The State of the State Reflects The State of the King. In other words, the condition of a kingdom or nation depends upon the condition of the king. This is an old myth that goes back to ancient times. One of the oldest myths upon record is that of the Fisher King. A king has become ill or is dying, and everyone in his nation suffers from diseases, plagues, and disasters. Only when a hero solves the problem or finds a miraculous token does the king, and thus the kingdom, become cured. This myth was adapted by the Christians to become the Myth of the Holy Grail (the grail being the chalice or cup that Jesus Christ used during the Last Supper). A version of this myth also appears in numerous other works, like Gilgamesh, The Odyssey by Homer, and Beowulf.
The idea also appears in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King. In that play the city of Thebes is experiencing plague, famine, and ruin because King Oedipus has killed his father and slept with his mother. In this story, then, the king is infected with evil; and so his entire kingdom is suffering. As long as a king is good and well, his kingdom is well. But, if a king is ill or evil, then the entire kingdom suffers.
In the third scene, the porter opens the door for the two Scottish noblemen, Macduff and Lennox. They have arrived early in the morning because King Duncan had earlier commanded them to do so. As they walk to the king’s room, Lennox describes the events of the passing night to Macbeth. Lennox lists a number of extraordinary events:
All of these omens together signify that something extremely terrible has happened to Scotland. Of course, the audience already knows what that it is: the murder of King Duncan. The omens not only symbolize Duncan’s murder, but they also indicate the serious evil and trouble that all of Scotland will experience under the rule of Macbeth, who will become a tyrant. Shakespeare uses omens in a similar fashion in Julius Caesar. In that play even more omens occur just prior to the assassination of Caesar. Shakespeare borrows that idea directly from an historical source, Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans by Plutarch.
After the murder of King Duncan is discovered, Lord and Lady Macbeth pretend to be shocked and surprised. This pretense (or pretending) is an act to fool the other lords so that they will not think that Macbeth is guilty of the crime.
Macbeth even makes a short solemn speech
(of only six lines) to indicate a feeling of regret:
Had I but died an hour before this chance I had lived a blessed time, for from this instant There’s nothing serious in mortality.
All is but toys. Renown and grace is dead.
The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees Is left this vault to brag of. (lines 87-92)
A careful reader might wonder, though, if Macbeth is really pretending here. The lines may actually convey a deep sense of regret: his conscience is not through with him yet.
The lines in this passage are quite suggestive. When King Duncan was alive, the time for Macbeth and for all of Scotland was wonderful and blessed. But now that Duncan is dead, the best part of life is gone. There is “nothing serious” about life any longer. The word toy suggests an unimportant and trivial matter. Life itself has become unimportant and trivial. Life has become meaningless. These lines foreshadow life in Scotland under Macbeth’s rule. Moreover, they also establish a theme regarding existentialism. Existentialism in literature usually suggests that existence or life is meaningless and hopeless. The world is hostile and uncaring. There is no God watching out for mankind. This existential idea becomes emphasized at the end of the play, at a time when Macbeth realizes that all of his actions have been meaningless and purposeless.
The wine metaphor in the last two lines of the passage emphasizes this idea. When wine is made or fermented, there is a kind of sediment or hard dirt that forms and can be seen lying on the bottom of the bottle. This dirt or sediment is the lees. Macbeth compares life before and after Duncan’s death to wine and lees:
Life Before His Death |
Life After His Death |
wine |
lees |
Wine has value, lees have none. Life while Duncan was alive was valuable. Life after Duncan’s murder is valueless. The word vault contributes to the metaphor. People stored their wine in vaults or cellars, but the word also suggests the vault of heaven or sky. Macbeth is indicating that the universe itself has nothing of value left in it. King Duncan is dead.
Only lees remain in the world.
A crucial point of plot occurs at the end of the scene. Malcolm and Donalbain, the sons of King Duncan, realize that the circumstances of their father’s death are highly suspicious. They know they cannot trust anyone. So, Malcolm plans to escape to England, and Donalbain will go to Ireland (133-34). Donalbain warns his brother that the lords who appear most friendly could be the most dangerous:
There’s daggers in men’s smiles. The nea’er in blood,
The nearer bloody. (136-37)
The metaphor of the dagger or knife indicates the violence that men may be planning even though they appear friendly to the two princes. But the metaphor also reminds the audience of the imaginary dagger that floated before Macbeth and, more importantly, the actual dagger that Macbeth used to kill the king. The second part of the quote indicates that the closest relatives are to be trusted least. After all, the closest relatives are also closer to inheriting the throne. Malcolm and Donalbain correctly guess that the person who killed the king would be the person who has the biggest motive to do so. And that motive would be so that the killer could become king himself.
At the beginning of the scene Ross, a Scottish lord, is talking with an old man about more mysterious supernatural events, more omens, happening in Scotland. Scotland’s problems have not gone away. In fact, they are getting worse. The state of the state is in a terrible condition.
Macduff then arrives on the scene and informs Ross that most people in Scotland suspect that the two princes (Malcolm and Donalbain) are guilty of the murder because they ran away so hurriedly without telling anyone. And, because the princes are now gone, the new king of Scotland will be Macbeth.
Macduff explains that Macbeth is already on his way to the royal city of Scone to be invested, to be crowned as Scotland’s new king (31-32). Ross asks Macduff if he will go see the coronation, the crowning ceremony at Scone. But Macduff says that he will not. Instead he is going to return to his home at Fife (36-37). Macduff is making a wrong decision here. All of the most important lords and officials of the land are expected to attend a coronation. To not go is an insult. Macbeth will especially become bothered that Macduff, who is one of the highest ranking lords in Scotland, does not come. Macbeth will then suspect that Macduff does not support him as a king. Macbeth will thus suspect that Macduff is disloyal. He will think that Macduff is a traitor and his enemy. And, so, Macduff’s decision not to attend will end up causing him great sorrow.