Behold, where stands
The usurper’s cursed head: the time is free:
I see thee compass’d with thy kingdom’s pearl,
That speak my salutation in their minds;
Whose voices I desire aloud with mine:
Hail, King of Scotland!
– William Shakespeare
Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 8. After the battle Macduff hails Malcolm as the new King of Scotland. Holding Macbeth’s severed head he announces that the usurper’s reign of terror is over – “the time is free” – an example of personification. Macduff uses the metaphor of a pearl to describe the Scottish nobility surrounding Malcolm.