The porter (or the guy who answers the door) is a bit of comic relief in the bloody tragedy of Macbeth. When he answers the knocking of the door in act 2, scene 3 of the play, he imagines what it would be like to be the porter at the door of hell. He imagines that the porter of hell would be really busy, since there are so many people who choose corrupt lives....
The porter (or the guy who answers the door) is a bit of comic relief in the bloody tragedy of Macbeth. When he answers the knocking of the door in act 2, scene 3 of the play, he imagines what it would be like to be the porter at the door of hell. He imagines that the porter of hell would be really busy, since there are so many people who choose corrupt lives. He imagines opening the door to a farmer who hung himself, a con-man who has lied under oath, and a tailor who didn't use enough fabric. The theme here seems to be that people who misbehave will get what they deserve. This positioning of this scene immediately following Macbeth's murder of the king suggests that he too will suffer for his misdeeds. Additionally, it is his house that this is all taking place in, meaning that the porter is describing Macbeth's house as "hell" and presumably Macbeth himself would be the devil. Clearly, the audience is not meant to sympathize with Macbeth's choices here.
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