Lady Macbeth: "Had he not resembled/My father as he slept, I had done 't" (II,ii,13).
Friday, January 11, 2019
Due Tuesday, January 15th - "Macbeth" Act II Reactions
Directions: Reread Act II of Macbeth. Select major passages of at least 3-4 lines with depth and/or a dialogue exchange from Act II. Cut and paste it into your post. Next, compose a comprehensive blog response exploring the text in depth. Make sure to include your voice. What is your opinion on the text, characters, situations, and events about to ensue? What do you anticipate will happen in Act III? How will fate play a role? How will the characters evolve or devolve? Please engage with one another. Be bold! Be brilliant.
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▶Lady Macbeth: Who was it that thus cried? Why, worthy Thane, You do unbend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things. Go get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hand. Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there. Go carry them and smear the sleepy grooms with blood.
ReplyDeleteMacbeth: I'll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done; look on't again I dare not.
Lady Macbeth: 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. [Exit. Knocking within.]⏸⏩ Lady Macbeth got King Duncan's Royal Guards drunk, allowing her husband to kill him. Macbeth was supposed to smear the guards with blood and leave the daggers, making them look like they did it. Macbeth can't bear to go back and do that, probably because the witches told him he would be king, but they didn't say what the cost would be. Lady Macbeth thinks this is immature of him to be scared of that, so she takes the daggers and bloodstains the guards herself. The Macbeths spill blood everywhere, and deliberately bloodstain innocent folk, which isn't cool. Therefore, living under the rule of King and Queen Macbeth will be no fun, and we can only hope that Banquo's descendants are a total upgrade. In any case, a lot of strange things have been going on.
▶Old Man: Threescore and ten I can remember well; within the volume of which time I have seen hours dreadful and things strange; but this sore night hath trifled former knowings.
Ross: Ah, good father, thou seest the heavens, as troubled with man's act, threaten his bloody stage. By the clock 'tis day, and yet dark night strangles the traveling 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?
Old Man: 'Tis unnatural, even like the deed that's done. On Tuesday last a falcon, tow'ring in her pride of place, was by a mousing owl hawked at and killed.
Ross: And Duncan's horses (a thing most strange and certain), beauteous and swift, the minions of their race, turned wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out, contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make war with mankind.
Old Man: 'Tis said they eat each other.
Ross: They did so, to the amazement of mine eyes that looked upon't.⏸
The darkness could just be a solar eclipse, similar to the one we saw last year. On the other hand, the cannibal horses and the falcon-slaying owl are entirely unheard of around here. One could consult both the Men in Black and the Ghostbusters and still be puzzled. But I think the witches had something to do with this. Their prophecy of Macbeth becoming King has come true, so they're probably warning the public that he will be an unqualified King. And they mean it, so don't laugh. Come to think of it, don't laugh at anything in this play. Even the following isn't really that funny.
Delete⏪▶[Enter a Porter. Knocking within.]
DeletePorter: Here's a knocking indeed! If a man were porter of h*** gate, he should have old turning the key. [Knock.] Knock, knock, knock! Who's there, i' the name of Belzebub? Here's a farmer that hanged himself on the expectation of plenty. Come in time! Have napkins enow about you; here you'll sweat for't. [Knock.] Knock, knock! Who's there, in the other devil's name? Faith, here's an equivocator, that could swear in both the scales against either scale; who committed treason enough for God's sake, yet could not equivocate to heaven. O, come in, equivocator! [Knock.] Knock, knock, knock! Who's there? Faith, here's an English tailor come hither for stealing out of a French hose. Come in, tailor. Here you may roast your goose. [Knock.] Knock, knock! Never at quiet! What are you? But this place is too cold for h***. I'll devilporter it no further. I had thought to have let in some of all professions that go the primrose way to the everlasting bonfire. [Knock.] Anon, anon! [Opens the gate.] I pray you remember the porter.⏹ So this is the origin of knock-knock jokes, is it? Well, it's not really helping! With all this blood and inappropriate content, M**beth, alias the Scottish Play of Doom is not a laughing matter!
Lennox: Those of his chamber, as it seemed, had don't.
ReplyDeleteTheir hands and faces were all 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.
Macbeth: O, yet I do repent me of my fury
That I did kill them.
Macduff: Wherefore did you so?
Macbeth: Who can be wise, amazed, temp'rate, and
furious,
Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man.
