Original: Doubtful it stood;
Modern: The battle’s outcome was uncertain;

Original: As two spent swimmers, that do cling together
Modern: Like two exhausted swimmers clinging to each other

Original: And choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald.
Modern: And drowning each other’s ability to swim. The cruel Macdonwald.

Original: Worthy to be a rebel, for to that
Modern: He deserves to be called a rebel, because

Original: The multiplying villanies of nature
Modern: All the evil qualities that exist

Original: Do swarm upon him.from the western isles
Modern: Gather in him. From the western islands

Original: Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied;
Modern: He gets reinforcements of light and heavy soldiers;

Original: And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling,
Modern: And luck seemed to favor his evil cause,

Original: Show’d like a rebel’s whore: but all’s too weak:
Modern: Acting like a traitor’s unfaithful lover: but none of this was strong enough:

Original: For brave Macbeth–well he deserves that name.
Modern: Because brave Macbeth–he truly earns that title.

Original: Disdaining fortune, with his brandish’d steel,
Modern: Ignoring luck, with his sword raised high,

Original: Which smoked with bloody execution,
Modern: Which was steaming from all the killing,

Original: Like valour’s minion carved out his passage
Modern: Like courage’s favorite warrior, he cut his way through

Original: Till he faced the slave;
Modern: Until he came face to face with that villain;

Original: Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Modern: He didn’t shake hands or say goodbye to him,

Original: Till he unseam’d him from the nave to the chaps,
Modern: Instead he split him open from his belly button to his jaw,

Original: And fix’d his head upon our battlements.
Modern: And stuck his head on our castle walls.

Original: As whence the sun ‘gins his reflection
Modern: Just as from where the sun begins to shine

Original: Shipwrecking storms and direful thunders break,
Modern: Terrible storms and frightening thunder can come,

Original: So from that spring whence comfort seem’d to come
Modern: So from that source where relief seemed to come

Original: Discomfort swells. Mark, king of Scotland, mark:
Modern: New troubles arose. Listen, king of Scotland, listen:

Original: No sooner justice had with valour arm’d
Modern: No sooner had justice, backed by courage,

Original: Compell’d these skipping kerns to trust their heels,
Modern: Forced these quick foot soldiers to run away,

Original: But the Norweyan lord surveying vantage,
Modern: Than the Norwegian lord, seeing his opportunity,

Original: With furbish’d arms and new supplies of men
Modern: With polished weapons and fresh troops

Original: Began a fresh assault.
Modern: Started a new attack.

Original: As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.
Modern: Like sparrows frighten eagles, or rabbits frighten lions.

Original: If I say sooth, I must report they were
Modern: If I tell the truth, I must report they were

Original: As cannons overcharged with double cracks, so they
Modern: Like cannons loaded with double charges, so they

Original: Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe:
Modern: Hit the enemy with twice as many powerful blows:

Original: Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,
Modern: Unless they intended to soak themselves in bloody wounds,

Original: Or memorise another Golgotha,
Modern: Or create another place of death like where Christ died,

Original: I cannot tell.
Modern: I can’t say for sure.

Original: But I am faint, my gashes cry for help.
Modern: But I’m growing weak, my wounds need attention.

In Act I, Scene 2 of Macbeth, King Duncan receives reports about two separate battles threatening his kingdom. A wounded sergeant arrives at Duncan’s camp and describes the fierce combat between Scottish forces and rebels led by Macdonwald. The sergeant praises Macbeth’s valor in battle, recounting how Macbeth fought his way through enemy lines and killed Macdonwald himself, even carving him from navel to jaw and mounting his head on the battlements. The sergeant also describes Banquo’s courage alongside Macbeth before becoming too weak from his injuries to continue his account.

Ross and Angus then arrive with additional news, reporting that the Norwegian king had launched an attack supported by the traitorous Thane of Cawdor. Ross confirms that Macbeth and Banquo fought valiantly against this second threat, ultimately achieving victory over the Norwegian forces. Duncan responds to these reports by ordering the execution of the treacherous Cawdor and declares that Macbeth shall receive Cawdor’s title and lands as reward for his loyal service and military success. The scene establishes Macbeth’s reputation as a fierce and loyal warrior while introducing the title that will soon be bestowed upon him.

Macbeth: Plot Summary

Macbeth, a Scottish general and Thane of Glamis, encounters three witches on a heath following a victorious battle against rebels and Norwegian invaders. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland, and that his companion Banquo’s descendants will inherit the throne. When King Duncan almost immediately grants Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth begins to contemplate the possibility of fulfilling the rest of the prophecy. Urged on by his wife, Lady Macbeth, he murders King Duncan in his sleep while the king is a guest at their castle. Macbeth frames Duncan’s chamberlains for the murder, and Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, flee the country out of fear for their own lives, which causes them to fall under suspicion for their father’s death. Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland.

As king, Macbeth grows increasingly paranoid and ruthless. Troubled by the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s descendants will be kings, he arranges for Banquo and his son Fleance to be murdered. Banquo is killed, but Fleance escapes. At a royal banquet, Macbeth is visited by Banquo’s ghost, causing him to behave erratically in front of his assembled nobles. Lady Macbeth attempts to cover for her husband, but the dinner dissolves in confusion. Macbeth returns to the witches, who present him with new prophecies warning him to beware of Macduff, the Thane of Fife, but assuring him that no man born of woman can harm him, and that he will not be defeated until Birnam Wood marches to Dunsinane Hill. Taking comfort in what seem to be impossible conditions, Macbeth orders the massacre of Macduff’s castle, killing his wife and children.

Macduff has traveled to England to join Malcolm, Duncan’s son, and together they raise an army against Macbeth. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth, tormented by guilt, descends into madness and ultimately dies, reportedly by her own hand. Malcolm’s army cuts down branches from Birnam Wood to use as camouflage as they march on Macbeth’s castle at Dunsinane, fulfilling one of the witches’ prophecies. In the ensuing battle, Macbeth encounters Macduff, who reveals that he was delivered by caesarean section and was therefore not, in the traditional sense, born of woman. Macduff kills Macbeth in combat. Malcolm is proclaimed the rightful King of Scotland and order is restored to the kingdom.