Act 5, Scene 7

The same. Another part of the Plain.

[Alarums. Enter Macbeth.]
Macbeth
2229 They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly,
2230 But, bear-like I must fight the course.—What's he
2231 That was not born of woman? Such a one
2232 Am I to fear, or none.
[Enter young Siward.]
Young Siward
2233 What is thy name?
Macbeth
2234 Thou'lt be afraid to hear it.
Young Siward
2235 No; though thou call'st thyself a hotter name
2236 Than any is in hell.
Macbeth
2237 My name's Macbeth.
Young Siward
2238 The devil himself could not pronounce a title
2239 More hateful to mine ear.
Macbeth
2240 No, nor more fearful.
Young Siward
2241 Thou liest, abhorred tyrant; with my sword
2242 I'll prove the lie thou speak'st.
[They fight, and young Seward is slain.]
Macbeth
2243 Thou wast born of woman.—
2244 But swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn,
2245 Brandish'd by man that's of a woman born.
[Exit.]
[Alarums. Enter Macduff.]
Macduff
2246 That way the noise is.—Tyrant, show thy face!
2247 If thou be'st slain and with no stroke of mine,
2248 My wife and children's ghosts will haunt me still.
2249 I cannot strike at wretched kerns, whose arms
2250 Are hired to bear their staves; either thou, Macbeth,
2251 Or else my sword, with an unbatter'd edge,
2252 I sheathe again undeeded. There thou shouldst be;
2253 By this great clatter, one of greatest note
2254 Seems bruited. Let me find him, fortune!
2255 And more I beg not.
[Exit. Alarums.]
[Enter Malcolm and old Siward.]
Siward
2256 This way, my lord;—the castle's gently render'd:
2257 The tyrant's people on both sides do fight;
2258 The noble thanes do bravely in the war;
2259 The day almost itself professes yours,
2260 And little is to do.
Malcolm
2261 We have met with foes
2262 That strike beside us.
Siward
2263 Enter, sir, the castle.
[Exeunt. Alarums.]

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Notes

TLN 2229cultural context
“tied me to a stake; I cannot fly”
Bear-baiting was a popular Elizabethan blood sport in which a bear was chained ('tied') to a post and set upon by dogs; the bear could not flee and had to fight until it or the dogs were killed. Macbeth uses the image to describe his own position at Dunsinane — cornered, unable to run, forced to stand and fight.
TLN 2244historical topical
“swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn”
Macbeth's confidence comes entirely from the second apparition's prophecy (4.1) that 'none of woman born / shall harm Macbeth.' He believes this protects him from every enemy — so he literally laughs at swords. The scene will shortly destroy this certainty: Macduff was delivered by what we would now call a caesarean section, not born 'of woman' in the conventional sense, and is therefore the one person the prophecy never covered.
historical Equivocation and the Gunpowder Plot
TLN 2249archaic vocab
“wretched kerns, whose arms / Are hired to bear their staves”
'Kerns' were Irish or Scottish light infantry — lightly armored foot soldiers who fought with short spears or javelins. 'Staves' (plural of 'staff') means long wooden spear-shafts or poles. Macduff refuses to waste his sword on these low-ranking hired soldiers; he wants only Macbeth.
TLN 2251archaic vocab
“sword, with an unbatter'd edge, / I sheathe again undeeded”
'Undeeded' means 'having performed no deed' — Macduff says that if he cannot find Macbeth himself, he will sheathe his sword without having done what it set out to do. The word captures his single-minded purpose: killing Macbeth is the one act his whole return from England has been aimed at, and any other killing would be beside the point.
TLN 2261syntax grammar
“foes / That strike beside us”
'Strike beside us' means 'strike to one side of us — that is, deliberately miss.' Malcolm notes that some of the enemy soldiers are throwing their fight, intentionally swinging wide rather than hitting Malcolm's men. This reflects Siward's preceding report that 'the tyrant's people on both sides do fight' — meaning some of Macbeth's own soldiers have turned coat and are now fighting for Malcolm.