Original: If it were done when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well
Modern: If the deed could be finished once it’s completed, then it would be good

Original: It were done quickly: if the assassination
Modern: If it were done fast: if the murder

Original: Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
Modern: Could trap all the results, and capture

Original: With his surcease success; that but this blow
Modern: Success along with his death; so that just this one strike

Original: Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
Modern: Could be everything that matters in this world,

Original: But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
Modern: But here, on this narrow strip of time we live in,

Original: We’ld jump the life to come. But in these cases
Modern: We’d risk our afterlife. But in situations like this

Original: We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Modern: We’re still judged in this life; we only end up teaching

Original: Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
Modern: Violent lessons, which, once learned by others, come back

Original: To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Modern: To destroy the one who started it: this fair justice

Original: Commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice
Modern: Forces us to drink from our own poisoned cup

Original: To our own lips. He’s here in double trust;
Modern: With our own lips. He’s here trusting me twice;

Original: First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Modern: First, because I’m his relative and he’s my king,

Original: Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Modern: Both reasons strongly against doing this; then, as the one hosting him,

Original: Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Modern: I should be protecting him from murderers,

Original: Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
Modern: Not carrying the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan

Original: Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
Modern: Has used his royal power so gently, has been

Original: So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Modern: So honest in his important position, that his good qualities

Original: Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
Modern: Will argue like angels, with voices like trumpets, against

Original: The deep damnation of his taking-off;
Modern: The terrible sin of his murder;

Original: And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Modern: And compassion, like a helpless newborn baby,

Original: Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, horsed
Modern: Riding the storm wind, or heaven’s angels, mounted

Original: Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Modern: On the invisible messengers of the sky,

Original: Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
Modern: Will spread news of this horrible act to everyone,

Original: That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur
Modern: So that tears will flood the world. I have no motivation

Original: To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Modern: To push my plan forward, except for

Original: Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself
Modern: Soaring ambition, which jumps too high

Original: And falls on the other.
Modern: And crashes down on the other side.

In Act I, Scene 7 of Macbeth, the scene opens with Macbeth alone, wrestling with his contemplation of murdering King Duncan. He delivers a soliloquy examining the potential consequences of the assassination, acknowledging that if the deed could be completed without repercussions, he would proceed quickly. However, he recognizes that such violent acts often return to plague their perpetrators, and he fears the judgment that would follow. Macbeth also reflects on his duties as Duncan’s kinsman, subject, and host, noting that Duncan has been a virtuous king who trusts him completely.

Lady Macbeth enters and discovers that Macbeth has left the dinner where Duncan is being entertained. When she learns of his hesitation to proceed with their murderous plan, she challenges his resolve and questions his manhood. She argues that he was truly a man when he first proposed the idea to kill Duncan, and she reveals her own ruthless determination by declaring she would have killed her own nursing child if she had sworn to do so, as Macbeth has sworn to kill Duncan. Through a combination of manipulation, scorn, and tactical planning, Lady Macbeth convinces her wavering husband to proceed with the murder. She outlines their strategy: they will get Duncan’s guards drunk, kill the king while he sleeps, and frame the guards by placing the bloody daggers on them.

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.