Scene Summary
A porter early in the morning opens the castle gates for the thanes Macduff and Lennox. They question if they have come to early to escort Duncan from the castle, and upon seeing Macbeth approach, wonder if their knocking has awakened him. Macduff enters the king’s bedchamber to greet and awaken him. Macbeth and Lennox discuss the troubled night, with Lennox specifically and eerily mentioning “strange screams of death.”
Their conversation is interrupted by a screaming Macduff, revealing he has found the king dead, murdered in his bed. Lennox and Macbeth go to investigate while Macduff shouts for others to come, including Malcolm, Donalbain, and Banquo. His shouting wakes up Lady Macbeth, who confronts Macduff, demanding to know what is happening. Before Macduff can tell her, Banquo arrives, as Macduff informs both him and Lady Macbeth of what has occurred. She feigns shock, as Macbeth and Lennox arrive back from the chamber at the same time as Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain. Telling the princes what has happened, Lennox reveals he and Macbeth had found Duncan’s servants holding daggers dripping with blood, and shocking everyone around him Macbeth reveals he killed both of the servants before they could speak. Questioning his motive, Macbeth assures Macduff that the killing of the servants was done in a fit of rage upon seeing Duncan, with his, “silver skin laced with golden blood.” Lady Macbeth exits, feigning sickness, as Malcolm and Donalbain begin to have their own conversation, questioning why they haven’t said anything in the presence of the lords. Before their conversation can continue, Banquo urges his fellow thanes to be brave as Macbeth calls for a meeting in the castle’s hall. They all leave, except for Malcolm and Donalbain, who are uneasy in the presence of the thanes and suspect that their father’s murderer may be targeting them. Donalbain agrees to travel to Ireland, while Malcolm is to flee to England, separating to ensure their safety.
Scene Analysis
Whereas the previous scene dealt mainly with Macbeth’s emotional and supernatural themes, this one establishes much of the political conflict that will occur throughout the rest of the play. In doing so, it introduces another of Macbeth’s major characters, Macduff, whose role as Macbeth’s foil is incredibly significant. Though minimal, the seeds of the rivalry are set, as unlike the other thanes within the play, Shakespeare writes Macduff with more significance – for instance, Macduff is the one to escort Duncan away from the castle, and discover Duncan’s bloodied corpse, setting in motion the events that lead to Macbeth’s ascension and downfall. From his horrified reaction to the death of King Duncan, the audience gathers that Macduff is incredibly loyal and is seeking order rather than chaos in the aftermath of Duncan’s death, summoning as many people as he can to tell them of the king’s death. Macbeth, as the audience would expect knowing he committed the murder, is written showing the opposite behaviour, trying to create as much disorder as possible to shift suspicion. Macbeth’s killing of the servants is a deliberate and suspicious action, and to the audience is amongst the first indicators that a very different Macbeth has emerged in the wake of murdering Duncan – one devoid of the hesitation and fear seen previously.
Aside from introducing Macduff as a foil, this scene serves to introduce another literary idea: hidden information, and the notion that all is not what it seems. The deliberate decision to not show Duncan’s murder is highly contrasted here, as the audience is made witness to the shocking and chaotic fallout of the death of a king. Macduff’s shouts of “O horror, horror, horror,” Macbeth’s admittance to killing the supposed murderers, and Lady Macbeth’s either real or feigned fainting episode all create an atmosphere of stress and high drama. Cleverly, Shakespeare (much like Macbeth shifting attention elsewhere in order to hide his wrong doing) deliberately shifts the attention of his audience in order to hide hidden truths and motifs. Yet ironically, the audience already knows all there is to know but cannot warn or notify the characters of Macbeth’s wrongdoing. Thus, characters like Donalbain and specifically Malcolm, like the audience at the beginning of the play, begin to suspect that all is not as it seems. Their private conversation amongst the middle of the shouting in reaction of Duncan’s death indicate strong wills and caution, with their mutual decision to flee rather than remain to investigate ultimately saving their lives. Compared to Banquo who decides to flee too late and ends up killed, Malcolm and Donalbain’s flight set them up as formidable forces against Macbeth’s reign, and to the audience add a sense of tension, for up until this point, Lady Macbeth’s sharp wit and scheming seemed unmatched by anyone.
