Drum and colours. Enter Menteith, Caithness, Angus, Lennox, soldiers
MENTEITH The English power is near, led on by Malcolm,
His uncle Siward, and the good Macduff.
Revenges burn in them, for their dear causes
Would to the bleeding and the grim alarm
Excite the mortified man.
ANGUS Near Birnam Wood
Shall we well meet them; that way are they coming. (5.2.1-6)
After the scene with Lady Macbeth, we might expect one with Macbeth himself, but instead it’s an abrupt shift, a host of minor characters, some unfamiliar, and in a military setting, presumably outdoors, with soldiers (as many extras as possible) and drums and colours, flags and banners. (Well, at least one drummer, and at least one flag. An altered soundscape, a different, urgent beat, and a stark contrast with the nightmarish interiority of the previous scene.) Menteith and Caithness haven’t appeared before (although one of them is probably being played by the same actor who played Banquo); Angus and especially Lennox have spoken before, but they’ve very much been second-order thanes. The question at the top of the scene—which is relatively swiftly resolved—is whether these are thanes and troops loyal to Macbeth, or rebels, looking to join with the invading English force. So, the invasion that Macduff and Malcolm and Ross were lately discussing has come to pass, just as they planned: the English power is near, led on by Malcolm, his uncle Siward, and the good Macduff. There’s the confirmation, good Macduff (and a contrast to the way in which Macduff has condemned himself for not saving his family): these men back Macduff and think he’s in the right, and hence the army which he helps to lead. Even Lennox, not quite inner circle but he was at least at the dinner party disaster, has defected from Macbeth. They know what’s motivating Macduff, generally and in particular, and that revenges burn in both him and Malcolm, justified anger and the seeking of redress. They have dear causes, ample justification for their revenge (dear signalling beloved as well; they’re avenging the slaughter of those whom they loved, father, children, wife), and anyone with like cause would be motivated to join with them, in bloodshed and the grim alarm, the call to battle, even if he were mortified, dead or on the point of death. (It’s a knotty and ambiguous phrase: bleeding could suggest bleeding in the medical sense, purgation, part of the extended conceit of the diseased, polluted body politic which runs through the latter part of the play.) The main sense is clear: Macduff and Malcolm’s cause is just and compelling, and they have strong support; Scotland is rising on their behalf, to join with the English force.
Angus has a sit rep: near Birnam Wood shall we well meet them; that way are they coming. Tick. Birnam Wood. Sounds familiar, although significance as yet uncertain. We’re on schedule and in the right place; things are looking good.
