Acts II & III: Complication & Climax

1. Acts II & III: Complication & Climax

2. Act II, Scene I • Act II begins the complication, or rising actionof the tragedy. COMPLICATION/RISING ACTION: Series of plot events leading to the climax The witches tricked Macbeth with their 2 predictions. The witches knew Macbeth would soon be crowned Thane of Cawdor anyway, so they threw in the idea that he would be king. After meeting them, Macbeth becomes convinced he could and should be king of Scotland…..

3. Let’s Revisit the Paradox…. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair”- Act I, Scene I, line 10 What does this paradox really mean? Things are not really as they appear. The witches intend to trick and confuse Macbeth. This paradox foreshadows and highlights a theme found in this tragedy- the idea of appearance vs. reality. Nothing really is as it seems…..

4. Act II, Scene i • Fleance, son of Banquo, is introduced. • Banquo’s state of mind: Line 6- “A heavy summons lies like lead upon me.” (He had dreamt of the ‘weird sisters’, suspects something bad is going to happen). • Lines 26-28: does not want to spoil his “honor” by being an ally of Macbeth. • Suspicious of Macbeth- he’s ‘onto’ him….

5. Act II, Scene I • Macbeth hallucinates during his soliloquy, experiencing some sort of optical illusion of a floating dagger. (“Mine eyes are made the fools…”) • Significance of this soliloquy/hallucination: demonstrates Macbeth’s increasingly twisted mental state, descent into darkness… • ‘Snaps out’ of his hallucination (“There’s no such thing…., lines 47,48) • Makes allusion to Hecate (Greek goddess of witchcraft). Recall allusion to Golgotha in Act 1…. • “The bell invites me./ Hear it not Duncan” • Scene ends- He goes (presumably) to kill Duncan….

6. Act II, Scene ii Lady Macbeth speaks of the owl shrieking (omen of death) and her drugging of the sleeping guards. We see a more human side of her: lines 12, 13 “Had he not resembled/My father as he slept, I had done ‘t.” (She couldn’t kill Duncan b/c he reminded her of her own father). • Macbeth is a panicky mess (hearing voices, unable to pray out of guilt), forgets to leave daggers behind… • Lady Macbeth must go back and fix his mistake • “A little water clears us of this deed…” (washing the blood off their hands)

7. Act II, Scene ii Macbeth hears knocking at end of scenne scene (Lennox & Macduff) * Note that Shakespeare did not stage the murder itself on stage- WHY? • Would have been very controversial to stage the regicide (King was viewed as God’s representative). • Keeps focus on the dramatic psychology occurring btwn crazy Lady Macbeth and Macbeth • Builds suspense and tension (keeps audience on their toes!)

8. A Act II, Scene iiI Completely drunken porter provides badly-needed comedic relief to break up tension from previous scene. • Comedic relief often associated w/ lower class characters • Notice the great shift in language once the exchange between the Porter and Macduff ends- language goes back to blank verse. • Most of Macbeth is written mainly in blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter). The Porter’s words, though, are written in prose, or non-poetic verse, to emphasize his relative ‘unimportance’….

9. A Act II, Scene iiI Lennox & Macduffdiscuss unnatural events of the night: “blown down… chimneys,” “strange screams of death”, “obscure bird” (note repeated image of owl), shaking earth • Macduff discovers the king’s corpse (“Lord’s anointed temple”). Lennox blames the guards: “Those of his chamber, as it seemed, had done ‘t…” • Macduff- note the dramatic irony when he refers to Lady Macbeth as “gentle”

10. Act II, Scene iiI Macbeth kills guards he framed- looks like he ro while removing threat to his name…. (claims he could not help himself, wanted to avenge king’s death) “There’s daggers in men’s smiles..” • Malcolm & Donalbain (King’s sons) decide to split to protect themselves. (M to England, D to Ireland) • They feel someone could be after them, too. Also, they recognize the court may believe they are guilty.

11. Act II, Scene iv Ross and Old Man discuss more unnatural occurrences…. • Night and day seem to be reversed “By the clock ‘tis day,/and yet dark night strangles the traveling lamp:/” • Small owl kills big falcon (symbolism of Macbeth as owl and Duncan as falcon…) • Horses going crazy in their stalls Macduff believes Malcolm and Donalbain bribed (“suborned” ) guards to commit murder of Duncan. (….puts upon them suspicion...” )(lines 24-27)

12. Act III, Scene i Banquo’s short soliloquy: “King, Cawdor, Glamis, all…I fear thou play’dst most foully for ‘t.” • Banquo continues to be leery of Macbeth. • Macbeth’s soliloquy (lines 47-72) details his fears about Banquo as a threat (B suspects Macbeth, B is a threat to Macbeth’s kingship- witches about Banquo: “Thou shalt get kings.”) • Macbeth manipulates the murderers (sketchy hitmen, mercenaries, not professional or skilled assassins) into thinking that Banquo is their enemy too. • Macbeth wants Banquo and his son Fleance killed tonight….

13. Act III, Scene II • Lady Macbeth: “’Tis safer to be that which we destroy/ Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.”- shows her crumbling mental state- ‘maybe it’s better to be dead since I am living in fear and anxiousness… • Macbeth: murdered Duncan sleeps better than he does. (My mind is “full of scorpions”). • Macbeth: “We have scotched the snake, not killed it:” • Strong dramatic irony in lines 30-34 (M asking Lady Mcb to disguise her feelings about Banquo)….

