Excerpt from macbeth by william shakespeare duncan: dismay'd not this our captains, macbeth and banquo? sergeant: yes; as sparrows eagles, or the hare the lion. if i say sooth, i must report they were as cannons overcharged with double cracks, so they doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe: except they meant to bathe in reeking wounds, or memorise another golgotha, i cannot tell. but i am faint, my gashes cry for . duncan: so well thy words become thee as thy wounds; they smack of honour both. go get him surgeons. how does shakespeare's use of figurative language in this excerpt affect the play? by alluding to golgotha, the site of jesus' crucifixion in the bible, the sergeant suggests that macbeth and banquo sacrificed themselves nobly and selflessly on the battlefield. by describing macbeth and banquo as "cannons overcharged with double cracks," the sergeant depicts the two men as being too zealous and eager when confronting the enemy. by referencing fast animals like sparrows and the hare, the sergeant paints a vivid mental picture of the speed with which macbeth and banquo fled during the fight. by comparing macbeth and banquo to