The expedition of my violent love
Outrun the pauser reason. Here lay Duncan,
His silver skin laced with his golden blood,
And his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature
For ruin's wasteful entrance; there, the murderers,
Steeped in the colors of their trade, their daggers
Unmannerly breeched with gore. Who could refrain
That had a heart to love and in that heart
Courage to make's love known? (II, III, 69)
This is the scene where the treasonous murder of King Duncan has been discovered. Now they are discussing who was the suspect of this action and what they should do. I find this scene to be really funny and how ironic the situation is. It seems like Macbeth is killing the two guards in the hope of ending the suspicion right then and there. However, the murdering of the two prine suspects instead puts Macbeth into suspicion as he should have no reason to kill the two guards and he just makes up some lame excuse to try to cover himself. Although Banquo's reaction wasn't very evident in the text itself, it was shown in the movie, and somewhat discussed in class. He probably already suspects that Macbeth committed the treasonous act. I can't wait to see what happens in the next act- how the story unfolds. Despite the fact that the atmosphere during this time was quite serious, there was some hidden comical moments hidden underneath. I think it was a very interesting, although unnecessary scene. Macbeth really didn't need to do anything to become king since the guards were extremely drunk anyways.
Macbeth:
ReplyDelete“Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee!
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
For my passage, I chose the Macbeth’s soliloquy right before he commits the murder. At this point he is so caught up in the prophecies and his wife's words that he starts to hallucinate a dagger in front of him. I think it symbolized a decision he had to make, hovering before him, and by him going to clutch it so quickly before examining it, I think it shows how impulsive he was about making the decision. He realizes that he can’t grasp the dagger, which I think foreshadows what is to come. He can’t grasp it, only see it. He is king now, but is it real? I think something's definitely going to happen that will make Macbeth not king anymore. I also think that maybe someone will get suspicious why Macbeth hasn't been killed by the same murderer. I find it interesting how Macbeth is so shocked that he actually killed Duncan, while Lady Macbeth’s reaction towards him is like “Shut up.” He was so in shock about what he did, enough to even forget to leave the daggers, which is really stupid. I’m curious to see Banquo's reaction to all of this because he’ll most likely infer that Macbeth did it. But, Macbeth could convince Banquo that it was fate. Where does fate and destiny draw a line?
Aren't fate and destiny the same sort of thing?
DeleteROSS:
ReplyDeleteIs't known who did this more than bloody deed?
MACDUFF:
Those that Macbeth hath slain.
ROSS:
Alas, the day!
What good could they pretend?
MACDUFF:
They were suborn'd:
Malcolm and Donalbain, the king's two sons,
Are stol'n away and fled; which puts upon them
Suspicion of the deed.
For my passage I chose the conversation between Ross and Macduff in scene four. I found these lines very ironic in a way. Ross starts off the conversation asking, “who did it?”, and macduff responds with, “these men that Macbeth killed”. Right away we can see that the answer is right in front of their faces. Why are they not questioning further into Macbeth killing the supposedly guilty men? It seems pretty obvious, especially that they now know that Macbeth can kill someone and that he probably had a reason to kill the people that he did because now they can’t plead guilty. They go on and Macduff says that Malcolm and Donalbain fled which makes them suspicious. I don’t understand this because why would Malcolm and Donalbain kill their father and then run away. If it was them that committed the murder I would think that they would cover it up better. Also if it was them I would think that they killed their father to be king which would give them a motivation, however after the murder they ran away, making them not king, and giving them no reason to kill their father. So I think this whole conversation is ironic because they have the answer right in front of their faces and instead they choose to point fingers at something that doesn’t add up. I think this foreshadows that someone will catch on and realize that it was Macbeth who committed the murder. Maybe Banquo will be suspicious of Macbeth.
It is somewhat of a give-away.
DeleteROSS
ReplyDelete'Gainst nature still!
Thriftless ambition, that wilt ravin up
Thine own life's means! Then 'tis most like
The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth.
MACDUFF
He is already named, and gone to Scone
To be invested.
ROSS
Where is Duncan's body?
MACDUFF
Carried to Colmekill,
The sacred storehouse of his predecessors,
And guardian of their bones.
ROSS
Will you to Scone?
MACDUFF
No, cousin, I'll to Fife.
ROSS
Well, I will thither.
MACDUFF
Well, may you see things well done there: adieu!
Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!
ROSS
Farewell, father.
Old Man
God's benison go with you; and with those
That would make good of bad, and friends of foes!
