Act 2 Scene 3 Commentary 


After the horror of the previous scene, the drunken Porter providesmuch needed comic relief. His puns, cantankerous nature and innuendo help to amuse the audience.


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The character of the Porter also bring some of the play’s themes into focus. His references to hell (‘everlasting bonfire’) and devils like ‘Beelzebub’ remind us thatMacbeth is an exploration of good and evil. The Porter also provides a list of criminals entering the gates of hell; there can be no forgetting that this is a play that explores crime and its social and psychological impact.


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Notably the Porter mentions an ‘equivocator… who committed treason’. This draws the audience’s attention to howthe threewitches equivocate (mislead/tell half-truths) toMacbeth. The topic of equivocation was of importance when Macbeth was written. Fr. Garnet or ‘Farmer’was tried for taking part in a failed assassination attempt on King James I (the Gunpowder Plot). Garnet famously equivocated (i.e. told half-truths) during the trial to avoid telling the whole truth. He was hanged. The witches’ equivocation coupled with Macbeth’s treason are brought to the fore here. Even in its lightestmoment,Macbeth deals with weighty and serious ideas.


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Macduff describes Duncan’s body using religious terminology. His murder is described as ‘sacrilegious’ and his corpse as ‘The Lord's anointed temple’. This reflects the Elizabethan view that the King was God’s chosen representative on earth and stresses the idea of Duncan as a good king.


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After the discovery ofDuncan’s body,Macbeth speaks eloquently: ‘All is but toys: renown and grace is dead; / The wine of life is drawn, and themere lees / Is left this vault to brag of’. This echoes the other thanes’ grief for their murdered king. However, Macbeth’s dark comments reveal his guilty conscience to the audience. This is most apparent in Macbeth’s poetic lamentation – not for the loss of Duncan – but for the loss of his own innocence: ‘Had I but died an hour before this chance, / I had lived a blessed time’.


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Macbeth attempts to hide his guilt from the other characters and live up to Lady Macbeth’s demand that he ‘look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't.’ He explains that his murder of the chamberlains was an act of passion: ‘Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious, / Loyal and neutral, in a moment?’Macbeth’s pretence is furthered when he assumes the leadership role and starts to give instructions to the other thanes: ‘Let's briefly put on manly readiness, / And meet i' the hall together.’


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LadyMacbeth acts suitably shocked at the news ofDuncan’s death: ‘Woe, alas! /What? in our house?’ and reveals her ability to deceive others.


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Commentators often differ in their viewof LadyMacbeth’s fainting spell. Itmay occur because she is overwhelmed byMacbeth’s description of the chamberlains: ‘their daggers /Unmannerly breeched with gore’. Alternatively, she may faint as she realises Macbeth’s capacity for evil without her influence. However, she ‘conveniently’ faints after Macduff starts to question Macbeth’smotivation for killing the chamberlains. This suggests that LadyMacbeth’s sudden swoon is simply a ploy to avoid suspicion of her husband.


Macbeth


51


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