MACBETH
BY William Shakespeare
(Act Two-Study guide)
Act Two-Scene 1:
Macbeth and Banquo meet up at the court of Macbeth’s castle. When Banquo mentions that he had a dream about the Weird Sisters. Macbeth wants to discuss his desire to become king of Scotland. Banquo also wants the prediction made about himself to be fulfilled, but he is not willing to do anything dishonorable to make it happen. He says he is loyal to the King.
1. Banquo leaves, and Macbeth is left with his thoughts. Explain Macbeth’s soliloquy and his feelings as he goes to commit the murder.
-After Banquo leaves, Macbeth is left alone with his thoughts. Suddenly he sees a dagger in front of him. He gets so confused. He was thinking if those daggers were just an illusion, a false creation or his mind after he drank a couple of drinks? However, they were showing a true event, those were the weapons he was going to use to murder Duncan. Macbeth was so horrified of the murder he was going to commit. He was so not concentrated and self-collected. He was analyzing the situation but all he was seeing in front of him were the bleeding daggers.
2. What does the ringing of the bell mean?
-The bell showed the time when he had to go and commit the murder. It was like the bell invited him to do the murder. That bell was calling Duncan to go to heaven or to hell. That depended on what he had done in his life on earth. So the bell was calling Macbeth to go at Duncan’s room and murder him
ACT TWO – SCENE 2:
1. After Macbeth murders King Duncan he agonizes over something. What is it?
A) That someone laughed while sleeping and the other one cried saying “Murder”
B) One cried “God bless us” and “Amen” the other, but he couldn’t say “Amen”
C) The voice still cried ”Sleep no more”;” Glamis have murdered sleep ” and therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more.
2. What mistake does Lady Macbeth scold Macbeth for?(She later fixes it.)
-Macbeth did a very stupid thing. He was so terrified that he took the daggers back with him. Those daggers must lie there, to the place where he did the murder and let them to the guard’s hands and smear their hands with Duncan’s blood.
ACT TWO – SCENE 3:
1. Explain how comic relief is provided by the porter’s speech.
-We learn that the porter’s speech is so funny and comic. He is not sure in what he says. He says something like: drink especially provokes the desire, but it takes always the performance. In any phrase he says, he always has the opposite thing of the last sentence.
2. What has Macbeth done when he says:”o, yet I do repent me of my fury?”
-Even if he murdered Duncan and realized what he wanted, he still repents what he did. His conscience is not peaceful yet. He is still sorry of his fury and that he didn’t think longer of the act he was doing.
3. Who are Malcolm and Donalbain ?
-Malcolm and Donalbain are the Duncan’s sons.
4. What do they decide to do after King Duncan is murdered? Why?
-They decide to go away so they could be safer. They were afraid they could be the future objectives so they say their safest way is to avoid the aim. Duncan’s sons, suspecting danger, resolve to flee: Malcolm to England, Donalbain to Ireland.
5.Explain the dramatic irony when Macduff says:”O gentle lady ” ’ Tis not for you to hear what I can speak…
-It’s like nobody knew what happened in reality, that all that was planned by Lady Macbeth. Macduff says that what he was going to say could not be proper for her because she was a woman and could really shock her after all that sympathy she had for the king Duncan. There is a dramatic irony in this situation. It was all planned: they would both act like they didn’t know anything and then after she would hear the news she would start to cry, feel sorry about Duncan, they would promise they would hind the guilty, etc. However, everything was arranged. They knew who were the guilty from the viewpoint of the others and the guilty in reality.
6. What does Banquo decide to do, and why do you think he does not accuse Macbeth of the murder?
- Banquo and the others swear to investigate the murder. I think that Banquo doesn’t accuse Macbeth of the murder because all the events showed in the prophecy of the Three Witches became true. Macbeth became Thane of Cawdor and now with Duncan’s death King of Scotland. However, this was in his own beneficial. The prophecy showed that Banquo’s sons would be kings, so this wasn’t bad for him.
ACT TWO – SCENE 4:
Ross and an old man are riding along discussing the terrible murder. Along comes Macduff. He suspects Macbeth because he has killed the only ones who could lead them to the murderer.
1. What does this scene foreshadow?
-This scene foreshadows in a conflict between Macduff and Macbeth. Macduff will accuse Macbeth of the murder and Macbeth will say the opposite of that. So this could be the first enemy of Macbeth
2.The orderly scheme of nature is strangely affected by the murder. Shakespeare skillfully lets nature correspond to man’s acts. How is this revealed by the conversation in this scene?
-Ross and an Old Man talk about the darkness and unnaturalness of events that mirror Duncan’s murder. The sun is obscured, owls kill falcons, and Duncan’s horses eat each other. So, what happened was an evil act. Everything was going mad. A lot of unnaturalness things were happening. The general atmosphere was rude, silent, annoying, etc.
3. Who is named successor to King Duncan? Why?
-Macbeth is named successor to King Duncan. In the eleventh century, Kings of Scotland were elected by their fellow thanes. The title did not automatically descend from father to son. As the family tree below was, Macbeth had a strong claim to be king, both in his own right and through his wife (granddaughter of a former high king).
4. Where is the coronation to be held?
-The coronation will be held in Scone.
