| What is significant about the weather | Banquo says there are no stars; therefore, it must be cloudy. This was foreshadow when “Macbeth says in Act 1 scene 4″Stars hide your fires, let not light see my black and deep desires” The dreariness of the weather indicates something foul is about to happen” |
| What do you suppose is keeping Banquo from sleeping | More than likely he is troubled by the possibility that Macbeth is planning some evil deed. This can be supported by Banquo’s recongnition that the Weird Sisters migt be trying to entice Macbeth to his damnation and his response to Macbeth;s comment later in the scene when Macbeth asks Banquo for his support at a later date |
| Why does Macbeth say “I think not of them” after Banquo had admitted to dreaming about the Werid Sisters | He is lying, trying to draw Banquo’s attention away from the predicition |
| What does Macbeth mean when he says to Banquo “If you shall cleave to my consent when til, it shall make honour for you” | Since Macbeth is not the heir to the throne, he will not automatically succeed Duncan. There will have to be a time when the throne is empty with no apparent heir. THe nboles will then have to name a new king from the royal family. Macbeth is saying that he will repay Banquo if Banquo will speak in support of his claim to the throne when the time comes |
| What is significant about Banquo’s reply | He tells Macbeth that he will not do anything disloyal to his present king in order to become a favorite of the new king. This is significant for a number of reasons: it indicates that Banquo suspects that Macbeth might be considering doing something wrong. Secondly as Macbeth’s foil, Banquo shows again that he has not been affected by the Weird sisters preidctions. His sense of integrity is intact and he cannot be tempted to abandon his vales for personal achievement |
| In his soliloquy after Banquo leaves, what does Macbeth tell us he sees? What could account for this apprarition | He sees a dagger before him. Macbeth suggests that is it a hallucination a “false creation from a heat oppressed brain” It could also be a maifestation of the guilt he feels about the notion that he is about to murder his king and cousin |
| Why does Shakespeare have Macbeth haullucinate | The tragic hero must be a sympathetic character, therefore, Shalespeare is being very careful to establish for the audience that the murder of Duncan is not an easy act for Macbeth that he is riddled with doubt prior to the act and will be guilt ridden afterward |
| If Macbeth never heard the bell when he does do you think he would have changed his ming about murdering Duncan | Towards the end of the soliloquy. Macbeth seems to have a moment when he could possibly change his ming when he says “Words to the heart of deeds too cold breath gives,” meaning that talking about murder is wearing away his courage to follow through. However he made a promise to Lady Macbeth and it is not likely he would break his promise to her |
| Compare Macbeth’s and Lady Macbeth’s reactions immediately after the crime | Macbeth is immediately filled with grief and regret. He knows his nights will be troubled. The sight of Duncan’s blood on his hands bothers him. He feels he is damned. Lady Macbeth refuses to acknowledge guilt. She is cold and down to business |
| Why does Lady Macbeth say she cannot commit the murder when she is in the room | She could not kill him, because the sleeping Duncan resembled her father |
| Macbeth apparently troubled by the murder he has just committed tells Lady Macbeth what he saw and heard. She tells him, “these deeds must not be thought of this way.” Why does she say this to him | She believes that thinking about it will drive him mad. This idea may be foreshadow what is yet to come |
| Macbeth’s response is frequently quote (Lines 46-51) What is the sense of his reponse? | In killing Duncan while he slept, Macbeth committed a crime against nature’s second course which is sleep. SLeep ends the day’s anguishes and allows us to start fresh in the morning. Sleep is also said to clear our minds and heat our anzious thoughts so having committed this unnatural act, Macbeth expects he shall sleep no more anbd will not be able to recover as the murderers |
| How does Lady Macbeth get Duncan’s blood on her hands | Macbeth refuses to reenter the room and place the daggers on the chamberlains. Lady Macbeth takes the daggers and says that she will do it, for the chamberlains must be framed as the murderers |
| What does Lady Macbeth tell Macbeth they need to do at the end of the scene? Why? | She tells Macbeth to “Get on you nightgown” meaning she wants Macbeth to put on his nightclothes so it does not seem as if they hae been awake which would seem suspicious |
| How does Macbeth feel about his crome at the end of the scene | He feels guilty. When he hears the knock at the gate he says “Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!” |
| What is the purpose of the Porter’s scene? What do you suppose he speaks in prose rather than poetry | After building the tension of the murder and its aftermath the scene gives the audeince a humoruos breather before the tension begins to build again. In all of SHakespare’s plays, the common people speak in prose: poetry is reserved for the nobility and those in the upper classes of society |
| How is the idea of “a crime against nautre” reiforced in this scene | Lennox tells of the strange night they had in whihc many unnatural things occured, sich as hearing an owl screeching all night and the wind howling and blowing down chimneys |
| What is the doubled meaning for Macbeth’s line “He does: he did appoint so,” spoken in response to Lennox asking “Goes the King hence today?” | Duncan did appoint to leave Inverness that day, but he is not going anywhere since Macbeth knows he is dead |
| How does Macbeth react to the discovery of Duncan’s body | Macbeth admits immediate regret and says that he knows the best part of his life is over: “Had I but died an hour before his chance, I had lived a blessed time for from this instant there is nothing serious in morality” |
| How does Lady Macbeth act | Her first reaction is that the death of Duncan brings scandal to her house. Then she faints. This can be interpreted as either genuine or fake, to cover up her earlier comment about the murder happening at ther house or to divert attention away from talking about the murder |
| Who is the one who points out the inappropriateness of Lady Macbeth initial response | Banquo who assets that the murder of Duncan would be “too cruel anywhere” The issue is not where it happened but that the murder happened in the first place |
| What is the dominant image in this scene and what effect does it create | The dominant image is that of Duncan’s “Silver skin laced with his golden blood” This emphasizes Duncan’s royalty and superior nature |
| Where do Malcolm and Donalbain go at the end of the scene? WHy do they choose to leave | Malcolm is rightly suspicious of his father’s murder so he and his younger brother Donalbain decide to leave Scotland with the hope if avoiding the aim of the unknown murderer. Malcolm will go to England, and Donalbain will go to Ireland |
| What is the purpose of scene 4 | 1. Exposition and the passing of time- events are narrated for the audience that Shakespeare does not choose to dramatize (Duncan’s burial, Macbeth’s coronation, Malcolm and Donalbain’s fight)2. A “recap scene” – emphasizes the odd things that happened the night of Duncan’s murder, reiterates that the chamberlains are considered the murderers, and adds that it is assumed that Malcolm and Donalbain bribed them to kill their father 3. Macduff’s dislike/distrust of Macbeth is established by his refusal to go to Scone to attend Macbeth’s coronation as this coronation would certainly include the nobles’ swearing allegiance to their new king. Macduff refusal to attend is essentially an act of treason |
| What additional natural or “unnatural” events further the “crime against nature” theme | Although it is daytime, it is a dark as night; a small owl kills a falcon; and Duncan’s horses turn will and devour one another |
Macbeth Act 2
August 13, 2019