What bloody man is that? He can report,
As seemeth by his plight, of the revolt
The newest state.
Who is this bloodied man? He can tell us, Judging by his condition, the latest news of the rebellion.
Who's this blood-covered guy? He can probably tell us what's been happening with the rebellion right now.
who's this bloody soldier what's the news
Duncan's eldest son and heir appears briefly as a frame character — he identifies the Captain and receives Duncan's praise at the end. In Acts 1-2 he's mostly a witness, but his flight after the murder will be used against him.
This is the sergeant
Who, like a good and hardy soldier, fought
’Gainst my captivity.—Hail, brave friend!
Say to the King the knowledge of the broil
As thou didst leave it.
This is the sergeant who, like a brave and tough soldier, fought to keep me from capture. Hail, brave friend! Tell the King what you know about the battle as you left it.
This is the sergeant who, like a good tough soldier, fought to keep me from being captured. Hey, brave friend! Tell the King what was happening in the battle when you left.
this is the sergeant who fought hard for me tell the king what happened
Doubtful it stood;
As two spent swimmers that do cling together
And choke their art. The merciless Macdonwald
(Worthy to be a rebel, for to that
The multiplying villainies of nature
Do swarm upon him) from the Western Isles
Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied;
And Fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling,
Show’d like a rebel’s whore. But all’s too weak;
For brave Macbeth (well he deserves that name),
Disdaining Fortune, with his brandish’d steel,
Which smok’d with bloody execution,
Like Valour’s minion, carv’d out his passage,
Till he fac’d the slave;
Which ne’er shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,
Till he unseam’d him from the nave to the chops,
And fix’d his head upon our battlements.
It was uncertain; like two exhausted swimmers clinging together and drowning each other. The cruel Macdonwald (worthy to be a rebel because he has so many evil qualities) was supplied with soldiers from the Western Isles, Irish soldiers and armed men; and Fortune smiled on his damned cause, looking like a rebel's lover. But it was all too weak; for brave Macbeth (he deserves that name), scorning Fortune, with his bloodied sword that smoked with bloody slaughter, like Courage's favorite warrior, carved his way through, until he faced the slave; without greeting him or saying farewell, he split him from the navel to the jaws, and put his head on our castle walls.
It was tied up; like two exhausted swimmers grabbing each other and dragging each other down. The brutal Macdonwald (deserving to be a rebel because he's got so much evil in him) brought in troops from the Western Isles, Irish soldiers and mercenaries; and luck seemed to favor his rotten cause, looking like a traitor's girlfriend. But it wasn't enough; because brave Macbeth (and he really earned that name), refusing to accept fate, with his smoking sword dripping with blood, like a warrior touched by the gods, cut his way forward, until he got face to face with him; without even a hello or goodbye, he ripped him in half from gut to chin, and stuck his head on our castle walls.
battle was tied two swimmers drowning each other macdonwald got foreign troops fortune seemed to help him but macbeth was better he carved through no greeting ripped him open head on castle walls
O valiant cousin! worthy gentleman!
O brave cousin! worthy gentleman!
You brave relative! what an honorable man!
so brave so worthy
As whence the sun ’gins his reflection
Shipwracking storms and direful thunders break,
So from that spring, whence comfort seem’d to come
Discomfort swells. Mark, King of Scotland, mark:
No sooner justice had, with valour arm’d,
Compell’d these skipping kerns to trust their heels,
But the Norweyan lord, surveying vantage,
With furbish’d arms and new supplies of men,
Began a fresh assault.
Just as the sun brings shipwrecking storms and terrible thunder, so from where comfort seemed to come, discomfort swells. Mark, King of Scotland, mark: No sooner had justice, armed with courage, forced these quick Irish soldiers to run away, but the Norwegian king, seeing his chance, with polished weapons and fresh troops, began a new attack.
Just like how sunshine brings violent storms and thunder, so from where things looked like they'd get better, more trouble came. Listen, King of Scotland, listen: no sooner did justice, armed with courage, force those quick Irish soldiers to flee, than the Norwegian king, spotting his opportunity, with shiny weapons and new soldiers, started attacking again.
comfort brings disaster just when irish troops fled norway attacked again polished weapons new troops
Dismay’d not this
Our captains, Macbeth and Banquo?
