Original: Here’s a knocking indeed! If a man were porter of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key.
Modern: What a lot of knocking! If someone were the gatekeeper of hell, they’d be constantly busy unlocking the door.

Original: Knock, knock, knock! Who’s there, i’ the name of Beelzebub?
Modern: Knock, knock, knock! Who’s there, in the devil’s name?

Original: Here’s a farmer, that hanged himself on the expectation of plenty: come in time; have napkins enow about you; here you’ll sweat for’t.
Modern: Here’s a farmer who killed himself expecting good harvests that never came: come on in; bring plenty of towels with you; you’ll be sweating here.

Original: Knock, knock! Who’s there, in the other devil’s name?
Modern: Knock, knock! Who’s there, in another devil’s name?

Original: Faith, here’s an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale; who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven: O, come in, equivocator.
Modern: Well, here’s a liar who could argue both sides of any issue; who committed plenty of treason claiming it was for God, but couldn’t lie his way into heaven: Oh, come on in, you two-faced liar.

Original: Knock, knock, knock! Who’s there?
Modern: Knock, knock, knock! Who’s there?

Original: Faith, here’s an English tailor come hither, for stealing out of a French hose: come in, tailor; here you may roast your goose.
Modern: Well, here’s an English tailor who’s here for stealing fabric from fancy French pants: come in, tailor; here you can heat up your pressing iron.

Original: Knock, knock; never at quiet! What are you?
Modern: Knock, knock; never any peace! Who are you?

Original: But this place is too cold for hell.
Modern: But this place is too cold to be hell.

Original: I’ll devil-porter it no further: I had thought to have let in some of all professions that go the primrose way to the everlasting bonfire.
Modern: I won’t play hell’s gatekeeper anymore: I was planning to let in people from all walks of life who take the easy path to eternal damnation.

Original: Anon, anon! I pray you, remember the porter.
Modern: Coming, coming! Please don’t forget to tip the porter.

In Act II, Scene 3 of Macbeth, the Porter responds to persistent knocking at the castle gates in the early morning hours following Duncan’s murder. Still drunk from the previous evening’s festivities, the Porter imagines himself as the gatekeeper of hell, jokingly admitting various sinners including an equivocator, a farmer who hoarded grain, and a tailor who skimped on cloth. When he finally opens the gates, he encounters Macduff and Lennox, who have come to wake King Duncan as previously arranged. The Porter engages in bawdy wordplay with Macduff about drink’s effects on lechery before Macbeth arrives to greet the visitors.

Macduff proceeds to Duncan’s chamber to wake the king while Lennox discusses the previous night’s strange and violent weather with Macbeth, noting the unnatural storms, earthquakes, and ominous sounds. Macduff returns in horror, crying out that Duncan has been murdered in his sleep. The discovery sends the castle into chaos as Macbeth and Lennox rush to see the king’s body. Lady Macbeth, Malcolm, Donalbain, and Banquo are awakened and informed of the tragedy. When the others go to view Duncan’s corpse, Macbeth admits he killed the two grooms in his fury upon seeing their bloodied hands and faces, claiming they were obviously the murderers. Malcolm and Donalbain, fearing for their own safety, quietly decide to flee Scotland immediately.

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.