Macbeth -­ Making Meaning: Act 2 Reviewing the Text a. In Scene 1, Macbeth asks Banquo to meet him later for "some words." What incentive does he offer Banquo? How does Banquo reply? He promises Banquo honor if Banquo will stand by him. Banquo agrees to support Macbeth as long as he can maintain his integrity while doing so. b. Describe the vision that Macbeth has at the end of Scene 1. What details foreshadow the action to come? Macbeth sees a dagger in the air that becomes coated in blood. This foreshadows the murder of Duncan. c. In Scene 2, as Macbeth kills Duncan, what does Lady Macbeth hear? What does Macbeth hear? Lady Macbeth hears an owl scream and crickets cry. Macbeth hears Malcolm and Donalbain cry “Murder” in their sleep and cry “God Bless Us” and “Amen”. He also hears a voice cry that he has murdered sleep. d. Why, according to Lady Macbeth, was she unable to kill Duncan herself? Which tasks related to the murder does she perform? The sleeping Duncan resembles her father. She comes up with the plan, lays the daggers ready, returns the daggers, smears the grooms with blood, and plans the cleanup – washing hands and donning nightgowns. e. In Scene 2, how does Macbeth respond to Lady Macbeth's suggestion that he go wash the "filthy witness" from his hands? He says it will never wash off. It will stain all the waters of the world. f. In Scene 3, what is the porter pretending as he goes to open the gate? That he is the porter to hell. g. Why has Macduff come? To wake the King as he has been requested to do. h. What reasons does Macbeth give for killing Duncan’s two guards? Love for Duncan. i. Where do Duncan’s sons decide to go? Malcolm goes to England; Donalbain goes to Ireland. j. In Scene 4, whom does Macduff suspect of Duncan’s murder? Macduff says, perhaps ironically, that Malcolm and Donalbain are guilty, but then he skips Macbeth’s coronation, possibly because he suspects Macbeth already. 1.
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First Thoughts What was your reaction to the murder of Duncan? Why do you think Shakespeare has the murder committed offstage? It is awful! I wish I knew how the prophecy could have come true if Macbeth had decided not to kill Duncan. The murders may take place off stage because they are too bloody and upsetting. Perhaps seeing the murders would take our focus off of Macbeth and demand greater sympathy for Duncan. Shaping Interpretations Though Macbeth encounters no opposition until long after Duncan is murdered, Shakespeare foreshadows trouble. For there to be suspense, one character must start to suspect Macbeth. Who is this, and what hints does he give? *Malcom and Macduff. In Act 1, Lady Macbeth seems to be planning to murder Duncan herself. But in Act 2, at the last moment, she is unable to. Consider her reason, and decide what her actions and explanations reveal about her character. Perhaps she talks a better game than she plays. She is not as insensitive as she’d like to be. In Scene 3, Macbeth utters a hypocritical lament beginning "Had I but died." Is it really hypocritical? A critic argued that although the speech is meant to be a lie, it contains “Macbeth’s profoundest feelings.” Explain this apparent contradiction. How does Macbeth feel about having murdered Duncan? What clues tell you how he feels? It could be intended as a lie, but it is more likely an equivocation, an ambiguous statement. It may be true that Macbeth will never again feel that anything will be worth while – that he has ruined own his life in taking Duncan’s. In this case the speech would be true, but not as the hearer understands it, as a lament for Duncan. Macbeth is nervous about discovery ** and feels guilty, though not guilty enough to confess. Lady Macbeth's fainting spell, like everything else she has done so far, has a purpose. What message do you think she wants her fainting spell to convey? She might want to display shock and grief. Macduff becomes an important character in the three remaining acts. Describe how Shakespeare characterizes him in Scenes 3 and 4. Courteous, dutiful, loyal, sensitive, poetic, thoughtful, discerning, bold, wary, impulsive. What would you say is the mood of Act 2? What images and actions help to create this mood? What do these images symbolize? Sinister and violent. The mood is set by the dagger vision and what follows; the image of Duncan dead (scene 3); the cannibal horses (scene 4). Blood and water might symbolize death and life or guilt and innocence. Extending the Text How do various characters respond to the violence? How would people today react to the news that a ruler has been assassinated and a nation is in political chaos? Macduff is horrified; Malcolm and Donalbain are in shock – they do not really feel grief yet and still feel themselves in too much danger to release their feelings; Lennox seems overwhelmed. Possible answers: some are horrified; some flee the country; or because some have become desensitized by seeing so much violence in the modern media, some may not be so surprised. Challenging the Text In some productions of Macbeth, Scene 4 is cut. Why would this be done? Is there any dramatic purpose for keeping it? Why do you think the Old Man is included m the scene? The Old Man, who does not appear elsewhere, makes the scene seem less connected to the others; or the scene summarises what is already known. The scene reinforces the sense of building suspicions and indicates that Macduff does not attend the coronation. Perhaps the Old Man represents wisdom or is someone who has come to warn the others about associating with evildoers.