Didn't this discourage our captains, Macbeth and Banquo?
Did this shake our commanders, Macbeth and Banquo?
did this scare macbeth and banquo
Shakespeare could have opened Macbeth by simply telling us he's a great general. Instead he gives us the Captain's graphically violent account — the decapitation, the disemboweling, the cannons, the Golgotha imagery — because the play requires us to have one specific understanding of Macbeth locked in before we see him: he is a man who can kill without hesitation.
This is not a character flaw in the battle context. It's the defining military virtue. The Witches are going to test whether this same quality operates outside its sanctioned context — whether the man who can kill an enemy for his king can kill his king for himself. The battle scene establishes the answer before the question is asked: yes, mechanically, he can. He has the capacity.
What the battle scene cannot tell us — what the rest of the play is actually about — is what it costs him. Macdonwald got no farewell handshake. Duncan will get elaborate ceremony, tortured soliloquies, and a man who almost stops himself six different times. The contrast between the ease of killing in battle and the difficulty of killing in cold blood is where Macbeth's tragedy lives.
Also worth noting: Banquo fights just as heroically in this scene. They're presented as equals. The Witches will separate them — giving one a personal prophecy of kingship, the other a prophecy of descendants who'll be kings. The same battlefield, the same courage, radically different responses to prophecy. That difference is Macbeth.
Yes;
As sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion.
If I say sooth, I must report they were
As cannons overcharg’d with double cracks;
So they
Doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe:
Except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds,
Or memorize another Golgotha,
I cannot tell—
But I am faint, my gashes cry for help.
Yes; as sparrows are to eagles, or the hare to the lion. If I speak truth, I must say they were like cannons overloaded with double charges; so they dealt doubled and redoubled blows on the enemy: Unless they meant to bathe in smoking wounds, or create another Golgotha, I cannot say— But I am faint, my wounds cry out for help.
Yes; as sparrows are nothing to eagles, or rabbits to lions. If I'm being honest, I'd say they were like cannons loaded with double powder; so they kept doubling and tripling their attacks on the enemy: Unless they wanted to swim in blood or turn the place into another slaughterhouse, I don't know what else they could do— But I'm exhausted, my wounds are screaming.
yes sparrows to eagles rabbits to lions double cannons triple attacks i'm faint wounds hurt
So well thy words become thee as thy wounds:
They smack of honour both.—Go, get him surgeons.
Your words suit you as well as your wounds do: Both show honor.—Go, get him medical help.
Your words and your wounds both look good on you: they both show you're honorable.—Go, get him a doctor.
your words and wounds both show honor get him help
Who comes here?
Who is arriving?
Who's coming?
who's this?
The worthy Thane of Ross.
The honorable nobleman Ross.
There's the honorable Ross.
there's ross
What a haste looks through his eyes! So should he look
That seems to speak things strange.
What urgency shows in his eyes! He should look like someone who has strange news to tell.
Look at the rush in his eyes! He's got the look of someone who's about to say something strange.
his eyes look rushed like he's got strange news
Efficient, precise, a messenger who knows his job is to deliver intelligence with appropriate ceremony. Later becomes a kind of witness-character to the whole play's atrocities — present but not complicit, or at least not obviously. In this scene he's clean and loyal.
God save the King!
May God protect and watch over the King!
Long live the King!
keep the king safe
The original Thane of Cawdor is never named, never seen, and barely described — yet his role in the play is structurally essential. He is the template for Macbeth.
He was, like Macbeth, a trusted Scottish nobleman. He committed treason by fighting for Norway against his king. He is being executed as the scene ends. His title is being transferred to another man, assumed to be loyal.
Duncan's line — 'No more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceive our bosom interest' — contains a bitter irony the audience feels before Duncan does. He thinks he's closing a chapter: this traitor is gone, here is a trustworthy man. He is actually opening a repeat. The title is cursed not by the Witches but by the structural logic of the play: Cawdor's treachery passes to his title, and Macbeth inherits both.
