Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, horsed
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind.
– William Shakespeare
Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 7. In this soliloquy Macbeth is struggling with the idea of murdering Duncan, a good man who has been an exemplary King. He recognizes Duncan’s virtues and uses a simile to equate them to angels crying out against his murder. A complicated simile and metaphor follows, likening the pity for the murdered King to a newborn baby or angel riding the wind to spread news of this horrible deed throughout the land. Shakespeare also personifies “virtues” and “pity” in this passage.