I really liked this dialogue which took place after Duncan was murdered and both of his sons fled suspiciously, leaving Macbeth the throne. This exchange starts with Ross exclaiming that Duncan’s sons murdering him is “against nature,” and so Macbeth will be the new king. Later, when saying where they will be heading, Ross to Scone and Macduff to Fife, Macduff says one of my favorite lines in this play, “Well, may you see things well done there: adieu! / Lest our old robes sit easier than our new!” I love this line because of how accurately it predicts the future of the play, where the reign of Macbeth will be nowhere near as peaceful and as good as Duncan’s. I think that the guilt that currently wracks Macbeth will continue to influence his actions, perhaps turning him against those who were previously his friends, like Banquo. Also, the way he puts it, in terms of robes and the way they fit reminds me of what Macbeth said in Act I when speaking of the witches predictions. He said, “The thane of Cawdor lives: why do you dress me/ In borrow'd robes?” The fact that Shakespeare uses the same metaphor hear is quite ironic given in Act I, Macbeth did not seem to want to be thane of Cawdor at first, since it was not his worthy title. However, now that he has killed Duncan and successfully gotten the throne, bringing in the metaphor of the robes again not being for Macbeth and not fitting correctly is really interesting and I love it. It is clear that Macbeth will continue to devolve as a character after committing murder, since he is already ridden by guilt. I also noticed how in this passage, during the important lines that I mentioned above, Shakespeare begins to rhyme the lines to bring even more attention to them. Overall, I really like this passage because it’s fun to read due to its rhyming and it also talks of a very important thing, what will happen as a result of Macbeth being king.
BANQUO
ReplyDeleteHold, take my sword. There's husbandry in heaven;
Their candles are all out. Take thee that too.
A heavy summons lies like lead upon me,
And yet I would not sleep: merciful powers,
Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature
Gives way to in repose!
(Enter MACBETH, and a Servant with a torch)
Give me my sword.
Who's there?
MACBETH
A friend.
I chose this dialogue exchange at the beginning of the act because of how Macbeth addresses himself to Banquo when he enters. I saw this as a type of irony, I think it's dramatic irony to be exact, because of how when Banquo said "Who's there?" and Macbeth responded by saying "A friend" I feel like this is going to change later in the book when Banquo finds out the truth of the king's murder, he won't see Macbeth as a friend but an enemy. The reason I think this is an example of dramatic irony is that we as the audience knows that Macbeth is the one who murdered the king and that he is guilty but, Banquo still thinks that Macbeth is innocent even though he seems suspicious of Macbeth later on after the deed is done. I think my theory holds because of how the witches noted that Banquo's children will be royalty so that most likely means that Banquo is most likely going to try to kill Macbeth and he'll most likely succeed (this is a tragedy after all and we know how those normally end).
Banquo:
ReplyDeleteAll's well/
I dreamt last night of the three Weird Sisters.
To you they have showed some truth.
Macbeth:
I think not of them.
Yet when we can entreat an hour to serve,
We would spend it in some words upon that business,
If you would grant the time.
(II.I.24)
I picked this quote as particularly important because it is an example of Macbeth's willingness to lie in order to protect himself. It is understandable to see that wants to save himself, but also he is going as far as to say that the Weird Sisters have not even crossed his mind.
Lady Macbeth:
My hands are of your color, but I shame
To wear a heart so white.
(II.II.85)
I chose this quote because it is very symbolic of Lady Macbeth's character. Even though her husband killed a KING in his sleep, she is still calling him a weenie because he was too soft to smear the blood everywhere. She is honestly such an ideal wife, pushing her husband to new limits like that! What a green flag relationship!
As for smearing the blood everywhere, I disapprove entirely! By now, you should know why.
DeleteMACBETH
ReplyDeleteI'll go no more:
I am afraid to think what I have done;
Look on't again I dare not.
LADY MACBETH
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.
Exit. Knocking within
MACBETH
Whence is that knocking?
How is't with me, when every noise appals me?
What hands are here? ha! they pluck out mine eyes.
Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas in incarnadine,
Making the green one red.
Re-enter LADY MACBETH
LADY MACBETH
My hands are of your colour; but I shame
To wear a heart so white.
Macbeth’s relationship with Lady Macbeth will most certainly be his downfall. We see Macbeth wanting nothing to do with murder, which is a bit odd since he is a soldier. After killing the king we see that he is practically paralyzed and bewildered with what he has done. In contrast, Lady Macbeth is cool, calm, and collected; almost in a creepy way. She seems to have no problem with the situation and knows what to do. She acts like it’s just another day, nothing out of the ordinary. She insults Macbeth saying that he is too weak and that he’s over exaggerating. (Lady Macbeth in summary: “You killed someone. Great! Now get over it and clean yourself up! Stop acting like a baby.”)
