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What is the meaning and modern English equivalent of the quote "And pity like a naked newborn babe, striding the blast..." in Macbeth?
"And pity like a naked newborn babe, striding the blast..."
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The quote "And pity like a naked newborn babe, striding the blast..." from Macbeth in Act 1, Scene 7, represents Macbeth's hesitations about murdering King Duncan. Considering Duncan's virtues and his effective rule, Macbeth anticipates an outpouring of national grief and sympathy following his death. This imagery of a helpless baby symbolizes the innocence and virtue of Duncan. The quote foreshadows the chaotic aftermath of the murder and Macbeth's eventual downfall due to his guilt and paranoia.
This quote appears in a soliloquy spoken by Macbeth in act 1, scene 7, before Lady Macbeth re-enters the room. Macbeth is considering the reasons why he should not proceed with the planned murder of King Duncan. In this speech, he eventually lists the following reason:
Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtuesWill plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe
Striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim horsed
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind.
To put these ideas into modern English, I would say Macbeth is recalling that Duncan has been a great king and that people will remember that he was good for the country after he has been...
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murdered. There will be an outpouring of grief and sympathy for Duncan. The country will be so mournful that everyone will cry over this loss.
The significance of this quote in the play is that it speaks to Macbeth's doubts and foreshadows what will actually happen when he does, between act 1 and act 2, go through with the murder. After this speech, Lady Macbeth returns to the room and Macbeth tells his wife he will not kill Duncan. She, of course, is able to persuade him to commit the act despite his doubts, which she frames as a sign of weakness and uses to question Macbeth's manhood. The elevated and hyperbolic language of this scene actually does predict how the country will react to the news of Duncan's murder.
In addition, the entire universe will be out of sorts, with strange occurrences in nature like Duncan's horses attacking and eating one another. The regicide is, indeed, unjust, and Macbeth will be eventually punished for it, as his reign fails and he is ultimately defeated by Macduff. "The deep damnation" turns out to be Macbeth's, as he is never at peace after committing the murder, growing more and more paranoid and making reckless decisions that lead to his downfall.
In act 1, scene 7, Macbeth has had more time to ponder the prophesy from the witches that he will be king of Scotland. At first, he was on fire with the idea of killing Duncan to take the crown, and he wrote to his wife in that vein. However, as he contemplates how good a king Duncan is and how generous Duncan has been to him personally, he begins to walk back the murder plan and decide it is a bad idea. Macbeth says:
Besides, this Duncan hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been so clear in his great office, that his virtues will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against the deep damnation of his taking-off; and pity, like a naked newborn babe, striding the blast, or heaven's cherubim, horsed upon the sightless couriers of the air, shall blow the horrid deed in every eye, that tears shall drown the wind.
Macbeth is using imagery to express his deep emotions as he begins to look at murdering Duncan, not from the point of view of his own ambitions but as God and other people might look at it. Macbeth feels overwhelmed by the idea that he would be killing a virtuous man. It would be an especially damned act because it would be against such a good person, something heaven itself would cry out against.
Macbeth compares Duncan's good qualities to angels, holy and pure. He feels that the pity such an act would arouse, with pity pictured as a helpless babe or a baby angel, would blow the deed around the earth until everyone cried and cried in sorrow. In summary, Macbeth is feeling profoundly that what he is contemplating is a horrible, horrible act: while he doesn't explicitly say it is like murdering an innocent baby, that is what his imagery implies.
The imagery is significant, because Lady Macbeth will soon use the image of dashing her own baby's brains out to goad Macbeth into going through with the murder. Further, the passage is important because it shows at this point that Macbeth has humane feelings: he is not the hardened tyrant he will become.