Macbeth ACT 2 SCENE SUMMARIES 2 1 Macbeths

Macbeth ACT 2 SCENE SUMMARIES

2: 1 – Macbeth’s Castle at Inverness �Characters: Banquo, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Porter, Macduff, Lennox, Malcolm, Donalbain �Action: Banquo gives Macbeth a diamond ring for Lady Macbeth from Duncan; they talk about Banquo’s nightmares about the witches. Macbeth sees a vision of a bloody dagger leading him to kill Duncan. �Staging: bloody dagger ―floating as Macbeth’s vision �Problem or Solution: Problem—Macbeth is going to kill Duncan, and he feels he is being led by outside forces to do it.

2: 2 – Macbeth’s Castle �Characters: Lady Macbeth and Macbeth �Action: Lady Macbeth drugged the men, then Lady and Macbeth meet. Macbeth is disturbed by what he did, and he forgot to plant the daggers. Lady Macbeth grabs them and plants them herself. �Staging: Macbeth must have bloodied hands, holding daggers. Lady must grab the daggers, then upon re-entering, have bloody hands herself. �Problem or Solution: Solution—Lady Macbeth has successfully planted the daggers, and all is going according to plan. Now they wait.

2: 3 - Macbeth’s Castle � Characters: Porter, Macduff, Lennox, Malcolm, Donalbain, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth � Action: There is a knocking at the door, and the Porter answers. Macduff and Lennox have arrived to wake the king. Macduff finds the king dead. Macbeth and Lady act like they don’t know what is going on. Malcolm and Donalbain arrive, and fear that they are next. Malcolm decides to flee to England, while Donalbain decides to go to Ireland. � Staging: The Porter needs to have a door to let Macduff and Lennox in. � Problem or Solution: both—this scene can be considered a solution, since to Lady Macbeth and Macbeth, their ―problem‖ of Duncan and becoming King has been solved. However, it creates more problems, as questions arise of who did it, and why.

2: 4 – Outside Macbeth’s Castle �Characters: Ross, old Man �Action: Ross and the old Man discuss how unnatural things have been happening—dark during the day, horses eating each other �Staging: outside the castle �Problem or Solution: Problem—things are not good, and the universe and nature are reflecting that