The Only Use of
lament
in
Macbeth
- Lamentings heard i' the air, strange screams of death,
And prophesying, with accents terrible,
Of dire combustion and confused events,p. 65.4lamentings = wailings or expressed sorrowseditor's notes: This could be paraphrased as: "People heard wailings, screams of death, and predictions made in a terrible and frightening tones of dreadful, violent, and confusing events."
Definitions:
-
(1)
(lament) to express grief or regret
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Although lament typically refers to a feeling or simple vocal expression, it can refer to a vocal expression as complex as a sad song or poem. It can even refer to sad, but non-vocal music -- as when Tennessee Williams references background music in A Streetcar Named Desire.