Macbeth and His Porter

Abstract

century of virtually unanimous commentary has reversed & M/A~ i Coleridge's dismissal of Porter and triumphantly returned him to play.' Even though integrity of Porter Scene can no longer be questioned, however, its precise significance still remains to be understood. Broadly speaking, function of scene would seem to be rhetorical; that is, its placement immediately after murder of Duncan suggests that its primary purpose is to adjust and clarify audience's response to Macbeth's deed. scene can best be approached, then, as a truncated subplot which reflects certain concerns of main action. crucial question is how Porter Scene comments on Macbeth. traditional response to question has been to invoke principle of contrast. In its most unsophisticated form, this response appeals to comic relief to justify scene. De Quincey's famous essay On Knocking at Gate in in effect moralizes this simple conception of comic relief by stressing how the has made its reflux upon fiendish.2 Similarly, one of most thoughtful recent discussions of scene utilizes principle of contrast to assert that The simpler vices of Porter serve to establish an ethical distance between failings of humanity and evil now within castle walls . (Harcourt, p. 397). To contrast Porter with Macbeth is inevitably to juxtapose ordinary and human against monstrous and fiendish. Such lurid contrasts do not lead us far into world of play. contention of this essay is that traditional interpretation of scene is completely mistaken. A close reading of text will indicate that relationship between Macbeth and Porter is not based on contrast. Rather, Porter's significance resides in his similarities to his master; he shakily stands as a metaphor or figure for Macbeth. ultimate function of scene is to humanize murderer by forcing us to recognize him in ordinary Porter and perhaps in ourselves as well. At outset, one should note that Porter Scene is suffused with irony. Porter's entrance immediately after Macbeth's anguished cry Wake Duncan with thy knocking, I would thou could'st creates a bitterly ironic