Revenges burn in them; for their dear causes
Would to the bleeding and the grim alarm
Excite the mortified man.
– William Shakespeare
Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 2. Scottish nobles and their supporters, once loyal to Macbeth, are now on their way to Birnam Wood to join up with the rightful Scottish king Malcolm to fight Macbeth. In this passage Menteith uses a metaphor to compare Malcolm and Macduff’s rage for revenge against Macbeth to a burning fire. He says that their cause for revenge would inspire even dead men to rise and fight.