MACBETH ORAL - Act 1, Scene 3, Lines 130-142
At a camp near the battlefield.
MacBeth and his good friend Banquo have just received news of MacBeth’s promotion to the rank of
Thane of Cawdor. MacBeth’s following reaction to this prophetic news is mixed. It reveals that the
Witches’ double-dealing predictions may be true.
MacBeth:
(Aside) This supernatural soliciting
Cannot ill, cannot be good. If ill,
Why hath it given me earnest of success,
Commencing in a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor:
If good, why do I yield to that suggestion
Whose horrid image doth unfix my here
And make my seated heart knock at my ribs,
Against the use of nature? Present fears
Are less than horrible imaginings.
My thought, whose murder yet is but fantastical,
Shakes so my single state of man that function
Is smothered in surmise, and nothing is
But what is not
Analysis
The nature of the aside sees MacBeth sharing his innermost thoughts with the audience. Perhaps this
explains why we see him as the tragic hero as MacBeth has seemingly shared so much with us over the
duration of the play. The aside also indicates MacBeth’s first foray into scheming and trickery as he
seeks to hide his thoughts from Banquo, Ross and Angus.
What we hear is most certainly that of a troubled mind. His rhetoric of “Cannot be ill, cannot be good”
is duplicitous and reflects the rhetoric of the Witches heard earlier in the play, “Fair is foul, and foul is
fair”. His promotion to rank of Cawdor validates the Witches prophecies. Suddenly, he considers the
final prophecy “that [he] shalt be King hereafter”. However, he is young deed and the “horrid” idea of
murder disgusts him.
We should also make note of the irony that MacDonwald, the previous holder of the title of Cawdor,
was a traitor to King Duncan. MacBeth will soon follow a similar fate.
English version
This supernatural attempt to influence me
Can neither be good nor bad. If it were bad,
Why has it given me a promise of success
By beginning with a truth? I am Thane of Cawdor.
If it were good, why am I giving into that temptation (i.e. to kill Duncan)
Whose horrible vision makes my hair stand on end
And causes my steadfast heart to beat wildly against my ribs
In a most unnatural way? My real fears
Are less troublesome than my horrible fantasies.
My murderous thoughts, which are still only imaginary,
Shake me up so violently that my normal powers
Are smothered by these speculations that nothing seems real
Except what hasn’t happened yet.