14. Motifs In Macbeth • Motif- a recurring object, idea, or notion within a literary work. It is somewhat similar to a theme or an archetype. • Sleep functions as a major motif in this tragedy. • Sleep is linked with death and also to communicate the idea of a severely weakened mental state. Notice the way sleep appears everywhere: Macbeth: “Methought I heard a voice cry Sleep no More..” , wishes he could “wake” Duncan with the knocking on the Porter’s door, states Duncan sleep better than he does, Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth he needs “sleep” to calm down after seeing Banquo’s ghost….

15. Act III, Scene IIi CLIMAX OF THE TRAGEDY: escape of Fleance and murder of Banquo

16. Act III, Scene Iv • Macbeth: panicked about Fleance’s escape (Fleance could be a future king according to witches’ prophecies). • Macbeth imagines B’s ghost at dinner- ghost comes in and out depending on Macbeth’s state of mind/paranoia. This is yet another hallucination scene, or time when Macbeth experiences an illusion.

17. Act III, Scene Iv • The stage directions indicate the presence/absence of ghost of Banquo. Only Macbeth can see ghost. • Lady Macbeth realizes she must calm her husband down as he confesses to the murders out loud…. • Macbeth, as seen in Act II, eventually comes to his senses, explains that his hallucinations come from a strange “infirmity”, or illness.

18. Act III, Scene Iv Macbeth sees he has reached point of no return: “I am in blood/ stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,/ Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”(lines 136,7) • Macbeth continues to unravel, wants to meet up w/ 3 weird sisters.... • At this point, his inner conflictseems to have been resolved….He no longer seems to be slowed up by any sense of fear or consequences…..

19. Conflicts in Macbeth …. Internal Conflict: Struggle within a character Example: Macbeth must decide whether his desire and ambition are worth fighting- and killing for.

20. Conflicts in Macbeth …. External Conflict: Struggle between 2 characters Example: Macbeth & Banquo find themselves in direct opposition to one another. They are FOILS to one another

21. Act III, Scene V • Hecate, Greek goddess of witchcraft*, is angry w/ 3 weird sisters for messing w/ Macbeth w/out her permission (“I…was never called to bear my part,/ Or show the glory of our art?” lines 6-9) • Hecate plans to ‘mess’ w/ Macbeth’s head since he’s trying to affect the prophecies (murder of Banquo). • *(There are many allusions to Greek mythology all through this tragedy…)

22. Act III, Scene V • Hecate: “Security / is mortals’ chiefest enemy.” She recognizes Macbeth is overconfident and overly ambitious- his tragic flaw; she plans to use Macbeth’s weaknesses against him as she works her magic…. • Will she and the weird sisters present Macbeth with ‘accurate’ prophecies when they meet?..... • An interesting note: Some scholars believe that Thomas Middleton, a playwright during Shakespeare’s time, may have written this scene….

23. Act III, Scene Vi • Shakespeare often wrote ambiguously, leaving the words of a character to be interpreted by directors and actors.  This scene shows one of those instances. • Lennox cannot come out and say exactly how he feels about Macbeth; to speak out publicly against the king would be treasonous. Lennox must be very careful about his statements about Macbeth….He uses some sarcasm here, or verbal irony.

24. More on Irony In Macbeth Verbal irony: a statement in which a character says one things but means something else. It is typically intentional. 2 strong examples of verbal irony in Act 3: 1. Macbeth toasting Banquo’s honor “And to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss;/ Would he were here! To him we thirst.” (Macbeth does not really miss Banquo; he had wanted him dead!) 2. Lennox’s monologue to the Lord in scene 6. (He speaks sarcastically about Macbeth but does not condemn him outright….) Monologue: a long speech delivered by one character in which others are on stage and are meant to hear it.

25. Act III, Scene Vi • Lennox opens the scene with a monologue. • Lennox- hopes Macbeth does not get his hands on Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain. He says- all while using verbal irony- that Fleance killed Banquo. • He and the Lord call Macbeth a “tyrant.” Macbeth is an unpopular king (“tyrant”)- Scotland is in ruins….. • Macduff has fled to England to raise an army against Macbeth; he is working w/ England’s King Edward and Malcolm, presumably to take down Macbeth….

26. Act III, Scene Vi • Tips to remember before we proceed into Act IV: • Macbeth was not pleased that Macduff skipped out on his dinner. • What do you think will happen between Macbeth and Macduff? As Lennox has said, “Macduff lives in disgrace.” Macbeth has heard rumors of Macduff plotting against him so he “prepares for some attempt of war…”

27. Act II Key Terms • Complication/Rising Action • Climax • Allusion/Illusion • Omens/Symbolism- (birds) • Comic relief, blank verse, prose • Motif • Dramatic vs. verbal irony • Internal conflict • External conflict • Monologue

28. Interesting facts…. Shakespeare wrote Macbeth as a response to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605- a warning to anyone who would rise up against a king….. English Catholics who felt they were being persecuted by the Protestant monarchy (James I) plotted to blow him up. They were discovered and then tortured. …

29. The ‘Real’ Macbeth…. • Macbeth was a real Scottish king. • He was not a tyrant, ruled peacefully for 14 years. • He did kill King Duncan in battle (with Siward’s help). • …and he also killed King Duncan’s dad! Yikes! • There is historical debate about whether or not Banquo actually existed: historians who say he did exist claim that his descendants are the Stuarts of England.

30. Ideas to Consider…. • Why might Shakespeare have portrayed Macbeth as a tyrant? • Why might Shakespeare have portrayed Banquo as noble, or loyal to the king?