Act 3, Scene 1
Act 3 opens at the royal castle on the day of a great feast to celebrate Macbeth's coronation. Banquo is the first to enter the great dining hall. The prophecy of the Witches races through his mind, and he begins to believe that Macbeth himself was responsible for the fulfilment of the Hags' prediction. He thinks upon his own destiny as foretold by the Witches. If Macbeth is now king, Banquo is sure to father future kings. A trumpet sounds and King Macbeth and his Queen enter the hall with Lennox, Ross, and a long parade of servants. Macbeth is very concerned with Banquo's activities for the day, and asks him where he plans to go before dinner begins. Banquo tells him that he and his son, Fleance, are going to ride on the vast castle grounds in the afternoon, but he assures Macbeth he will not miss the feast. Macbeth orders everyone to take the afternoon for himself and be 'the master of his time' until seven that evening, when the banquet will commence. Everyone rushes off, except Macbeth and a servant. He asks the servant to bring in two men that have been waiting at the palace gate. Alone for a brief moment, Macbeth reveals his plan to have Banquo and Fleance murdered while they are out riding. The men are not professional assassins, but rather poor men who are willing to work as mercenaries. Macbeth has already blamed their current state of poverty on Banquo. He now tells them that while Banquo is his own enemy as much as theirs, being a loyal friend of Banquo's prevents Macbeth from killing Banquo himself. Killing now comes easier to Macbeth and he will gladly slay his friend and his child if it means securing the throne for his own lineage. The “be a man” theme recurs in Macbeth’s address to the murderers. When Macbeth demands whether the murderers have the courage to kill Banquo, they answer "we are men, my liege" (line 92). But their answer does not satisfy Macbeth, who berates them as less-than-exemplary examples of men. Macbeth thus uses very much the same goading tactics his wife used in compelling him to kill Duncan.The servant returns with the men whom Macbeth has commissioned to kill Banquo and Fleance. Macbeth gives them some final instructions and sends them on their way. As the scene comes to a close, we see Macbeth's transformation into an evil villain now complete: "It is concluded Banquo, thy soul's flight if it finds heaven, must find it out to-night." (Lines 140-141).
Act 3, Scene 2
In another room in the castle, Lady Macbeth orders a servant to find her husband. Lady Macbeth is not as happy as she thought she would be as Queen of Scotland, and, although she hides it better than Macbeth, the murder is all that she can think about. Despite the fact that they now have exactly what they desired, Lady Macbeth confesses that they have gained nothing and lost everything by killing Duncan: 'Nought's had, all's spent' (line 4). Macbeth enters and he too admits to consuming feelings of guilt and fear. He laments 'in the affliction of these terrible dreams that shake us nightly: better be with the dead' (lines 18-9). Lady Macbeth wants to think of other, more pleasant things, and she tells her husband to be happy and enjoy his feast. Macbeth informs her that he has decided to kill Banquo and Fleance. She asks for details but, to save her from further guilt, Macbeth will not tell her any more: 'Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck' (lines 44-6).
Act 3, Scene 3
The two murderers set out to find Banquo and Fleance, riding on the palace grounds. A third murderer joins them, sent by Macbeth to ensure the killing is carried out according to plan. They hear horses approach. It is Banquo and his son, walking toward the stables, talking about the fun of the day. Night has fallen early and they carry a lit torch. The First Murderer attacks Banquo but before he dies he cries out to Fleance to run away as fast as he can. In the scuffle the torch goes out and Fleance successfully escapes into the dark countryside. The murderers know that they have left incomplete the more important task of killing Banquo's son, but they nonetheless head to the castle to report Banquo's death to Macbeth.
Banquo's murder itself makes use of a common theme in Shakespeare's plays the contrast between light and dark. While the murderers wait for Banquo and Fleance to approach, one of them observes that the sun is setting. This is no coincidence: Banquo serves as a bright contrast to the dark night that accompanies Macbeth's rise to power. He is a man who does not allow his ambitions to eclipse his conscience. At the moment that he dies, therefore, it is appropriate for the last remnant of sunlight to fade away. Such symbolism is reinforced by the fact that Banquo and Fleance approach the murderers carrying a torch. The torchlight is the first thing that the murderers see: "a light, a light" notes the second murderer (line14). And after the deed is finished, the third murderer asks: "who did strike out the light?" (Line 27). At the same moment that the good and kind Banquo dies, the light is extinguished.
