Banquo In Act 2 Scene 1-4 Of Macbeth '

Act II Scenes 1-4

Banquo’s reaction to the witches’ prophecies are different from Macbeth’s. He sees them as supernatural forces in which try to play roles of real human beings. For one he doesn't seem as ambitious as Macbeth. This could be partly due to the fact that he doesn't have a wife as deceiving and 20.infamous as Lady Macbeth. Banquo questions they’re prophecies and is skeptical that the witches are deceiving them. Banquo tells the witches, “I' th' name of truth/, Are ye fantastical, or that indeed/ Which outwardly ye show? My noble partner/ You greet with present grace and great prediction/ Of noble having and of royal hope/, That he seems rapt withal. To me you speak not/. If you can look into the seeds of time/ And say which grain will grow and which will not/, Speak, then, to me, who neither

beg nor fear/ Your favors nor your hate.”(1.3.55-64) He wonders if they are just illusions and summons them to tell him his future, if they are really speaking the truth. Also his prophecy was said to be both good and bad compared to the Macbeth’s. This is shown when the witches tell him, "lesser than Macbeth, and greater(1.3.68)...Not so happy, yet much happier(1.3.69)...Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none."(1.3.70)

2. In scene 1 Macbeth starts seeing air-drawn daggers moving in front of him. He says, “ Is this a dagger which I see before me/, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch/ thee." (2.1.44-46). When Macbeth tries to seize the dagger he is unable to. He thinks that the situation is an 21.enigma because he can see the knife but is unable to feel it. Macbeth states,”" I have thee not, and yet I see thee still/. Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible/ To feeling as to sight?" (2.1.47-49). This quote symbolizes the moral inner conflict he is dealing with and the horror he feels about homicide he is going to commit. The fatal vision he speaks of foreshadows the murder of Duncan he is going to commit by the end of the night.

3. In scene 2 Lady Macbeth returns the bloody daggers to Duncan’s chambers. As part of the plan to murder Duncan, it was supposed to seem as if the guards were involved. At first, Macbeth was ghastly to a point in which his wife tried to 22.assuage his state. Rather when Macbeth comes out of the room trembling, Lady Macbeth 23. vilifies him for returning with the bloody daggers. His horror becomes very lucid to see, so Lady Macbeth is trapped in an 24.impasse. She is left with no other choice other than to return the daggers herself and smears blood on the king’s sleeping servants. This is shown when she says, “Infirm of purpose/ Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead/ Are but as pictures. 'Tis the eye of childhood/ That fears a painted devil. If he do bleed/, I’ll gild the faces of the grooms withal/, For it must seem their guilt. (2.2.68-73)

4. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth differ in their reactions to Duncan’s murder. When Macbeth comes back from Duncan’s chamber he is 25.mortified. With being in 26.juncture with the chaos, he panics and forgets to leave the daggers in Duncan’s room. He panics the most when Macduff uncovers the King’s body slain. He becomes anxious and feels remorse for what he has done. Macbeth then starts 27.hallucinating voices that cried, “Glamis hath murdered sleep, and therefore/ Cawdor/ Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more.”(2.2.54-57) This quote means that no matter if becomes Thane of Cawdor or King, sleep will evade him due to his 28.flagrant actions. In contrast, immediately after Duncan’s death, Lady Macbeth expresses a 29.morbid reaction to the 30.upshot. Rather than feel remorse about her inhumane scheme, she 31.scrutinizes her husband for nothing completing the job properly. Her only concern is to murder the King safely without being exposed. When Macduff finds the body, that’s when she pretends to “faint from grief”over the news.

5. During scene 3, Macbeth’s next victims are the King’s bodyguards. Part of the plan was to make it seem like the guards were to blame for the murder. The reason why he kills them as well, is out of rage, of killing his beloved King. He questions what human would be wise, baffled,calm, enraged, loyal and neutral simultaneously. Macbeth pleas to have acted illogically radical. His grievance is portrayed when he says, “Who can be wise, amazed, temp'rate, and furious,/ Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man. / Th' expedition of my violent love/ Outrun the pauser, reason.” (2.3.127-130)

6. Both Malcolm and Donalbain evolve into suspects in the murder of their father. When hearing the news of their father being killed, they felt this scheme was 32.premeditated. They decided to flee for their lives, with speculation that they were to die next. Ironically, many people interpreted their escape as 33.dismay of being charged for murder. Although they’re departure was not part of Macbeth’s plan, Macbeth gladly accused them of the killing. Their take off turned in favor to Macbeth’s plan. He hope that, with no one there to 33.innate the throne it would leave his “trustworthy” self valid for the position. The motives that are attributed to them is that they were eager to take the throne in which there father promised to pass down. His oath was show in act 1, when he stated, “Sons, kinsmen, thanes, And you whose places are the nearest, know We will establish our estate upon Our eldest, Malcolm, whom we name hereafter The Prince of Cumberland; (1.4.41-45). They claimed their motive would have been Malcolm gaining the throne and rewarding his brother Donalbain, for helping him.

7.

Nature plays a 33.prodigious role in relation with human events in this act. In scene 3, Lennox explains the environment and says,”The night has been unruly, as they say, lamenting heard i'th'air, strange screams of death / And prophesying with accents terrible / Of dire combustion and confused events, / New hatched to the'woeful time. The obscure bird/ Clamoured the livelong night. Some say, the earth / Was feverous and did shake." (2.3.61-69) The state of the nature was in juncture with Duncan’s death. Lennox himself was complaining about how rowdy the night was. The dark ideas and animals expressed in the quote such as the strange screams of death, black birds, confusion, earthquake all symbolize death and anguish. Later in scene 4, the Old Man says, “a falcon, tow’ring in her pride of place,/ Was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed.” (2.4.15-16). This quote expresses how the falcon, which is Duncan, is supposedly higher in the food chain. Meanwhile Macbeth is considered to be the owl who ranked lower than Dunkan. Despite the fact, Duncan has more power than Macbeth, Macbeth is able to dethrone him and oppose the disposition of

nature.

Act 3 Scenes 1-6

Banquo feels suspicious about Macbeth taking part in Duncan’s murder. This is shown in the beginning of act 3 when he says, “Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all, As the Thou played’st most foully for ’t. Yet it was said It should not stand in thy posterity, But that myself should be the root and father Of many kings. If there come truth from them— As upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine— Why, by the verities on thee made good, May they not be my oracles as well, And set me up in hope? But hush, no more.”(3.1.1-10) In this quote he recalls the time the witches mentioned their prophecy about Macbeth becoming King. He believes that Macbeth purposely cheated to gain the throne. He begins developing a sense of faith in what the witches had told him due to the fact Macbeth’s prophecy came true.

2. In Macbeth’s soliloquy he seems to be troubled by