Is this a dagger which I see before me,(Hallucinating and seeing the dagger)
ReplyDeleteThe handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.(Wants to take the knife)
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.(I don't have it, but I can see it)
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?(Does this hallucination come from a heat-oppressed mind?)
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.(Draws his own dagger)
Thou marshall’st me the way that I was going,
And such an instrument I was to use.(I must use this dagger)
Mine eyes are made the fools o' th' other senses,
Or else worth all the rest. I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,(Already seeing blood on the dagger)
Which was not so before. There’s no such thing.
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one half-world
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtained sleep. Witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate’s offerings, and withered murder,
Alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl’s his watch, thus with his stealthy pace,
With Tarquin’s ravishing strides, towards his design(Walking towards his target like Tarquin towards his victims)
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives.
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
I go, and it is done. The bell invites me.(The bell calls pushes me onward;Don't tell me otherwise, the deed is as good as done)
Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell.(Don't heed the bell, for it calls you to heaven or hell)
LADY MACBETH My hands are of your colour; but I shame
ReplyDeleteTo wear a heart so white.
[Knocking within]
I hear a knocking
At the south entry: retire we to our chamber;
A little water clears us of this deed:
How easy is it, then! Your constancy
Hath left you unattended.
[Knocking within]
Hark! more knocking.
Get on your nightgown, lest occasion call us,
And show us to be watchers. Be not lost
So poorly in your thoughts.
MACBETH To know my deed, 'twere best not know myself.
[Knocking within]
Wake Duncan with thy knocking! I would thou couldst!
I love Lady Macbeth and not because she is a good protagonist that I can root for, but when I read this I just think she is utterly insane. I think she has gone through the trauma of losing a child and this has just drove her to insanity. I read her this way because she is so unbothered by saying she just needs a little bit of water to wash away the blood and how she is ashamed to “wear a heart so white.” And the inverse is shown in her husband how the trauma hasn’t cause insanity in him, but the over emotional attachment to everything/everyone around him. He is unable to distance himself from anything. I really enjoy the character development of the Macbeths because I can interrupt the differences in character and attribute it to different reasons in the past that we haven’t been told. This is something I love in Shakespearse’s writing -- I get to choose the background for my Macbeth, just like everyone else gets to choose their background for their Macbeth.
Old Man
ReplyDelete'Tis unnatural,
Even like the deed that's done. On Tuesday last,
A falcon, towering in her pride of place,
Was by a mousing owl hawk'd at and kill'd.
ROSS
And Duncan's horses--a thing most strange and certain--
Beauteous and swift, the minions of their race,
Turn'd wild in nature, broke their stalls, flung out,
Contending 'gainst obedience, as they would make
War with mankind.
Old Man
'Tis said they eat each other.
ROSS
They did so, to the amazement of mine eyes
That look'd upon't. Here comes the good Macduff.
Enter MACDUFF
How goes the world, sir, now?
MACDUFF
Why, see you not?
ROSS
Is't known who did this more than bloody deed?
MACDUFF
Those that Macbeth hath slain.
ROSS
Alas, the day!
What good could they pretend?
MACDUFF
They were suborn'd:
Malcolm and Donalbain, the king's two sons,
Are stol'n away and fled; which puts upon them
Suspicion of the deed.
ROSS
'Gainst nature still!
Thriftless ambition, that wilt ravin up
Thine own life's means! Then 'tis most like
The sovereignty will fall upon Macbeth.
MACDUFF
He is already named, and gone to Scone
To be invested.
This dialogue exchange is used to explain the aftermath of the murder of the king. While people are suspicious of Macbeth, he is believed to be innocent as the chamberlains are referred to as “those that Macbeth has slain” with the connotation that he is king’s avenger. The two sons of the king fleeing makes the situation really good for Macbeth. Not only do they relinquish the right to the crown, they are no longer trusted. Macbeth is easily the best candidate for the position with no one to contest. The text reveals that Act III is likely to be about Macbeth going to Scone to be crowned. While the outlook is good, the owl killing the falcon and the horses eating each other foreshadows misfortune in the future. This could represent Macbeth and Banquo clashing in the near future and falling apart. Fate seems to be unchangeable right now has Macbeth has become both thane and the king. This makes me wonder how the rest of the witches’ prophecy will play out.
