But cruel are the times, when we are traitors
And do not know ourselves, when we hold rumour
From what we fear, yet know not what we fear,
But float upon a wild and violent sea.
– William Shakespeare
Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 2. Ross speaks of how under Macbeth’s tyranny, people are denounced as traitors and they don’t even know why. The final line of the passage is a metaphor for the uncertainty and brutality Macbeth’s reign has brought to Scotland. Comparing the havoc and turmoil Scotland is suffering to a violent sea is also an example of pathetic fallacy.