The Porter is
the gate-keeper to the Macbeth’s castle, and jokes about being the keeper to
‘the gates of hell’. He’s a very heavy drinker, and provides important comic relief amidst the play’s intense tragic momentum.
Who does the Porter claim is knocking at the door?
A porter hears knocking at the gate of Macbeth’s castle. It’s
Macduff and Lennox
, who have come to rouse Duncan. Macbeth arrives and tells them the king is still sleeping.
Who does the porter let into hell?
The porter pretends to let in
a farmer
who committed suicide, an equivocator who committed treason, and an English tailor who enjoyed skimping on fabric. While Macduff continues to knock on the door, the porter reluctantly lets him into Macbeth’s castle.
Why does the Porter pretend he is at the gates of hell?
The porter pretends
that Macbeth’s castle is hell
, and he is in charge of letting imaginary sinners inside. Comparing Inverness to hell parallels the bloody murder that just took place and foreshadows how Macbeth will rule Scotland like a ruthless tyrant.
How does the Porter describe hell?
The porter keeps talking about Hell and Beelzebub and things like that.
He talks about the kinds of people who might knock for admittance into Hell and compares himself to the gatekeeper of Hell
. This implies that the castle (Inverness) is Hell and that really bad things happen there.
What four things does the Porter say drinking provokes?
According to the Porter, drink provokes three things:
a red nose (“nose-painting”), sleep, and urine
(line 29). It provokes sexual desire, but takes away the ability to act on it: “Lechery, sir, it provokes and unprovokes.
What is the Porter comparing Macbeth’s castle to?
The porter compares Macbeth’s castle’s gate
to a gate to hell
.
What is ironic about the Porter scene?
The porter
pretends that he is opening the gates of hell, as he opens the gate to Macbeth’s castle
. This is ironic because Macbeth has committed sins that damn him to hell, and he lives in his castle.
Why is Macbeth unable to say amen?
Why is Macbeth concerned that he Cannot say amen? After the murder, Macbeth describes him of struggling to say ‘Amen’.
His attempt to pray is rejected
, meaning that God will not bless him rather he is cursed to the evil deeds; killing Duncan when he is sleeping.
Who does Macduff call a dead butcher?
The play closes with Malcolm’s speech in which he states that he will restore the world to rights. He refers to
Macbeth
as a “butcher”, to Lady Macbeth as a “fiend-like Queen” but otherwise the focus looks forward.
What sins does the porter list that would get a man sent to hell?
The porter at Macbeth’s castle imagines three people entering Hell: a farmer who killed himself when he despaired of his harvest;
an equivocator or a skillful liar
, that is, someone who “could swear in both the scales against either scale; who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven” …
Who kills fleance?
Because of this, Macbeth feels threatened by
Banquo
and decides to kill him and his son Fleance. However, Fleance escapes the murder. By the end of the play, we do not yet know where Fleance is, but many assume that he is in Scotland.
What gate does the Porter pretend to open instead of the gate to Macbeth’s castle?
The porter pretends to be opening the gates to
Hell
instead of Macbeth’s castle. This is a comment on Macbeth’s situation because he just killed King Duncan and it is a very bad sin to commit. How is the murder of the king discovered?
Who first discovers Duncan’s death?
It is
Macduff
who discovers King Duncan’s bloody body and who sounds the alarm. Macbeth had planned to pretend to be sound asleep with his wife in their chambers when the body was discovered. But Shakespeare evidently wanted Macbeth to be present when Macduff discovered the body.
Who is the first to see Duncan’s body after he’s been killed?
Macduff
first appears in Holinshed’s narrative of King Duncan after Macbeth has killed the latter and reigned as King of Scotland for 10 years.
What is ironic about his statement but this place is too cold for hell?
What is ironic about his statement “but this place is too cold for hell”?
Macbeth’s castle is turning into a hell, as Duncan is murdered, and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth could go to hell for their evil deeds.
