Sunday, July 17, 2011

When Macduff and Lennox come for Duncan,what do they say about the night?

Macduff really says nothing about the night as he and Lennox arrive. But Lennox speaks at length to Macbeth about what was for him a very restless evening indeed. Duncan says that their chimneys were blown down by a storm, and that the air was full of "lamentings...strange screams of death and prophesying...of dire combustion and confused events." Lennox even describes reports that the "earth did shake," and that he never remembered a night like it. Macbeth, aware that Macduff is about to discover the bloody corpse of Duncan, can only comment that "'twas a rough night." Lennox's account is intended to voice the idea that Macbeth's murder of the rightful king of Scotland is not just an act of treachery. It is an act that violates the natural order itself. This is a running theme throughout Macbeth, as evil inverts what is "fair" and "foul," serves to "unsex" Lady Macbeth, and generally creates havoc in Scotland. By usurping the King's throne, Macbeth has overstepped his rightful place in the order of things. We begin to see the results of this in this scene.

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