Macbeth Rap
Summary of the Play
In this Macbeth rap, you’ll get summary of Shakespeare’s Scottish story from the man himself. His tale is told from beginning to end and features appearances by the witches. The song matches the tone of the play as well: a deep, grimy, incessant beat that refuses to let up until Macbeth is finally dead. The chorus in the song is from the perspective of MacDuff’s soldiers marching up to Macbeth’s castle to kill him and take back the throne. Find out what happens in this Macbeth rap music video!
Intro
MACBETH:
Allow myself to introduce myself:
The name’s Macbeth, during labor I induced myself.
Macbeth, I’ll rap death until my last breath,
"Scotland!" that’s where you find my address.
Started with me and Banquo meeting these witches,
They said my future would soon hold kingly riches,
But Bun’s sons would reign instead of me,
I’m like, "Yeah right,
What could make my friend into my enemy?"
But I found out that the Cawdor title was mine,
And suddenly thoughts of jealousy
Were filling my mind.
This greed be easy to sip like green tea,
So feeling kingly, I checked in with my queen bee,
My lady, she was like: "Why you thinking maybe?"
Killing this king will be
Like stealing haggis from a baby."
I’m wavering, she’s telling me to be a man,
I’m like, "Man, I guess we’ll go through with the plan,"
I can’t ignore it…
SOLDIERS:
We’re gonna beat ’em,
We gotta lead ’em,
We’re gonna need ’em,
That’s the reason that we defeat ’em.
MACBETH:
Let it begin, slip the guards 10 shots of gin,
I wait for them to pass out, then commence to sin.
I throw conscience to the wind,
My throat tight as a glove,
And I see this vision of a dagger dripping with blood.
But I proceed, past the guards, to the king’s bedside.
Creep up! I’m ’a make sure he don’t wake up!
You ever taken a man’s life?.... Well, I have…
I plunged the dagger so deep,
Now he’s resting in peace, I hear a scream...
"Sleep no more, Macbeth murders sleep!"
These guilty thoughts in my head
Something I don’t want to keep.
My lady plants bloody daggers
On the passed-out guards,
We wash the blood from our hands
And escape through the yard.
They say the first murder is the hardest,
And that’s right.
After that first night, I had no problem taking a life.
Remember what them witches said
About Banquo’s kids?
Well, I sent off three hit men to murder them quick.
They stab the father, but miss the son,
And now Fleance is fleeing, yeah I got him on the run.
It’s hard to host a party when your best friend’s ghost,
Shows up to haunt you,
While you’re busy making a toast.
You can’t ignore it...
SOLDIERS:
We’re gonna beat ’em,
We gotta lead ’em,
We’re gonna need ’em,
That’s the reason that we defeat ’em.
The witches say:
ALL:
Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
SECOND WITCH:
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake.
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder’s fork and blind-worm’s sting,
Lizard’s leg and owlet’s wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL:
Double, double toil and trouble,
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
MACBETH:
I ask them for answers, and I sit and I listen,
They respond by summoning three apparitions.
First says: "Fear Macduff."
Yeah, I guessed as much.
Second says: "None of woman born shall harm Macbeth."
Third says: I won’t ever be harmed or hassled,
Till the days the woods march right up to my castle.
M & M gather armies to march upon me,
Bring it on! No one of woman born can harm me.
Back at the castle, my lady’s slowly losing her mind,
She’s screaming "out damned spot, out I say…"
Later on I’m informed she died, no remorse,
Not a tear, death means little to King Macbeth.
Till I learn a C-section’s how MacDuff was born,
It feels like someone left me with a heart that’s torn.
And I think back about the apparition’s quote,
As I see MacDuff’s sword coming at my throat,
It’s game over.
MACBETH:
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Writing Prompts
This song is a first-person account of Macbeth's story. His tone verges on the gangster, a tough veneer that hides his inner weakness and turmoil. His story is told straight through, with appearances by the witches at the start of verse three (Act IV). The beat matches the tone of the play as well: A deep, grimy, incessant sound that refuses to let up until Macbeth is finally dead. The chorus in the song is from the perspective of MacDuff's soldiers marching up to Macbeth's castle to kill him and take back the throne.
Macbeth/rap death/last breath: an example of internal, slant multirhyme
Cawdor: a rank of Scottish nobility
maybe: "But screw your courage to the sticking-place, / And we'll not fail." - Lady Macbeth, Act I, vii
haggis: a traditional Scottish dish, made from boiling a sheep's guts inside its stomach lining
man: "When you durst do it, then you were a man; / And, to be more than what you were, you would / Be so much more the man." - Lady Macbeth, Act I, vii
gin: Gin is a strong spirit made from distilled juniper berries. Ten shots of gin would give someone a blood alcohol level of .24%, three times the legal limit for driving. In the play, Lady Macbeth uses wine to drug the guards.
vision of a dagger dripping with blood: "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 II, i
Sleep no more: "Methought I heard a voice cry, "Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep… Macbeth shall sleep no more." - Macbeth, Act II, ii
We wash the blood: "Go get some water, / And wash this filthy witness from your hand." - Lady Macbeth, Act II, ii
Fleance is fleeing: "O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! / Thou mayst revenge. O slave!" - Banquo, as he is dying, Act III, iii
fenny snake: a swamp snake
Adder's fork: a viper's forked tongue
apparition: a ghost or phantom
up to my castle: "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until / Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him." - Third Apparition, Act IV, i (Dunisinane is the name of Macbeth's castle)
Not a tear: when he learns that his wife is dead, Macbeth basically says, "She would have died later anyway."
C-section birth: the delivering of a baby through an abdominal incision; the most common surgery performed on women in the United States.
Tomorrow: This entire passage is original, Shakespearean text, Act V, v
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death: every day that has passed has led fools toward their death.
player: actor
struts and frets: walks around and worries
Signifying nothing: life means nothing
1. Why do you think Macbeth had such a depressed
outlook on life?
2. What opinion do you think Shakespeare had of human nature while writing this play?
3. Write an epilogue to Macbeth from MacDuff's point of view.
4. Write an opinion piece on "divine right," an Old World belief that kings carry out the will of God; therefore any obstruction against them is an act against God. Does this jive with your worldview?
2. What opinion do you think Shakespeare had of human nature while writing this play?
3. Write an epilogue to Macbeth from MacDuff's point of view.
4. Write an opinion piece on "divine right," an Old World belief that kings carry out the will of God; therefore any obstruction against them is an act against God. Does this jive with your worldview?
When will Macbeth rap until?
His last breath
Where does Macbeth live?
Scotland
How does Macbeth feel when he finds out the Cawdor title is his?
Jealous
What does Macbeth plot to do?
Kill the king
What is his wife's advice?
To be a man and go through with it
What does Macbeth slip the guards?
10 shots of gin
What does Macbeth do to the king?
Plunges a dagger into his heart
Who does Macbeth's wife plant the murder weapons on?
The guards
Which murder is the hardest, according to Macbeth?
The first
What happens to Macbeth's wife in the end?
She dies.
