The Importance of Act Two Scene Two in William Shakespeare's Macbeth
Having killed Duncan, Macbeth is standing in his courtyard with Lady
Macbeth. He is in as state of shock at the heinous crime he has just
committed. In the era which Macbeth was set in, loyalty to your King,
guests and kinsmen is very important. He proved to be disloyal in all
three relations. Lady Macbeth tries to console him as his shock turns
to hysteria; she firsts praises him and when that fails she taunts and
insults him. Macbeth ignores her and continues to be lost in the
thought of his deed.
In lines 47 and 48 Lady Macbeth praises Macbeth for being a "worthy
Thane" and having "noble strength". She does this in hope to revive
him back to reality. This is also said to build his confidence and
encourage him to forget what he has done. This implies that Lady
Macbeth approves of the murder . She then becomes impatient with his
stubbornness and starts ordering him about. She uses imperatives such
as; "Go get some water…" and "Go carry them…". This shows us that Lady
Macbeth is the dominant partner in this relationship. There is still
blood on Macbeth's hands. She refers to this as the "filthy witness"
because if Macbeth is seen with the blood on his hands then he will be
captured. This has a tremendous dramatic impact on the audience
because the atmosphere has been created to make them anxious. The
tones of voice that should be used in this speech are very important.
I would suggest her voice for lines 47-48 should be spoken at first
very calmly and confidently. From lines 48-53 her tone should be
venomous and bold. She should convey that her femininity is ...
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...'s hysteria if it were spoken loudly.
It would then appear to the audience that Macbeth is unaware of the
consequences of their capture.
In this scene we learn a lot about Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's
character and their relationship as husband and wife. Already we can
see that Duncan's murder has had a negative effect on them especially
on Lady Macbeth. She insults Macbeth and loses all respect for him.
The consequences of their act also affects them in the long run; Lady
Macbeth becomes mentally unstable which influences her death and
Macbeth becomes so eager to keep his title that it leads him to the
murder of his bests friend; Banquo. This scene, therefore, has huge
significance to the rest of the play; it is where Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth commit a crime which has a horrendous impact on the rest of
their lives.
The evil deed of murdering the king becomes too much of a burden on the Macbeths. The blood represents their crime, and they can not escape the sin of their actions. Macbeth realizes that in time he would get what he deserves. Since he can not ride himself of his guilt by washing the blood away, his fate may have been sealed. They
start, but in real life he was apparently not as good a king as is
One of the themes in the tragedy of Macbeth is that of blood. Macbeth is known for his skills as a warrior and his mercilessness that is shown in his killing of MacDonwald. This warrior mentality quickly spreads into his life, and he begins to make killing a habit. When he is told in a prophecy that he shall be king, Macbeth takes it upon himself to murder Duncan, king of Scotland. After this murder he begins to see visions of blood on his hands, blood nothing could remove. As Macbeth becomes more ambitious, he also begins to kill more people to get the power that he wants. The theme of blood is shown throughout the play, and is a problem that Macbeth finds harder and harder to rid himself of after each killing.
The last two scenes are a very important part of the play. They are the last two scenes in the play in which Macbeth is alive. They are also a very effective part of the play; the audience will have already realized that something will happen which will decide the ending of the play. This awareness that something is about to happen is made so by the commotion of the two great armies as they prepare to fight and by Macbeth's eagerness and confidence to win.
The scene I chose was act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth written by Shakespeare. It was between two characters, Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. I played the role of Macbeth. In the scene, Lady Macbeth celebrates her plan being a success. Lady Macbeth waits for Macbeth to come with news that he has killed Duncan. Macbeth announces that he has committed the murder but he is so afraid that he brings the bloody daggers with him and Lady Macbeth takes them from him, to place them with the sleeping guards. Macbeth hears knocking sounds which frightens him so his wife comes to lead him away, they then wash the blood from their hands before they get caught. My character was challenging because I had to understand his emotions and find ways of interpreting that on stage. I chose to perform this act because Shakespeare was able to create tension, build the right atmosphere to show them Macbeth’s reaction to Duncan’s murder but also show the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Shakespeare’s use of imagery, dramatic irony, rhetorical questions helped emphasise the guilt Macbeth felt after the murder.
Scene 2 act 2 is one of the most important scenes in the play. This is
Macbeth realises at this point that he has committed so much murder and unnatural acts for nothing, and this whole thing never benefited him, snapped out of his delusions, his thoughts ending with his
from one of the last lines in Act 1, Scene 1 of the play. The three witches speak this line
The Dramatic Effect of Act 5 Scene 1 on the Play Macbeth In this scene the doctor and the gentlewoman wait for Lady Macbeth as it was reported to the doctor that she had been sleepwalking on previous occasions - "since her majesty returned from the field, I have seen her rise from her bed". It is reported by the gentlewoman that every time Lady Macbeth sleepwalks she writes something on paper and she had also seen Lady Macbeth continuously perform an action of washing her hands vigorously. Lady Macbeth enters holding a candle.
of blood in the play. It also plays a big part because both Macbeth and
Macbeth ‘sees’ a bloody dagger in front of him even before he kills the King; this shows that he feels guilty even before the evil deed. He tries to convince himself and his wife that he should not kill Duncan, and at one stage he orders her not to go any further with the deed. Lady Macbeth...
The Impact of Act 2 scene 2 of Macbeth & nbsp; Act 2 scene 2 is the most violent and intense part of Macbeth, although we do not actually witness the murder of King Duncan. It is interesting that Shakespeare chooses to have Macbeth kill Duncan offstage. We can only guess why he wrote the scene that way, I think that Shakespeare wanted to focus not on the murder but on Macbeth’s reaction to it; the bloody details supplied by the audiences imaginations will be much worse than anything that could be done onstage. It is also the most crucial part of the play; it is the first of many murders. This scene takes place at night; I feel the darkness represents what is unnatural, cruel and evil.
When the play first opens we hear 3 strange witches standing in a field while it is thunder and lightening. They begin to chant spells and talk about their meeting with Macbeth as they vanish into thin air.
What do you consider to be the most successful stage effect and language techniques used to create dramatic tension in Act 2, Scene 2?
The first scene in Macbeth plays a vital role.We as the readers are introduced to the three Witches.The witches were believed to be attendants of the devil who had sold their souls to be given the possession of evil powers.The presence of the witches sets the tone for the rest of the tragic play.