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"Do swarm upon him"
Metaphor
Act 1,
Scene 2
Lines 11-13

An explanation of the metaphor, “Do swarm upon him,” in Act 1, Scene 2 of myShakespeare’s Macbeth.

Sergeant

The multiplying villainies of nature
Do swarm upon him — from the Western Isles,
Of kerns and gallowglasses is supplied.

In this metaphor, the peasant soldiers (kerns and gallowglasses) are swarming to join Macdonald’s rebellion, like insects swarming from a nest.