Macbeth - Act 5 Scene 7
Another part of the field.
Alarums. Enter MACBETH
The reference here is to bear-baiting, a popular and bloody entertainment in Shakespeare's day. A bear would be tied to a stake and attacked by dogs, while spectators would wager. The bear would almost always win (bears are much more expensive to replace than dogs), but would be harried and bloodied in the process. Macbeth's use of this image illustrates his feeling of confinement, but also highlights his sense of invulnerability, imagining his opponents as mere dogs.
MACBETH
They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly,
But, bear-like, I must fight the course. What's he
That was not born of woman? Such a one
Am I to fear, or none.
Enter YOUNG SIWARD
YOUNG SIWARD
What is thy name?
MACBETH
Thou'lt be afraid to hear it.
YOUNG SIWARD
No; though thou call'st thyself a hotter name
Than any is in Hell.
MACBETH
My name's Macbeth.
Siward may be genuinely fearless here, or he may be terrified at the prospect of facing Macbeth, but honor-bound to fight despite his fear.
YOUNG SIWARD
The devil himself could not pronounce a title
More hateful to mine ear.
MACBETH
No, nor more fearful.
YOUNG SIWARD
Thou liest, abhorrèd tyrant; with my sword
I'll prove the lie thou speak'st.
[They fight and YOUNG SIWARD is slain]
MACBETH
Thou wast born of woman.
But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn,
Brandished by man that's of a woman born.
Exit
Alarums. Enter MACDUFF
Like Macbeth, Macduff is an able warrior; but where Macbeth will kill anyone who opposes him, Macduff avoids fighting the rank-and-file soldiers, saving his vengeance for Macbeth alone. Macduff's driving sense of purpose is contrasted with Macbeth's despairing aimlessness.
MACDUFF
That way the noise is. Tyrant, show thy face!
If thou be'st slain and with no stroke of mine,
My wife and children's ghosts will haunt me still.
I cannot strike at wretched kerns, whose arms
Are hired to bear their staves: either thou, Macbeth,
Or else my sword with an unbattered edge
I sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be;
By this great clatter, one of greatest note
Seems bruited. Let me find him, fortune!
And more I beg not.
Exit. Alarums
Enter MALCOLM and SIWARD
Siward's report and Malcolm's response indicate that the battle has gone quite well for their army. The ease of the victory underscores the idea that Malcolm is the legitimate King, so that the crown and the kingdom belong to him by legal and divine right.
SIWARD
This way, my lord; the castle's gently rendered:
The tyrant's people on both sides do fight;
The noble Thanes do bravely in the war;
The day almost itself professes yours,
And little is to do.
MALCOLM
We have met with foes
That strike beside us.
The end of this scene is almost anticlimactic: the battle has been effectively won, and the castle has surrendered, all before the anticipated confrontation between Macduff and Macbeth, to which the play has been building for the past two Acts.
SIWARD
Enter, sir, the castle.
Exeunt. Alarums