The sound of thunder. The three WITCHES enter.
[FIRST WITCH]:Where have you been, sister?
[SECOND WITCH]:Killing pigs.
[THIRD WITCH]:Where were you, sister?
[FIRST WITCH]:A sailor's wife had chestnuts in her lap and munched and munched and munched them."Give me one," I said."Get out of here, witch!" the fat, disgusting woman yelled.Her husband has gone to Aleppo as captain of a ship called The Tiger.I'll sail there in a strainer, and like a tailless rat, I'll do harm to him—over and over.
[SECOND WITCH]:I'll send you a wind.
[FIRST WITCH]:That's kind of you.
[THIRD WITCH]:And I'll send another.
[FIRST WITCH]:I already control all the other winds and the ports they blow from—every direction on a sailor's compass.I'll dry him up like hay.He won't sleep night or day.He'll live a cursed life.For eighty-one long weeks he'll waste away, grow weak, and slowly die inside.I can't sink his ship, but I can make it shake and toss in terrible storms.Look what I have.
[SECOND WITCH]:Show me, show me.
[FIRST WITCH]:Here I have a captain's thumb—taken from a man who died in a shipwreck on his way home.
A drum sounds offstage.
[THIRD WITCH]:A drum, a drum! Macbeth comes!
[ALL — dancing in a circle]:We weird sisters, hand in hand,Swift travelers of sea and land,Dance around and around!Three times your way,Three times mine,And three times more—to make nine.Quiet! The spell is finished.
MACBETH and BANQUO enter.
[MACBETH]:I've never seen a day so foul in weather and so fair in victory.
[BANQUO]:How far is it to Forres?—What are these creatures?So shriveled, so wild in their clothes,They don't look like they belong on Earth—yet here they are.(To the WITCHES)Are you alive? Can a man question you?You seem to understand me—you put your cracked fingers to your lips.You look like women, but your beards stop me from believing it.
[MACBETH]:Speak, if you can. What are you?
[FIRST WITCH]:All hail, Macbeth—Thane of Glamis!
[SECOND WITCH]:All hail, Macbeth—Thane of Cawdor!
[THIRD WITCH]:All hail, Macbeth—future king!
[BANQUO → MACBETH]:Good sir, why do you flinch and look afraid of such promising words?(To the WITCHES)Tell me the truth—are you illusions or real?You greet Macbeth with present honor and future glory,And he's stunned by it.But you say nothing to me.If you can see the future—tell me mine.I don't need your help, and I don't fear your hatred.
[FIRST WITCH]:Hail!
[SECOND WITCH]:Hail!
[THIRD WITCH]:Hail!
[FIRST WITCH]:You are lesser than Macbeth—yet greater.
[SECOND WITCH]:Not as fortunate as Macbeth—yet much happier.
[THIRD WITCH]:Your children will be kings, though you won't be one.So hail, Macbeth and Banquo!
[FIRST WITCH]:Banquo and Macbeth, all hail!
[MACBETH]:Wait! You're leaving things out. Tell me more.I know I am Thane of Glamis—my father, Sinel, died.But the Thane of Cawdor is alive—wealthy and powerful.And becoming king seems impossible—just as becoming Cawdor seems impossible.Where did you get this strange information?Why stop us on this lonely field with such prophecies?I command you—speak!
The WITCHES vanish.
[BANQUO]:The earth has bubbles like water does—and they must have come from one. Where did they go?
[MACBETH]:Into the air. They looked solid, but they melted like breath in the wind.I wish they had stayed.
[BANQUO]:Did they really exist?Or have we eaten some insane herb that makes people lose their minds?
[MACBETH]:Your children will be kings.
[BANQUO]:You will be king.
[MACBETH]:And Thane of Cawdor too—didn't they say that?
[BANQUO]:Exactly those words.Who's that coming?
ROSS and ANGUS enter.
[ROSS]:Macbeth, the king was delighted to hear of your success.When he heard of your bravery battling the rebels,He didn't know whether to praise you or be amazed.Then he learned that on the same day you also fought the Norwegians,Fearless even as you killed enemy after enemy.Messenger after messenger praised you for defending Scotland.
[ANGUS]:We've been sent to thank you on the king's behalfAnd escort you to him—though we don't bring your reward.
[ROSS]:And to give you a glimpse of greater honors ahead:The king has named you the Thane of Cawdor.Hail, worthy thane! That title is now yours.
[BANQUO]:What—can the devil speak truth?
[MACBETH]:The Thane of Cawdor lives.Why are you dressing me in someone else's clothes?
[ANGUS]:The man who was Cawdor is alive, yes—But he's under a death sentence, which he deserves.He may have fought with Norway, or secretly helped the rebels, or both.But his treason has been proven and confessed.He's done for.
[MACBETH — aside]:Glamis—and now Cawdor.The greatest title is still to come.(To ROSS and ANGUS)Thank you for your trouble.(Quietly to BANQUO)Don't you start hoping your children will be kings,Since the witches promised that just as they promised my new title?
[BANQUO]:If you trust them, then you might try to become king too—not just Cawdor.But this is strange.Often the forces of evil tell us small truths to win our trust,Only to betray us later when real danger arrives.(To ROSS and ANGUS)Gentlemen, a word with you.
ROSS, ANGUS, and BANQUO step aside.
[MACBETH — aside]:Two prophecies have come true—Great beginnings to this growing story of kingship.(To ROSS and ANGUS)Thank you, gentlemen.(Aside again)This supernatural message—It can't be bad, but it can't be good.If it's bad, why did it start with truth?—I am Cawdor.If it's good, then why am I imagining something so horribleThat my hair stands up and my heart pounds out of rhythm?Real danger is nothing compared to these murderous fantasies.Though killing the king is only a thought,It shakes my entire being.My ability to act is smothered by my imagination,And nothing feels real except what isn't.
[BANQUO]:Look how our friend is lost in thought.
[MACBETH — aside]:If fate wants me to be king,Fate might crown me without me lifting a finger.
[BANQUO]:New honors can feel strange at first—Like clothes that don't quite fit.
[MACBETH — aside]:Whatever happens will happen—Time always moves forward, even on the hardest days.
[BANQUO]:Worthy Macbeth, we're waiting for you.
[MACBETH]:Forgive me. My mind wandered.Kind gentlemen, I'll remember your efforts today.Let's go to the king.(To BANQUO, quietly)Think about what happened.Later, when we've had time to reflect,We'll talk honestly with each other.
[BANQUO]:Gladly.
[MACBETH]:Until then, that's enough.(To ROSS and ANGUS)Come, friends.
They all exit.