macbeth

Act 2: "Sleep No More"

  1. Scene 1: Banquo's Unease & Macbeth's Vision

    • Banquo expresses his unease about the witches' prophecies and his own "cursed thoughts."

    • Macbeth hallucinates a dagger, covered in blood, leading him towards Duncan's chamber. This vision represents his guilt and his decision to commit regicide.

    • He struggles with the moral implications but ultimately commits to the deed.

  2. Scene 2: The Murder of King Duncan

    • Lady Macbeth drugs Duncan's guards. Macbeth enters and murders Duncan offstage.

    • Macbeth immediately feels immense guilt, hearing voices cry "Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep!" and struggles to cope with the reality of his action.

    • He brings the bloody daggers out, which Lady Macbeth, more composed, insists he plant on the guards. When he refuses, she takes them herself.

    • She smears the guards with blood to frame them.

    • Macbeth obsesses over the blood on his hands, stating "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.$$

  3. Scene 3: The Discovery of Duncan's Murder

    • Macduff and Lennox arrive at the castle. Macduff discovers Duncan's body.

    • Lennox describes the night's terrible omens: chimneys blown down, strange screams of death heard, and the earth shaking.

    • Macbeth, feigning grief and rage, kills the drugged guards, claiming he did so out of fury at their supposed betrayal. This also serves to silence potential witnesses.

    • Malcolm and Donalbain, Duncan's sons, flee from Scotland (Malcolm to England, Donalbain to Ireland) fearing they will be the next targets, which inadvertently casts suspicion upon them.

  4. Scene 4: Aftermath and Coronation

    • Ross, an Old Man, and Macduff discuss the unnatural events occurring in Scotland since the murder: it's daytime, but dark as night; an owl killed a falcon; Duncan's horses broke out of their stalls and ate each other.

    • Macduff reveals that suspicion for the murder has fallen upon Malcolm and Donalbain because of their sudden flight.

    • Macbeth is named king and goes to Scone to be crowned, while Macduff decides not to attend.

Act 3: "Banquet of Blood"

  1. Scene 1: Banquo's Suspicions and Macbeth's Plan

    • Banquo expresses his suspicion about how Macbeth gained the throne, recalling the witches' prophecy.

    • Macbeth, now king, feels insecure because the witches also prophesied that Banquo's descendants would be kings, not his own.

    • He invites Banquo and Fleance to a ceremonial banquet and secretly arranges for two murderers (later joined by a third) to ambush and kill them.

  2. Scene 2: Uneasy Lies the Crown

    • Lady Macbeth and Macbeth discuss their troubled minds; they are sleepless and tormented by their actions.

    • Macbeth hints that a new, terrible deed will be done to ensure their security, but keeps Lady Macbeth ignorant of the details of his plan against Banquo and Fleance.

  3. Scene 3: The Ambush

    • The three murderers attack Banquo and Fleance. Banquo is killed, but Fleance manages to escape into the night.

    • This escape is a critical turning point and leaves Macbeth's line of succession still vulnerable to the witches' prophecy.

  4. Scene 4: The Banquet Scene

    • During the royal banquet, Macbeth receives news from the murderers: Banquo is dead, but Fleance has escaped.

    • Macbeth is tormented by the sight of Banquo's ghost, which appears sitting in his chair but is invisible to everyone else.

    • His bizarre and erratic behavior alarms the noblemen. Lady Macbeth attempts to cover for him, dismissing his fits as a lifelong illness.

    • The banquet dissolves in disorder, further raising suspicions about Macbeth's sanity and fitness to rule.

    • Macbeth resolves to revisit the witches to learn more about his fate.

  5. Scene 5: Hecate's Intervention

    • Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, confronts the three witches, scolding them for dealing with Macbeth without her involvement and for giving prophecies that only served Macbeth's ambition.

    • She plans to meet Macbeth and ensure his downfall by deluding him with false hopes and a false sense of security.

  6. Scene 6: Seeds of Rebellion

    • Lennox and another Lord discuss the recent events with thinly veiled sarcasm, openly expressing their suspicions about Macbeth's involvement in Duncan's and Banquo's murders.

    • They reveal that Macduff has gone to England to seek aid from King Edward and Malcolm to gather an army to