“Sergeant
Uncertainty it stood;
As two low energy swimmers, that do hold tight together
And they are having difficulty breathing (two opposing fighters too tired to even fight each other).
The merciless (with no mercy as in killing everyone) Macdonwald–
Worthy to be a rebel(he is a traitor), for to that
The multiplying villanies of nature
Do swarm upon him(this metaphor is used to describe how bad he was
to the point were all the badness of nature is flying around him)
–from the western isles
Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied(this means that that the
supplies are coming from the western isles);
And fortune, on his damned quarrel smiling
(this means that luck is on his side),
Show’d like a rebel’s whore: but all’s too weak:
For brave Macbeth(MacDonwald is showing of
but he is too week in Macbeth’s eyes)
–well he deserves that name( Macbeth deserves
being called brave)–
Disdaining fortune(Macbeth does not care about luck),
with his brandish’d steel(shows his sword),
Which smoked with bloody execution(Metaphor
showing that his sword is full of blood),
Like valour’s minion carved out his passage
Till he faced the slave(he walked pass every single
opposing soldier cutting them in half until he made
his way to the slave which is MacDonwald);
Which ne’er shook hands(they did not shake hands),
nor bade farewell to him(nor wished him a good fight),
Till he unseam’d him from the nave to the chaps,
And fix’d his head upon our battlements.(Macbeth stabs
MacDonwald in the stomach and cuts MacDonwald open
from his stomach to his neck. Than he chops his
head off and puts it in his open stomach”
September 20, 2016 at 10:53 pm
Hi Obai,
This is a good summary of the main point of the speech. What I’d like you to try for is a full translation – including the nuances of what is said in the original. You are most welcome to use online resources like Sparknotes to assist you (obviously don’t copy, but sometimes these will assist you to get to grips with the meaning before you put it into your own words.
Also, do let me know if you need assistance.
CW
September 22, 2016 at 10:56 pm
Sir I corrected the work, can you check my work please please.
September 23, 2016 at 9:30 am
Hi Obai. This is now an excellent, and detailed, analysis of what Shakespeare is saying in this passage (note, it’s important to concentrate on what Shakespeare is communicating in addition to what the character himself might be saying)
The next stage, should you wish to take it, is to write this as a fluent modern-English passage where you use your own language devices to communicate this same detail. We’ll be looking at this in class today so you’ll know what I mean.
Thanks for going back and improving your work.