RALPH: Welcome to the show, gentlemen. 

CAITHNESS: Thanks for having us. 

ANGUS: Nice to be here. 

RALPH: Now you, sir, are Angus, a Scottish thane. 

ANGUS: That's right. 

RALPH: And although you haven't been on the show until now, our audience might remember you from earlier. You were with Ross, and you two summoned Macbeth and Banquo to the King. 

ANGUS: Yeah. 

RALPH: After the end of the civil war. 

ANGUS: Wow. That seems like ages ago. 

CAITHNESS: Yeah. A lot's happened since then. 

RALPH: I guess you're right about that. And you, sir, are Caithness. And you're also a Scottish thane, is that right? But our audience is also meeting you for the first time. 

CAITHNESS: Well, I've been around. It's not my fault you haven't interviewed me yet. 

RALPH: Sorry. You're right. But I'm glad we have the chance to talk now. And as I understand it, we find you two in the countryside, near Dunsinane, along with—let's see—Lennox, another thane, Menteith, and interestingly, some soldiers. 

CAITHNESS: That's right, Ralph. Things are about to get real. 

RALPH: Yes, well, real in what sense? 

ANGUS: Macbeth's time is running out. 

RALPH: Oh. Wow. So you're going to try to overthrow Macbeth? You're going to war with your own king? 

CAITHNESS: Not a king, a tyrant. It's not the same thing. 

RALPH: I see your point. And I've heard that Malcolm is going to try to get military help from England. Do you know if that worked out? 

ANGUS: Well, that's what Menteith was supposed to find out. You'd have to ask him. 

RALPH: Oh, right. Let's see—yes I have a note about that. It sounds like it's good news. He says the English power is near, lead on by Malcolm, his uncle Siward—Uncle Siward? 

ANGUS: Oh, you know, Siward. He's like, you know, like us—like a thane, but over in England. 

CAITHNESS: And he's Malcolm's uncle. Malcolm's mom was Siward's sister. 

RALPH: Interesting. So I guess that's even more reason to get involved in this conflict—to help out the family. And then lastly, as he puts it, the good Macduff. 

CAITHNESS: Glad to hear it. 

RALPH: That's good news, I take it? Good to have him on your side? 

ANGUS: A total badass. 

CAITHNESS: And he is pissed. I mean, Macbeth killed his entire family. That was messed up. 

RALPH: Yes. Well, as Menteith puts it, revenge burns in all of them. I guess everybody feels pretty strongly about getting Macbeth off the throne. And then he says something that I'm having a little trouble with—for their dear causes would, to the bleeding and the grim alarm, excite the mortified man. 

CAITHNESS: You know, I have always had trouble understanding that guy. 

ANGUS: I know. And it's havoc on the battlefield when he shouts something and you have no idea what he's talking about. 

CAITHNESS: Say it again. 

RALPH: Sure. For their dear causes would—

ANGUS: Okay, okay, okay. So dear causes—I mean, that's just like stuff you care about, right? 

RALPH: Oh, right. Like causes, like when you fight for a cause. 

CAITHNESS: Right. And so dear causes would actually be a good way to describe the different reasons they have for revenge. You know, for going to war with Macbeth. 

RALPH: OK. Well that sounds right. And then, to the bleeding and the grim alarm. 

ANGUS: Well, that's a little vague. 

CAITHNESS: Well, you know bleeding—we are going to battle, so there's going to be blood. 

RALPH: That sounds right. 

ANGUS: But actually he could be talking about bloodletting. You know, what your doctors do when you have a fever. 

RALPH: What? Your doctors drain your blood when you have a fever? 

CAITHNESS: You guys don't do that? 

RALPH: No. 

ANGUS: Well, and he said revenge burns, right? So I think he's adding on to that, like you know, fever, bloodletting—you just think of the two together. 

RALPH: Well, so maybe he means both war and medicine? And in a way, the bloodletting on the field of battle is meant to be a kind of cure for the fever of revenge, right? 

CAITHNESS: That's actually pretty good. 

ANGUS: And actually, now that you put it that way, a cause can mean disease, like the way we use it. So dear causes is a way to kind of get us thinking about disease and the need to cure it. 

RALPH: That's interesting. 

ANGUS: What's the next part? 

RALPH: Oh, the bleeding and the grim alarm. 

ANGUS: Well, that's actually pretty straightforward. 

CAITHNESS: Yeah, that's like a call to war—sound the alarm. 

ANGUS: And grim is, well you know, serious business. Nothing funny about it. 

RALPH: Oh, right. Like the grim reaper, or death. There's nothing funny about death. 

CAITHNESS: Exactly. This conversation is starting to bring me down a little bit. 

