ROSS
God save the king!
DUNCAN
Whence camest thou, worthy thane?
ROSS
From Fife, great king; Where the Norweyan banners flout the sky And fan our people cold. Norway himself, With terrible numbers, Assisted by that most disloyal traitor The thane of Cawdor, began a dismal conflict; Till that Bellona's bridegroom, lapp'd in proof, Confronted him with self-comparisons, Point against point rebellious, arm 'gainst arm. Curbing his lavish spirit: and, to conclude, The victory fell on us.
DUNCAN
Great happiness!
ROSS
That now Sweno, the Norways' king, craves composition: Nor would we deign him burial of his men Till he disbursed at Saint Colme's inch Ten thousand dollars to our general use.
These lines offer an exposition for the audience, mostly retellings of past events, but they also serve as indirect foretellings of future events. As history repeats itself, so do many of the ideas within Ross's report of the battle. This scene sets up a contrast between Ross, who has just come from “Fife” (the area where Macduff rules over as thane) and Macbeth, who has just defeated the Norwegian king in that very area. Both Ross and Macbeth are cousins to Duncan, both thanes, but where Macbeth will soon seek to claim the throne, Ross only wishes to serve under it. Ross’s selflessness and loyalty (he will later relay messages between noblemen, stand by Macbeth at the banquet and reassure Lady Macduff after her husband’s departure) separate him from the “disloyal traitor / The thane of Cawdor”, who – like Macdonwald in the earlier reports - betrays the king. Ross calls the traitor only by his title, significant as its next holder will similarly deceive Duncan’s misplaced trust, while Ross will continue to offer his strengths and services to the throne. Indeed, in report of the battle, Macbeth and the Norwegian enemy are largely indistinguishable, matched “with self comparisons / point against point rebellious, arm ‘gainst arm”; the physicality of the battle, the masculine nature of the fight, is stronger here than any moral justice. Indeed, Macbeth is not directly named, but referred to obliquely as “Bellona’s bridegroom”, poetically described as Mars, the God of War, reinforcing his valour and heroism. The metaphor, though, foregrounds the woman - “Bellona” - a goddess associated in poetry not just with war, but hostility and destruction, perhaps foreshadowing the role that Lady Macbeth will later play. As a result of Macbeth’s defence, Norway’s king “craves composition” (a truce), much as Macbeth will crave a return to stability and the peace of mind he abandons after his regicidal deed. Where the Norwegian forces have their “lavish spirit[s]” “curb[ed]”, Macbeth’s audacious spirits will fluctuate until they too are curbed (first by guilt and fear, then by defeat by Macduff, the thane of “Fife”). By the simple act of reporting to the king, Ross's descriptions of the happenings on the battlefield act as pieces for a much bigger game, vague foresights into the twists and turns of the play, serving a role strangely similar to the prophecies of the witches.
- Ken
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