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SHAKESPEARE’S
MACBETH
ACT 2
GROUP MEMBERS:
Sarah Bond
Sara Chesley
Kiley Delaney
Kaitlyn Hayward
Alyssa Lynch
Megan Nicholson
CHARACTERS
Macbeth
• Husband to Lady Macbeth and is easily
swayed by her
• He needs to prove himself to her but he
himself is also very ambitious
• He is very stressed and guilty about killing
Duncan and is hallucinating
• Macbeth kills Duncan’s servants and his story
causes Macduff to be suspicious of him
Lady Macbeth
• Wife to Macbeth
• Urges Macbeth to kill Duncan and doesn’t
understand Macbeth’s hesitation or guilt
• She ends up having to fetch the bloody daggers
from Duncan’s room and place them in the
grooms room to frame them, because Macbeth
couldn’t bear to look
• At the discovery of Duncan’s murder she faints, or
pretends to, to draw attention away from
Macbeth showing her cunningness
Banquo
• Dreams of the witches, is disturbed and wants to
talk to Macbeth about them
• Prophesied that his children will be kings but
takes no action on this prophecy
• Fleance is one of his sons
• He is tense, for he carries his sword in Macbeth’s
home
• He is the first one to say that he will fight against
the hidden design of treasonous malice when
Duncan is found dead, showing his loyalty
Fleance
• Son of Banquo
• Prophesized that he will be king
Donalbain
• Younger son of king Duncan and brother to
Malcolm, flees to Ireland to seek refuge after
their fathers murder, fearing that he might be
next.
Malcolm
• Elder son of king Duncan, he uses deception
only to insure his personal safety, and when
he feels he and his brother are in danger
because of their dads murder, he flees to
England, which gives off the impression that
he is weak.
Macduff
• First to discover Duncan was murdered and
was hysterical
• He is the one who bluntly tells Duncan’s sons
(Donalbain and Malcolm) that their father was
murdered
• He is also the first to notice Lady Macbeth
fainted
• Suspicious of Macbeth
• He is fairly observant
Ross
• Macduff’s cousin, in his scene he is talking to
the Old Man about the kings murder, once the
man talks about all the things that happened
that night, Ross comes to the conclusion that
nature is angry over the kings murder.
Lennox
• One of Duncan’s nobles, he does not do much
but he is very much an observer throughout
the play.
Porter
• Opens the gate for Macduff and Lennox
• His rants and jokes lighten the mood in
Scene 3
PLOT OVERVIEW
Scene 1
• Banquo and his son Fleance are on their way to bed
when they encounter Macbeth.
• Macbeth and Banquo exchange small conversation
about the king and of Banquo’s dream of the three
weird sisters.
• They agree to discuses the topic of the witches at a
later date.
• Banquo and Fleance leave to go to bed.
• Macbeth goes to King Duncan’s chamber to kill him
in his sleep.
Scene 2
• Macbeth walks in with his hands bloody to find his
wife, Lady Macbeth drunk.
• Since Macbeth has finally done the killing his wife
now sees him more of a man.
• Lady Macbeth dismisses Macbeth’s guilt for killing
King Duncan.
• They agree to never speak of the murder again.
• Lady Macbeth takes the bloody daggers from
Macbeth and leaves to put them in the servants’
rooms.
Scene 3
•
•
•
•
Macduff and Lennox enter Macbeth’s castle.
Macbeth directs Macduff where the King is resting.
Macduff yells about the murder.
Lennox and Macbeth check on the king, then come
back to Macduff who is now with Lady Macbeth.
• Malcolm and Donalbain learn about their fathers
death.
• After discussing what matters need to be taken,
Donalbain plans to flee to Ireland and Malcolm plans to
flee south to England.
Scene 4
• Ross and the Old Man discuss about the bizarre
happenings that occurred over the past few days.
• Macduff enters and informs that Macbeth will be
king.
• Macduff proposes the idea that the servants may
have been paid to kill the king.
• Donalbain and Malcolm look suspicious, since
they have fled.
• The scene ends with Macduff leaving for Fife and
Ross leaving for Scone.
IMPORTANT
QUOTES
Scene 1
1. “My bosom franchis’d and allegiance clear, I
shall be counsell’d.” (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 2829)
• Banquo speaking to Macbeth.
• Referring to Banquo’s loyalty to Macbeth and
the king.
• Significant because Macbeth knows that he can
count on Banquo when the time comes.
• Audiences can take that Banquo is loyal and
may help Macbeth later in the story.
Scene 1
2. “Is this a dagger which I see before me… A
dagger of the mind, a false creation.” (Act 2,
Scene 1, Line 33-38)
• Macbeth talking to himself.
• Referring to the hallucination he is having of a
dagger.
• Significant because he feels guilt and this is a
theme of the story.
• Members of an audience can draw that Macbeth
is worried and not sure about killing the king.
Scene 1
3. “I go, and it is done; the bell invites me. Hear it not,
Duncan; for it is a knell that summons thee to
heaven, or to hell.” (Act 2, Scene 1, Line 63-65)
• Macbeth speaking to himself.
• Referring to the king’s recent death.
• Significant because Macbeth was worried and felt guilt
before, but he does the deed regardless and mentions
that a funeral bell will take the king to heaven or hell.
• Audience members can take that Macbeth has killed
Duncan although he felt guilt before.
Scene 2
1. “I am afraid they have awake’d, and ‘tis not done;
the attempt and not the deed confounds us… Had he
not resembled my father as he slept, I had done’t.”
