I agree, the Porter scene (Act 2, Scene 3) signals a break in the tension, the horror of the moment. As soon as Macbeth murders Duncan in the wee hours of the morning when everyone else is fast asleep, there is a knocking at the entrance door of the castle (Inverness, not Dunsinane, which I'm sure dstuva meant, above). There was no way for the Macbeths to know that the King had asked Macduff to come early to wake him up, but there he is, as appointed, knock, knock, knocking.
The Porter is fast asleep and wants to stay asleep, and he dreamily and comically fantasizes who may be calling so early in the morning.
It's not just a simple scene of comic relief, however. The Porter's reference to Belzebub and the fact that, under his covers, he feels it is hot like hell in the castle, and when he finally gets out of bed says: "I'll devil-porter it no further" all these references add up to a direct reference to a very well known Mystery Play that had been performed all over England in the 1500s called, "The Harrowing of Hell." In this play, Jesus comes to the gated of hell in search of honest souls to free.
Here, then Macduff is seen as the savior of Scotland, which he eventually will be.
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