Act 3, Scene 4
At the banquet, a murderer arrives and reports to Macbeth just as the dinner guests begin to arrive. The First Murderer tells him that the blood Macbeth sees upon his face is Banquo's and that Fleance has escaped. Macbeth is unhappy with the news that Fleance remains alive, but he focuses on the good news of Banquo's death and decides to take his place at the dinner table. Even when Macbeth has Banquo killed at a safe distance from himself, the spilled blood still returns to haunt Macbeth. When the murderer shows up to report his success, Macbeth observes: "There's blood upon thy face" (line 11). The blood itself serves a sign and reminder of the Macbeths’ culpability—ultimately driving Lady Macbeth mad.
But Macbeth's seat is already occupied. It is Banquo's ghost, and Macbeth is horrified. Before his stunned guests he begins to speak to what they believe is an empty chair: "Prithee, see there! behold! look! lo! how say you?/Why, what care I? If thou canst nod, speak too" (lines 68-70). Lady Macbeth tells the guests that Macbeth is suffering from stress, and, when the ghost disappears, Macbeth regains his composure. He says that he has a "strange infirmity" and quickly calls for more wine and toasts the "general joy of the whole table". Unfortunately, Macbeth decides to mention Banquo specifically in the toast, which prompts the re-appearance of Banquo's ghost. Macbeth again reacts to the spirit, much to the bewilderment of his guests. Lady Macbeth, afraid her husband is losing his mind and will reveal their crimes, bids the guests an abrupt goodnight and shuffles them out of the hall. When they are alone, Lady Macbeth, who is baffled by Macbeth's behaviour, tells him that his lack of sleep is causing him to hallucinate. She draws Macbeth aside and attempts to calm him by asserting that the vision is merely a “painting of his fear”—just like the dagger he saw earlier, “This is the very painting of your fear; This is the air-drawn dagger which you said Led you to Duncan" (line 60-62). Macbeth insists that he must consult the three Weird Sisters to find out what dangers lie in wait. Macbeth and his Lady retire to bed and the scene ends with Macbeth's final thought that, because he is new to such heinous crime, his conscience is overactive, but he will improve with time. As he tells Lady Macbeth: "We are yet but young in deed" (line 146).
The boundaries between reality and the supernatural are blurred as Banquo's ghost appears twice—both at exactly the moment Macbeth mentions him. It seems that the vision of Banquo accompanies the idea of Banquo in Macbeth’s mind. The ghost thus seems more like the manifestation of an idea—a figment of the imagination—rather than a “real” ghost. Just like the dagger, Banquo's ghost appears to be a realization of Macbeth's guilt. Even if the occurrence is supernatural, the event is very real for Macbeth.
Act 3, Scene 5
Thunder crashes overtop a lonely heath where the Witches are gathered. Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, scolds the Hags for not including her in their meetings with Macbeth. Hecate tells them that they must reassure Macbeth when he comes to visit, for she knows that security "Is mortals' chiefest enemy" (line 34).
Act 3, Scene 6
In a room in the palace, Lennox and another lord discuss the deaths of Duncan and Banquo. Lennox now suspects Macbeth has committed the murders and subtly reveals his thoughts in an exceptional speech, noted for its sustained irony. The lord also suspects Macbeth, and he tells Lennox that Malcolm has the support of Edward, King of England, and that Macduff has since sided with Malcolm and is gathering an army as they speak. They hope Malcolm and his troops return as soon as possible to help the Scottish rebels overthrow Macbeth.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Act 2 Macbeth
Act 2, Scene 1
The night falls over the castle at Iverness. Banquo comments to his son, Fleance, that it is as black a night as he has seen. Banquo is having trouble sleeping, for the prophecy of the Witches is the only thing on his mind. He hints that he too has been thinking ambitious thoughts and he begs the heavens for the will to suppress them: "Merciful powers/Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature/Gives way to in repose" (2.1.7-9). Banquo meets Macbeth in the courtyard and he tries to bring up the subject of the Witches but Macbeth refuses to discuss them or their predictions. He bluntly replies "I think not of them", and bids Banquo goodnight. Macbeth goes to an empty room and waits for his wife to ring the bell, signalling that Duncan's guards are in a drunken slumber. Macbeth's mind is racing with thoughts of the evil he is about to perform and he begins to hallucinate, seeing a bloody dagger appear in the air. He soliloquizes on the wickedness in the world before concluding that talking about the murder will only make the deed that much harder to complete. Suddenly, a bell rings out. Macbeth braces himself and utters these final words:
I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven, or to hell. (2.1.62-4)
In this scene the reader will feel tensed as Macbeth is about to kill the king.
