Acts II & III:
Complication & Climax
Act II, Scene I
• Act II begins the complication, or rising
action of the tragedy.
COMPLICATION/RISING ACTION:
Series of plot events leading to the climax
The witches tricked Macbeth with their 2 predictions.
The witches knew Macbeth would soon be crowned
Thane of Cawdor anyway, so they threw in the idea that
he would be king. After meeting them, Macbeth becomes
convinced he could and should be king of Scotland…..
Let’s Revisit the
PaRadox….
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair”Act I, Scene I, line 10
What does this paradox really mean?
Things are not really as they appear. The
witches intend to trick and confuse Macbeth.
This paradox foreshadows and highlights a
theme found in this tragedy- the idea of
appearance vs. reality. Nothing really is as it
seems…..
Act II, Scene i
• Fleance, son of Banquo, is introduced.
• Banquo’s state of mind: Line 6- “A heavy summons
lies like lead upon me.” (He had dreamt of the ‘weird
sisters’, suspects something bad is going to happen).
• Lines 26-28: does not want to spoil his “honor” by
being an ally of Macbeth.
• Suspicious of Macbeth- he’s ‘onto’ him….
Act II, Scene I
• Macbeth hallucinates during his soliloquy,
experiencing some sort of optical illusion of a floating
dagger. (“Mine eyes are made the fools…”)
• Significance of this soliloquy/hallucination:
demonstrates Macbeth’s increasingly twisted mental
state, descent into darkness…
• ‘Snaps out’ of his hallucination (“There’s no such
thing…., lines 47,48)
• Makes allusion to Hecate (Greek goddess of
witchcraft). Recall allusion to Golgotha in Act 1….
• “The bell invites me./ Hear it not Duncan”
• Scene ends- He goes (presumably) to kill Duncan….
Act II, Scene ii
Lady Macbeth speaks of the owl
shrieking (omen of death) and her
drugging of the sleeping guards.
We see a more human side of her: lines 12,
13 “Had he not resembled/My father as he
slept, I had done ‘t.” (She couldn’t kill
Duncan b/c he reminded her of her own
father).
• Macbeth is a panicky mess (hearing voices, unable to
pray out of guilt), forgets to leave daggers behind…
• Lady Macbeth must go back and fix his mistake
• “A little water clears us of this deed…” (washing the
blood off their hands)
Act II, Scene ii
Macbeth hears knocking at end of scenne
scene (Lennox & Macduff)
* Note that Shakespeare did not stage the
murder itself on stage- WHY?
• Would have been very controversial to stage the
regicide (King was viewed as God’s representative).
• Keeps focus on the dramatic psychology occurring
btwn crazy Lady Macbeth and Macbeth
• Builds suspense and tension (keeps audience on their
toes!)
A
Act II, Scene iiI
Completely drunken porter provides
badly-needed comedic relief to break
up tension from previous scene.
• Comedic relief often associated w/ lower class
characters
• Notice the great shift in language once the exchange
between the Porter and Macduff ends- language goes
back to blank verse.
• Most of Macbeth is written mainly in blank verse
(unrhymed iambic pentameter). The Porter’s words,
though, are written in prose, or non-poetic verse, to
emphasize his relative ‘unimportance’….
A
Act II, Scene iiI
Lennox & Macduff discuss
unnatural events of the night: “blown
down… chimneys,” “strange screams
of death”, “obscure bird” (note
repeated image of owl), shaking earth
• Macduff discovers the king’s corpse (“Lord’s
anointed temple”). Lennox blames the guards: “Those
of his chamber, as it seemed, had done ‘t…”
• Macduff- note the dramatic irony when he refers to
Lady Macbeth as “gentle”
Act II, Scene iiI
Macbeth kills guards he framedlooks like hero while removing threat
to his name…. (claims he could not
help himself, wanted to avenge
king’s death)
“There’s daggers in men’s smiles..”
• Malcolm & Donalbain (King’s sons) decide to split to
protect themselves. (M to England, D to Ireland)
• They feel someone could be after them, too. Also,
they recognize the court may believe they are guilty.
Act II, Scene iv
more
Ross and Old Man discuss
unnatural occurrences….
•
• Night and day seem to be reversed “By the clock ‘tis
day,/and yet dark night strangles the traveling
lamp:/”
• Small owl kills big falcon (symbolism of Macbeth as
owl and Duncan as falcon…)
• Horses going crazy in their stalls
Macduff believes Malcolm and Donalbain bribed
(“suborned” ) guards to commit murder of Duncan.
(….puts upon them suspicion...” )(lines 24-27)
Act III, Scene i
Banquo’s short soliloquy:
•
•
•
•
“King, Cawdor, Glamis, all…I
fear thou play’dst most foully for ‘t.”
Banquo continues to be leery of Macbeth.
Macbeth’s soliloquy (lines 47-72) details his fears about
Banquo as a threat (B suspects Macbeth, B is a threat to
Macbeth’s kingship- witches about Banquo: “Thou shalt
get kings.”)
Macbeth manipulates the murderers (sketchy hitmen,
mercenaries, not professional or skilled assassins) into
thinking that Banquo is their enemy too.
Macbeth wants Banquo and his son Fleance killed
tonight….
Act III, Scene II
• Lady Macbeth: “’Tis safer to be that which we
destroy/ Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.”shows her crumbling mental state- ‘maybe it’s better
to be dead since I am living in fear and anxiousness…
• Macbeth: murdered Duncan sleeps better than he
does. (My mind is “full of scorpions”).
• Macbeth: “We have scotched the snake, not killed it:”
• Strong dramatic irony in lines 30-34 (M asking Lady
Mcb to disguise her feelings about Banquo)….
