Discovery and Aftermath

The scene shifts dramatically when Macduff discovers Duncan's murder. The language becomes terse and fragmented, reflecting the horror of the moment.

Quote: "O horror, horror, horror! Tongue nor heart cannot conceive, nor name thee."

Highlight: Macbeth's speech patterns change notably after the murder's discovery, becoming more controlled and calculated.

Definition: The Great Chain of Being - a hierarchical structure of all matter and life, believed to be divinely ordered in Shakespeare's time.

The Porter's Comic Interlude

The opening of Act 2 Scene 3 introduces the Porter scene significance in Macbeth through dark comedy. The Porter imagines himself as the gatekeeper of Hell, creating a moment of levity before the horror to come.

Quote: "If a man were porter of hell-gate he should have old turning the key."

Highlight: The Porter's jokes about various sinners (farmer, equivocator, tailor) provide symbolic commentary on the play's themes of deception and damnation.

Example: The Porter references contemporary events like the Gunpowder Plot through his mention of equivocators.

Vocabulary: Equivocator - someone who speaks ambiguously to avoid telling the truth.