The Tragedy of Macbeth, Part II: The Seed of Banquo

MALCOLM O Donalbain! Your statue rises tall.

  Stare not so marble-eyed upon your brother.

  Enter Ghost of Macbeth.

  How, say you? Why, ’tis not your throne.

  Exit Ghost of Macbeth.

  What, gone so soon? Macbeth, thy spirit taunts.

  Each morn thou perches owl-like on this sill,

  only to depart as sudden. The dead should not

  be granted such choice of place.

  Enter Ghost of Banquo.

  What, Banquo, too?

  You join in this parade of ghosts, yet I

  was not your taker. It is the walls of Dunsinane

  that have trapped you.

  Exit Ghost of Banquo.

  Then I am alone.

  Duncan and Donalbain dare not alight;

  I am too low for such high souls to see.

  Enter Macduff, Seyton, Siward, various Nobles and Attendants.

  SIWARD My lord, Fleance’s men have swelled and now

  do brandish arms.

  SEYTON They’ve massed on our Scottish

  shore and prepare the jump to Ireland. They’ll join

  with Ross and mount a joint attack.

  MALCOLM (aside) Fleance attack?

  Can the witches speak so expedient?

  I have become the puppet king, pulled

  on strings of prophecy. A fruitless crown

  have they placed on my head, teetering

  in the winds of prediction.

  SIWARD We must net this threat unto your throne,

  before it gains by doubled strength.

  MALCOLM Macduff?

  Have you of late attended my wife?

  MACDUFF No,

  my lord. I’ve only met with her once, before

  your wedding, that I might satisfy myself

  of her nature.

  MALCOLM Indeed? And were you satisfied?

  MACDUFF Quite. She is a model of virtue.

  SIWARD My lord,

  we waste the time. We must stop Fleance!

  MALCOLM (to Macduff ) What think you of Fleance?

  MACDUFF As before:

  the boy is barely yet a man, and poses

  no real threat unto your throne.

  MALCOLM I’d rather

  around me such men than those

  too ripe with manhood.

  MACDUFF My lord?

  MALCOLM You seem keen

  to let young Fleance go.

  MACDUFF Keen only that you,

  supreme king, be sparing in your display

  of armed strength.

  MALCOLM We have let Fleance roam

  long enough. But I’ll not send an army

  to net a boy. He can be taken by

  a few brave hands. I know just the men:

  the very three villains who took his father’s

  life.

  SEYTON Pray, my lord, send not such lowly

  creatures to perform a soldier’s work. They missed

  Fleance already once, and the fate

  of the throne must not rest in their hands.

  MALCOLM The fate of the throne? What concern of yours

  is this?

 

  SEYTON Why, ’tis your fate too, my lord.

  MALCOLM The seed of Banquo is only a threat if you

  believe the witches speak true. Do you, Macduff?

  MACDUFF So it seems, my lord.

  MALCOLM True in all

  matters?

  MACDUFF So it seems.

  MALCOLM Well then, you

  have spoke it. Ho, thee!

  Enter Attendant.

  Summon those three men

  waiting outside my door.

  Exit Attendant.

  Now leave me.

  Exeunt Macduff, Seyton and Siward.

  MALCOLM He admits the witches speak true, and thus

  concedes

  his own betrayal. O! Treachery

  so close!

  Enter Three Murderers.

  ALL My liege.

  MALCOLM You are the three that stopped the life of our

  dear Banquo.

  FIRST MURDERER By King Macbeth’s command.

  MALCOLM He spoke of you.

  SECOND MURDERER Who, my lord?

  MALCOLM Why, Banquo. What, speak you not?

  THIRD MURDERER He is in heaven, my lord.

  MALCOLM Then heaven is not far from here. There is

  another who needs sending. It is his son.

  FIRST MURDERER Worm of trickery!

  SECOND MURDERER He ’scaped by a mere hairskin, my lord.

  THIRD MURDERER The father fought well, to distract us

  from the son. A quick little boy was he, with a quicker

  horse.

  MALCOLM Because of you, this bane of prophecy

  has remained a thorn in Scotland’s side.

  Now you can right your misstep and conclude

  the task you failed before.

  FIRST MURDERER ’Twill be a privilege, my lord.

  MALCOLM He prepares his jump to Ireland.

  Move quick. Let Scotland down again, and you

  will hang, I swear. Go to.

  Exit Three Murderers.

  MALCOLM Thus tomorrow the prophecy shall end.

  If there lies no other seed of Banquo—

  and ’tis certain Fleance is the only one—

  then none other can claim my throne.

  Yet what of Macduff? Did not the sisters say

  he would divide? Macduff has been a loyal

  friend. But too many types of loyalty

  are able to comingle in a single person,

  allowing the friend who saves my life to also

  seduce my love and find no contradiction

  in the work, no breach of the word “loyalty.”

  Yes, Macduff. I see your plan. Why else

  let Fleance abscond? Why, to see me toppled

  and clear the way for yourself. Already

  he’s chopped off one king’s head, and is well-practiced

  in the art. He is, after all,

  a man of no woman born, and such

  a man can ne’er be trusted. Very well, then:

  on this day I’ll settle all accounts,

  and give Fleance company in his descent.

  Tonight I shall greet Macduff in his sleep,

  and reunite him with his loved ones.

  Exit.