“To Meet with Macbeth,” given by tutor Louis ... - St. John's College

Implored your Highness’ pardon and set forth
A deep repentance: nothing in his life
Became him like the leaving it. He died
As one that had been studied in his death,
To throw away the dearest thing he owed
As ‘twere a careless trifle.
King.
There’s no art
To find the mind’s construction in the face:
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.
Enter Macbeth, Banquo, Ross, and Angus
O worthiest cousin!
(I.iv.1-14)
Duncan now announces three times, for all to hear, that he cannot equal what he owes to Macbeth, and
then he pronounces a fourth estimation of his new relation to his “worthiest cousin”: “More is thy due
than more than all can pay” (I.iv.21). Imagine the luster of this warrior at the zenith of distinction
outshining the beauty of the King and deserving beyond the bounty of the King. There are only two
ways to escape the present dilemma: designate Macbeth as King “hereafter” (the sixth “hail”), or (as
Duncan chooses) let Macbeth acknowledge, for all to hear, that he is a dutiful and loyal subject whose
deeds belong to his Highness, who therefore owes him nothing. Before we hear Macbeth respond, let
us consider the image of Cawdor’s death. First, notice the structure and motion of this fourteen-line
exchange. The question of Cawdor’s end, which immediately becomes a question of witness and
reporting, leads to Duncan’s assertion of a radical disjunction between mind and face beyond any art to
overcome, which cues the entrance of Macbeth. The exchange is divided in half at the word
“repentance,” which faces--across a mid-line pause--the word “nothing.” It would be nice to say that
Shakespeare’s art here separates fair from foul so that we clearly see the beautiful idea of a ruined man,
deeply repentant, with no more cares for worldly trifles, becoming at the last more truly one with
himself than ever. But Shakespeare does not let us see the execution of Cawdor or hear of it directly
and disinterestedly. We hear Malcolm’s fine words and believe them because they speak to our deepest
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