Act II

II.i II.i.32 What is to happen upon the ringing of the bell? II.i In what way does this soliloquy reflect the them of appearance versus reality? II.i.64 Where is the following in the soliloquy? Vision Call to action Leave-taking What do you feel as an audience at this moment? II.i II.i II.i.62-64

II.i Summary II.i: Macbeth comes upon Banquo and Banquo’s son Fleance after midnight as they make their way to bed. Macbeth and Banquo talk of the witches’ predictions, and Macbeth again suggest a private talk with Banquo. After they leave, Macbeth imagines a blood-covered dagger before him. When the bell sounds, Macbeth steals away to commit the murder.

II.ii II.ii.1-8 What sound would you hear here? In this soliloquy, who are the “them” and who is “He”? II.ii What is ironic about Macbeth’s desire for a blessing? II.ii.33 Is Lady Macbeth fighting for control here?

II.ii I.ii.41 Who else complained about sleep? IN what way has Glamis “murdered sleep”? II.ii.46 What is the “filthy witness”? What actions are the couple engaged in here? In the next line, Lady Macbeth discovers the daggers. Why is she so alarmed at seeing them in her husband’s hands? Banquo decides not to sleep in order to avoid evil dreams (II.i.6-9). Since first imaging Ducan’s murder, Macbeth has been stuck in time, at the moment of the murder. Without sleep to make the transition to a new day, he may continue to relive that moment. The murder has put an end to sleep and an end to the passage of time for Macbeth.

II.ii II.ii When on puts gold leaf on something, it is then gilt, a homophone of guilt. How does this pun reflect the theme of appearance versus reality? II.ii.55 What will Lady Macbeth do to the grooms if Duncan bleeds enough? While appearances (gilt) might conceal reality, they are only a superficial layer barely covering what is truly inside (guilt).

II.ii II.ii.72 In what way does this line convey the message that Macbeth knows the depth of evil to which he has sunk? II.ii.73 How serious is Macbeth when he says he wishes Duncan could be awakened by the knocking? Explain. If he fully acknowledges the horror of his deed, he will be unable to bear knowing he committed it.

II.ii Summary II.ii: Lady Macbeth drugged Duncan’s guard but has been unable to murder Duncan because of his resembl;ance to her father. Macbeth murders Duncan offstage and reenters, deeply troubled and dazed. Lady Macbeth scolds him and places the bloody daggers beside the sleeping grooms, whom she smears with blood.

II.iii II.iii.1-36 All the time this humorous bantering is going on, what do we know these kings’s men are about to discover? II.iii What is ironic about Macduff’s use of the word timely? II.iii.47 Why does Macbeth use present tense, then shifts to past tense? How must Macbeth be feeling? II.iii What has Macbeth done that was not in the plan? Was this wise?

II.iii II.iii.113 What causes Lady Macbeth to cry out? What does the image of Banquo standing in the “the great hand of God” suggest about his intent? She follows her own suggestion and makes her “griefs and clamor roar” (I.vii.78). She is trying to draw attention away from Macbeth’s absurd and unnatural speech by pretending to faint; or she is shocked by the murder of the grooms, begins to fall apart, and actually faints. He intends to stand on the side of righteousness in fighting the “treasonous malice” that killed Duncan. It also suggests that he does not believe that the murder has been avenged yet – in other words, he fears that the grooms were not guilty.

II.iii II.iii What does Donalbain’s parting comment mean? Summary II.iii: A drunken porter responds to Macduff’s and Lennox’s knocking at the gate. Lennox desribes strange upheavals in nature the previous night as Macduff discovers Duncan’s body. When Macbeth says that he killed Duncan’s grooms because they had murdered Duncan, Lady Macbeth faints. Duncan’t sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee the country fear for their lives.

II.iv II.iv What is ironic about Ross’s comment on the motive for the murder? II,iv.38 What warning does Macduff convey using the clothing metaphor? He hints that with Macbeth as king instead of Duncan, their new situations (“robes”) may not suit them as well as their old ones did.

II.iv Summary II.iv: Ross and an Old Man speak of wild and unnatural events that were observed during the night and the day following Duncan’s murder. Macduff reveals that Duncan’s sons are suspected of murdering their father and that Macbeth has gone to Scone to be installed as king. Macduff will not atted Macbeth’s coronation, and he voices doubts about the new king’s reign.

Quiz Act II 1.How does Duncan die? 2.Why doesn’t Lady Macbeth murder Duncan? 3.What does Lady Macbeth do to make others seem guilty? 4.Immediately after Duncan dies, Macbeth hears a voice cry out. What does it say Macbeth has murdered? 5.Who flees the castle in fear?

Quiz Act II (answers) 1.Macbeth stabs Duncan to kill him. 2.Lady Macbeth does not murder Duncan because the sleeping Duncan reminds her of her father. 3.Lady Macbeth smears blood on the grooms to make them seem guilty. 4.The voices crys out that Macbeth has murdered sleep. 5.Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, flee the castle in fear.