Some holy angel / Fly to the court of England, and unfold / His message ere he come, that a swift blessing / May soon return to this our suffering country / Under a hand accurs’d!
Act III, Scene 6 · Lennox
Context
Lennox prays aloud that a holy angel will fly to England ahead of Macbeth's messenger and warn Macduff, so that help can quickly return to Scotland, which he describes as suffering under Macbeth's cursed rule.
Analysis
The imperative "Fly" directed at an angel invokes the supernatural on the side of goodness, reversing the witches' role earlier in the play—if evil spirits can prophesy for Macbeth, perhaps holy ones can intercede against him. The phrase "hand accurs'd" reduces Macbeth to a single body part, stripping him of humanity and making his rule feel like a physical affliction on the country. By calling Scotland "this our suffering country," Lennox shifts from individual grievance to collective pain, framing resistance as a national rather than personal cause.
Essay Tip
Use this to argue that Shakespeare presents the struggle against Macbeth as requiring divine as well as human intervention—Lennox's prayer suggests that Macbeth's alliance with dark supernatural forces can only be countered by invoking sacred ones, positioning the conflict as metaphysical, not just political.