help with english assignment on macbeth_shakespeare?

Question

line 73 from fiffe , great king,where the norweyan banners flowt skie............... `line83 the victorie fell on us

tanx for help
tom

Answer 1

Not sure what you are asking for here. That particular passage is basically Ross telling Duncan that they had a battle with "the thane of Cawdor" (Macbeth) and they won it.

Answer 2

your question isn't very clearly expressed. are you looking for a modern english translation perhaps?

captain ross has just arrived from fife where the (viking) king of norway has landed an invasion force. the norwegian army has been joined by the forces of the traitor the thane of cawdor and is attempting to march inland. they have been met and engaged by scottish forces under the generals macbeth and banquo (as we just heard earlier in the scene from the 'bloody captain').

the king (duncan) asks ross what news he has of the battle:

From Fife, great king;
Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky
And fan our people cold. Norway himself,
With terrible numbers,
Assisted by that most disloyal traitor
The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict;
Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof,
Confronted him with self-comparisons,
Point against point rebellious, arm 'gainst arm.
Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude,
The victory fell on us.

[my king, i have arrived from fife where the norwegian army's flags blot out the sky and make good scottish people freeze in their shade. the king of norway and his huge army - helped by the traitor the thane of cawdor - joined battle with our troops. macbeth - almost as if he was married to warfare (bellona's bridegroom - bellona was a goddess of war) brought our troops into the field and blocked the norwegian advance wherever it tried to push through. the norwegian attempt to advance was baulked wherever it tried to break out, and in the end the scottish forces held the day.'

there is a slight ambiguity here. from the way ross tells the story we can't be quite sure whether macbeth brought his army into the way of the norwegian army and broke its advance, or if perhaps macbeth personally challenged the king of norway to single combat.

nobody really cares what ross means exactly. the scottish armies have won - that is what matters.

(the idea that it doesn't matter who wins - as long as it is the good guys - keeps coming back at you in this play. as the play continues it becomes steadily easier to tell who is winning and who isn't, but harder and harder to say who are the good guys).

Answer 3

Hey Tom,

Check out sparknotes.com

This is probably the best online site for any homework help.
I have used it for many assignments, especially Shakespeare..
It really does a good job explaining situations in plain english!