Well, Banquo's line will get the throne somehow.
DeleteEnter MACBETH, and a Servant with a torch
ReplyDeleteGive me my sword.
Who's there?
MACBETH
A friend.
BANQUO
What, sir, not yet at rest? The king's a-bed:
He hath been in unusual pleasure, and
Sent forth great largess to your offices.
This diamond he greets your wife withal,
By the name of most kind hostess; and shut up
In measureless content.
MACBETH
Being unprepared,
Our will became the servant to defect;
Which else should free have wrought.
BANQUO
All's well.
I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters:
To you they have show'd some truth.
MACBETH
I think not of them.
I really liked the dramatic irony in this passage. Macbeth saying “being unprepared, our will became the servant to defect” (being unprepared, we couldn’t be perfect hosts) and banquo responding “All’s well” (no worries my guy) left the reader, or me at least, with the odd uneasiness of knowing something important that a character doesn’t. Because we know the Macbeth is gonna kill duncan, and macbeth knows macbeth is gonna kill duncan, but banqou is woefully unaware and talking like everything's fine, which it very much isn’t. As well as Banquo’s “I dreamt of the three weird sisters: to you they have show’d some truth” cause he’s talking about macbeth becoming thane of cawdor, not knowing (as the readers do) that macbeth will become king after killing duncan. Essentially, Banquo is saying “crazy how part of that prophecy was right, even though you’re not king and it doesn’t seem you will be anytime soon haha” with macbeth saying “yeah haha crazy :)”.
MACBETH
ReplyDelete"Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee."
I chose this quote because it is strange thing for Macbeth to be saying. HE is imagining a dagger before him although there really is nothing there. It is unknown exactly why Macbeth is imagining this dagger. Could it be the guilt making him see this? He has not even committed the soon to be murder although so this would be strange. Maybe it is insanity that is making him picture this image but Macbeth is a seasoned warrior who has murdered many so it is strange that this is different. It's interesting to think of the psychology behind Macbeth's feeling.
ReplyDeleteArt thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
40
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
50
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
60
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
A bell rings.
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.
Within this text, Macbeth thinks he sees a dagger. He says the reason why he sees it is because his eyes are his weakest sense and they are trying to trick him. Then he says he sees a lot of blood on the blood which wasn’t there at first. So far it is clearly seen that Macbeth is talking about the murder of Duncan. He visualizes a dagger because that is going to be the weapon that he kills Duncan with and the sudden large amounts of blood stained on the dagger represent what they will look like after he kills him. As Macbeth continues with his speech he goes farther into madness. At the very end the bell rings and it turns out to be a funeral bell. This means that the time for death will come. Macbeth says he will either send Duncan to heaven or to hell. I believe that the bell does not only represent the death of Duncan, but also the death of Macbeth. This is the first time that Macbeth has had an issue with being crazy and it happened with his vision. Later on in the scene it shows that he hears people talk in their sleep and he is unable to say the word amen. I think that this is the start of him becoming crazy and it will slowly overtake each one of his sense until he is driven to death.
Macbeth must be stopped before the blood becomes difficult to clean up.
DeleteIs this a dagger which I see before me,
ReplyDeleteThe handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
[a bell rings]
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.
Macbeth is about to kill King Duncan and is starting to go out of his mind over grief and anxiety over the action. He sees a hallucination of a dagger and tries to clutch at it, he sees the deed he will do with the dagger and the blood on the daggers. He is still hesitant about doing the action, but is determined to do it.
I think that it is a pretty well written speech and that it is very good at foreshadowing the events to come.
I think that in Act 3 we will see the start of Macbeth's rule and how the people don't like him as a king as much as they liked Duncan. I think Act 3 will be the start of the tragic decline.
MACBETH
ReplyDeleteGo bid thy mistress, when my drink is ready,
She strike upon the bell. Get thee to bed.
Exit Servant
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
A bell rings
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.
Exit
This is Macbeth famous soliloquy that is in the beginning of the 2 Act. He is having visions and hallucinations because off the guilt he feels over him murdering Ducan. He is going crazy may be foreshadowing later action and moments. This very important moment for Macbeth because you see how even if he has killed so many people in war it is very different to do it out of war and it affects him alot. The "dagger of the mind" that Macbeth sees is not "ghostly" or supernatural so much as a manifestation of the inner struggle or guilt. 🔪😵🤯
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
ReplyDeleteThe handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
As this which now I draw.
