Why does Macduff flee from his castle in Act 4?
A porter stumbles through the hallway to answer the knocks and make fun of whoever is on the other side of the door.He compares himself to a person at the gates of hell and asks who they are.Macduff complains about the response to his knock from the porter.The porter says that he was up late carousing and joking about the effects of alcohol, which he says causes red noses, sleepiness, and urination.He says drink makes one to be lustful but takes away the ability to have sex.
Macduff asked if the king was awake, saying that Duncan asked to see him early that morning.Macbeth said that Duncan is still asleep.He is willing to take Macduff to the king.The storms that raged the previous night were described by Lennox as he entered the king's chamber.Macduff ran from the room, shouting that the king had been murdered.Lady Macbeth appeared and expressed her horror that a deed could be done under her roof.As the other nobles and their servants arrive, general chaos ensues.Malcolm and Donalbain are on the scene as the two men emerge from the bedroom.Most likely, their father was killed by his chamberlains, who were found with bloody daggers.In his rage, he killed the chamberlains.
Macduff seems suspicious of these new deaths, which is explained by the fact that his fury at Duncan's death was so powerful that he could not restrain himself.Macduff and Banquo called for someone to attend to Lady Macbeth after she fainted.Malcolm and Donalbain whisper to each other that they are not safe since whoever killed their father will probably try to kill them next.Banquo and Macbeth rally the lords to meet and discuss the murder of Lady Macbeth, who was taken away.The sons of Duncan are going to flee the court.Malcolm and Donalbain will go to England and Ireland, respectively.
An old man and a thane walk outside the castle.It is daytime, but dark outside, an owl killed a falcon, and Duncan's horses behaved wildly and ate one another.Macduff emerged from the castle and told Ross that he had been made king by the other lords and would ride to Scone to be crowned.The chamberlains may have been paid to kill Duncan, according to Macduff.The two princes, Malcolm and Donalbain, have been accused of fleecing the scene.Ross leaves for Scone to see the new king, while Macduff returns to his home in Fife.
After the bloody imagery and dark tone of the previous two scenes, the comedy comes as a change of tone.The mounting tension of the play was broken up by his good-natured joking with Macduff.The porter speaks in prose, unlike other noble birth characters who speak in iambic verse.His relaxed language seems to indicate that his words and role are not as important as those of the other characters, but in his merry banter, he hits on many truths.The moral confusion and lust provoked by alcohol is caricatured by his description.His remarks about the ineffective lechery, inspired by drink, are eerily similar to Lady Macbeth taunting Macbeth about his ability to carry out his resolutions.The joke that the door of Inverness is like hell's gate is ironic, given the cruel and bloody events that are taking place within the castle.The analogy between hell and Inverness becomes stronger when he cries, "Who's there, I'm Beelzebub?"Guests are warned that they are putting themselves in the hands of the devil when they step into the castle.
Lady Macbeth takes her place as the most compelling character in the play now that she has messed with the result.The short, clipped sentences with which Macbeth speaks to Macduff and Lennox indicate his troubled mind and apprehension about the discovery of Duncan's body.While Lennox gives a lengthy speech about the wild weather of the previous night, Macbeth only responds with a terse "Twas a rough night"When Lennox asks, "Goes the King hence today?", Macbeth almost gives away his knowledge that Duncan is dead.After he realized that his answer was incriminating, he changed it to: "He did appoint so."