© Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All rights reserved.NOTESShowed like a rebel’s whore:^8 but all’s too weak:
For brave Macbeth—well he deserves that name—
Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel,
Which smoked with bloody execution,
Like valor’s minion^9 carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave:
Which nev’r shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseamed him from the nave to th’ chops,^10
And fixed his head upon our battlements.
King. O valiant cousin! Worthy gentleman!
Captain. As whence the sun ’gins his reflection^11
Shipwracking storms and direful thunders break,
So from that spring whence comfort seemed to come
Discomfort swells. Mark, King of Scotland, mark:
No sooner justice had, with valor armed,
Compelled these skipping kerns to trust their heels
But the Norweyan lord,^12 surveying vantage,^13
With furbished arms and new supplies of men,
Began a fresh assault.
King. Dismayed not this
Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo?
Captain. Yes;
As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.
If I say sooth,^14 I must report they were
As cannons overcharged with double cracks;^15
So they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe.
Except^16 they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,
Or memorize another Golgotha,^17
I cannot tell—
But I am faint: my gashes cry for help.
King. So well thy words become thee as thy wounds:
They smack of honor both. Go get him surgeons.
[Exit Captain, attended.]
[Enter Ross and Angus.]
Who comes here?
Malcolm. The worthy Thane^18 of Ross.
Lennox. What a haste looks through his eyes! So should he look
That seems to^19 speak things strange.
Ross. God save the king!
King. Whence cam’st thou, worthy Thane?
Ross. From Fife, great King:
Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky
And fan our people cold.
Norway^20 himself, with terrible numbers,15- Showed... whore
falsely appeared to favor
Macdonwald. - minion favorite.
- unseamed... chops split him
open from the navel to the
jaws.
20- ’gins his reflection rises.^25
30- Norweyan lord king of
Norway. - surveying vantage seeing an
opportunity.
assault (uh SAWLT) n. military
attack35- sooth truth.
- cracks explosives.
- Except unless.
- memorize... Golgotha (GOL
guh thuh) make the place as
memorable for slaughter as
Golgotha, the place where
Christ was crucified.
40- Thane Scottish title of nobility. 45
- seems to seems about to.
flout (flowt) v. break a rule
or law without hiding it or
showing shame^50- Norway king of Norway.
262 UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PASTLIT17_SE12_U03_A1C_WC.indd 262 3/15/16 5:17 AMTEACHING
Investigate Character
Students may have marked Scene ii,
lines 15−24 during their first read. Use
these lines to help students understand the
character of Macbeth. Encourage them to talk
about the annotations that they marked. You
may want to model a close read with the class
based on the highlights shown in the text.
ANNOTATE: Have students mark details
in these lines that describes how Macbeth
fought in battle, or have students participate
while you highlight them.
QuEsTiON: Guide students to consider what
these details might tell them. Ask what a
reader can infer from Macbeth’s action, and
accept student responses.
Possible response: Macbeth fought bravely in
battle and killed the villainous Macdonwald.
CONCLuDE: Help students to formulate
conclusions about the importance of these
details in the text. Ask students why the
author might have included these details.
Possible response: Shakespeare sets the stage
for Macbeth’s rise to power by detailing how
bravely he fought in battle.
Students should note that Macbeth’s
character is introduced before he actually
appears in the play. Because the captain’s
account of Macbeth indicates how brave he
is, the reader’s first impression of Macbeth is a
favorable one.CLOSER LOOK
262 UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PAST
LIT17_TE12_U03_A1C_WC.indd 262 4/9/16 10:09 AM