In Shakespeare’s Macbeth, there is a scene that is sometimes deleted from productions, and the change in the audience’s behavior according to whether it is there or not can be noteworthy. At the beginning of Act 2, Scene 3, comes what is known as “The Porter’s Scene,” and there are few who will deny that it is outdated and does not fit comfortably with the rest of the play. Hearing Macduff and Lennox knocking at the gates in the middle of the night, the drunken porter “humorously” (for the early 17th century) imagines himself as the gatekeeper of hell and alludes to the Gunpowder Plot in a wink-and-nod to King James I, for whom the play was first written and performed. This scene drags on much too long, and the bawdy humor and wordplay can make some uncomfortable.
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