Country near Birnam Wood.
 Enter, with DRUM and COLOURS, MALCOLM, OLD SIWARD, YOUNG SIWARD,
 MACDUFF, MENTEITH, CAITHNESS, ANGUS, LENNOX,
 ROSS, and SOLDIERS, marching.

Malcolm	Cousins, I hope the days are near at hand
	That chambers will be safe.

Menteith								We doubt it nothing.

Old Siward	What wood is this before us?

Menteith	The wood of Birnam.

Malcolm	Let every soldier hew him down a bough
	And bear't before him; thereby shall we shadow
	The numbers of our host, and make discovery
	Err in report of us.

Soldier							It shall be done.

Old Siward	We learn no other but the confident tyrant
	Keeps still in Dunsinane, and will endure
	Our setting down before't.

Malcolm									'Tis his main hope,
	For where there is advantage to be given,
	Both more and less have given him the revolt,
	And none serve with him but constraind things,
	Whose hearts are absent too.

Macduff									Let our just censures
	Attend the true event, and put we on
	Industrious soldiership.

Old Siward							The time approaches
	That will with due decision make us know
	What we shall say we have, and what we owe.
	Thoughts speculative their unsure hopes relate,
	But certain issue strokes must arbitrate;
	Towards which advance the war.
												[Exeunt, marching.
