Act I, Scene 2 of Macbeth takes place
at a camp near Forres. There King Duncan and his sons Malcolm and Donaldain along with
the nobleman Lennox encounter a bleeding captain. Duncan immediately asks for a report
from this captain. The captain describes the battle led by the allied forces of Norway
and Ireland, led by the rebel Macdonwald as a desperate one in
which
As two
spent swimmers that do cling together(10)
And choke their
art.
the merciless Macdonwald
and Macbeth have battled. Macbeth, himself very brutal, slays Macdonwald by brandishing
his sword and "carving out his passage" until he has reached him. Without any courtesy
to the rebel, Macbeth brutally slices him from the navel to the jaws. Then, Macbeth
places Macdonwald's head on top of the fort's wall.
The
Thane of Cawdor is also revealed to have been plotting against Duncan, the king of
Scotland; however, whether he has worked alone or with Macdonwald is unknown. The
nobleman Ross then describes how the Norweigan army began their assault after Macbeth
and his men have defeated Macdonwald. Enraged, rather than fearful, Macbeth and Banquo
"redoubled strokes upon the foe," and deafted the opposing
forces.
Impressed by Macbeth's bravery, King Duncan orders
the death of the traitorous Thane of Cawdor and gives his title to Macbeth,
declaring,
What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath
won.
This scene clearly
establishes both the bravery of Macbeth as well as his potential for brutality which is
later displayed in Macbeth's acts of "vaulting ambition" after he hears the predictions
of the three witches.
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