Biblical Reference: "great doom's image"
Context and Language Videos
Act 2,
Scene 3
Lines 68-77
Macduff
[Exit Macbeth and Lennox]
Video Transcript:
DAVINA: Doomsday, or the Day of Judgement, is the end of the world; it’s when the souls of the dead rise out of their graves to be sent to either Heaven or Hell.
RALPH: In these lines, Macduff compares Duncan's death to the end of the world. He tells everybody to go see ‘the great doom’s image.’
DAVINA: Since it’s early in the morning, he’s calling on everybody to rise from their sleep – which can look like death – to go and look at the doomsday image of the murdered Duncan.
RALPH: When Lady Macbeth arrives in response to the alarm bell, she refers to it as a trumpet. This extends the doomsday metaphor. In the Book of Revelations, seven angels play trumpets to announce the end of the world.