Play 2 - Macbeth (Part 2)

In England, Macduff was talking to King Duncan’s son, Malcolm. ‘When will these terrible things in Scotland end?’ asked Malcolm.

Then Ross, another Scottish lord, came to see them.

‘What is happening in Scotland?’ asked Macduff.

‘I have bad news,’ answered Ross. ‘Each day brings more sadness and trouble.’

‘Go home,’ said Malcolm. ‘Tell my people that we will come very soon. The English have given me 10,000 men. We are coming to fight Macbeth.’

‘That is good news,’ said Ross. ‘But I must give you bad news, Macduff. Something terrible has happened. Macbeth has taken your castle. He has killed your wife and all your children.’

‘What! All my pretty children? Did you say all? And their mother?’ Macduff cried.

‘Your wife, children, servants - everyone that he could find in the castle,’ Ross said.

‘And I was not there,’ said Macduff. ‘Kind heavens, bring me face to face with this murderer. Now he will never escape me!’

Lady Macbeth was ill. Her servant spoke to the doctor.

‘She cannot sleep. The king has gone away to fight against Macduff and Malcolm. Every night my lady gets up from her bed. She puts on her coat, takes some paper, writes on it and then goes back to bed. She does all these things in her sleep. She does not know what she is doing.’

‘What does she say?’ asked the doctor.

‘I do not want to repeat her words,’ the servant said.

As she spoke, Lady Macbeth walked slowly into the room, carrying a lamp.

‘She hates to be in the dark,’ said the lady. ‘She always has a lamp by her side.’

‘Her eyes are open,’ said the doctor. ‘What is she doing with her hands?’

‘She does that very often, sometimes for a quarter of an hour. She is trying to wash her hands.’

‘Listen!’ said the doctor. ‘She is speaking. I will write down her words.’

‘There is still blood here on my hands,’ Lady Macbeth said. ‘Here is more blood. I did not know that an old man had so much blood in him. Will these hands never be clean? Wash your hands, put on your night clothes. Banquo is dead. He cannot come out of his tomb. Someone is knocking at the gate! Go to bed!’

‘I have heard enough,’ the doctor said. ‘I cannot help her. Only the gods can help her now.’

Back in the castle, Macbeth heard the sound of women crying. He called a servant.

‘Why are people crying?’ he asked.

‘The queen is dead, my lord.’

‘This is not a good time for her to die,’ Macbeth said. ‘1 cannot think about it now.’

A messenger came running in.

‘You have come to tell me something. Tell me quickly!’ cried Macbeth.

‘My good lord,’ the messenger said. ‘I have just seen something very strange.

I was standing on guard and I looked towards Birnam — and the forest began to move!’

‘If you are lying to me,’ said Macbeth, ‘I will hang you from the nearest tree until you are dead.’

But it was true. The soldiers were carrying branches in front of them as they walked. Nobody knew how many men were' moving towards Dunsinane.

Macbeth still felt that he is safe. Every man was born from a woman!

‘Move back!’ said Macbeth. ‘I have already killed too many of your family.’ But Macduff was not listening. He was thereto kill Macbeth. ‘You are wasting your time!’ cried Macbeth. ‘No man can lull me except one who was not born from a woman!’

‘Let me tell you, then,’ cried Macduff. ‘I was cut from my mother’s body early. I was not born in the normal way.’

Macbeth knew then that he would die. But he was a brave man in this final battle. ‘Come! We will fight to the end,’ he shouted. ‘And there will be a curse on the first man who cries, “Stop! Enough!’”

Macduff’s anger made him strong and he killed Macbeth. Then he cut off Macbeth’s head and showed it to the English army, the Scottish lords and their soldiers.

Malcolm, their new king, said, ‘I thank you all from my heart for helping me.’

The tired men went home. Soon, they all came together again at Scone, to see the crown of Scotland put on the head of their new young king.

