The night is long that never sees the day, and even in England where the clouds choke him less than in his own poor country, Macduff is having trouble remembering what the sun looks like. The son himself, supposed to wrest control from the usurper king, is by his own account no better than the cursed tyrant; even when this turns out to be a ploy to test his own loyalty, it makes it difficult to know what to believe in.

Still, this prince is the only bit of light Scotland has left, and Macduff is willing to raise him to the status of the new dawn they all need.