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Free Literature Study Guides
The Great Gatsby
Hamlet

Free Literature Study Guides
The Great Gatsby
Hamlet

Macbeth Old Man Quotes

Threescore and ten I can remember well:
Within the volume of which time I have seen
Hours dreadful and things strange; but this sore night
Hath trifled former knowings.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 4. The Old Man tells Ross that King Duncan’s murder is the worst thing that he has witnessed in seventy years.

A falcon, towering in her pride of place,
Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 4. The Old Man says this to Ross, as they discuss the strange phenomena that occur as a result of Duncan’s murder. The natural order appears to be reversed, with the Old Man describing how a falcon and bird of prey is killed by an owl. The owl’s ability to soar and take down the high flying falcon is symbolic of the ambitious Macbeth rising up to disrupt the natural order and kill Duncan. In this passage we see an example of the play’s supernatural theme.

‘Tis said, they eat each other.

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 4. According to the Old Man, the horses in the murdered King Duncan’s stable are said to be cannibalizing each other. He and nobleman Ross are discussing the monstrous and strange occurrences in nature in reaction to the monstrous crime of regicide. The unnatural happenings are reflective of the supernatural theme in Macbeth.

God’s benison go with you; and with those
That would make good of bad, and friends of foes!

– William Shakespeare

Macbeth, Act 2, Scene 4. The Old Man bids God’s blessing on Ross and Macduff, and all those who make good things out of bad and friends out of enemies. This echoes the Witches’ saying at the beginning of the play, “fair is foul; foul is fair.” The Old Man’s words appear to be warning Ross and Macduff to beware of Macbeth, that Duncan was killed by someone who was believed to be a friend but was in reality a foe. This fits in with the appearance vs reality them in Macbeth.