The consequences for Macbeth’s crimes are put in place here. The witches’ ambiguous prophecies make him confident that he won’t be punished. The assembled warriors in England show that he will.
- The witches identify Macbeth as “something wicked.” How evil are you when the witches discern your wickedness?
- Eternal punishment weighs on Macbeth’s mind. He threatens the witches with an “eternal curse“, which seems odd seeing as how they are already damned by their moral turpitude. He remarks that Banquo’s lineage is stretched out “to th’ crack of doom.” He knows that true safety and security are eternal, not temporal. He has the latter. He wants the former but knows its opposite awaits him.
- Lady Macduff and her son discuss the proper punishment for traitors. The mom says that traitors are hanged. The boy speculates that this is foolishness. Since there are more liars than honest people, the liars should punish the honest. The implication is that if the world truly is as dark as so many characters say it is (in the next scene, Ross will compare Scotland with hell), then what is restraining evil? Why isn’t the world an even worse place?
- Macduff and Malcolm continue this discussion in another vein. Malcolm inquires into Macduff’s loyalty then tries to draw Macduff out by feigning his own depravity. What does it say about Scotland if its savior is worth than its tormenter?
- Macduff blames himself for his family’s death, and part of that blame is acknowledging that his wife and children were punished for something he did. They were killed “not for their own demerits, but for mine.” Macduff also questions why “heaven” did not “take their part.” He’s asking questions about sanctions. If he sinned, why wasn’t he punished? If Macbeth is the sinner, why is Scotland getting punished? The similarity is that just as Macbeth represents the nation as its king, so too does Macduff represent his family as its head. The nation suffers because its head sins, just as Macduff’s family suffers because of the father’s treachery.
Experiments in Criticism 