Soon everyone knew that a great English army was on its way. The Scottish lords rode with the army and talked about their king, Macbeth.

‘Some say that he is mad,’ said one.

His men do not love or trust him. They act only because he orders them to act. His title of king means nothing. It is like a big man’s coat worn by a little thief,’ said another.

‘Well, let us march on towards Birnam!’

Macbeth’s mind was sick, but he still felt safe. ‘They cannot hurt me,’ he said to himself. ‘How can Birnam Wood move to Dunsinane? How can I die at the hands of a man who was not born from a woman? Malcolm was born from a woman.’

Soon Malcolm, Macduff and their soldiers were riding near Birnam Wood.

'Tell each soldier to take a branch from a tree and hide behind it,’ Malcolm said. ‘Then Macbeth will not see us.’

Back in the castle, Macbeth heard the sound of women crying. He called a servant.

‘Why are people crying?’ he asked.

‘The queen is dead, my lord.’

‘This is not a good time for her to die,’ Macbeth said. ‘I cannot think about it now.’

A messenger came running in.

‘You have come to tell me something. Tell me quickly!’ cried Macbeth.

'My good lord,’ the messenger said. ‘I have just seen something very strange.

I was standing on guard and I looked towards Birnam — and the forest began to move!’

‘If you are lying to me,’ said Macbeth, 'I will hang you from the nearest tree until you are dead.’

But it was true. The soldiers were carrying branches in front of them as they walked. Nobody knew how many men were moving towards Dunsinane.

Macbeth still felt that he was safe. Every man was born from a woman!

He heard wild shouts and the noise of sword striking sword. He heard the cries of dying men and the shouts of his enemies.

Suddenly Macduff stood in front of him. ‘Macbeth, you killed all the people that I love,’ he cried. ‘Show me your face!’

‘Move back!’ said Macbeth. ‘I have already killed too many of your family.’ But Macduff was not listening. He was there to kill Macbeth. ‘You are wasting your time!’ cried Macbeth. ‘No man can kill me except one who was not born from a woman!’

‘Let me tell you, then,’ cried Macduff. ‘I was cut from my mother’s body early. I was not born in the normal way.’

Macduff’s anger made him strong and he killed Macbeth. Then he cut off Macbeth’s head and showed it to the English army, the Scottish lords and their oldiers.

Malcolm, their new king, said, ‘I thank you all from my heart for helping me.’

The tired men went home. Soon, they all came together again at Scone, to see lie crown of Scotland put on the head of their new young king.

John Milton

From Paradise Lost

Here is the opening of Milton's great epic, Paradise Lost, where he outlines the theme of the whole work, and invokes the help of a Muse in order to help him realize his "adventurous song".

Plot

In Book 1 Milton first states his general purpose, to tell the story of man’s fall, then he begins the story of the rebel angels, hurled into Hell, as a consequence of their defeat in the war in Heaven. In Book 2 they meet in council to decide what is to be done. In Book 3 the scene switches to Heaven, where God delivers a long homily on man’s freedom to choose between good and evil. At the end the Son offers himself as the ransom for mankind and God accepts his sacrifice. In Book 4 Satan observes the happiness of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden; in Book 5 God sends Raphael to alert Adam to the situation and to warn him. Book 6 deals with the war in Heaven; Books 7 and 8 provide a narration of the creation of the Earth and the Universe. In Book 9 Satan succeeds in persuading Eve to taste the forbidden fruit, and Adam eats it too, determined to share Eve’s destiny. In Book 10 the Son comes down to Eden to pronounce God’s sentence of expulsion. Satan returns to Hell in triumph and he is greeted by a universal hiss; all his followers have become serpents, and he himself is transformed into the greatest serpent of them all. In the two concluding books Adam and Eve abandon Paradise to face the hardships of the outside world together.

Book 1 lines 1-26

Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit

Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste

Brought death into our world, and all our woe

With loss of Eden, till one greater man

Restore us, regain the blissful seat.