Macbeth's famous soliloquy at the beginning of this act introduces an important theme: visions and hallucinations caused by guilt. The "dagger of the mind" that Macbeth sees is not "ghostly" or supernatural so much as a manifestation of the inner struggle that Macbeth feels as he contemplates the regicide. It "marshals him the way he was going," leading him toward the bloody deed he has resolved to commit, haunting and perhaps also taunting him
Act 2, Scene 2
Lady Macbeth has drugged Duncan's guards and she waits in her chamber for Macbeth to commit the murder. She hears moans of torture coming from Duncan's quarters and she loses some of herself-control. She fears that they have awoken the guards and she confesses that she would have killed the King herself if he did not resemble her own father. Macbeth returns a murderer; his hands dripping in blood of his victims. The two whispers about the deed and Macbeth nervously recounts the cries each man made before he stabbed them. Lady Macbeth tells him to "consider it not so deeply" (line 30), but Macbeth can focus only on their screams and the frightening realization that, when one cried "God bless us!", he tried to say "Amen" in response, but the word stuck in his throat. Lady Macbeth pleads with her husband to put the act out of his mind but Macbeth only thinks harder upon what he has done. He hears a voice cry "Glamis hath murther'd sleep: and therefore Cawdor/Shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more!" (lines 41-3). This shows an overwhelming sense of guilt will prevent “innocent sleep” from giving Macbeth respite from his tormented conscience. While he has consigned Duncan to eternal rest, he himself lives now in eternal anxiety.
Lady Macbeth insists that he go wash his face and hands and place the daggers that he has so carelessly brought back with him in the hands of the guards. Macbeth refuses to return to the scene of the crime and so Lady Macbeth goes instead. Alone, Macbeth stares at his blood-soaked hands: He is guilt-stricken and mourns.
What hands are here? Ha! they pluck out mine eyes!
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red. (lines 59-63)
Lady Macbeth comes back, now with hands equally bloody. They hear a knock at the castle doors and Lady Macbeth again demands that Macbeth wash up and go to bed, for they must pretend that they have been sound asleep the entire night. Macbeth's words of regret bring the scene to a close: "To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!" (Lines73-6).
Act 2, Scene 3
The knocking at the south entrance grows louder and more frequent. In a scene of comic relief a porter walks slowly to open the doors, pondering what it would be like to be the door-keeper of hell. He imagines admitting a farmer who has committed suicide after a bad harvest, an "equivocator" who has committed a sin by swearing to half-truths, and an English tailor who stole cloth to make fashionable clothes and visited brothels. Since it is "too cold for hell" at the gate, he opens the door instead of continuing with a longer catalogue of sinners. There are many gothic elements here. Macduff and Lennox are at the doors, arriving to visit King Duncan. Macbeth comes down to greet the two noblemen. Overnight he has fully regained his composure and pretends that their early morning knocking has awakened him. Macduff proceeds to the King's chambers while Lennox tells Macbeth about the fierce storm they encountered on their journey to Inverness. In the howling wind they heard 'strange screams of death' (lines 46), and there were reports of the earth shaking. Macbeth's response is ironic and cruelly comical: "Twas a rough night" (line 47). Macduff re-enters, screaming that the King has been slain. He tells Lennox that it is a horrible and bloody sight, comparing it to Medusa herself. He rings the alarm bell while Macbeth runs to King Duncan's quarters. Macbeth reaches the guards who have been awakened by the bell. Before they can proclaim their innocence, Macbeth kills them and reports to Macduff that he has murdered Duncan's assassins in a fit of fury. Lady Macbeth pretends to collapse in a shock and, while the rest of the men tend to her, Malcolm whispers to his brother, Donalbain. The brothers are not as easily deceived as the others and they know their lives are in grave danger: "There's daggers in men's eyes" Donalbain adds, and they agree to flee Scotland. Malcolm will go to England and, to be extra cautious, Donalbain will go to Ireland.
