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"Rebellious dead"
Wordplay
Act 4,
Scene 1
Lines 105-110

An explanation of the phrase “rebellious dead” in Act 4, Scene 1 of myShakespeare’s Macbeth.

Macbeth

Who can impress the forest, bid the tree
Unfix his earth-bound root? Sweet bodements, good.
Rebellious dead, rise never till the wood
Of Birnam rise; and our high-placed Macbeth
Shall live the lease of nature, pay his breath
To time and mortal custom. Yet my heart

The wordplay here ambiguously makes two readings possible:

  • The ghost of Banquo is rebelling against King Macbeth.
  • By rising from the grave, the ghost is rebelling against the natural state of death.