A good place to see how the natural world in Scotland descends into chaos in response to Duncan's murder is in Act II scene 4. It is dark at midday, and Ross asks a wise old man if he thinks it is dark because of "the day's shame"--Duncan's murder--or "night's predominance". The old man agrees that the daytime darkness is unnatural, just like the murder of the king. He notes that an owl has recently killed a falcon. Ross adds that Duncan's horses broke out of their stalls, went wild, and menaced people. The old man adds that he heard that the horses were cannibalizing one another. Ross confirms this rumor, saying that he had witnessed it himself or he never would have believed it.
No comments:
Post a Comment