(Act 2, Scene 2, Line 10-14)
• Lady Macbeth speaking to herself.
• Referring to killing the king, and how Lady Macbeth
seems to wish she could have done it herself.
• Significant because Lady Macbeth is worried and does
not think very well of her husband, Macbeth.
• Audiences can draw that Lady Macbeth does not trust
her husband with the deed, and wanted to kill the king
herself.
Scene 2
2. “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.” (Act 2, Scene 2, Line 60-63)
• Macbeth talking to himself.
• Referring to Macbeth’s bloody hands from killing the
king.
• Significant because blood is a common image in the
story, and Macbeth is still shocked at what he
has done.
• Members of an audience understand how strongly this
is affecting Macbeth.
Scene 2
3. “To know my deed ‘twere best not know
myself.” (Act 2, Scene 2, Line 73)
• Macbeth to Lady Macbeth.
• Referring to the damnable deed of him killing of
the king.
• Significant because once again, Macbeth feels
guilt and does not wish to think about what he
has done.
• Audiences can draw that Macbeth does not
recognize himself after becoming a murderer.
Scene 3
1. “The night has been unruly. Where we lay, our chimneys were blown
down and, as they say, lamentings 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
clamored the livelong night. Some say the Earth was feverous and did
shake.” (Act 2, Scene 3, Line 54-56)
• This quote was spoken by Lennox to McBeth. At the time, the audience
would be unsure of what is happening, and wouldn’t necessarily know
that the king has died, therefore they wouldn’t be able to take much from
the quote until they have confirmation of the kings death. This quote is
crucial to the play, it’s the first we hear of the kings death. The speaker is
referring to the terrible things that had happened last night, which was
the murder of their king.
Scene 3
2. “Had I but died an hour before this chance, I had lived a blessed
time; for, from this instant, there’s nothing serious in mortality, all
is but toys. Renown and grace is dead, the wine of life is drawn,
and the mere lees Is left this vault to brag of.” (Act 2, Scene 3, Line
92-97)
• This quote was spoken by Macbeth. I think it really shows his
character. He was truly loyal to the king, and wanted nothing bad to
happen to him. He says he wished he could have died before the
king so that he could have lived a blessed life. Through the whole
quote, MacBeth was referring to the king’s death, and how upset
he was about it. This quote is significant to the play, because it
shows who Macbeth was loyal to, and what he stood for. Overall his
character seems untrustworthy and unloyal, but clearly he was loyal
to the king. Other than proving how much Macbeth though of the
king, this quote doesn’t tell that much to the audience. They don’t
find out about any secrets, or other exciting events in the play.
Scene 3
3. “Oh, yet I do repent me of my fury, that I did kill them.” (Act 2, Scene 3,
Line 107-108)
• The person who spoke this quote was MacBeth to Donablin, Malcom,
Lennox, and Macduff. The audience had just found out that it was
supposedly the guards who had murdered the king. MacBeth is telling the
men that he has killed the guards who murdered the king. After this
quote, the audience went from originally thinking that MacBeth was a
pretty good character, who was loyal and trustworthy, but after he just
murdered the guards, they will realize how cruel MacBeth can be. This
quote also makes MacBeth seem rather impulsive. After finding the
guards with bloody swords, he was so angry that he killed the gaurds, and
not long after, regretted what he had done. This quote really tells the
audience a lot about McBeth and lets them predict he may not be a
trustworthy character, and that character development is significant to the
play.
Scene 4
1. “They were suborned. Malcolm and Donalbain, the king’s
two sons, are stol'n away and fled, which puts upon them
suspicion of the deed.” (Act 2, Scene 4, Line 24-27)
• This quote is spoken by Macduff, to Ross and the Old Man. What
Macduff is saying is that h doesn’t believe that the servants were
the ones who killed the king. He believes it was the king’s two sons,
Malcom and Donalbain, because they ran away that night. Now the
audience has a different perspective on the murder, and may have a
different idea of who murdered the king. This quote is very
significant to the play because it gives a more realistic option of the
king’s potential murderers. It makes a lot more sense that the two
brothers would kill the king, considering one of them may have the
chance to take his spot as king.
Scene 4
2. “He is already named and gone to Scone to be
invested.” (Act 2, Scene 4, Line 31-32)
• Macduff has just said this to Ross and the Old Man. He is
talking about how now that the king is dead, and the
brothers are gone, Macbeth will become king. This is very
significant to the play because it makes this murder seem
like more of an ambitious scheme to become king.
Macbeth was the first person to say that the king had
died, and he was very quick to blame and kill the guards.
This quote will give the audience one more potential
murderer to think about, and add even more suspense to
the play.
Scene 4
3. “Ah, good father, thou seest the heavens, as troubled with man’s
act, threatens his bloody stage. By th' clock ’tis day, and yet dark
night strangles the travelling lamp. Is ’t night’s predominance or
the day’s shame that darkness does the face of Earth entomb
when living light should kiss it?” (Act 2, Scene 4, Lines 4-9)
• This quote is spoken by Ross to the old man. Ross is refering to how
depressing this whole situation is, and how darkness seems to be
overpowering everything else. Although this quote does not add
much to any character or realese any exciting information about the
plot, it is still significant. The imagery in the whole play is blood and
darkness, and this quote about how the darkness is so
overpowering really adds to that and makes the imagery so much
stronger. It leaves the audience with a feeling of depression and
hopelessness.
ABRIDGED
VERSION OF ACT 2