BANQUO
What, can the devil speak true?
MACBETH
The thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me In borrow'd robes
ANGUS
Who was the thane lives yet; But under heavy judgment bears that life Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was combined With those of Norway, or did line the rebel With hidden help and vantage, or that with both He labour'd in his country's wreck, I know not; But treasons capital, confess'd and proved, Have overthrown him.
It is Banquo who first responds to Ross's news of Macbet's new title with what we assume sounds to Ross and Angus as proverbial, but is intended literally: the witches' prophecies, now coming "true", appear to be from "the devil". Macbeth's confusion stems from his ignorance of the political situation. He asserts that the thane "lives" and assumes he is "dress[ed] " ... "in borrow'd robes". The metaphor of clothing is one which will return through the play and here establishes Macbeth's focus on the symbols of status and the way in which they are acquired. The "robes" are the object signifying rank as thane, an "ornament" to be coveted and displayed, and the focus is on public image rather than moral worth. Macbeth’s reluctance appears to be that the "robes" are "borrow'd" , that they have not been rightfully earned, but rather usurped; he seems uncomfortable, rather than merely modest. The clothing metaphor suggests transience. Rather than holding a stable, intrinsic value, the "robes" (and perhaps even the nobility it signifies) can be easily taken off or put on. Indeed, Cawdor changes colours and he "did line the rebel", a continuation of the clothing metaphor suggesting strengthening and reinforcement. Angus explains what we already know of the thane's treason, conflating past and present tense - "who was the thane lives yet" and suggesting that such robes, once tried on, are perhaps less easily removed than imagined. Cawdor's death is certain, yet he is forced to "bear" life "under heavy judgment" (a feeling Macbeth will share with him). Life without status can only be endured and suffered. Cawdor has been part of Scotland's "wrack", its ruin, a word etymologically associated with vengeance, an association which perhaps gives some potential for legitimacy to Cawdor's actions. Regardless, Cawdor's treachery "deserves" death, particularly as it is "confess'd and proved", and yet the specifics of his crime remain vague. He is punished for "treasons capital", "overthrown" by his own actions, but these are spoken as general sins, allowing for Angus' words to apply prospectively as well as retrospectively. Angus' vagueness and muddling of past and present (and sense of foreboding for the future) creates an image of chaos and uncertainty, within which the witches' words can become even more enticing.
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