I read Macbeth in school and I could recall I wanted to write my own and today I wanted you to read my own version of Shakespearean Macbeth.To reproduce a book similar to Shakespeare's Macbeth, you would need to write a tragic play in a five-act structure, using poetic language like iambic pentameter, and exploring themes of ambition, power, and fate. The following is an original play in that Enjoy the reading.
The Nest Of Serpent
Characters
LORD ALDRICK: A respected nobleman, husband to Lady Elara.
LADY ELARA: Wife to Aldrick, secretly ambitious.
ORLA: A village soothsayer, ancient and unsettling.
Act I, Scene I
(A storm rages outside. The scene is a stone chamber in Lord Aldrick's keep. A fire burns low in a large hearth. ALDRICK and ELARA stand by a leaded window, watching the rain.)
ELARA:
The lightning splits the sky, a jagged wound,
As if some god were struck in his great throne,
And fell with such a crash that we did feel it.
ALDRICK:
It mirrors what our scouts have brought to us:
News of our king, caught in some sudden raid,
And wounded. Not too gravely, so they say.
ELARA:
(Turning from the window)
Not gravely, no, but wounded still. A flaw
In what was once thought perfectly divine.
A king should not know harm, or know the sting
Of mortal steel. It makes one think, does it not?
ALDRICK:
Think what, my love? Your tone is like the wind,
That whispers, yet still carries great intent.
ELARA:
Intent to merely ask a simple question.
If the high tree were felled, which noble root
Would be the next to blossom in the sun?
ALDRICK:
The king has heirs, and we are but his friends.
Why turn your thoughts to matters so beyond
Our place and station?
ELARA:
Beyond? Or just beneath? I have heard tales
Of an old seer who lives beyond the hills,
In caves where shadows feed on ancient light.
They say she speaks with spirits, and foretells
The fates of men.
ALDRICK:
Elara, you would not...
ELARA:
I would! And have. She waits for us outside.
The storm, you see, was just for her arrival.
(The sound of the chamber door opening against the wind. ORLA, the soothsayer, enters, wrapped in a coarse, dark cloak. Her eyes are milky white, and she leans upon a staff of knotted wood.)
ORLA:
The hawk must fall, if eagles are to rise.
The nest is high, but has a serpent's heart.
ALDRICK:
What gibberish is this? Tell us our fates,
If fate is what you claim to know.
ORLA:
I tell not tales, but truth. The crown will touch
A brow with hair as dark as winter's frost.
A lady's brow, and then a lord's as well.
The blood will flow, but not without a choice.
ELARA:
The crown! She speaks of us! Oh, Aldrick, hear!
A new age dawns, and we shall be its light!
ALDRICK:
(Alarmed)
Wife, calm yourself! This is a dangerous path.
ORLA:
(To Elara)
The crown is close. You see it. You can feel
The weight of it, the coldness of the gold.
But to possess it, one must lose a soul.
(Orla looks past Elara to Aldrick, her milky eyes seeming to find his gaze.)
ORLA:
Beware the nest, for in its heart doth lie
The serpent. Not without, but coiled within.
(With that, Orla turns and exits, her dark cloak vanishing into the night as the chamber door slams shut behind her. The storm abruptly ceases, leaving an eerie silence.)
ELARA:
Did you not hear? The future is our own!
That prophecy—that chilling, sacred truth—
It gives us power beyond our wildest dreams.
ALDRICK:
It spoke of serpents, and a soul to lose.
What foulness have you brought into this room?
Our loyalties are sworn, our honour clean.
ELARA:
Honour is but a word, a brittle shield
That shatters at the first sharp thrust of change.
She said the king was flawed. He is no god.
You are a stronger hand, a wiser mind.
The people whisper that his judgment fails.
ALDRICK:
His judgment does not fail! Your judgment does.
This is a game of madness. I will not play.
ELARA:
But you are playing now. For when the king,
Still weak from battle, comes to rest with us,
He will find not a loyal subject, but
A future king whose wife has made her choice.
