony Sher. Approaches to the role vary: Macbeth can be anything from an essentially noble character overcome by ambition to an inherently evil tyrant. The success or failure of productions is generally dependent upon the sheer energy and charisma of the actor taking the central role—it has always been a star vehicle for leading actors. As for Lady Macbeth, though the part would originally have been played by a young male apprentice, it has—together with Cleopatra—become one of the western theater repertoire’s leading roles for mature actresses.

Sir William Davenant’s adaptation staged at Lincoln’s Inn Fields in 1663–64 sought to refine the play to suit the tastes of Restoration audiences by expanding the role of Lady Macduff and making the Macduffs a moral counterbalance to the Macbeths. Davenant eliminated the Porter and added music, singing, and dancing for the three witches, and gave Macbeth a final moral: “Farewell vain World, and what’s more vain in it, Ambition.” The performance of Thomas Betterton and his wife, Mary Saunderson, as the Macbeths was widely admired and the adaptation remained popular for eighty years until David Garrick announced his intention to present
Macbeth
“as written by Shakespeare” at Drury Lane on 7 January 1744.

Garrick was a new type of actor for a new age. He tried to clear away much of the Restoration baggage—no more flying witches—and to restore the majority of Shakespeare’s text, although there was still no Porter, Malcolm was less complex and self-accusatory,
and the actor included a dying speech for himself. The key to Garrick’s performance was his attempt to create a complex, imaginative unity from the powerful and contradictory elements of the character:

Garrick’s Lady Macbeth was Hannah Pritchard, who “in that horrible part had all the merit so well-drawn a character could confer.”
²

Up to that time, Shakespeare was played in contemporary dress—famous paintings of Garrick and Pritchard by Henry Fuseli and Johann Zoffany show the actors dressed in eighteenth-century costume. Charles Macklin was the first producer to attempt historical accuracy, in his 1773 staging of the play. While scenery and costumes were approved, the elderly Macklin’s performance was not well received and the rivalry between Macklin’s and Garrick’s supporters led to riots and the production’s closure.

The most famous historical Lady Macbeth was Sarah Siddons playing opposite her brother, John Philip Kemble, at Drury Lane in the last years of the eighteenth century and the first decades of the nineteenth. While the character of Lady Macbeth has been notoriously demonized, from Malcolm’s description of her as “fiend-like” onward, successive generations of actors have tried to humanize her. Sarah Siddons writes of an altogether more sympathetic character in her
Memoranda
entitled “Remarks on the Character of Lady Macbeth”:

Despite the tenor of Siddons’s remarks, there seems to be general agreement that this account, written many years later, is hardly an accurate picture of her own performance. As her biographer Roger Manvell suggests, “she always played Lady Macbeth against her own inner conception of how it should be done.”
⁴
Manvell goes on to point out, “from the first the impression she created in the audience was far from this—she inspired sheer awe and terror.”
⁵

Although Kemble treated Shakespeare’s three witches seriously, he nevertheless deployed a chorus of fifty or more singing, dancing, comic witches. The witches were traditionally played by men, usually the company comedians, the argument being that the tragedians were all busy elsewhere. J. P. Kemble’s niece Fanny Kemble complained in her journal that “It has always been customary,—heaven only knows why,—to make low comedians act the witches, and to dress them like old fishwomen … with as due a proportion of petticoats as any woman, letting alone witch, might desire, jocose red faces, peaked hats, and broomsticks.”
⁶

Kemble’s Macbeth has been described as essentially “a noble character who degenerates into evil.”
⁷
The leading actor of the next generation was Edmund Kean, a much less orthodox character who presented Macbeth as “a determined, ruthless man who disintegrates through guilt and fear.”
⁸
The critic William Hazlitt, generally an admirer of Kean, thought his Macbeth “deficient in the poetry of the character.”
⁹

William Charles Macready played the part for many years with a variety of different leading ladies including Mary Amelia Huddart, Helen Faucit, the American Charlotte Cushman, and Fanny Kemble. His productions strove for historical accuracy in their staging. His performance was contrasted unfavorably, however, with Samuel Phelps’s at Sadler’s Wells, which drew general praise:

The London
Times
’s reviewer was impressed by the originality of the staging and praised the production as a whole: “There is a spirit of freshness diffused over it.”
¹¹
Phelps’s most distinguished Lady Macbeth was Isabella Glyn, described by one reviewer as “the very heroine of crime—the guardian demon of the crowned assassin—the weird-like accessory and human agent of the mysterious spirits that wait on Nature’s mischief.”
¹²

Charles Kean specialized in spectacular, supposedly historically accurate productions. His
Macbeth
, which opened at Covent Garden in 1840, enjoyed popular success, but while Ellen Kean’s Lady Macbeth was favorably reviewed, his Macbeth failed: