The Text
Act II
Act II, Scene i
The TextBanquo goes on to say that, although he is very tired, he does not want to sleep because of the "cursed thoughts," that is, bad dreams, he has in his sleep. Apparently because he hears someone coming, he asks Fleance for his sword. With his sword in hand he shouts, "Who's there?" Macbeth enters and answers, "A friend." Banquo wonders why Macbeth is not yet asleep. The king, Banquo says, has already gone to bed having had "unusual pleasure," and he has bestowed many gifts in Macbeth's servants' quarters ("your offices"). Banquo also shows Macbeth a diamond that Duncan has left for Lady Macbeth because she has been such a "kind hostess." And, Banquo says, Duncan is "shut up in measureless content," that is, had concluded the day with a satisfaction so great that it cannot be measured. Macbeth says courteously that he and his wife were unprepared, and therefore they could not do as much for the king as they would have liked.
Macbeth finishes the scene with a soliloquy. First, he envisions a dagger, one that would be used to kill Duncan. He is still not on terms with his conscience when it comes to murdering the King. The dagger personifies that lack of confidence. But the dagger changes; it becomes covered with blood! This might mean that he sees no other option but to kill Duncan. His patience runs thin, "Whiles I threat, he lives" (line 60). After a bell rings signalling that Lady Macbeth is ready, Macbeth says,
- "Hear it [the bell] not, Duncan, for it is a knell
- That summons thee to heaven, or to hell" (lines 63 - 64).
This statement might be a threat to Duncan, meaning that he has no doubts about the murder, or it might be a remorseful statement meaning that he hasn't come to terms with the murder.
Questions 1. Describe the relationship between Macbeth and Banquo in this scene.
2. What is the significance of the word ‘honour’ as it is used in the exchanges described?
3. What does the imagined dagger suggest about Macbeth’s attitude toward his actions?
4. How does this scene provide a larger, natural and supernatural, backdrop to the action?
Act II, Scene ii
Plot summary.
Lady Macbeth has a chink in her armour. Although she wants to be cruel and emotionless, she can't truly be. She says,
- "Had [Duncan] not resembled
- My father as he slept, I had done't" (lines 12 - 13).
Religion (Christianity) is mentioned in this scene. Lines 21 to 32, Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth how the servants (that were drugged) in Duncan's chamber said "God bless us!" and "Amen", but that he couldn't say it.
- "But wherefore could not I pronounce 'Amen'?
- I had most need of blessing, and 'Amen'
- Stuck in my throat" (lines 30 - 32).
This symbolises the great guilt that he feels. He has alienated himself from God, even though he needed to be blessed by God.
Sleep comes up often in this scene. Remember that the witches said (I, iii, lines 19 - 20),
- "Sleep shall neither night nor day
- Hang upon his penthouse lid."
Macbeth narrates that the servants then say
He continues what the servants say,
- "'Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor
- shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more'" (lines 41 - 42).
Macbeth is imagining what the servants say. All of this is just a personification of his guilt.
The sleep here (and with the witches) means at peace. Macbeth may physically sleep, but he'll never be at peace because of his acts. You'll see how this plays itself out throughout the play.
Macbeth looks at his hands which are covered with blood. He says,
- "What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes!" (line 58).
In Oedipus Rex, the main character plucks his eyes out after he finds out that he has killed his father (amongst other things). King Duncan seemed like a father figure to him, always raising his self confidence and looking out for him. Shakespeare might have been referring to this when he wrote this in.
Can his bloody hands ever be cleaned? This is very much like the physical sleep compared to being at peace. Macbeth doesn't believe that he can clean his hands. He might get them physically clean, but they will always be tainted with his murderous deed (again he shows his guilt).
Macbeth ends the seem with remorse for his actions. He says (lines 72 - 73),
- "To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself."
And when a knock is heard:
- "Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!"
But, of course, it is too late. Duncan will never wake again.
Questions
1. What is Lady Macbeth’s role in the murder plot?
2. How do she and her husband react to their deeds during the scene?
3. In what ways does Macbeth immediately start reproaching himself for the deed?
Act II, Scene iii
Plot summary.