The serpent, Aldrick, it is not the crown.
It is the heart that hesitates to seize
The chance that heaven offers.
ALDRICK:
(Staring at her, a look of horror dawning on his face)
You cannot mean...
ELARA:
I mean the future, husband. You need only
Choose to let it come, or fight it. But the deed,
The glorious deed, is set upon its path.
The king arrives at dawn. The knives are sharp.
And destiny awaits.
(Aldrick looks from Elara's determined face toward his own reflection in the dark, leaded windowpane, unable to see clearly
Act I, Scene II
(The same chamber. The morning sun casts long, cold shadows through the leaded windows. A small table is set with bread and cheese, a gesture of hospitality that now seems monstrously false. ALDRICK stands alone, his back to the door, hands clasped behind his back. ELARA enters, carrying a small knife, its blade wickedly sharp, wrapped in a linen cloth. She places it casually on the table, near a loaf of bread.)
ELARA:
The morning breaks, a promise and a lie.
The king will soon be here. His laughter rings
Across the courtyard, innocent and free.
He has no guard, but trusts in our good will.
Does it not pierce you, Aldrick, his blind faith?
ALDRICK:
It does. It cuts me deeper than the blade
You so unnervingly have placed upon
This table, meant for friendship. What are we?
What monstrous things have you made us to be?
ELARA:
We are what we are meant for. Nothing more.
The seer spoke a truth. The crown must touch
A new brow, and why not yours? The king
Is old, his judgment warped. He sees not those
Who long for change, and in that blind neglect
He signs his own decree.
ELARA:
Then let us spill some blood.
The old tree rots and must be cut away,
Lest its decay should poison all the orchard.
He comes to us tonight. The drink is drugged,
His servants will be fast asleep. You need
But walk into his chamber, find the blade,
And let the deed be done. The blame will fall
On others. All we need is an accomplice.
ALDRICK:
An accomplice? Who?
ELARA:
The king's own cupbearer. A foolish man,
Who thinks his station is a prison cell.
I've plied him with a secret that he thinks
Will bring him to the king's eye. He will not
Remember how he served the cup tonight.
ALDRICK:
This is too much. I cannot bear the thought.
My hands... my hands... will they be stained with blood?
ELARA:
They will be cleansed with power. Think, my lord!
The throne, the crown, the kingdom! All of this
Will be our legacy. We will rebuild
The realm, and make it new. Your name will be
Renowned for wisdom, not for loyalty.
(She moves to him, her voice low and persuasive, her hand resting on his arm.)
ELARA:
A soldier kills. You have killed men before.
The king is just another foe. The storm
That came for Orla was a sign. The heavens
Have spoken, Aldrick. Would you thwart the gods?
ALDRICK:
The gods do not speak treason. You do.
This serpent that she spoke of... is it you?
ELARA:
It is ambition. Call it what you will.
I am a woman who sees clearer than
A man whose vision's clouded by old oaths.
This night, a king will die. This night, a king
Will rise. The choice is not if, but who.
(She gestures to the knife on the table. Aldrick looks at the knife, then at Elara, a haunted look in his eyes. The sun has faded, leaving the chamber in a dull, grey light.)
ALDRICK:
What have I done to have this placed upon
My head? I only wished to serve my king.
ELARA:
You served him well. And now you'll serve yourself.
The throne is calling, Aldrick. Take its hand.
(The sound of trumpets and shouting from the courtyard below indicates the king's arrival. Aldrick and Elara both freeze, listening. The sound is cheerful, celebratory. The contrast with the scene is chilling.)
ALDRICK:
He comes. And knows no fear.
ELARA:
He knows not what awaits him. Go, my lord.
Let's play the gracious host, and smile, and bow.
The serpent hides beneath the fairest flower.
(Elara smiles a cold, triumphant smile. Aldrick stands rigid, his face a mask of conflict and despair. He slowly walks to the table, and with a shaky hand, he picks up the knife. He looks at it, then back at Elara. The stage darkens as the cheerful sounds of the king's arrival continue.)
