Macbeth Soliloquy Glossary: If it were done when 'tis done... (1.7.1-29)
trammel up (3)
If the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch,
With his surcease, success;
trammel up] i.e., to entangle in a net from which nothing can break free.
surcease ] stop or conclude
To paraphrase: If the assassination could net up the consequence and catch success by Duncan's demise (his surcease).
However, Shakespeare often used his to mean its and so many editors argue his does not refer to Duncan, but to consequence. 1 Then we have: If the murder could prevent its own consequence, and catch success by the stop of that consequence. Here his = the consequence's. This reading seems unnecessarily convoluted.
Notes
1. Furness, Rolfe and Elwin believe his refers to consequence, Hudson believes his refers to the assassination and Chambers takes his to mean Duncan's.
Back to Soliloquy Annotations
How to cite this article:
Mabillard, Amanda. Macbeth Soliloquy Glossary. Shakespeare Online. 20 Aug. 2008. < http://shakespeare-online.com/plays/macbeth/soliloquies/trammel.html >.
References
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Edmund Kerchever Chambers. Boston: D. C. Heath, 1905.
Shakespeare, William. A new variorum edition of Shakespeare: Macbeth revised edition. Ed. Horace Howard Furness. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1915.
Shakespeare, William. Shakespeare's Tragedy of Macbeth. Ed. Henry Norman Hudson. Boston. Ginn, 1899.
Shakespeare, William. The Tragedy of Macbeth Ed. William James Rolfe. New York: American Book Company, 1898.
______________
Even More
 Explanatory Notes for Lady Macbeth's Soliloquy (1.5)
The Psychoanalysis of Lady Macbeth (Sleepwalking Scene)
Is Lady Macbeth's Swoon Real?
Explanatory Notes for the Witches' Chants (4.1)
Macbeth Plot Summary (Acts 1 and 2)
Macbeth Plot Summary (Acts 3, 4 and 5)
How to Stage a Production of Macbeth (Scene Suggestions)
Soliloquy Analysis: If it were done when 'tis done (1.7.1-29)
Soliloquy Analysis: Is this a dagger (2.1.33-61)
Soliloquy Analysis: To be thus is nothing (3.1.47-71)
Soliloquy Analysis: She should have died hereafter (5.5.17-28)
A Comparison of Macbeth and Hamlet
The Effect of Lady Macbeth's Death on Macbeth
The Curse of Macbeth
On the Knocking at the Gate in Macbeth
Macbeth Q & A
Essay Topics on Macbeth
Aesthetic Examination Questions on Macbeth
What is Tragic Irony?
Stages of Plot Development in Macbeth
Time Analysis of the Action in Macbeth
Macbeth Study Quiz (with detailed answers)
Quotations from Macbeth (Full)
Top 10 Quotations from Macbeth
Shakespeare's Workmanship: Crafting a Sympathetic Macbeth
Origin of the Weird Sisters
Temptation, Sin, Retribution: Lecture Notes on Macbeth
Alchemy and Astrology in Shakespeare's Day
Characteristics of Elizabethan Tragedy
Why Shakespeare is so Important
Shakespeare's Language
Shakespeare's Influence on Other Writers
Daily Life in Shakespeare's London
Life in Stratford (structures and guilds)
Life in Stratford (trades, laws, furniture, hygiene)
Stratford School Days: What Did Shakespeare Read?
Games in Shakespeare's England [A-L]
Games in Shakespeare's England [M-Z]
An Elizabethan Christmas
Clothing in Elizabethan England
Queen Elizabeth: Shakespeare's Patron
King James I of England: Shakespeare's Patron
The Earl of Southampton: Shakespeare's Patron
Going to a Play in Elizabethan London
Ben Jonson and the Decline of the Drama
Publishing in Elizabethan England
Shakespeare's Audience
Religion in Shakespeare's England
Entertainment in Elizabethan England
London's First Public Playhouse
Shakespeare Hits the Big Time
|
More to Explore
Macbeth: The Complete Play with Annotations and Commentary
The Metre of Macbeth: Blank Verse and Rhymed Lines
Macbeth Character Introduction
Metaphors in Macbeth (Biblical)
Figures of Speech in Macbeth
The Three Apparitions in Macbeth
Supernatural Solicitings in Shakespeare
Shakespeare on Omens
Macbeth, Duncan and Shakespeare's Changes
Contemporary References to King James I in Macbeth
The Royal Patent that Changed Shakespeare's Life
_____
|
On the Theme of Macbeth ... "With unmistakable clearness [Shakespeare] shows that the real punishment of the criminal is not that which is meted out to him by the hand of man. This may be painful, humiliating, terrible, but it is soon over. His true punishment is that which is worked by his own hand into his own life and character for all eternity; a degradation and perversion of nature which he can never struggle against successfully. A man who yields to temptation and commits a crime may conceal it from all human knowledge; but he has planted the seeds of a retribution in his own breast from which he cannot escape." Charles W. French. Read on...
|
_____
|