This scene is the morning after Duncans murder, with Ross and an old man outside the castle talking about the strange night, and the fact that day has not come, even though the clock says morning. They talk of unnatural events that happened overnight, like falcons being killed by small owls, the kings horses turning wild and eating each other and the sun being strangled by darkness. This is Pathetic Fallacy, where the natural world refelects the actions and emotions of the characters in it, however, in this case Shakespeare makes them actually happening from the characters perspective, not just a thing intended for the audience. The best example is when the old man reports he saw “A falcon, towering in her pride of place, Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d.” This reflects perfectly Duncans murder, King Duncan the falcon, killed by Macbeth the puny owl. Then Macduff enters and tells them that Malcolm and Donalbain are suspected for the crime as they have fled, leaving Macbeth the heir to the throne. He says Macbeth is already on his way to be crowned King in Scone and that Duncan is going to be buried in Colmekill. Macduff sets off to attend the funeral, while Ross decides to go see Macbeth be crowned. This shows where their loyalties lie, and will be interesting to see them be revealed in the play.