RALPH: Yeah, sorry. We're almost done here. So just the last bit—excite the mortified man. So the whole thing—revenge is burning them, for their dear causes would, to the bleeding and the grim alarm, excite the mortified man. 

ANGUS: Well, there you go, Caithness. There's no need to be depressed. It may be a grim alarm, but even a dead man, a mortified man, would still be excited about what's going to happen. 

CAITHNESS: Dang. I should start paying more attention to what Menteith says. That's actually pretty solid. 

ANGUS: Well, as long as he keeps it simple on the battlefield. 

CAITHNESS: Okay. So that's all good news. Now we need to get to Birnam Wood, because that's where we meet him. Is Donalbain there? 

RALPH: You mean Malcolm's brother. 

ANGUS: Well, Lennox should know about that. I think he has a list. 

RALPH: You're right, yes. He does have a list. And he's sure that Donalbain, Malcolm's brother, is not with them. Is that important? 

CAITHNESS: Just curious. 

RALPH: He also says that Siward's son is with them, as well as many unrough youths. Unrough? 

ANGUS: No beards. 

CAITHNESS: It's time to become men. 

RALPH: So lots of young guys. And then Menteith asks you, Caithness, if you know anything about what Macbeth's been up to? Or the tyrant, as he calls it. 

CAITHNESS: Well, he got himself locked up in Dunsinane. He's getting ready to protect himself, apparently. You know, some people think he's totally lost it. And other people, who don't quite hate him as much, think he's just pissed and he's getting ready for a fight. 

RALPH: And you have an opinion about that, and I like the way that you say it. Would you mind? 

CAITHNESS: Sure. But for certain, he cannot buckle his distempered cause within the belt of rule. 

ANGUS: Nice. 

RALPH: Yeah. So what does that mean exactly? I mean, I just want to make sure I'm following you here. 

CAITHNESS: So you remember cause, right? Macbeth's got a cause, too—defending his power. And so he's got to organize the men who still follow him to get their act together. But you know, it's not quite coming together. 

RALPH: Because the men aren't really into it? 

CAITHNESS: Yeah, partly. But also because the cause itself is distempered. You know, diseased. It's hard to rally people around a cause that isn't a good one to start with. And so because of that, he's having a hard time pulling it all together. 

RALPH: Can't buckle the belt of his rule? 

CAITHNESS: Exactly. 

RALPH: Or we might say something like, keep a lid on it. 

CAITHNESS: Yeah, okay. I guess that works. I see what you're saying, but it doesn't sound nearly as good as buckle the belt of rule. I mean, come on. Keep a lid on it, or buckle the belt of rule? I mean, your mouth just likes saying something like that. You try it.

RALPH: Right now? 

CAITHNESS: Yeah, go ahead. Try it. 

RALPH: Buckle the belt of rule. Buckle the belt of rule. That is pretty fun. 

CAITHNESS: Yeah, see? 

RALPH: Well, so then you, Angus, you have a pretty good line there yourself. 

CAITHNESS: What? Angus has a good line? 

ANGUS: What are you talking about? I say cool things all the time. 

CAITHNESS: Okay, let's hear it. 

ANGUS: Now does he feel his secret murders sticking on his hands? Now minutely revolts upbraid his faith breach. Those he commands move only in command, nothing in love. Now does he feel his title hang loose about him like a giant's robe upon a dwarfish thief? 

CAITHNESS: All right. Not bad, not bad. 

ANGUS: Not bad? Come on—buckle the belt of rule is a nice line. It's a decent image. It's fine. But like a giant's robe upon a dwarfish thief? I mean, that's exquisite. 

CAITHNESS: Exquisite? It's pretty good. 

ANGUS: Ralph? 

RALPH: Oh, I'm not taking sides. We have a no interference policy. But just to make sure I'm following you, you both seem to think that Macbeth's having trouble ruling because he's not really respected as a ruler? And then Menteith adds that Macbeth should also be having trouble because guilt is eating him up from the inside. 

CAITHNESS: Well, enough talk then. Let's go meet our army, and give our loyalty to those who truly deserve it. Malcolm is the doctor that can heal our country, and we're willing to spill our blood to see that happen. 

RALPH: Well and then Lennox adds, spill only as much blood as the country needs to dew the sovereign flower and drown the weeds. 

ANGUS: That's good. Dew the sovereign flower and drown the weeds. 

RALPH: So support the rightful king, the sovereign flower—Malcolm—with nourishing dew. And then get rid of the weeds, meaning Macbeth and anybody who supports him. 

CAITHNESS: That's what he just said. It sounded so much better than what you said. 

RALPH: Well, I know. I was just—oh never mind. Thanks for joining us, gentlemen. Good luck. 

ANGUS: To Birnam Wood. 

CAITHNESS: Thanks Ralph. 

ANGUS: Thanks for having us.