Macbeth Act II

Banquo's Uneasiness

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Banquo opens up Act II telling Fleance about Banquo's dream of the three witches. Banquo tells Fleance: "yet I would not sleep. Merciful powers,/ Restrain in me the cursèd thoughts that nature/ Gives way to in repose" (Shakespeare, 2.1.7-9). Banquo feels something off-putting in the air but cannot name what he feels is wrong.

Macbeth's Deep Thoughts

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After seeing Banquo and Fleance, Macbeth, alone in his thoughts, has second-thoughts on whether or not he shall follow through with murder. "Is this a dagger which I see before me...I have thee not, and yet I see thee still" (Shakespeare, 2.1.32-34). Macbeth is imagining a dagger that leads him to the king's chamber. After Macbeth concludes his soliloquy, Lady Macbeth rings the bell to signal to Macbeth to go murder the king.

Murder!

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As Macbeth is murdering the king, Lady Macbeth reveals to the audience that she had drugged the servants so as to prevent them from remembering anything in the night. Macbeth returns to Lady Macbeth with the bloody daggers confirming King Duncan's death.

Lady Macbeth Takes Charge

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Once Macbeth realizes he forgot to leave the daggers and frame the servants, he refuses to go back into the chamber out of guilt. Lady Macbeth takes the daggers from her husband and frames the servants. Lady Macbeth took the blood of the king and smeared it onto the servants and places the daggers by them. Thus, framing them of murder.

Drunken Porter

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The drunken Porter provides comic relief to this tragedy. He walks around pretending to be the doorman to the gates of hell. Through his examples given of all of the different people coming through the "Gates of Hell," we can infer that the Porter can sense a new sinner has been "created" and will suffer in the depths of hell in the afterlife.

The Morning After the Murder

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Lennox and Macduff arrive at Macbeth's castle to wake the king. They go into the king's chamber to discover their king has been murdered. Macbeth fakes his anger, blames the servants, and punishes them by killing them. This is done to prevent the servants from proclaiming their innocence. Once Lady Macbeth arrives, she plays innocent and feminine and to throw any suspicion possible off, she faints.

Fleeing for Safety

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After learning of their father's murder, Malcolm and Donalbain discuss their worries that the killer may go after them next. Donalbain proclaims "Let's away. Our tears are not yet brewed" (Shakespeare, 2.3.115). By this, Donalbain means that the brothers can mourn over their father's death after they are in a safer place. Malcolm flees to England and Donalbain to Ireland.

Change in Mood

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Ross walks outside Macbeth's castle with an old man. The old man reveals to Ross that in his time on this earth he has never felt so uneasy and strange. This is used by Shakespeare to show a change in the overall mood by use of the weather and display how the King's death has affected everything.