While Macbeth is a tragedy and there are many sad scenes, but there are also a number of comedic scenes in the play, with one in particular serving as comic relief in the midst of the heightening drama. And in preparation for my launch at the end of this month, I wanted to highlight a handful of lines and scenes that I found amusing or funny in the play.

The first is just a simple statement by Macbeth. Lennox has just made a little speech on how unruly and disturbing the previous night was, almost as if nature itself was unraveling. It really is quite moving. But how does Macbeth respond?

‘Twas a rough night.

That’s it. No counters, no additions, no questions. Just the understatement of the century, so nonchalant that it seems to me that saying it should have given him away. But there is something more about the line that strikes me as funny. In his minimalization, he reminds me of a child trying to pretend they didn’t do the thing they did by being above whatever happened. Imagine a child that just dumped a glass of water on their shirt and then you walk in. Oh this? Yeah, it’s a bit damp. What of it? They know the details, but they act as though doesn’t bother them. So why should it bother you? Perhaps it is that childishness that stands out to me, considering the actions he just took in undoing his “father” the king. Or perhaps it’s like the recent eclipse. Oh that? Yeah, I suppose it got a bit dark.

The next scene I want to comment on is more amusing than funny. In Act IV scene II, Lady Macduff and her son have a rather playful dialogue with each other. They are discussing a serious matter, but the way they talk is as only a loving mother and her child would talk. Yes, her husband is gone, but they speak on birds, she calls him a monkey, and perhaps she can buy another husband at market! She is hurt, and he is bluntly honest, yet he comforts her as only a child can do. And so they quip and comfort and talk in a playful manner that is both tender and amusing. But when the ruffians come to accost them, she is ready with a rejoinder. One of my favorite lines of hers is this clever insult:

I hope in no place so unsanctified

Where such as thou mayst find him.

In her response, she manages to refuse to answer his question and insults him so subtly that he seems not to notice. It is a perfect transition after the witty discussion with her son. But this moment of course leads to the silliest line in the scene.

What, you egg!

What kind of insult is that? I comment on it further in my book, but in the midst of a very serious scene, it makes me laugh. No one else in literature seems to have ever used this insult beforehand, so it is a bit of humor that’s pure Shakespeare. I will have to do an insult post as well, for another line that I always find humorous is when Macbeth, upset with a servant, says,

Take thy face hence.

This is right before my favorite soliloquy in the play, but this line always makes me laugh. It is so sudden, so blunt, and so perfect. Macbeth is so perturbed that he doesn’t even want to see the fear-stricken face of his servant. It’s an insult and a command wrapped up into one.

I might also add the conversation between Macduff and Malcolm. It is amusing because Macduff is so flippant about his vices and poor Macduff is distraught, but also, it is a terrible thing to say to your neighbor “I was only joking” over such serious matters. Even so, it makes for decent comedy, and Macduff was using it for a purpose.

These are minor moments of comedy in the play, some of which I am not even sure were meant to be comedic. Yet they do make me laugh! But there is one scene that is meant to be comic relief. What is that? A period of comic relief allows the audience to have a break from a tragic moment with a lighthearted scene. The one in Macbeth is found in Act II Scene III with the porter.

Here’s a knocking indeed! If a man were porter of hell gate, he should have old turning the key. [Knocking.] Knock, knock, knock. Who’s there, i’th’name of Belzebub? Here’s a farmer that hanged himself on the expectation of plenty. Come in time! Have napkins enough about you; here you’ll sweat for’t. [Knocking.] Knock, knock! Who’s there, i’th’other devil’s name? Faith, here’s an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale, who committed treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven. Oh, come in, equivocator. [Knocking.] Knock, knock, knock! Who’s there? Faith, here’s an English tailor come hither, for stealing out of a French hose. Come in, tailor. Here you may roast your goose. [Knocking.] Knock, knock. Never at quiet! What are you?—But this place is too cold for hell. I’ll devil-porter it no further. I had thought to have let in some of all professions that go the primrose way to th’everlasting bonfire. [Knocking.] Anon, anon! I pray you, remember the porter.

As with other comedic or foolish characters in Shakespeare’s plays, this character serves two purposes. While he is funny and the idea of being a porter for Hell is somewhat funny, he is also revealing deeper things. The porter shows the many two-faced, double-tongued, deceitful people entering hell. While coming off to the modern reader (and contemporary listener) as something of a knock-knock joke with him going, “Knock knock, oh here’s another guest for Hell!” and then continuing with a rather bawdy discussion with Macduff and Lennox, we should note that he is revealing something deeper about the man he is a gatekeeper for. But even so, these several lines allow the viewer and the reader to take a break from the rather serious previous scenes and remember that life is both a tragedy and a comedy.

Blessings to you and yours,

~Madelyn ROse Craig