Act 2, Scene 4 Summary

Outside Macbeth's castle, Ross and an Old Man speak about some of the anomalies they have seen recently. The Old man is seventy years old but he has never seen strange things like this. For instance, it is day, but darkness shrouds the Earth. A powerful falcon was killed a few nights ago by a considerably smaller and weaker mousing owl. Duncan's horses have broken loose, turned wild against men and were seen, by Ross himself, to eat each other. Macduff appears and tells Ross that it was the chamberlains, who Macbeth killed, that dispatched Duncan. But the quick flight of Malcolm and Donalbain, both the King's sons, have cast suspicion on them as ultimate perpetuators. This suspicion has made Macbeth a logical candidate for King and he has gone to Scone to be made King.

Act 2, Scene 4 Analysis

The very...