Sing, heavingly Muse, that on the secret top

Of Oreb, or Sinai, didst inspire

That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed

In the beginning how the heavens and earth

Rose out of chaos: or, if Zion hill

Delight thee more, and Siloa’s brook that flowed

Fast by the oracle of God, I thence

Invoke thy aid to my adventurous song,

That with no middle flight intends to soar

Above the Aonian mount, white it pursues

Things unattempted yet fn prose or rhyme

And chiefly thou, Spirit, that dost prefer

Before all temples the upright he art and pure,

Instruct me, for thou know’st; thou from the first

Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread

Dove-like sat’st brooding on the vast abyss,

And mad'st it pregnant: what in me is dark

Illumine, what is low raise and support.

That, to the height of this great argument,

I may assert eternal providence,

And justify the ways of God to men.

Jonathan Swift

Gulliver’s Travels

Gulliver’s Travels was printed in London in 1726, though most of it was certainly written in the years 1721-1725. It consists of four books, each dealing with the various adventures of the ship’s surgeon Lemuel Gulliver, illustrated by maps of the places he visited.

I Book i. Gulliver sails from Bristol on 4th May i6gg; after six months his ship is wrecked somewhere in the South Pacific and he is cast upon the shore of Lilliput where he falls asleep.

The inhabitants of the land the Lilliputians, who are only six inches tall, carry his huge body to the capital and house him in an unused temple. Gulliver gradually learns their

Language, then customs and institutions, and gains the favour of the King. After many amusing experiences, he manages to return to England.

Book 2. On 20th June 1702, Gulliver sails for India, but finds himself in Brobdingnag, a country Swift located in Alaska. Here the natives are giants twelve times as tall as Gulliver. His size causes him many misadventures: he is nearly trampled to death, he must escape from rats as big as lions and wasps as big as birds. Taken in by a farmer he is later sold to the Queen and finally becomes the King’s pet. The King enjoys talking with him about the system of government in England and Europe.

One day Gulliver's cage is lifted up by a huge bird and dropped in the middle of the Ocean. He is rescued by a ship and returns to England.

* Book 3. This time Gulliver’s ship is attacked by pirates who set him adrift in a small boat. He finds himself on the flying island of Laputa, whose inhabitants are absent- minded astronomers, philosophers and scientists. Gulliver visits their capital, Lagado, and its academy, where absurd experiments are carried out, like extracting sunbeams from cucumbers, or turning human excrement into food. The most unhappy of the people he meets are those who were born immortal, since immortality does not imply being young forever. The island drops Gulliver on Japan and he manages to get back to England.

Book 4. Gulliver’s last voyage leads him to the island inhabited by the Houyhnhnms, horses endowed with reason that rule over the Yahoos, a vile species of animals resembling human beings. Gulliver admires the superiority of the Houyhnhnms and is ashamed of his similarity with the Yahoos. When the horses banish him he builds a canoe and leaves for England. Once back in civilization, he joins his wife and children but cannot stand their smell of humanity. He therefore goes to live in the stable, among the animals that remind him of the nobility of the Houyhnhnms.

AN EXTRACT FROM “GULLIVER’S TRAVELS”

When I awoke, it was just daylight. I tried to rise, but was not able to move. I was lying on my back, and my arms and legs were strongly fastened on each side to the ground. My hair, which was long and thick, was tied down in the same manner. I also felt several thin strings across my body. I could only look upwards and could see nothing except the sky. And as the sun began to grow hot, the light hurt my eyes.

In a short time I felt something alive moving on my left leg, which, advancing forward over my breast, came almost to my chin. Looking downwards as much as I could, I saw a human creature not more than six inches high with a bow and arrows in his hands. At the same time I felt at least forty more of the same kind following the first. I was in the greatest astonishment, and roared so loud that they all ran back in fright...

