Search results
Need help with Act 5, scene 4 in William Shakespeare's Macbeth? Check out our revolutionary side-by-side summary and analysis.
The English and Scottish armies have joined forces, and are bearing down upon Dunsinane. As they pass Birnam Wood, Malcolm commands every soldier to cut a bough from one of the trees and hold it ...
Actually understand Macbeth Act 5, Scene 4. Read every line of Shakespeare’s original text alongside a modern English translation.
Despite the pure nihilism of this speech, Macbeth seems to fluctuate between despair and ridiculous bravado, making his own dissolution rougher and more complex than that of his wife. Lured into a false sense of security by the final prophecies of the witches, he gives way to boastfulness and a kind of self-destructive arrogance.
5 And bear ’t before him. Thereby shall we shadow. The numbers of our host and make discovery. Err in report of us. MALCOLM. 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.
Near Birnam Wood, Malcolm orders his soldiers to cut down branches and carry them in order to confuse the enemy as to the true size of their army. The audience begins to understand how the ...
The action itself need not take place onstage, but the soldiers enter into 5.6 carrying their branches, which can easily look ridiculous. Malcolm is convinced that Macbeth's army, operating out of fear rather than loyalty, will be easily defeated.
