Lesson on Macbeth's speech "My way of life // Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf"; new term - enjambement

1. Macbeth 3 –
My way of life // Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf.
MACBETH Seyton!—I am sick at heart
When I behold—Seyton, I say!—This push
Will cheer me ever or disseat me now.
I have lived long enough. My way of life
Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but in their stead
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. (5.3.21-30)
Sere - being dried and withered.
Enjambement – “hanging line” – when the
sentence 'runs over' or ‘JUMPS OVER' from one
poetic line to the next, without punctuation.

2. As the sere image above suggests, the shortgrass prairie of eastern Colorado is
ordinarily a dry place.
—Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2013

3. Macbeth 3 –
My way of life // Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf.
MACBETH Seyton!—I am sick at heart
When I behold—Seyton, I say!—This push
Will cheer me ever or disseat me now.
I have lived long enough. My way of life
Is fall’n into the sear, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but in their stead
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. (5.3.21-30)
Sere/Sear - being dried and withered.
e.g. searing heat

4. Macbeth 3 –
My way of life // Is fall’n into the sear, the yellow leaf.
MACBETH Seyton!—I am sick at heart
When I behold—Seyton, I say!—This push
Will cheer me ever or disseat me now.
I have lived long enough. My way of life
Is fall’n into the sear, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but in their stead
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not. (5.3.21-30)
Sere/Sear - being dried and withered.
e.g. searing heat

5. At the exam, be a detective / psychologist. Ask
yourself: What is this person saying? What do
these words mean?
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

6. Separate the speech into sentences and then highlight key
words
https://myshakespeare.com/macbeth/act-5-scene-3
I have lived long enough.
My way of life // Is fall’n into the sear, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age, As honour, love,
obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have;
but in their stead // Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour,
breath Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.

8. Let’s watch Act 5 scene 3
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSvcli53dB0

9. «Макбет», перевод Бориса Пастернака
Макбет
Сейтон! - А в душе
Я сам встревожен. – Сейтон! - Эта битва
Меня погубит или утвердит.
Я пожил на своем веку. Я дожил
До осени, до желтого листа.
На то, что скрашивает нашу старость -
На преданность, любовь и круг друзей,
-
Не вправе я рассчитывать. Проклятья,
Прикрытые трусливой лестью, - вот
Что мне осталось да дыханье жизни,
Которую б не прочь я прекратить,
Когда бы с нею мог расстаться. -
Сейтон!
MACBETH Seyton!—I am sick at heart
When I behold—Seyton, I say!—This push
Will cheer me ever or disseat me now.
I have lived long enough. My way of life
Is fall’n into the sear, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but in their stead
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.

10. Modern translation
Seyton! – my heart’s sick when I look
at – Seyton, I say! — This battle will
make me happy forever or destroy
me right now. I’ve lived long enough.
My life has dryed up, like a leaf in
autumn. The things that should
come with old age — respect, love,
obedience, and groups of friends –
I’ll never have. Instead, I have curses
— not loud ones but deeply felt —
and lip service — A life that my
heart would gladly bring to an end,
but I don’t have the courage. Seyton!
MACBETH Seyton!—I am sick at heart
When I behold—Seyton, I say!—This push
Will cheer me ever or disseat me now.
I have lived long enough. My way of life
Is fall’n into the sear, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but in their stead
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.

11. Which other enjambments can you find in this speech? How many in total? Why do
you think Shakespeare is using them here?
MACBETH Seyton!—I am sick at heart
When I behold—Seyton, I say!—This push
Will cheer me ever or disseat me now.
I have lived long enough. My way of life
Is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf,
And that which should accompany old age,
As honour, love, obedience, troops of friends,
I must not look to have; but in their stead
Curses, not loud but deep, mouth-honour, breath
Which the poor heart would fain deny, and dare not.

12. Level 9 homework: copy out this paragraph by hand. Do you feel sorry
for Macbeth? Why? Write down your own thoughts
• Macbeth’s confused, not concentrating: “I am sick at heart when I behold” —what? the situation? his attendants
and the thanes who remain with him, who are apparently standing there, doing nothing? Seyton will stir things up!
But Macbeth also reflects, albeit indirectly, on the other servant’s news: this “push”, this advance by the rebel
forces and the English power, will cheer me ever or disseat me now. This is it. Either it’ll all be good, a positive
outcome, or else I’ll be dethroned.
• But then there’s this extraordinary swerve into clear-eyed, bleak, fatalistic self-reflection. “I have lived long
enough.” This is it (and, frankly, I find that I don’t care, much). “My way of life is fall’n into the sere, the yellow leaf.”
Middle age, decline, a withered, brittle dryness; something utterly desolate, like his land. A wasteland. “And that
which should accompany old age as honour, love, obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have.” I’ve
messed up everything, lost everything—no one honours me, loves me, or properly obeys me, or at least not
willingly—and the direct echo of the marriage service, love, honour, and obey, suggests that he’s lost his wife, his
marriage too. I don’t deserve any of it. And he doesn’t have any friends either—well, he’s killed them, Banquo
chiefly, but presumably others too.
• Is Macbeth speaking directly to his companions in the scene, or is this properly soliloquy? Either is interesting in
performance: direct speech is more challenging, daring his silent attendants to confirm that yes, they curse him
under their breath, heartfelt; that they do him honour, praise and obey him only with their mouths, lip-service, in
mere words, rather than meaning what they say and do. It’s breath only, which the poor heart would fain deny, and
dare not. They’re only still there with him, telling him what he wants to hear rather than speaking up against his
tyranny, defying him, because they’re weak, and afraid.
• Source: https://www.english.cam.ac.uk/research/daggerdrawn/2022/04/01/macbeth-i-dont-have-any-friends-no-
one-loves-me-5-3-21-30-daggerdrawn-slowshakespeare/