RALPH: Welcome to the studio, Macduff. You're one of the many Scottish thanes that we've been meeting on this show. Thanks for taking the time. 

MACDUFF: No problem, though let's make this fast. I'm supposed to be picking up King Duncan from Macbeth's castle. 

RALPH: Oh that's right. And in fact, you and Lennox have been knocking on the gate for some time now. 

MACDUFF: Porter's not answering? 

RALPH: No. Is that unusual? 

MACDUFF: That's his job. Porter. Door opener. He probably drank too much last night given all the festivities. 

RALPH: That's right, with winning the war and Macbeth's new title. 

MACDUFF: Well, we can't wait around all morning. Am I going to have to scale the walls or something? 

RALPH: (LAUGHING) No, no. After a lot of knocking, the porter finally opens the gate and lets you both in. 

MACDUFF: What's his excuse? This is really bad behavior. Is he hung over? 

RALPH: Well, yes. He admits to drinking well into the night. And well, he has a few other things to say. But they're not really important. 

MACDUFF: I'm sure they're not. Is his master awake? 

RALPH: Macbeth. Yes. In fact, Macbeth appears to greet you at the gate. 

MACDUFF: I'm sure we woke him up with all that knocking. Is the king awake, too? 

RALPH: Not likely. 

MACDUFF: I'm sorry? 

RALPH: Oh, you don't—well, let's see. Macbeth says the king's not awake yet. 

MACDUFF: Well, I have orders to arrive early to pick him up. I'm late as it is. 

RALPH: Right. Well, Macbeth points the way to the king's chambers. And you go to retrieve him. 

MACDUFF: Excellent. Well, thanks for having me. I'm sure he'll want to hit the road right away. 

RALPH: Uh, yes. Well, about that. 

MACDUFF: What? 

RALPH: We weren't sure how to break this to you exactly. This is what you see in the king's chambers. 

MACDUFF: Oh horror. Horror. Horror. 

RALPH: I figured you'd be upset. But you should probably tell the others. 

MACDUFF: Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee. 

RALPH: Well that's a bit of an exaggeration, isn't it? I mean, can't you just say that Duncan is dead? 

MACDUFF: Confusion now hath made his masterpiece. Most sacrilegious murder hath broke ope the Lord's anointed temple and sold thence the life of the building. 

RALPH: Right. I see. Yes. So this is something that the folks in our audience might have trouble appreciating. 

MACDUFF: For you, the king is the center of your world and is appointed by God. To kill the king is to defy God and to undo the order of the world from the very center. It's like chaos. And Lennox and Macbeth can hardly understand what you're saying. 

RALPH: They should go look for themselves. Don't make me spell it out for them. We should ring the alarms. Wake everybody up. Everybody needs to know. 

MACDUFF: Banquo, Donalbain, Malcolm. They're only sleeping. Deaths counterfeit. They need to wake up and look on death itself. 

RALPH: That's a nice line. 

MACDUFF: Ring the bells, Ralph. 

RALPH: Oh, well, yes. So the bells start ringing. And Lady Macbeth is the first to appear. 

MACDUFF: Oh. Oh, it's not for her to hear. The words would kill her as soon as she heard them. 

RALPH: She's pretty sensitive, is she? 

MACDUFF: Where's Banquo? Is he up yet? 

RALPH: Yes, right. He's arrived, too. And he can hardly believe what you're saying. And then Lennox and Macbeth return, confirming your news. Macbeth says he's devastated, by the way. 

MACDUFF: Of course he is. 

RALPH: Well, and then Duncan's sons, Donalbain and Malcolm, show up. You tell them that their royal father has been murdered. And Malcolm wants to know who did it. 

MACDUFF: Well, we don't know. 

RALPH: Well, actually Lennox says that it looks like Duncan's guards had done it. He said they had blood on their hands and faces and that there were bloody daggers on their pillows. And then Macbeth says he feels a little bad that he killed them. 

MACDUFF: Wait, what? 

RALPH: Yep. Macbeth killed Duncan's guards. 

MACDUFF: Why would he do that? 

RALPH: Well, he says he couldn't help himself. There was Duncan, murdered. And there were his murderers with Duncan's blood all over them. He says his love for Duncan took over and gave him the courage to express his love for Duncan by killing the guards. 

MACDUFF: Hmm. 

RALPH: Well, before you can even react to that, Lady Macbeth cries out. I think she's feeling a little faint. 

MACDUFF: Told you she wouldn't be able to handle it. Someone should attend to her. 

RALPH: Yes, they do. And then Banquo suggests that everybody take some time to pull themselves together, to get dressed, and then meet to discuss what should happen next. Everybody seems to like this idea. 

MACDUFF: So do I. 

RALPH: So you all go off to get ready for the meeting. I know this is hard for you. But hang in there. 

MACDUFF: Easy for you to say.