How has Scotland changed under Macbeth's rule?
Beyond being a vivid, gripping drama, Macbeth is a meditation on kingship. It shows how violating the laws of God and man by murdering a king (a good one at that) turns the Macbeth into a tyrant. Macbeth, once a decent and courageous man, changes for the worse as he pursues his bloodthirsty path. Under his rule, Scotland has turned from a just, safe, and prosperous kingdom into a land of fear torn apart by civil war and uncertainty.
As Malcolm says:
I think our country sinks beneath the yoke.It weeps, it bleeds, and each new day a gashIs added to her wounds.
In other words, Macbeth is, to put it mildly, performing poorly as a monarch. Malcolm agrees, calling Macbeth violent, lustful ("luxurious"), greedy, dishonest, impulsive, and spiteful. Malcolm saysNot in the legionsOf horrid hell can come a devil more damnedIn evils to top Macbeth.
Malcolm, to test Macduff's integrity, falsely denies having any of the kingly virtues, which he describes as:I grant him bloody,Luxurious, avaricious, false, deceitful,Sudden, malicious, smacking of every sinThat has a name.
But once Macduff expresses his horror at Malcolm's "confession," Malcolm retracts it:The king-becoming graces,As justice, verity, temperance, stableness,Bounty, perseverance, mercy, lowliness,Devotion, patience, courage, fortitude
Malcolm shows that, unlike Macbeth, he has the attributes of a good ruler, just as his father had. He is not lustful or greedy. He is always honest, saying the lies he told about his bad character were the first lies he ever spoke. Although Macduff and Malcolm probably exaggerate Macbeth's flaws, there is no doubt Macbeth is an untrustworthy, self-absorbed, and bloodthirsty ruler who is damaging his realm. In contrast, Malcolm has the personal virtues needed to restore order and harmony to Scotland.The taints and blames I laid upon myself,For strangers to my nature. I am yetUnknown to woman, never was forsworn,Scarcely have coveted what was mine own,At no time broke my faith, would not betrayThe devil to his fellow, and delightNo less in truth than life. My first false speakingWas this upon myself.
How has Scotland changed under Macbeth's rule?
To answer this question, look first at Act IV, Scene II, and the conversation between Ross and Lady Macduff. As Ross defends Macduff's sudden departure, for instance, he says to Lady Macduff:
But cruel are the times when we are traitors
And do not know ourselves; when we hold rumor
From what we fear, yet know not what we fear.
In other words, under Macbeth, Scotland has become a place of uncertainty. Moreover, loyal men like Macduff are denounced as traitors, even though they have not committed an act of treason. As a result, families are broken up, wives left without husbands, and children left without fathers. There is an immense danger, too, as we see from the brutal murder of Lady Macduff and her son later in this scene.
This notion is also reinforced in the next scene when Malcolm calls Macbeth a "tyrant" and talks of "poor Scotland."
Under Macbeth, then, Scotland has deteriorated from a kingdom of stability to one of extreme violence and oppression.
In Macbeth, what was life like in Scotland under Macbeth's reign?
The conversation that Malcolm and Macduff have in Act IV scene 3 leaves little to the imagination in the way that they talk about Scotland and what life is like under Macbeth's reign there. It is clear from the language that they use to talk about Scotland and how they depict what life is like there, that Macbeth's reign has not been good for Scotland or its populace in any way whatsover. Note, for example, the following quote from Macduff:
Each new morn,
New widows howl, new orphans cry; new sorrows
Strike heaven on the face, that it resounds
As if it felt with Scotland, and yell'd out
Like a syllable of dolour.
Things have reached such a terrible state in Scotland therefore that it has become a country synonymous with premature death and despair. Note the repetition of the word "new" in the qutoe, refering to the way in which every day that passes brings new deaths to Scotland and everybody suffers as a result. To live in Scotland under Macbeth's reign was therefore to live a life that was desperately uncertain and full of fear. There were clearly no guarantees of a long and happy life with Macbeth's violent reign, as the existence of the "new widows" and the "new orphans" testify. The overwhelming impression of what Scotland was like under Macbeth's reign is captured in the final symbol of a "syllable of dolour": unremitting pain and unyielding misery. No wonder, therefore, that Macduff is so desperate for Malcolm to invade and take back his rightful inheritance. Scotland under Macbeth's rule was terrible for everybody.
What changes in Scotland after Macbeth dies?
We can only infer the answer to this question, but the text does offer us quite a few clues. We know that Macbeth is known as a "tyrant" and that his formerly loyal men are running away from him. In addition, we know that the witches' final three prophecies have left Macbeth assured of his safety. After all, "none of woman borne can harm Macbeth" (IV, i). Taken at face value, this prophecy seems to give Macbeth every reason to sit back while his country begins to fall apart.
Therefore the reader can infer that rule under Malcolm, Duncan's heir, will be less chaotic. Civil war will halt as Macbeth the tyrant has been killed by Macduff, a man borne of a corpse. He accepts the crown and immediately calls "home our exiled friends abroad" (V, viii) and looks ahead to more peaceful days in Scotland.
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