© Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All rights reserved.NOTESFleance. I take’t, ’tis later, sir.
Banquo. Hold, take my sword. There’s husbandry^1 in heaven.
Their candles are all out. Take thee that^2 too.
A heavy summons^3 lies like lead upon me,
And yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers,
Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature
Gives way to in repose!
[Enter Macbeth, and a Servant with a torch.]
Give me my sword!
Who’s there?
Macbeth. A friend.
Banquo. What, sir, not yet at rest? The King’s a-bed:
He hath been in unusual pleasure, and
Sent forth great largess to your offices:^4
This diamond he greets your wife withal,
By the name of most kind hostess: and shut up^5
In measureless content.
Macbeth. Being unprepared,
Our will became the servant to defect,
Which else should free have wrought.^6
Banquo. All’s well.
I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters:
To you they have showed some truth.
Macbeth. I think not of them.
Yet, when we can entreat an hour to serve,
We would spend it in some words upon that business,
If you would grant the time.
Banquo. At your kind’st leisure.
Macbeth. If you shall cleave to my consent, when ’tis,^7
It shall make honor for you.
Banquo. So^8 I lose none
In seeking to augment it, but still keep
My bosom franchised^9 and allegiance clear.
I shall be counseled.
Macbeth. Good repose the while!
Banquo. Thanks, sir. The like to you!
[Exit Banquo with Fleance.]
Macbeth. Go bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready.
She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed.
[Exit Servant.]
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.- husbandry thrift.
- that probably his sword belt.
- summons weariness.
510- largess... offices gifts to your
servants’ quarters. 15 - shut up retired.
- Being... wrought Because
we did not have enough time
to prepare, we were unable
to entertain as lavishly as we
wanted to.
2025- cleave... ’tis join my cause
when the time comes. - So provided that.
- bosom franchised heart free
(from guilt).
allegiance (Uh LEE juhns) n. loyalty3035CLOSE READ
ANNOTATE: In Macbeth’s
soliloquy beginning on line 31,
mark the pronouns, including
older pronoun forms such as
thou, thee, and thy.
QUESTION: Whom or what
is Macbeth addressing in this
speech?
CONCLUDE: What does the
soliloquy suggest about
Macbeth’s state of mind?282 UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PASTLIT17_SE12_U03_A2_WC.indd 282 3/14/16 1:10 AMTEACHING
CLOSE READ
Tell students that in this act, thoughts become
deeds. Review the plan that Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth have made for the “perfect crime.”
Then ask them to consider possible complications
in the implementation of the king’s murder. You
may wish to model the close read using the
following think-aloud format. Possible responses
to questions on the Student page are included.
You may also want to print copies of the Close-
Read Guide: Drama for students to use.
ANNOTATE: As I read the beginning of
Macbeth’s soliloquy in line 31, I notice and
highlight the pronouns. I know that pronouns
take the place of nouns, so I will look for places
where this is happening and pay attention to
whom or what is being replaced.QUESTION: I can see that in the beginning of
the soliloquy Macbeth uses these pronouns to
address his servant, but later he also uses the
same pronouns to address the dagger that he
imagines. I think the use of pronouns suggest
that Macbeth is talking to the vision of the
dagger as if it were alive.CONCLUDE: I think the hallucination of the
dagger suggests that Macbeth is preoccupied
with the King’s murder, but it also suggests that
he is guilt-ridden about what he plans to do. It
seems he is on the edge of a breakdown.AUTHOR'S PERSPECTIVE Kelly Gallagher, M.Ed.
Multilayered Timelines When students are
reading a difficult work for the first time, having
them develop a timeline can help them move
beyond literal reading into deep reading, the
process of making inferences. This activity is
especially useful for a novel or a play that has anintricate plot or many characters to track. Teachers
can start by having students draw a line across two
pages in their notebooks.
• First, simply ask students to tell what happens in the
story. Closest to the line, have students record the
characters and the main events in the plot.• Next, encourage students to revisit the text by
adding layers to the timeline. For example, above
the basic characters and plot, encourage students to
write questions that arise from their initial reading.
• A third layer might include predictions supported by
information from the text.282 UNIT 3 • FACING THE FUTURE, CONFRONTING THE PAST
LIT17_TE12_U03_A2_WC.indd 282 16-03-29 2:23 PM