Act 2, Scene 4
In this brief transition scene, an old man reports to Ross the strange omens that have coincided with Duncan's murder. Days are as dark as nights, owls hunt falcons, and Duncan's horses have gone mad and eaten each other. These are the events that echo the slaughter of Duncan by Macbeth. Thus the unnatural death of Duncan plunges the country into both physical and spiritual turmoil.
Macduff enters and tells Ross that, since the King's two sons have fled Scotland, they are presumed to be the masterminds behind their father's murder. As a result of their treachery, their claim to the throne is forfeit, and Macbeth will be named the new King of the Scots.
In scene 4 Ross reports that "by the clock ‘tis day, and yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp" lines 6-7). This image of the darkness strangling the light of day is a meteorological manifestation of the murder of Duncan; the light of nature is suffocated just as Duncan's life is extinguished.
In Act 2, characters discuss or see birds in almost every scene. While Lady Macbeth is waiting for Macbeth to finish killing Duncan, for example, she hears an owl hooting and calls the owl a "fatal bellman"—a bird whose call is like a bell tolling for Duncan's death (act 2 scene 2 line 3). The owl could also be "fatal" as an instrument of Fate, just as Macbeth is in some ways an instrument of Fate through the intervention of the Weird Sisters. In this respect, one observes a mirroring between Macbeth and the owl: both hunt at night; the owl is observed killing a falcon, just as Macbeth kills Duncan.
The night falls over the castle at Iverness. Banquo comments to his son, Fleance, that it is as black a night as he has seen. Banquo is having trouble sleeping, for the prophecy of the Witches is the only thing on his mind. He hints that he too has been thinking ambitious thoughts and he begs the heavens for the will to suppress them: "Merciful powers/Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature/Gives way to in repose" (2.1.7-9). Banquo meets Macbeth in the courtyard and he tries to bring up the subject of the Witches but Macbeth refuses to discuss them or their predictions. He bluntly replies "I think not of them", and bids Banquo goodnight. Macbeth goes to an empty room and waits for his wife to ring the bell, signalling that Duncan's guards are in a drunken slumber. Macbeth's mind is racing with thoughts of the evil he is about to perform and he begins to hallucinate, seeing a bloody dagger appear in the air. He soliloquizes on the wickedness in the world before concluding that talking about the murder will only make the deed that much harder to complete. Suddenly, a bell rings out. Macbeth braces himself and utters these final words:
I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven, or to hell. (2.1.62-4)
In this scene the reader will feel tensed as Macbeth is about to kill the king.
Macbeth's famous soliloquy at the beginning of this act introduces an important theme: visions and hallucinations caused by guilt. The "dagger of the mind" that Macbeth sees is not "ghostly" or supernatural so much as a manifestation of the inner struggle that Macbeth feels as he contemplates the regicide. It "marshals him the way he was going," leading him toward the bloody deed he has resolved to commit, haunting and perhaps also taunting him
Act 2, Scene 2
Lady Macbeth has drugged Duncan's guards and she waits in her chamber for Macbeth to commit the murder. She hears moans of torture coming from Duncan's quarters and she loses some of herself-control. She fears that they have awoken the guards and she confesses that she would have killed the King herself if he did not resemble her own father. Macbeth returns a murderer; his hands dripping in blood of his victims. The two whispers about the deed and Macbeth nervously recounts the cries each man made before he stabbed them. Lady Macbeth tells him to "consider it not so deeply" (line 30), but Macbeth can focus only on their screams and the frightening realization that, when one cried "God bless us!", he tried to say "Amen" in response, but the word stuck in his throat. Lady Macbeth pleads with her husband to put the act out of his mind but Macbeth only thinks harder upon what he has done. He hears a voice cry "Glamis hath murther'd sleep: and therefore Cawdor/Shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more!" (lines 41-3). This shows an overwhelming sense of guilt will prevent “innocent sleep” from giving Macbeth respite from his tormented conscience. While he has consigned Duncan to eternal rest, he himself lives now in eternal anxiety.
