Act 2 Scene 1 Summary Banquo and his

Act 2 Scene 1

Summary Banquo and his son Fleance walk in the torch-lit hall of Macbeth’s castle. Fleance says that it is after midnight, and his father responds that although he is tired, he wishes to stay awake because his sleep has lately inspired “cursed thoughts” (II. i. 8). Macbeth enters, and Banquo is surprised to see him still up. Banquo says that the king is asleep and mentions that he had a dream about the “three weird sisters. ” When Banquo suggests that the witches have revealed “some truth” to Macbeth, Macbeth claims that he has not thought of them at all since their encounter in the woods (II. i. 19– 20). He and Banquo agree to discuss the witches’ prophecies at a later time.

Banquo and Fleance leave, and suddenly, in the darkened hall, Macbeth has a vision of a dagger floating in the air before him, its handle pointing toward his hand its tip aiming him toward Duncan. Macbeth tries to grasp the weapon and fails. He wonders whether what he sees is real or a “dagger of the mind, a false creation / Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain” (II. i. 38– 39). Continuing to gaze upon the dagger, he thinks he sees blood on the blade, then abruptly decides that the vision is just a manifestation of his unease over killing Duncan. The night around him seems thick with horror and witchcraft, but Macbeth stiffens and resolves to do his bloody work. A bell tolls—Lady Macbeth’s signal that the chamberlains are asleep—and Macbeth strides toward Duncan’s chamber.

Things to focus on: What we learn from Macbeth’s encounter with Banquo. What we learn from Macbeth’s soliloquy before he murders King Duncan.

“Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand? ” (33 -34) As Macbeth is on his way to murder Duncan he has a vision of a dagger floating in the air and pointing the way towards the king’s chamber where he sleeps. Macbeth’s hallucination is a manifestation of his fear and trepidation over killing Duncan. It is also a sign that he is experiencing a sense of doubt and guilt about carrying out the murder. It is also the first of a number of hallucinations that Macbeth, and his wife, experience throughout the play. The structure of the lines in this soliloquy reflects how Macbeth goes back and forth between have lucid thoughts and then being mentally disturbed. He is unable to determine what is real and what is his imagination.

Dramatic techniques Soliloquy Characterisation

Act 2 Scene 2

Summary As Macbeth leaves the hall, Lady Macbeth enters, remarking on her boldness. She imagines that Macbeth is killing the king even as she speaks. Hearing Macbeth cry out, she worries that the chamberlains have awakened. She says that she cannot understand how Macbeth could fail—she had prepared the daggers for the chamberlains herself. She asserts that she would have killed the king herself then and there, “[h]ad he not resembled / [her] father as he slept” (II. ii. 12– 13). Macbeth emerges, his hands covered in blood, and says that the deed is done. Badly shaken, he remarks that he heard the chamberlains awake and say their prayers before going back to sleep. When they said “amen, ” he tried to say it with them but found that the word stuck in his throat. He adds that as he killed the king, he thought he heard a voice cry out: “Sleep no more, / Macbeth does murder sleep” (II. ii. 33– 34).

Lady Macbeth at first tries to steady her husband, but she becomes angry when she notices that he has forgotten to leave the daggers with the sleeping chamberlains so as to frame them for Duncan’s murder. He refuses to go back into the room, so she takes the daggers into the room herself, saying that she would be ashamed to be as cowardly as Macbeth. As she leaves, Macbeth hears a mysterious knocking. The portentous sound frightens him, and he asks desperately, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? ” (II. ii. 58– 59). As Lady Macbeth reenters the hall, the knocking comes again, and then a third time. She leads her husband back to the bedchamber, where he can wash off the blood. “A little water clears us of this deed, ” she tells him. “How easy it is then!” (II. ii. 65– 66).

Things to focus on: Lady Macbeth’s soliloquy as the murder is taking place. The contrasting reactions of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth after Duncan is murdered.

NB Throughout this scene, Lady Macbeth takes control and is calm, composed and rational. She is the voice of reason. By contrast, Macbeth is overcome with distress and panic. Although it is Macbeth who commits the murder, it is Lady Macbeth who has carried out the planning and preparation, and she also must take responsibility for ensuring that Duncan’s servants are framed for the murder. Furthermore, she is also left to “tidy up” her husband’s mistakes after he forgets to leave the murder weapon at the scene of the crime.

“(looking at his bloody hands) This is a sorry sight” (18) After murdering Duncan, Macbeth is immediately filled with intense remorse and guilt and cannot stop looking at the evidence of his crime (the blood on his hands). He is greatly disturbed by the crime that he has committed and seems to be overcome by regret, sorrow and shame. He imagines hearing voices and he worries that, due to murdering Duncan, he will no longer be able to sleep or pray. As a result, he will never again experience physical or mental rest or have his spirit nourished or soothed. In his distress he forgets to leave the murder weapons in Duncan’s chamber, but is too afraid to return to see the brutal scene of his betrayal. He is too afraid to even think about what he has just done.

Dramatic techniques Dialogue Characterisation Stage directions

“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? ” (57 -58) Macbeth has become obsessed by the blood from Duncan’s body which is covering his hands. He almost falls into a daze. The blood is a symbol of the guilt and remorse that he feels for murdering the king and he is terrified that he will never be able to wash away the shame and regret that he is feeling. He is greatly distressed and overcome with worry that he will be tormented by these feelings for the rest of his life. He believes that the blood has not only stained his hands- it has also stained his soul.

Dramatic techniques Dialogue Characterisation

“My hands are of your colour, but I shame to wear a heart so white!” (61 -62) “A little water clears us of this deed: how easy it is then!” (64 -65) Lady Macbeth is appalled by her husband’s behaviour after he kills Duncan and she attempts to compose him and make him think sensibly and rationally. She tells him that he has no reason to feel guilt about the murder and that he is being foolish. She tells him not to think about what he has done, as he cannot change it. She tells him that he will drive himself insane if he continues to torment himself with these thoughts and feelings of remorse and guilt.

When he refuses to return to Duncan’s chamber with the daggers she tells him that he is behaving in a cowardly and shameful manner and that he is being childish and weak. She assures him that his feelings of guilt will disappear as soon as he washes Duncan’s blood from his hands. She states that the blood, like guilt, can easily be washed away. Ironically, later in the play, her own feelings of guilt grow and she is the one who is unable to cope with the guilt of murdering Duncan and she commits suicide.

Dramatic techniques Dialogue Characterisation