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Aristotle and his elements in a tragedy are characterized by seriousness, imitation of action and life, and happiness and misery. The plot is considered to be the most important element. The Shakespearean tragedies were also influenced by the Greek tragedies, but there are differences. Shakespeare's tragedies do not follow the unity of the plot since he interjected many subplots into the play to make the plot more complicated and realistic.
The protagonists in Shakespearean tragedies mostly face tragic death, and they don't gain any self-knowledge. Aristotelian tragedies had a chorus, while Shakespearean tragedies had comic scenes.
Comic Relief
Porter's Scene is one of the most important comic relief scenes in Macbeth, though it has more significance than just being a comic scene. The inclusion of the Porter Scene (Act II, scene iii) in the middle of Macbeth's intense dramatic progression agitates the readers' attention. After scrutiny of Porter's speech and his activities, some critics believe that this scene fulfills the drama's "theatrical necessity" and simultaneously adds intense literary significance to this important segment of the play. Also, the murder of Duncan is revealed in this scene, where we find how badly Macbeth is internal.
The Porter Scene occurs immediately after Duncan's murder when Lady Macbeth forces her husband to go to their chamber because she heard a knock on the castle gate. In his famous essay " On the Knocking on the Gate in Macbeth", De Quincey writes of this scene, "The effect was that it reflected upon the murder a peculiar awfulness and depth of solemnity."
The knocking continues, and then Porter makes his appearance on the stage. It seems Shakespeare thought that it was essential for both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to wash their hands, so he inserted this Porter Scene. When the actor playing the porter enters, saying "Here's a knocking indeed:" he is alone. No dialogue prompts him to compare himself to a devil-guarding porter of the Hellgate.
The Hellgate
It is the knocking that would have encouraged the audience to play along with Porter's imagination of many knocks. It is the audience who has heard, as the porter has not, Macbeth's final line in the previous scene, "Wake Duncan with thy knocking. I would thou couldst". The Porter, with his drunk behavior, creates humor that makes the audience laugh despite the tragedy that happened before this very scene. It's difficult to ignore the readers' interest as the tragic discovery of the murder gets intensified.
The drunken porter, being awakened by the loud knocking at the gate of Macbeth's castle, imagines himself to be the porter of the Hellgate. He has been constantly turning the key to open the gate, so he has gotten tired of the job. This shows that in Shakespeare's opinion, Macbeth's castle is the home of death and corruption.
Is Shakespeare the Porter?
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In Shakespeare's opinion, Macbeth has indeed made his castle a hell, which Lady Macbeth interprets as "murky". The castle is where the host murdered his guest, a kinsman murdered his relative, and a thane murdered the king. Porter talks about the "equivocator" and we recognize the three witches as the absolute equivocators of the play.
It seems the porter acts as an oblique commentator on the murder and Macbeth's descent into Hell. We can even predict it, as Shakespeare himself is the porter. He is commenting on what's going on in the play. It may be he is in disguise, as the porter is informing us what he feels about the play. Therefore, he asks the audience, "I pray you, remember the porter".
Significance of the Porter
The phrase "remember the porter" can also be considered as the porter addressing the audience, asking them whether they recall the porter of the old faith plays whom he had imitated. The Harrowing of Hell is another play that Porter wants us to remember. The porter scene derives much of its power and its comedy from its temporal ambivalence. In Macbeth, devilish behavior has become a dramatic custom, a stylish role that can be remembered, performed, and then discarded, as in "I'll devil-porter it no further".
If we symbolically analyze the three people who Porter thinks want to enter Hell, they resemble Macbeth. All these characters have overreached themselves like Macbeth. The farmer hoped for an excessive profit, but he was ruined, so he hanged himself. The tailor who attempted to steal the fabric ordered it for a French hose. Lastly, the equivocator intended to deceive not only humans but also divine justice. The farmer, tailor, and equivocator turn out to be parallel figures.
Like the farmer, Macbeth too has "the expectation of plenty", i.e., the scope of becoming King of Scotland, which led to his ruin. Like the tailor, Macbeth too would reach that stage of oppression when his nature would be visible to everyone. From the start of the play, Macbeth acts as an equivocator who means one thing and says another.
Shakespear’s Intelligence
The porter's observations on the drink "provokes the desire, but it takes away the performance" can be compared to Macbeth's fate. Though the witches arouse Macbeth's desire, he fails to maintain his kingship in the play. Shakespeare intentionally plays with the word "lie" when Macduff and Porter are having a conversation.
Also, Shakespeare wanted Macbeth to be present at the scene of the crime. Due to the knocking, Macbeth has to come down to find out why nobody opened the door. This brings him face-to-face with Macduff for the only time before their duel fight at the end of the play.
Bottom Line
The Porter Scene emerges as one of the greatest scenes in Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth. The speech of the porter is dramatically relevant. It is even a powerful piece of irony, especially with the porter being the porter of Hell. It is necessary as a relief from the surrounding horror. It reminds us that amid life, there is death, tears, and merriment, as stated by Mr. Hales.
At the end of Porter's Scene, the drama turns in a new direction because "foul" Macbeth would act again and again to show that it is none but Hell itself which invites them to accommodate him after his "dusty death".
Written by Garima Jain
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