| |
[Country near Birnam wood]
Drum and colours. Enter MALCOLM, old SIWARD and his Son, MACDUFF, MENTEITH, CAITHNESS, ANGUS, [LENNOX, ROSS,] and Soldiers, marching
Mal. Cousins, I hope the days are near at hand | |
| That chambers will be safe. | |
| Ment. We doubt it nothing. | |
| Siw. What wood is this before us? | 4 |
| Ment. The wood of Birnam. | |
| Mal. Let every soldier hew him down a bough | |
| And bear ’t before him; thereby shall we shadow | |
| The numbers of our host and make discovery 1 | 8 |
| Err in report of us. | |
| Soldiers. It shall be done. | |
| Siw. We learn no other but the confident tyrant | |
| Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure | 12 |
| Our setting down before 2 ’t. | |
| Mal. ’Tis his main hope; | |
| For where there is advantage to be given, | |
| Both more and less 3 have given him the revolt, | 16 |
| And none serve with him but constrained things | |
| Whose hearts are absent too. | |
| Macd. Let our just censures 4 | |
| Attend the true event, and put we on | 20 |
| Industrious soldiership. | |
| Siw. The time approaches | |
| That will with due decision make us know | |
| What we shall say we have and what we owe. | 24 |
| Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate, | |
| But certain issue strokes must arbitrate; | |
Towards which advance the war. Exeunt, marching.