(End of Act I)
ALDRICK:
His faults are not for us to judge! We swore
A solemn oath. My father swore it too,
And his before him. It is blood and bone,
This loyalty.
continue
The Serpent in the Nest
Act II, Scene I
(Night has fallen. A narrow stone corridor within Aldrick's keep. A single torch flickers in a sconce, casting a long, dancing shadow. A door to the left, adorned with a lion's head crest, leads to the king's chamber. The sound of faint, drunken snoring can be heard from within. Aldrick enters, moving stealthily. He is wearing a dark tunic. The knife he picked up in the previous scene is not with him. He stops, holding a hand to his chest as if to calm his beating heart.)
ALDRICK:
It’s done. The deed. The poison in the cup
Made heavy all their heads, and sent them dreaming
Of fields of gold and victories to come,
While their good King is drugged into a slumber
From which no dawn shall wake him. I am free.
No, not free. Entangled. In the coil.
The serpent spoke of me, and not of her.
The serpent is within. I feel it now,
This coldness in my veins, this shaking dread.
The knife is on the table, where she left it.
But she has made me the reluctant blade.
My own hand trembles now, my purpose wavers.
What voice was that? A raven at the window?
Or just the wind, that moans for what is lost?
I have not killed him yet. I have but gone
To watch him, breathe his last, and know the truth.
The truth is that I cannot do this thing.
My honour, though it wears a fractured crown,
Will not be shattered by this bloody act.
(Aldrick turns toward the king's chamber door. As he does so, he sees a vision: a floating dagger, glinting in the firelight. It has blood upon its point. He stares at it in disbelief.)
ALDRICK:
Is this a trick? A phantom of the mind?
A vision from the seer? An omen, black?
(He reaches for it, but his hand passes through the image.)
I have thee not, yet still I see thee here,
A bloody promise, pointing to my fate.
This cannot be. I am a noble man!
A hand that slew in battle, not in stealth!
This is a fever in my heat-oppressed brain!
(He closes his eyes tightly, shaking his head. When he opens them, the vision is gone. But in its place, a shadow on the floor begins to writhe. It forms into the shape of a serpent, its head pointed toward the king's door.)
ALDRICK:
(Whispering)
The serpent... in the nest. Within my heart.
It is not she. It is not fate. It is
My own desire. This dagger of the mind.
(He turns away from the door, his resolution strengthened by his own weakness.)
No. I am no killer. I am no King.
I will not wear a crown that's stained with blood.
(He turns to leave, but as he does, he comes face-to-face with ELARA, who has entered quietly behind him. She is wearing a silk nightgown, a goblet in her hand. Her face is pale and her eyes are bright with a terrible hunger.)
ELARA:
What's this? A coward, in the quiet night?
You turn away from glory, from your throne?
I heard you whisper, "I am no killer."
But what is honour to a man who lives
In comfort and in ease? Your time is now.
The king is still alive. The drugs took hold
But not so deeply as to keep him silent.
The bell must toll, my love. For him, or us.
ALDRICK:
It will not be! I am not such a brute
As you would make me! Honour's worth more than
The crown and kingdom!
ELARA:
Honour? And what is honour to a man
Who sleeps, and dreams, and wakes to find a change?
Who is the King's man, and who is his own?
(She gestures toward the king's door.)
Go, Aldrick. Finish what we have begun.
Or I shall go myself, and do the deed.
ALDRICK:
You wouldn't dare.
ELARA:
Oh, wouldn't I? A woman's hand is smaller,
And can inflict a wound as deep as any man's.
The world will praise the loyal, grieving Queen,
And you, my loyal consort, at my side.
The knife is waiting, Aldrick. Choose your fate.
(Aldrick stares at her, his face contorted in a mixture of fear and rage. The sound of a bell ringing three times, distant but clear, suddenly cuts through the silence. Elara's face hardens.)
ELARA:
Too late. The bell has tolled. The guards are stirring.
The poison has not worked its fatal will.