In 1-4, Macbeth will learn that Cawdor 'confessed his treasons' and 'died as one that had been studied in his death.' This detail matters: the first Cawdor met his end with dignity and acceptance. By Act 5, Macbeth will be denied even that. He is the same story retold with worse endings.
Shakespeare is using the Cawdor plot as a mirror: here is what Macbeth is about to become, with this very title, for doing exactly what this man did. The title carries its history.
Whence cam’st thou, worthy thane?
Where did you come from, worthy nobleman?
Where are you coming from, honorable one?
where are you from
From Fife, great King,
Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky
And fan our people cold.
Norway himself, with terrible numbers,
Assisted by that most disloyal traitor,
The Thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict;
Till that Bellona’s bridegroom, lapp’d in proof,
Confronted him with self-comparisons,
Point against point, rebellious arm ’gainst arm,
Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude,
The victory fell on us.
From Fife, great King, where the Norwegian banners mock the sky and freeze our people with fear. Norway himself, with terrible armies, helped by that most disloyal traitor, the Thane of Cawdor, started a horrible battle; until that warrior-god Macbeth, clad in armor, confronted him matched blow for blow, point against point, rebellious army against army, checking his wild spirit: and, to finish, the victory came to us.
From Fife, your majesty, where Norwegian flags are waving at the sky and making our people nervous. Norway's king himself, with massive armies, aided by that traitor, the Thane of Cawdor, started a terrible fight; until Macbeth, armored up like a god of war, faced him matched exactly, blow for blow, army against army, slowing down his wild fury: and in the end, we won.
from fife norway's king attacked cawdor was a traitor macbeth fought like a god we won
Great happiness!
Wonderful news!
That's fantastic!
great news
That now
Sweno, the Norways’ king, craves composition;
Nor would we deign him burial of his men
Till he disbursed at Saint Colme’s Inch
Ten thousand dollars to our general use.
So now Sweno, the Norwegian king, asks for peace; and we wouldn't let him bury his dead until he paid at Saint Columba's Island ten thousand dollars to our use.
So now Sweno, the Norwegian king, wants to make peace; and we said he couldn't even bury his dead until he paid at Saint Columba's Island ten thousand dollars to us.
sweno wants peace can't bury his men til he pays ten thousand
No more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceive
Our bosom interest. Go pronounce his present death,
And with his former title greet Macbeth.
That Thane of Cawdor will no longer betray my deepest interests. Go announce his execution, and greet Macbeth with his former title.
That Thane of Cawdor won't trick me anymore. Go tell everyone he's being executed, and give Macbeth his title.
cawdor's a traitor execute him give macbeth his title
I’ll see it done.
I'll make sure it's done.
I'll take care of it.
i'll do it
What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won.
What he has lost, noble Macbeth has won.
Everything that traitor lost, Macbeth has now gained.
macbeth gets what cawdor lost
The Reckoning
Macbeth never appears in this scene. Instead, we get his reputation — built through the wounded Captain's breathless combat report and Ross's triumphant dispatch. It's one of Shakespeare's most deliberate entrances: before we see the man, we've been given his defining attribute. He is spectacularly, efficiently violent. He 'disdain'd fortune' and cut Macdonwald open from navel to jaw. He 'smok'd with bloody execution' when the Norwegians attacked. He is, in his first portrait, a weapon who works. Shakespeare plants a disturbing tension here: Macbeth's violence is celebrated as loyalty. Duncan calls him 'valiant cousin, worthy gentleman.' But the audience has already watched the Witches plan to meet him. The same qualities that make him Scotland's hero — his capacity for decisive, unhesitating violence, his ability to override conscience — are exactly the qualities that will make him a murderer. The battle report is Macbeth's character read forward: this is not a man who hesitates when he decides something must die.
If this happened today…
Picture a classified military debrief. The wounded soldier's body is the evidence: he took shrapnel getting close enough to report. His story is the only information command has. He describes a special-operations commander who — when the mission was nearly lost — single-handedly reversed it through controlled, almost joyful violence. The brass are thrilled. They're promoting the commander on the spot. Nobody in that room is thinking: what does a man look like on the inside when he can do that and not flinch?