William
Shakespeare
pp. 193–277
Macbeth
Act II
Introduction
Scene I
• With Fleance, Banquo
prepares to retire,
praying that in sleep
he is not tempted by
that which is
unnatural.
Introduction
Scene I
• He tells Macbeth of
Duncan’s great
pleasure in his
hospitality and of the
king’s repose.
Introduction
Scene I
• Macbeth denies the
place of the weird
sisters in his
thoughts.
• Left alone, he sees
the vision of a dagger.
Introduction
Scene II
• Lady Macbeth reviews
her own role in the
assassination.
• Drugged Duncan’s
grooms and laid
ready their daggers
Introduction
Scene II
• Macbeth announces
the accomplishment
of the crime and
describes the sting to
his conscience.
Introduction
Scene II
• He is incapable of
returning the daggers,
so his wife must do so.
• At the same time she
completes the framing
of the grooms.
Introduction
Scene III
• A drunken porter
imagines that he is
the keeper of the
gate to hell.
Introduction
Scene III
• Lennox describes the
unnatural
occurrences in nature
during the night that
has just passed.
Introduction
Scene III
• Macbeth reacts to
Macduff’s discovery
of Duncan’s murder
with believable
surprise, grief, and
indignation.
Introduction
Scene III
• Macduff reports the
murder to Duncan’s
sons, Malcolm and
Donalbain, & Lennox
suggests that the
grooms are guilty.
Introduction
Scene III
• Macbeth’s subsequent
confession that in his
fury he has killed the
grooms is accompanied
by the fainting of Lady
Macbeth.
Introduction
Scene III
• Banquo and others
determine to
investigate the
murder further.
• Malcolm and
Donalbein flee in fear.
Introduction
Scene IV
• Ross and an Old Man
discuss the strange
manifestations in
nature of the
unnatural murder of
Duncan.
Introduction
Scene IV
• Macduff informs them
• The flight of
Malcolm and
Donalbain, whom he
now suspects of the
murder
Introduction
Scene IV
• Macduff informs them
• The forthcoming
coronation of
Macbeth at Scone
• The burial of
Duncan at Colmekill
Introduction
Scene IV
• Because he has
reservations, Macduff
will return to Fife
rather than attend
the ceremony at
Scone.
Thought and
Discussion
1. What “cursèd
thoughts” do you think
Banquo is referring to in
line 8 of Scene i?
Thought and
Discussion
1. Why is it appropriate
that he is the one who
presents Duncan’s gift
to Macbeth, . . .
Thought and
Discussion
1. and why do you think
he brings up the subject
of the three weird
sisters?
Thought and
Discussion
2. In his soliloquy in
Scene i, why does
Macbeth call the daggar
a “fatal vision”? In what
way is the description
ironic?
Thought and
Discussion
2. What does the
soliloquy reveal about
Macbeth’s state of
mind?
Thought and
Discussion
3. What signs of
conscience does Lady
Macbeth show at the
beginning of Scene ii?
Thought and
Discussion
3. When does she
realize that Macbeth has
made a mistake and is
fearful to correct it?
How does she chide him
for his weakness?
Thought and
Discussion
4. How do the Macbeths’
reactions to the subject
of bloody hands differ?
With whose opinion do
you agree?
Thought and
Discussion
4. Of what do you think
the blood and water are
symbolic?
Thought and
Discussion
5. What does Donalbain
mean when he tells
Malcolm in line 125 of
Scene iii, “There’s
daggers in men’s
smiles”?
Thought and
Discussion
5. What lines in Act I
also present this theme
of dissimulation?
Assignment
Type assignment
here.