The scene is really a continuation of the previous one. The knocking at the gate heard by Macbeth and his wife is still heard after they leave the stage, and soon after the porter, whose job it is to open the gate, enters. His speech is in prose. "Here's a knocking, indeed!" he says. "If a man were porter of hell-gate, he should have old turning the key," That is, if a man were assigned the job of opening the gate of hell for the dead people who were sent there, he would have plenty to do ("should have old") turning the key. He hears the knocking again, and his remark about the porter of hell-gate apparently prompts him to play a game.
We are in the middle of a very tense situation. The King has just been murdered by the title character, and soon, the characters will be discussing the murder. What does Shakespeare do? He throws in a drunk porter who makes bad puns, jokes, and silly sexual talk. It's just some humour in the midst of despair (fair in foul).
Many things happen in this scene. The characters all find out about the murder. Macbeth kills the servants in the King's chambers, and his frame of the servants works. Macbeth gives suspiciously long speeches, leading Lady Macbeth to purposely faint (shutting Macbeth up and keeping him from further digging his hole).
One humorous point of irony comes from lines 85 to 88, when Macduff tells Lady Macbeth,
- "O gentle lady,
- 'Tis not for you to hear what I can speak:
- The repetition, in a woman's ear,
- Would murder as it fell."
Of course we know that Lady Macbeth was the one that devised the murderous plan!
One important role of this scene is to bring together all the main characters of the play:
Macduff: He is the somewhat innocent bystander of the scene. He idly talks about the King before the death announcement is made. He leaves to attend to the King, and comes back in great horror. He is loyal to the king: "Approach the [King's] chamber, and destroy you sight" by seeing him dead. He wakes all the nobles and announces the King's death. Macduff finishes with his pledge to fight against the treason that occurred, on line 134.
Lennox: He (without knowing it), keeps the blame off Macbeth for a while. He is the character that suggests that the servants in the King's chamber were the murderers. This may have helped keep all the nobles from immediately pointing the finger at each other.
Banquo: Remember that he is loyal to the throne. His main role comes from lines 128 to 134 when he says that the nobles should meet to question this murder further. He says,
- "In the great hand of God I stand, and thence
- Against the undivulged pretence I fight
- Of treasonous malice" (lines 132 - 134).
His role is to find the killer of the King.
Malcolm and Donalbain: They are the sons of the King. They suspect a traitor in their midst. They believe that some of the Thanes might have a mask on. Malcolm says,
- "To show an unfelt sorrow is an office
- Which the false man does easy" (lines 138 - 139).
Donalbain says, "There's daggers in men's smiles" (line 142). These two feel that their lives are in danger. Since the King was killed, they are next in line for the throne, so the power hungry murderer would kill them next. They flee to different countries until the situation cools down.
Questions
1. The function of the porter is to bring a comic note to the play at the point of greatest weight. How does the porter do this?
2. How does what Lennox says about the night reflect on the action of the play?
3. Who is blamed publicly for the murder, according to Macbeth’s plan?
4. What do Malcolm and Donalbain decide to do and why?
Act II, Scene iv
Plot summary.
The scene occurs outside Macbeth's castle. Ross and an old man enter. The old man says that he can remember things for seventy years back, but he cannot remember a night as stormy as this has been. Ross replies by saying that the heavens are behaving as though they are troubled by "man's act," that is, last night's murder, and are threatening man. He goes on to say that, although the clock says that it is daytime, yet it is as dark as night. The old man answers,
- "Tis unnatural,
- Even like the deed that's done."
And the old man and Ross talk of other unnatural events that have recently occurred, which fit with the last night's event and the present day's darkness. For example, Duncan's horses, previously tamed, turned wild and ate each other.
Macduff now enters and tells the two who have been on stage the common belief concerning the murder. Malcolm and Donalbain, who have fled, hired the grooms to kill Duncan. He continues with the news that Macbeth has already been named king and has gone to be crowned at Scone, where Scottish kings are crowned. Duncan has been taken for burial. Ross asks Macduff whether he is going to the coronation at Scone, and Macduff replies, "No cousin; I'll to Fife." (Fife is Macduff's home; he is the Thane of Fife.) Ross says that he will go to Scone, and Macduff replies,
- "Well, may you see things well done there . . .
- Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!"
And each leaves on his own way.
Questions
1. In what ways does this scene articulate the Elizabethan idea that the human, natural and supernatural worlds are in balance and reflect each other?
2. What, as a result of their conversation, do Ross and Macduff decide to do?
BACK