In Act I, Scene 6 of "Macbeth," King Duncan, the Scottish lords, and their attendants arrive outside Macbeth's castle. With great situational irony, King Duncan praises the congenial atmosphere and pleasant environment, thanking Lady Macbeth for her hospitality:
This castle hath a pleasant seat; the air/Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself/Unto our gentle senses. (I,vi,1-3)
About this praise of Duncan, Banquo remarks,
This guest of summer,/The temple-haunting martlet, does approve/By his loved masionry that the heaven's breath/Smells wooingly here. (I,vi,3-6)
The martin is a bird that usually nests in churches, not castles. In Shakespeare's time martin was a slang term for a person who is easily deceived. However, while Banquo realizes that Macbeth's home is hardly congenial, there is situation irony present in his remark, as well. For, he, too, is unaware of the forthcoming bloody deed of Macbeth that follows the "False face [that] hide(s) what the false heart doth know"(I,vi, 30).
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