Motifs In Macbeth
• Motif- a recurring object, idea, or notion within a
literary work. It is somewhat similar to a theme or an
archetype.
• Sleep functions as a major motif in this tragedy.
• Sleep is linked with death and also to communicate
the idea of a severely weakened mental state. Notice
the way sleep appears everywhere:
Macbeth: “Methought I heard a voice cry Sleep no
More..” , wishes he could “wake” Duncan with the
knocking on the Porter’s door, states Duncan sleep better
than he does, Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth he needs
“sleep” to calm down after seeing Banquo’s ghost….
Act III, Scene IIi
CLIMAX OF THE TRAGEDY:
escape of Fleance and murder of
Banquo
Act III, Scene Iv
• Macbeth: panicked about Fleance’s escape (Fleance
could be a future king according to witches’
prophecies).
• Macbeth imagines B’s ghost at dinner- ghost comes in
and out depending on Macbeth’s state of
mind/paranoia. This is yet another hallucination
scene, or time when Macbeth experiences an illusion.
Act III, Scene Iv
• The stage directions indicate the presence/absence of
ghost of Banquo. Only Macbeth can see ghost.
• Lady Macbeth realizes she must calm her husband
down as he confesses to the murders out loud….
• Macbeth, as seen in Act II, eventually comes to his
senses, explains that his hallucinations come from a
strange “infirmity”, or illness.
Act III, Scene Iv
Macbeth sees he has reached
point of no return: “I am in blood/
stepped in so far that, should I
wade no more,/ Returning were
as tedious as go o’er.”(lines 136,7)
• Macbeth continues to unravel, wants to
meet up w/ 3 weird sisters....
• At this point, his inner conflict seems to
have been resolved….He no longer seems
to be slowed up by any sense of fear or
consequences…..
Internal Conflict:
Struggle within a character
Example:
Macbeth must decide
whether his desire and
ambition are worth fightingand killing for.
External Conflict:
Struggle between 2 characters
Example: Macbeth & Banquo find themselves in
direct opposition to one another. They are FOILS to
one another
Act III, Scene V
• Hecate, Greek goddess of witchcraft*, is angry w/ 3
weird sisters for messing w/ Macbeth w/out her
permission (“I…was never called to bear my part,/ Or
show the glory of our art?” lines 6-9)
• Hecate plans to ‘mess’ w/ Macbeth’s head since he’s
trying to affect the prophecies (murder of Banquo).
• *(There are many allusions to Greek mythology all
through this tragedy…)
Act III, Scene V
• Hecate: “Security / is mortals’ chiefest enemy.” She
recognizes Macbeth is overconfident and overly
ambitious- his tragic flaw; she plans to use Macbeth’s
weaknesses against him as she works her magic….
• Will she and the weird sisters present Macbeth with
‘accurate’ prophecies when they meet?.....
• An interesting note: Some scholars believe that
Thomas Middleton, a playwright during
Shakespeare’s time, may have written this scene….
Act III, Scene Vi
• Shakespeare often wrote ambiguously, leaving the
words of a character to be interpreted by directors and
actors. This scene shows one of those instances.
• Lennox cannot come out and say exactly how he feels
about Macbeth; to speak out publicly against the king
would be treasonous. Lennox must be very careful
about his statements about Macbeth….He uses some
sarcasm here, or verbal irony.
More on Irony In Macbeth
Verbal irony: a statement in which a character says one
things but means something else. It is typically
intentional.
2 strong examples of verbal irony in Act 3:
1. Macbeth toasting Banquo’s honor “And to our dear
friend Banquo, whom we miss;/ Would he were here! To
him we thirst.” (Macbeth does not really miss Banquo;
he had wanted him dead!)
2. Lennox’s monologue to the Lord in scene 6. (He
speaks sarcastically about Macbeth but does not
condemn him outright….)
Monologue: a long speech delivered by one character
in which others are on stage and are meant to hear it.
Act III, Scene Vi
• Lennox opens the scene with a monologue.
• Lennox- hopes Macbeth does not get his hands on
Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain. He says- all
while using verbal irony- that Fleance killed Banquo.
• He and the Lord call Macbeth a “tyrant.” Macbeth is
an unpopular king (“tyrant”)- Scotland is in ruins…..
• Macduff has fled to England to raise an army against
Macbeth; he is working w/ England’s King Edward
and Malcolm, presumably to take down Macbeth….
Act III, Scene Vi
• Tips to remember before we proceed into Act IV:
• Macbeth was not pleased that Macduff skipped out on
his dinner.
• What do you think will happen between Macbeth and
Macduff? As Lennox has said, “Macduff lives in
disgrace.” Macbeth has heard rumors of Macduff
plotting against him so he “prepares for some attempt
of war…”
Act II Key Terms
• Complication/Rising
Action
• Climax
• Allusion/Illusion
• Omens/Symbolism- (birds)
• Comic relief, blank verse,
prose
• Motif
• Dramatic vs. verbal irony
• Internal conflict
• External conflict
• Monologue
Shakespeare wrote Macbeth as a response to the
Gunpowder Plot of 1605- a warning to anyone who
would rise up against a king…..
English Catholics who felt they were being
persecuted by the Protestant monarchy (James I)
plotted to blow him up. They were discovered and
then tortured. …
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Macbeth was a real Scottish king.
He was not a tyrant, ruled peacefully for 14 years.
He did kill King Duncan in battle (with Siward’s
help).
…and he also killed King Duncan’s dad! Yikes!
There is historical debate about whether or not
Banquo actually existed: historians who say he did
exist claim that his descendants are the Stuarts of
England.

Why might Shakespeare have portrayed
Macbeth as a tyrant?

Why might Shakespeare have portrayed
Banquo as noble, or loyal to the king?