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READ THIS
It is possibly a couple of days after Duncan's murder. Ross and an old man meet somewhere in the
country beyond Macbeth's castle.
They speak about the abnormal activities in nature which they have personally witnessed. Macduff joins
them and speaks about Duncan's murder, as well as which way the suspicion lies.
We are informed that Macbeth is about to be crowned King of Scotland and of Macduff's decision not to
attend the coronation.
NATURE vs EVIL
In Shakespearian times, nature was considered to be God's playground, a place of peace and holiness.
Within this holiness lies human nature itself. A holy king -- like Duncan or Edward of England -- was
seen to have had the gift of healing in his hands.
Evil, however, can destroy all of this -- and evil comes into human nature through the devil. Once
corrupted, human nature will then wreak havoc in nature itself.
Shakespeare uses a clever counterbalance of good and evil in these scenes. While Act 1, Scene 6
presents the holiness of nature, Act 1, Scene 7 reveals the exact opposite: the triumph of evil in the
person of Lady Macbeth.
Macbeth has thought out the logic of his loyalty to Duncan and how he should be defending the king and
not murdering him. He is then confronted with a bullying wife who humiliates him into submission.
Lady Macbeth takes the perfect example of woman's nature -- a mother's natural instinct while suckling
her baby -- and overturns it: "I would, while it was smiling in my face, have plucked my nipple from
his boneless gums, and dashed the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this."
The audience is left aghast at this barefaced barbarity -- and then one witnesses Macbeth crumble to
become Lady Macbeth's lapdog once again.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
"Threescore and ten I can remember well:
Within the volume of which time I have seen
Hours dreadful and things strange; but this sore night
Hath trifled former knowings."
- How old is the Old Man? How do you know? (2)
[Need help?]
The Old Man says that he can remember well "threescore and ten" which means that he is over
70 years of age.
A score is 20. Somewhere in the Bible it speaks about "threescore and ten years" -- i.e. 70 years
-- being the correct length for a good life.
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- Name some of the dreadful things that the Old Man and Ross have witnessed. (4)
[Need help?]
Even though it is daytime, it is still very dark.
Unnatural darkness during the day is a feature of a major crisis in humanity. When Jesus Christ was
crucified, it was said that the earth was dark for some three hours after midday.
A mousing owl -- regarded as a timid creature -- killed a falcon which is a bird known for its hunting
ability.
And Duncan's own pedigree horses became wild and even turned cannibal by eating each other.
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"They were suborn'd:
Malcolm and Donalbain, the king's two sons,
Are stol'n away and fled; which puts upon them
Suspicion of the deed."
- Macduff says that there were two groups of people who were officially suspected of murdering Duncan.
Who are they? (2)
[Need help?]
- Duncan's two sons, Malcolm and Donalbain.
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- Macduff says that the chamberlains were "suborned". What does he mean by
this? (4)
[Need help?]
Essentially the chamberlains had nothing to gain from the murder. If they did do it, therefore, it was
because someone had paid them to do so -- and that somebody else was therefore the real murderer.
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"He is already named, and gone to Scone
To be invested."
- What does Macduff mean when he says Macbeth has "gone to Scone to be
invested"? (2)
[Need help?]
Macbeth had gone to the Abbey at Scone, the traditional place where Scottish kings were crowned.
Investing means more than just a coronation. It carries with it the idea of all POWER that is
"invested" in the king, i.e. power over land and finances, over lives and even over religion.
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AND NOW FOR SOMETHING MORE CHALLENGING!
The scene begins with a comment on the upheavals in nature, and points out how the murder of Duncan
was unnatural. Comment. (10)
[Need help?]
Even though it is daytime, it is still very dark.
Unnatural darkness during the day is a feature of a major crisis in humanity. When Jesus Christ was
crucified, it was said that the earth was dark for some three hours after midday.
A mousing owl -- regarded as a timid creature -- killed a falcon, a bird that was used for hunting.
Furthermore, Duncan's own pedigree horses turned wild and began eating each other.
Later, when discussing who had perpetrated the murder, Ross says that even this was against nature.
It was NOT likely that the chamberlains could have done the deed because they had absolutely nothing
to gain from it.
At the same time there was a spiritual cannibalism in the idea of Duncan's two sons killing their own father
-- similar to Duncan's pedigreed horses eating each other. This is known as "patricide" ,
i.e. the killing of one's own father.
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Why will Macduff not be going to attend Macbeth's coronation at Scone? (4)
[Need help?]
It does seem that there is an intense rivalry between Macbeth and Macduff, together with a distrust
between the two men.
It is possible that Duncan referred to it when he awarded Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor when it
was possibly Macduff who had been the noble general who had fought at the battle near Fife.
Then we find Macduff not attending the banquet held at Macbeth's castle to honour the King.
Later he will snub Macbeth by not attending the banquet at which the ghost of Banquo appears. Indeed,
Macduff attends none of the banquets at which Macbeth presides.
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Macduff tells Ross, "Lest our old robes sit easier than our new."
- Comment on the image of clothing that is used here. (5)
[Need help?]
The clothing image is used at least twice in Macbeth.
Earlier, when Ross is instructed by the king to inform Macbeth that he is Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth
exclaims, "Why do you dress me in borrowed robes?"
Now, using a similar image, Macduff tells Ross that the garments they wore during the reign of Duncan
might have been a better fit than the new garments they are now wearing under the reign of Macbeth.
In other words, life might not be as easy now as it had been when Duncan was alive.
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