Act II

Cassie, Katie, John, and Anne

Scene I-SummaryThe scene opens with Banquo and his son Fleance in the court of the Macbeth Castle. It’s late at

night and both have a suspicious feeling that there’s something going awry tonight. Banquo hears someone and asks for his sword. When they find that it’s Macbeth, Banquo asks why he’s not in bed. He says that the King is beyond content and all is well. He also adds that he had a dream of the witches the night before. Macbeth says that he doesn’t think of them often, but if Banquo would like, they should talk about them sometime. Macbeth also makes him an offer. He says that if Banquo were to stick with him through thick and thin, he’d make it worth his while. Banquo says he’d be loyal to Macbeth until it was against his conscience. Once Banquo and Fleance leave, Macbeth starts to lose it. He sees a dagger in front of him in the hall, handle towards him pointing towards the King’s room. He wonders why he can’t grasp it and if it’s a hallucination. He thinks that murder is on his mind and he’s also tired. This image is appearing because of the evil he is about to do and how it’s summoning all the evil things of the world to this night. Last he says that he hopes he’s quiet and doesn’t wake anyone while he commits this deed.

Anne Thomas

Scene I- Meanings/Important Lines• When Macbeth first arrives, Banquo draws his sword. This is important because it shows how

Banquo subconsciously knows Macbeth is an enemy. Macbeth also says when asked who it is, “A friend”. This is important because Macbeth is really deceiving him and more dramatic irony.

• When Macbeth says that he doesn’t think of the witches very often, he’s lying. Macbeth really thinks of them all the time and is a little too anxious to talk about them with Banquo.

• Macbeth says that his lady will ring the bell when Duncan falls asleep. When he hears a bell he say that the bell invites him. Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or hell. That basically means Macbeth is going to kill him when the bell rings.

• When Macbeth sees the danger it shows the audience of how he’s starting to lose it. Also, Macbeth tries to blame his deed on the dagger. He knows what he’s about to do is evil but he’s going to do it anyways.

Anne Thomas

Summary Act II scene II• The opening scene is of Lady Macbeth stating how her drinking has made her

courageous. She then goes into her drugging the guards and how death is upon them. She then frets and wonders if Macbeth went through with the murder and what excuses he will have. When Macbeth enters from the stairs as asks if she herd a noise of the murder and Lady Macbeth said only the cries of the night it comforts Macbeth that he did something right. Macbeth then looks at his hands and in horror exclaims how it is a sorry sight of the blood and murder on his hands. Lady Macbeth is tells him that it’s a foolish thing to say because he should have no regrets. Macbeth recounts how Duncan's guards were very drunk but still mumbling in their sleep as they slept. Macbeth then goes into a crazy string of how he cant wash his hands of the murder. Then realized is that Macbeth didn’t do the murder right and kept the daggers. Lady Macbeth then goes up to finish the job.

• Kaite Cyboron

Hidden meanings/ important lines• Lady Macbeth’s strange masculinity is foreshadowing

Macbeth’s horror and remorse of the murder committed. Her cool and calm demeanor to Macbeth’s horrified position create a distorted scene.

• Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?- this is an important line because its showing how scared Macbeth is of people finding out.

• A little water clears us of this deed- this line shows how much lady Macbeth wants to be in control and how little she cares what she has to do in order to get it.

• Kaite Cyboron

Scene 3- summaryIt starts out with the drunken porter rambling about the knocking noise from the

door. He wonders why in the devil anyone would be knocking at the door. When MacDuff and Lennox enter the porter talks to them about equivocation and vulgar things and speaks about the three things that come form drinking. The first thing Macduff asks for is his king.

Macbeth comes in nervous as he comes to great MacDuff. Macbeth then tells Macduff that the king is in his bed resting. MacDuff then exits to go and see the king while Macbeth and Lennox speak of how the weather was bad and unruly and how odd everything was outside (which usually means bad omens). MacDuff then rushes back telling that the king is dead and refusing to go back in there and look himself again he tells them to go and look to see the disaster that has happened. They then began to alert everyone in the castle of what has happened, ringing the bells and alerting the sons of Duncan. When lady Macbeth comes she acts completely oblivious to what has happened, all the men try to comfort her while she plays fake and acts shocked and scared. Macbeth then begins to screw things up by saying that he saw the guards kill the king and in fury he had kill the guards himself. In response to Macbeth’s foolish act Lady Macbeth faints and causes a dramatic scene so everyone is distracted. Banquo then brings up the point that if they all got some rest they would be able to think this through better. After everyone leaves the two sons of Duncan both decide that they will be blamed for this murder so they must go far to hide themselves till the time is right, Malcolm then goes to England and Donalbain goes to Ireland.

John Musgrove

Scene-3 Hidden meanings/ important lines

• “Faith, here’s an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale; who committed both treason enough for God’s sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven: O, come in, equivocator.” Which could relate to foreshadowing due to Macbeth being an equivocator himself.

• ”The night has been unruly: where we lay, our chimneys were blown down; and, as they say, Lamentings heard i' the air; strange screams of death, and prophesying with accents terrible Of dire combustion and confused events new hatch'd to the woeful time: the obscure bird Clamour'd the livelong night: some say, the earth was feverous and did shake.” which was one of the signs of Macbeth’s evil deed and the signal that he was evil.

• “What's the business, that such a hideous trumpet calls to parley the sleepers of the house? speak, speak! “ When Lady Macbeth starts her act of playing innocent.

• “O gentle lady, ‘tis not for you to hear what I can speak: the repetition, in a woman's ear, would murder as it fell.” When they actually considered Lady Macbeth a gentle lady.

• “Those of his chamber, as it seem'd, had done 't: their hands and faces were an badged with blood; so were their daggers, which unwiped we found upon their pillows: they stared, and were distracted; no man's life was to be trusted with them.“ The proof that the guards did it.

• ”Who can be wise, amazed, temperate and furious, loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man: the expedition my violent love outrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan, his silver skin laced with his golden blood; and his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in nature for ruin's wasteful entrance: there, the murderers, steep'd in the colours of their trade, their daggers unmannerly breech'd with gore: who could refrain, that had a heart to love, and in that heart courage to make 's love kno wn?” Where Macbeth straight up lies and speaks of him walking into the room where he saw the guards killing the king and how he came and killed the guards in fury.

• “This murderous shaft that's shot hath not yet lighted, and our safest way is to avoid the aim. Therefore, to horse; and let us not be dainty of leave-taking, but shift away: there's warrant in that theft which steals itself, when there's no mercy left.” Malcolm and Donablain’s plan to run away till the heat dies down.

John Musgrove

Act III Scene 4, Summary & Important Lines/Hidden Meanings• Summary:

– An old man and Ross speak of the night that happened and agreed that no other night has been this bad with the murder of Duncan on their minds. They speak of the animals and how they are acting and agree that something is afoot because of the way they are acting. Macduff enters and explains that the guards are to be blamed, though his sons are in suspicion because they have fled. Macduff tells that Macbeth has gone to be crowned King and Duncan is laid to rest.

Cassie Albrecht-Roosa

• Hidden Meanings:– The animals. Animals freak when things

start to get iffy and bad. Horses spook, cats spaz, dogs bark, and so on. The animals sensed what was happening and Duncan's horses fled in fright, The audience probably realized that Nature was rebelling and so something was bad.

• Lines:– “Then ‘tis most like the sovereignty will fall

upon Macbeth” – Meaning that Macbeth shall become King.

– “Gods benison go with you;and with those that would make good of bad, and friends of foes!” –Meaning gods blessing go with you and all those who would turn a bad situation to a good one.