Further Bird Symbolism

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     Birds are once again used as symbols in Macbeth as in the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is metaphorically the owl who killed the falcon, and Duncan is metaphorically the falcon who is killed by the owl.  This symbolism is divulged in Act II Scene IV, as one of the unnatural events that occur following Duncan's death is that an owl kills a falcon even though the falcon is the stronger bird through the facts of nature.  This directly parallels the characters of the play as Macbeth kills Duncan even though Duncan is the stronger individual through his title of king.  Through this parallel of Macbeth and the deadly owl and Duncan and the victim falcon, the symbolism of birds extends to illustrate the murder of Duncan.

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