The king awakes.
(Aldrick grabs her arm, his voice a furious whisper.)
ALDRICK:
What have you done?!
ELARA:
I told the cupbearer to ring the bell
When all was quiet. He forgot.
He rang it now, to warn the king.
ALDRICK:
You have undone us!
ELARA:
I have not! It was your cowardice!
Now, go! Pretend to find him, Aldrick! Find him!
But play the loyal servant! Play the fool!
And pray the king believes your innocent face!
(Elara shoves him toward the king's door. Aldrick, caught between ambition and cowardice, a serpent in his own heart, stumbles toward the chamber as the play fades to black.)
Act II, Scene II
(The king's chambers. Rich tapestries line the walls, and a large canopied bed dominates the room. The king, LORD LEO, sits upright in the bed, clutching a half-empty goblet. His face is pale and beaded with sweat, his eyes wide with a manic terror. ALDRICK and ELARA stand before him, their faces masks of concern.)
LEO:
The bell! It tolled for me! I heard its clang,
A funeral knell for a king yet living!
Who rings a bell at such an hour, to warn
The night itself that murder is afoot?
ALDRICK:
My lord, the watch is new, and may have stumbled,
His hand unsure. The night is dark and stormy,
The wind plays tricks upon the watchful ear.
It was no bell.
ELARA:
(Approaching the bed, her voice soothing)
You are distressed, my King. The travel drains
A man's best strength. Here, drink. A little wine,
To calm the humours of your waking mind.
LEO:
(Brushing her hand away)
No wine! The last cup tasted of a shadow,
A bitter hint of something not of grape.
My throat is scorched! A serpent's coil it was,
That slid and stung!
(Aldrick flinches, his eyes meeting Elara's for a fleeting second. Her expression is calm and unwavering.)
ALDRICK:
My lord, the cupbearer is an honest man.
He would not dare...
LEO:
Honest? Is that the word for treachery?
The truth is coiled and waiting in your house,
Like some great beast preparing for its meal.
I saw a shadow pass my door! A shape!
Not just the wind.
ELARA:
(To Aldrick, with a pointed glance)
My lord, perhaps the cupbearer should be brought,
To answer for this troubling charge.
He may have misremembered. Or misplaced
The wine.
LEO:
You think so? Let him come. But do not think
A man can lie and hide his guilt from God.
I feel a coldness in this chamber now,
As if the air itself holds treachery.
(A loud commotion is heard in the corridor outside. A guard bursts into the room.)
GUARD:
My lord! The cupbearer is dead! We found him
Hanging in the pantry! A note is pinned
Upon his chest!
ELARA:
(In a breathless whisper)
What does it say?
GUARD:
"I am a traitor. This is my just end.
I plotted with the enemies of the King."
LEO:
(Sinking back against his pillows, his eyes fixed on Aldrick)
A neat solution. Is it not, my lord?
The loyal cupbearer, hanging himself?
How quick the worm does turn.
ALDRICK:
My King, he must have been a desperate soul,
Caught in some web of plot.
LEO:
(His voice suddenly sharp and clear)
Or given up, to make the plot seem clean.
The serpent spoke of here. Not out beyond,
In shadowed groves or mountains far away.
The serpent is within this house, this court.
I see it in your eyes, my loyal friend.
ALDRICK:
My lord, I am your servant, ever true!
LEO:
(To the guard)
Summon the court. I will have a decree.
And let us see if Aldrick’s loyalty
Is strong enough to bear the weight of truth.
Go. Now!
(The guard bows and exits. The sounds of the castle beginning to stir fill the silence. Aldrick's face is pale with fear. Elara stands, expressionless, watching him. The king stares at Aldrick, a deep and bitter suspicion in his eyes.)
LEO:
The night is full of shadows, is it not?
And yet, some shadows are more clear than others.
(The king laughs, a dry and brittle sound that fills the room with the horror of his recognition. The stage fades to black as Aldrick and Elara stand frozen, their ambition turning to ash in the face of di