I was very hungry. So I put my finger to my mouth to show that I wanted food. He understood me very well, and food was brought. He ordered his people to put ladders to my sides. Many little people climbed up those ladders and walked towards my mouth. They were carrying baskets full of food. The little people were very surprised to see how much I ate. Then I made another sign that I wanted to drink. They brought me something like wine in two barrels.

Each barrel was no bigger than one of our glasses. I drank it all and asked for more, but they had no more to I give me.

Soon, after that I fell asleep again, and slept about eight hours.

Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe

INTRODUCTION ♦ When he was nearly sixty years of age, Daniel Defoe set about writing what is regarded as the first novel in the English language. He based the adventures of Robinson Crusoe true story of Alexander Selkirk, who had lived alone on an uninhabited island for five years! 1704 and 1709. When it first came out, the novel was a huge success and even today the challenge of surviving alone in a hostile environment without the comforts and facilities that civilization provides a theme which attracts thousands of readers.

Fiction

The story

Robinson Crusoe is the only survivor of a shipwreck. He manages to salvage some t and takes it onto a desert island. He is very practical and resourceful manages to build a house, domesticate goats and cultivate crops. When a group of cannibals onto the island, he frightens them off and rescues one of their intended victims, him the name Friday and tries to civilize him. After twenty-eight yean isolation from the rest of the world, an English ship rescues Robinson and takes him

Evil and Good

After about two weeks on the island, Robinson tries to make sense of what has happened with him and argues that although he is in a desperate situation, it could be worse.

I now began to consider seriously my Condition, and the Circumstance I was reduc'd to, and I drew up the State of my Affairs in Writing, not sc much to leave them to any that were to come after me, for I was like t o have but few Heirs, as to deliver my Thoughts from daily poring upon them, and afflicting my Mind; and as my Reason began now to master my Despondency, began to comfort my self as well as I could, and to se: the Good against the Evil, that I might have something to distinguish my Case from worse4, and I stated it very impartially like Debtor and Creditor, the Comforts I enjoy'd, against the Miseries I suffer'd, Thus,

Evil

I am cast upon a horrible desolate

Island, void of all hope of Recovery.

I am singled out and separated, as it

Were, from all the Word to be

Miserable.

I am divided from Mankind, a

Solitaire, one banished from humane

Society.

I have no Clothes to cover me.

I am without any Defence or Means to

Resist any Violence of Man or Beast.

I have no Soul to speak to, or relieve

Me.

Good.

But I am alive, and not drown'd as all my

Ship's Company was.

But I am singl'd out too from all the

Ship's Crew to be spar'd from Death;

and he that miraculously sav'd me is from Death,

can deliver me from this Condition.

But I am not starv'd and perishing on a barren

Place, affording no Sustenance.

But I am in a hot Climate, where if I had

Clothes I could hardly wear them.

But I am cast on an Island, where I see no wild

Beasts to hurt me, as I saw on the Coast of Africa:

And what if I had been Shipwrecked there?

But God wonderfully sent the

Ship in near enough to the Shore,

that I have gotten out so many necessary things as will either supply my

Wants, or enable me to supply myself even as long as I live.

Upon the whole, here was an undoubted Testimony, that there was scarce any Condition in the World so miserable, but there was Negative or something Positive to be thankful for in it; and let this stand as a Direction from the Experience of the most miserable of all conditions in this World, that we may always find in it something to comfort ourselves from, and to set in the Description of Good and Evil, on the Credit Side of the Accompt.

Having now brought my Mind a little to relish my Condition, and given over looking out to Sea to see if I could spy a Ship, I say, giving over these things, I began to apply myself to accommodate my way of and to make things as easy to me as I could.

William Wordsworth

My Heart Leaps Up

My heart leaps up when I behold

A rainbow in the sky:

So was it when my life began;

So is it now I am a man;

So be it when I shall grow old;

Or let me die!

The Child is father of the Man;

And I could wish my days to be

Bound each to each by natural piety

GLOSSARY