Act 2 Scene 4 ROSS


Well, I will thither.


MACDUFF Well, may you see things well done there: adieu!19 Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!20


ROSS Farewell, father.


40


OLDMAN God's benison21


go with you; and with those


That would make good of bad, and friends of foes! [Exeunt]


Key Quotations


ROSS Thou seest, the heavens, as troubled with man's act MACDUFF Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!


Commentary 


Ross and an oldman discuss the unnaturalweather and the strange animal behaviour following Duncan’s death: the night was exceptionally stormy, the sun failed to rise and an owl killed a falcon. Ross also says how Duncan’s horses turned wild and ate each other. In Shakespeare’s time, the King was seen as the natural ruler appointed by God. Shakespeare’s superstitious audience would not have been surprised to see chaos in the natural world after the murder of a king. As Ross says: ‘Thou seest, the heavens, as troubled with man's act’.





Macduff seemsworried aboutMacbeth ruling Scotland. Pointedly he says hewill not go to the coronation at Scone. Although he states that Malcolm and Donalbain are under suspicion, he doesn’t seemto believe that they are the killers. Macduff’s final statement, ‘Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!’ clearly expresses this concern. In contrast, Ross takes events at face value and accepts the idea that Malcolm and Donalbain are to blame: ‘Thriftless ambition, that wilt ravin up / Thine own life's means!’ He has no difficulty in attending Macbeth’s coronation.





Macduff is established as aman of principle and innate goodness.His distrust ofMacbeth and his refusal to go to Scone set him apart from the other thanes. However, this snub towards Macbeth is unwise as it eventually encourages Macbeth to feel threatened by Macduff.


Questions


1. Using quotations, make a list of all the strange animal behaviour and unnatural phenomena reported by Ross and the old man.


2. What evidence from the scene shows that Macduff is suspicious of Macbeth? 3. How do Macduff’s and Ross’s attitudes differ in this scene?


55


19 adieu: goodbye 20


Lest our old robes…our new: In case our old clothes (Duncan’s reign) fit more comfortably than our new (Macbeth’s reign).


Macbeth


21 bension: blessing


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