Matching modern language
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Match Shakespeare’s words with the modern version.
Shakespeare’s words
Modern version
A ‘And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull
Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood,’
1 I would have murdered him
myself, if he hadn’t reminded me of
my father sleeping.
(Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5)
B ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee:
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.’
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1)
C ‘I see thee still
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,’
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1)
D ‘There’s no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes.’
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1)
E ‘The bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.’
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1)
F ‘Had he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had done’t.’
(Lady Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2)
G ‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No: this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.’
2 Thinking about the murder I’m
about to commit is making me see
things that aren’t there.
3 Nothing will get rid of the stench
of blood on my hands.
4 If I were to wash my hands in the
sea, instead of the water cleaning
them, the blood would turn the
ocean red.
5 She is not physically ill but she is
suffering from horrible hallucinations
which stop her from sleeping.
6 I can still see the dagger, covered
in thick globules of blood.
7 Keep sleeping Duncan, for that
ringing bell means it is time for you
to die.
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2)
H ‘Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,
As the weïrd women promised, and I fear
Thou played’st most foully for’t’
8 Make all of me cruel, heartless
and strong.
(Banquo Act 3, Scene 1)
I ‘Here’s the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes
of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.’
(Lady Macbeth Act 5, Scene 1)
J ‘Not so sick, my Lord,
As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies
That keep her from her rest.’
(Doctor Act 5, Scene 3)
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26043
9 Now you have the three titles the
witches predicted, but I suspect you
did something wrong in order achieve
them.
10 Am I imagining this dagger in front
of me? I can clearly see it but I can’t
hold it.
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Matching modern language
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Suggested answers
Shakespeare’s words
Modern version
A ‘And fill me from the crown to the toe topfull
Of direst cruelty; make thick my blood,’
(Lady Macbeth Act 1, Scene 5)
B ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee:
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.’
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1)
C ‘I see thee still
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,’
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1)
D ‘There’s no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes.’
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1)
E ‘The bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.’
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 1)
F ‘Had he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had done’t.’
(Lady Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2)
G ‘Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No: this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.’
(Macbeth Act 2, Scene 2)
H ‘Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,
As the weïrd women promised, and I fear
Thou played’st most foully for’t’
(Banquo Act 3, Scene 1)
I ‘Here’s the smell of the blood still; all the perfumes
of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.’
(Lady Macbeth Act 5, Scene 1)
J ‘Not so sick, my Lord,
As she is troubled with thick-coming fancies
That keep her from her rest.’
(Doctor Act 5, Scene 3)
© www.teachit.co.uk 2016
26043
8 Make all of me cruel, heartless
and strong.
10 Am I imagining this dagger in front
of me? I can clearly see it but I can’t
hold it.
6 I can still see the dagger, covered
in thick globules of blood.
2 Thinking about the murder I’m
about to commit is making me see
things that aren’t there.
7 Keep sleeping Duncan, for that
ringing bell means it is time for you
to die.
1 I would have murdered him
myself, if he hadn’t reminded me of
my father sleeping.
4 If I were to wash my hands in the
sea, instead of the water cleaning
them, the blood would turn the
ocean red.
9 Now you have the three titles the
witches predicted, but I suspect you
did something wrong in order achieve
them.
3 Nothing will get rid of the stench
of blood on my hands.
5 She is not physically ill but she is
suffering from horrible hallucinations
which stop her from sleeping.
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