Lady Macbeth insists that he go wash his face and hands and place the daggers that he has so carelessly brought back with him in the hands of the guards. Macbeth refuses to return to the scene of the crime and so Lady Macbeth goes instead. Alone, Macbeth stares at his blood-soaked hands: He is guilt-stricken and mourns.
What hands are here? Ha! they pluck out mine eyes!
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No; this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red. (lines 59-63)
Lady Macbeth comes back, now with hands equally bloody. They hear a knock at the castle doors and Lady Macbeth again demands that Macbeth wash up and go to bed, for they must pretend that they have been sound asleep the entire night. Macbeth's words of regret bring the scene to a close: "To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!" (Lines73-6).
Act 2, Scene 3
The knocking at the south entrance grows louder and more frequent. In a scene of comic relief a porter walks slowly to open the doors, pondering what it would be like to be the door-keeper of hell. He imagines admitting a farmer who has committed suicide after a bad harvest, an "equivocator" who has committed a sin by swearing to half-truths, and an English tailor who stole cloth to make fashionable clothes and visited brothels. Since it is "too cold for hell" at the gate, he opens the door instead of continuing with a longer catalogue of sinners. There are many gothic elements here. Macduff and Lennox are at the doors, arriving to visit King Duncan. Macbeth comes down to greet the two noblemen. Overnight he has fully regained his composure and pretends that their early morning knocking has awakened him. Macduff proceeds to the King's chambers while Lennox tells Macbeth about the fierce storm they encountered on their journey to Inverness. In the howling wind they heard 'strange screams of death' (lines 46), and there were reports of the earth shaking. Macbeth's response is ironic and cruelly comical: "Twas a rough night" (line 47). Macduff re-enters, screaming that the King has been slain. He tells Lennox that it is a horrible and bloody sight, comparing it to Medusa herself. He rings the alarm bell while Macbeth runs to King Duncan's quarters. Macbeth reaches the guards who have been awakened by the bell. Before they can proclaim their innocence, Macbeth kills them and reports to Macduff that he has murdered Duncan's assassins in a fit of fury. Lady Macbeth pretends to collapse in a shock and, while the rest of the men tend to her, Malcolm whispers to his brother, Donalbain. The brothers are not as easily deceived as the others and they know their lives are in grave danger: "There's daggers in men's eyes" Donalbain adds, and they agree to flee Scotland. Malcolm will go to England and, to be extra cautious, Donalbain will go to Ireland.
Act 2, Scene 4
In this brief transition scene, an old man reports to Ross the strange omens that have coincided with Duncan's murder. Days are as dark as nights, owls hunt falcons, and Duncan's horses have gone mad and eaten each other. These are the events that echo the slaughter of Duncan by Macbeth. Thus the unnatural death of Duncan plunges the country into both physical and spiritual turmoil.
Macduff enters and tells Ross that, since the King's two sons have fled Scotland, they are presumed to be the masterminds behind their father's murder. As a result of their treachery, their claim to the throne is forfeit, and Macbeth will be named the new King of the Scots.
In scene 4 Ross reports that "by the clock ‘tis day, and yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp" lines 6-7). This image of the darkness strangling the light of day is a meteorological manifestation of the murder of Duncan; the light of nature is suffocated just as Duncan's life is extinguished.
In Act 2, characters discuss or see birds in almost every scene. While Lady Macbeth is waiting for Macbeth to finish killing Duncan, for example, she hears an owl hooting and calls the owl a "fatal bellman"—a bird whose call is like a bell tolling for Duncan's death (act 2 scene 2 line 3). The owl could also be "fatal" as an instrument of Fate, just as Macbeth is in some ways an instrument of Fate through the intervention of the Weird Sisters. In this respect, one observes a mirroring between Macbeth and the owl: both hunt at night; the owl is observed killing a falcon, just as Macbeth kills Duncan.
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