MACBETH                  And thence it is

That I to your assistance do make love,

Masking the business from the common eye

For sundry weighty reasons.

SECOND MURDERER            We shall, my lord,

Perform what you command us.

FIRST MURDERER                Though our lives—

MACBETH      Your spirits shine through you. Within this hour at most

I will advise you where to plant yourselves,

Acquaint you with the perfect spy o’th’ time,

The moment on’t; for’t must be done tonight,

And something from the palace, always thought

That I require a clearness.    (3.1.124-134)

So, you see: thence it is, this is why I need your help, why I to your assistance do make love—an oddly wheedling, queasy way of putting it, the procurement of murder a kind of wooing, a surreptitious, homicidal seduction. This is why, too, the business—he keeps using that term—must be masked from the common eye, concealed from ordinary people, and from people in general: now he’s got the murderers on side, now they’ve declared their allegiance to him, he can suggest that they’re no longer common, that they’re special, trusted agents. And the business must be masked, done by stealth, for sundry weighty reasons. All top secret, hush hush, matters of state, you know, making this seem a complex political matter, rather than ‘simply’ removing the threat over which Macbeth has been obsessing. This is politics, not personal. (This is personal.) The Second Murderer’s in, taking the lead, speaking for them both: we shall, my lord, perform what you command us. There’s scope for glances, even whispered consultation between the two of them, and also for a bit of jostling as for who’s in charge, who’s the leader; initially it was the First Murderer, speaking more readily, but he’s dropped back a bit now. Now the First Murderer tries to make sure his voice is heard: though our lives—, he begins. Though our lives be forfeit in your service?Though our lives be put on the line? Macbeth doesn’t care, he interrupts, he’s got what he wants. A quick, dismissive compliment: your spirits shine through you. (It’s ironic: he knows they’re desperate and weak—but in effect, so is he, or so he fears.) So, instructions. It’s all got to be very fast; the murderers don’t have time to reconsider. Within this hour at most I will advise you where to plant yourselves; I’ll tell you where you have to be, where you should hide, very soon. I’ll acquaint you with the perfect spy o’th’ time, where and when to be, and how you can keep watch, a look-out, and how you can best accomplish—the business. For’t must be done tonight. Really, no backing out—the murderers perhaps exchange a glance, gulp, nod. And it must be done something from the palace, a way off; you must always remember that I require a clearness. I can’t be implicated in this.