Macbeth- Act II

Scene One:

• As Banquo is disturbed, the sky seems restless too- 'There's husbandry in heaven'. (Line 4) Could this be a sign of the evil nature of what is happening?
• Banquo describes the King's sleep. It is ironic, as the audience is aware of what is to befall Duncan during the night. 'The King's a-bed'. (Line 12)
• The witches not only had a big impact on Banquo, ('I dreamt last night of the Weird Sisters'-Line 20) but we know they affect Macbeth too, thus seeing through Macbeth's apparent lack of concern regarding them. ('I think not of them'- Line 21)

Scene Two:

• Lady Macbeth appears to be on egde, starting at noises of her imagination. 'Hark! Peace'. We are also shown some humanity in her character, when she explains why she could not kill Duncan herself. Despite the fact she felt he resembled her father as he slept, she could be seen as a hypocrite, when she chastises Macbeth as being a coward- she described in horrific detail how she would kill her own baby.
• Within the scene, there is thick tension in the atmosphere, reflected by the rapid exchange between Macbeth and LM.
• Macbeth predicts the onset of insomnia. 'heard a voice cry "Sleep no more!"' Clearly he feels that his conscious will not let him forget the murder he has just committed.
• The use of 'S' sounds implies that Macbeth will whisper his explaination to LM. 'Shall sleep' (Line 43). It shows how concerned the character is feeling about the murder and of being caught, and of the guilt he is experiencing.
• Lady Macbeth scorns her husband in a sarcastic, nasty way. 'Why, worthy thane' (Line 44). She has consistently criticised his apparent cowardice or reluctance to carry out the bloody killing. She also calls him childish at his recation to having killed Duncan. ''Tis the eye of childhood That fears a painted Devil'.
• Macbeth feels that he will always be guilty, and that it willl take more than Neptune's ocean to wash the blood from his hands.
• Lady Macbeth seems to admit that she is just as guilty, but dismisses it easily, 'A little water clears us of this deed; How easy is it then!' She simply wants Macbeth to forget it and get over it.

Scene Three

• The Porter in this scene provides a much needed bit of comic relief, with his speech of alcohol and how it increases the desire, yet inhibits his sexual needs.
• There is a alot of mention of the Devil- 'Belzebub' - and this a classic element of the gothic. Along with mention of God and of faith.
• The weather is also severe and links in with the gothic genre. It is so bad, it could be linked to the first sign of nature turning 'wild'.
• Macbeth plays the innocent man well, showing off the two sides to his character- the Doppelganger which is also an element of Gothic literature.
• Macbeth kills the guards for two possible reasons. He wants to appear loyal to the king, and therefore innocent of the murder. He also wants to be sure that the guards could not provide any incriminating evidence against him.
• The conflicting language here could reflect the conflict of morals/conscience within him. 'temperate...furious...loyal...neutral' (Lines 105 and 106)
• Lady Macbeth also proves herself to be a good actress, she swoons at the night's horrors.
• Malcom and Donalblain seem to be aware of the deceit- 'There's daggers in men's smiles'. They then flee, but in doing so incriminates them- makes them suspicious.

Scene Four

• The old man opens the scene with an anecdote, and how he has never seen a worse night. Because of the respect shown by Ross, ('good father'), the audience trusts him and therefore his views on the matter.
• ''Tis said they ate each other'. When discussing how Duncan's horses turned wild, it is clear that something in nature is not right. The order of nature has been turned on its head.
• Macduff's decision to leave to Fife, and not to the coronation of Macbeth suggest that he already has his suspicions or some mistrust of Macbeth.