’Tis unnatural, / Even like the deed that’s done. On Tuesday last, / A falcon, towering in her pride of place, / Was by a mousing owl hawk’d at and kill’d.
Act II, Scene 4
Context
The Old Man responds to Ross's observations about unnatural darkness by recounting a recent disturbing event: a falcon was killed by an owl, a bird that normally hunts only mice.
Analysis
The Old Man calls the owl attack 'unnatural' and compares it directly to Duncan's murder, establishing a clear pattern: just as the owl kills upward (attacking a nobler bird), Macbeth has killed upward (murdering his king). The detail 'mousing owl' is crucial—it marks the owl as a lowly hunter, making its victory over the falcon an inversion of hierarchy that mirrors a subject overthrowing his sovereign.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Shakespeare builds a symbolic parallel between animal behavior and political crime—the falcon/owl reversal becomes a natural-world version of regicide, suggesting Macbeth's act violates not just human law but the entire chain of being.