Act 2 Scene 2 Flashcards
overview of act II scene ii
duncan has been murdered. macbeth is already regretting his action, and lady macbeth takes the dagger away from him.
point of peripitea
macbeth commits his first murder
how does lady macbeth act at the start of the scene?
- she is startled by every noise
- she says that she couldn’t kill duncan because he reminded her of her father
- suggests that lady macbeth isn’t as merciless as she seems
where does the murder take place?
- offstage
- increases suspense and makes audience imagine the killing
- makes it more horrific
- also lets the audience see how macbeth and lady macbeth are affected by their experience in duncan’s room
what is foreshadowed in this scene?
- macbeth doubts ‘neptune’s ocean’ will clean the blood off his hands - he is feeling guilty
- lady macbeth doesn’t seem as bothered by her bloody hands - ironic foreshadowing of her frenzied hand-washing in Act V
- macbeth says he has ‘murdered sleep’ - sleep is symbolic of peace and a clear conscience - so murdering sleep shows that he is wracked with guilt and also foreshadows her own madness later
- references to insanity - lady macbeth talks about macbeth going ‘mad’ and being ‘brain-sickly’ - ironic foreshadowing of her own madness later
stage directions in this scene
- add to the tension
- repetition of a knocking sound
- sense of urgency
- seems to echo macbeth’s pounding heart and is a sign of his fear and guilt
finish the quote: ‘hath made them drunk..
..hath made me bold’
‘hath made them drunk hath made me bold’
- LM reveals she has been drinking
- effect of the intoxication gives her artificial courage
- she isn’t as tough as she seems and wants to hide her feelings with alcohol
- she is more sensitive than we may realise
finish the quote: ‘Hark!…
..Peace!’
finish the quote: ‘I have drugg’d…
…their possets’
‘I have drugg’d their possets’
LM drugged their drinks - is cunning
finish the quote: ‘Who’s there?…
..what,ho!’
‘Who’s there? what,ho!’
- short monosyllabic lines
- jumpy
finish the quote: ‘had he not…
…resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t’
finish the quote: ‘I heard the owl…
…scream and the crickets cry’’
‘I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry’
- owls and crickets thought to foretell death
how is the dialogue between macbeth and lady macbeth structured?
- stichomythia
- jolty and abrupt
- shows tension and anxiety
- ‘when?’ ‘now.’ ‘as i descended?’ ‘ay’ ‘hark!’
finish the quote: ‘this is a…
…sorry sight’
finish the quote: ‘there are two lodged…
..together’
‘there are two lodged together’
- LM is practical and logical
- she points out that, as the two princes are sharing a room, the disturbance may be confined to them
finish the quote: ‘these hangman’s…
…hands’
finish the quote: ‘I could not say…
..’Amen’’
finish the quote: ‘consider it..
..not so deeply’
finish the quote: ‘wherefore…
..could i not pronounce amen’
finish the quote: ‘i had most need of blessing and ‘amen’…
..stuck in my throat’
‘amen’
- doubt, confusion and guilt have overcome macbeth - the fact that he cannot say ‘amen’ shows the audience that macbeth’s actions have separated him from religion
- could strike fear into a shakespearean audience with strong christian beliefs
- he is fixated on the idea that he has done somethig v blasphemous -> mental anguish
- repetition of ‘amen’ brings religion to audience’s attention - it is ‘stuck in his throat’ -> implies that macbeth acted so evilly that religion has turned against him - evil cannot coexist with religion
finish the quote: ‘these deeds…
…must not be thought’
finish the quote: ‘so it will…
..make us mad’
finish the quote: ‘sleep no…
…more!’
finish the quote: ‘macbeth does…
..murder sleep’
finish the quote: ‘the innocent..
…sleep’
finish the quote: ‘sleep that knits…
..up the ravell’d sleeve of care’
finish the quote: ‘sore labour’s…
..bath’
finish the quote: ‘chief nourisher…
…in life’s feast’
‘sleep’
- in this speech macbeth expresses his horror at the fact that he has killed a man in the helpless innocence of sleep
- in his imagination he condemns himself to a fitting punishment - never to sleep again
- theme of sleep - not having any sleep crazes someone - macbeth never sleeps properly again
finish the quote: ‘still it cried…
..sleep no more!’
finish the quote: ‘glamis..
..hath murder’d sleep, and therefore cawdor shall sleep no more ; macbeth shall sleep no more’
finish the quote: ‘go get..
..some water and wash this filthy witness from your hand’
‘go get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hand’
- LM’s sensible, realistic way of dealing with the situation
- later will prove inadequate as she tries to rid herself of the memory of the crime
finish the quote: ‘why did you..
..bring these daggers from the place?’
‘why did you bring these daggers from the place?’
- macbeth makes a fatal mistake
- he is used to killing in battle and is skilled and flawless - here he makes silly mistake
finish the quote: ‘go..
..carry them’
finish the quote: ‘infirm of…
…purpose!’
‘infirm of purpose!’
- term for madness - poor mental health
- LM’s most effective way of bullying her husband is to comment scornfully on his weak will
finish the quote: ‘they pluck out…
…mine eyes!’
‘they pluck out mine eyes!’
- macbeth is becoming so obsessed with the sight of his own bloody hands that they almost blind him
finish the quote: ‘will all great Neptune’s ocean…
..wash this blood clean from my hand?’
finish the quote: ‘this hand will rather…
…the multitudinous seas in incarnadine / making the green one red’
‘neptune’s ocean’
‘red’
- if he tries to wash his hands in the sea there is so much blood that it will make the whole ocean red
finish the quote: ‘I shame…
..to wear a heart so white’
finish the quote: ‘a little water..
…clears us of this deed’
‘a little water clears us of this deed’
- LM has to become ruthless as macbeth’s courage fades
- she believes she can simply wash away any sense of guily for the murder
- murder is insignificant to LM - ‘a little water’
- thinks water will ‘clear’ her of the deed - she would only feel regret if she was caught
- in a patriarchal society, she sees herself as equal to her husband and much like the witches, the audience see a powerful woman controlling macbeth’s actions