Thou marshall'st me the way that I was going;
And such an instrument I was to use.
Mine eyes are made the fools o' the other senses,
Or else worth all the rest; I see thee still,
And on thy blade and dudgeon gouts of blood,
Which was not so before. There's no such thing:
It is the bloody business which informs
Thus to mine eyes. Now o'er the one halfworld
Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse
The curtain'd sleep; witchcraft celebrates
Pale Hecate's offerings, and wither'd murder,
Alarum'd by his sentinel, the wolf,
Whose howl's his watch, thus with his stealthy pace.
With Tarquin's ravishing strides, towards his design
Moves like a ghost. Thou sure and firm-set earth,
Hear not my steps, which way they walk, for fear
Thy very stones prate of my whereabout,
And take the present horror from the time,
Which now suits with it. Whiles I threat, he lives:
Words to the heat of deeds too cold breath gives.
[a bell rings]
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.
Before these words were spoken by Macbeth, he had not shown much desire to kill Duncan. However, once Macbeth saw the dagger, he spoke as if his entire being was consumed with the hunger for the blade and for the atrocity he was about to commit. When Macbeth stared at the dagger longer, he soon sees, "gouts of blood, Which was not so before." I believe this change in his vision was the confirmation that he would kill in the future. I believe that Macbeth does have free will in this play because at the beginning of the play, the witches chanted, "All hail Macbeth", and I don't think that the witches would hold Macbeth in such high esteem if Macbeth didn't have any preexisting qualities within him that would make him capable of such a deed. So, in this quote, when Macbeth sees the dagger, I believe that it was made visible to him by the witches, and that the fact that he was reaching out to grab it, confirms his moral ability to do exactly what the witches had predicted him to do. At the end of the speech, when Macbeth says, "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," Macbeth acts as if the deed is already done and speaks -to himself- to Duncan with no trace of sympathy. However, while Macbeth is reaching for the dagger (a symbol for the things promised to him by the witches) it is decided that his character will permit him to do whatever it takes to obtain those things. So, once his character values are revealed through this scene, so is his plan to kill Duncan and his ambitious nature that (though initiated by the promises of the witches) was within him all along.
Macbeth
ReplyDeleteBeing unprepared,
Our will became the servant to defect,
Which else should free have wrought.
In this scene, Banquo and Macbeth run into each other as Banquo was telling his son Fleance that the fate in which the witches had given to him and Macbeth seems a little hazy, but still afraid that it may be true because of how everything was set into place. Because the king came over unexpectedly, Macbeth had said to Banquo that because they weren’t prepared for Duncan’s arrival, they couldn’t entertain Duncan as much as they wanted to. Though Banquo might think of Macbeth’s words as literally, Macbeth words were metorphically was speaking of the eagerness to kill Duncan. I think Banquo will find out the murder of Macbeth and then Macbeth will eventually have to kill Banquo and vice versa. In this play particularly, Macbeth and Banquo have a strong relationship and friendship with each other, so I think it’ll be hard for both of them to kill each other and have Banquo’s son, Fleance to be crowned king because of the situation they had when Duncan was killed and the outcomes that happened after the king’s death such as two of his sons leaving to London and Scotland and them being blamed for the murder.
Is this a dagger which I see before me,
ReplyDeleteThe handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch
thee.
I have thee not, and yet I see thee still.
Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible
To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but
A dagger of the mind, a false creation,
Proceeding from the heat-oppressèd brain?
I see thee yet, in form as palpable
I chose Macbeth's soliloquy because I like how it sets the reader up for the rest of the novel. He starts talking about something that is not there, and apparently he loses his mind later on in the novel, so Shakespeare could have been using Macbeth seeing the dagger as foreshadowing for his loss of sanity. Halfway through his soliloquy he starts talking about the murder and how it haunts him, which makes sense to me as it seems as if Lady Macbeth is the one that really has a killer instinct.
MACBETH: "...List'ning their fear. I could not say 'Amen!' When they did say 'God bless us!'"
ReplyDeleteLADY MACBETH: "Consider it not so deeply."
MACBETH: "But wherefore could I not pronounce 'Amen'? I had most need of blessing, and 'Amen' Stuck in my throat."
LADY MACBETH: "These deeds must not be thought After these ways. So, it will make us mad."
Immediately after the killing, it's evident that Macbeth is feeling guilty. He felt guilty even before the crime was committed, he never had a strong, solid reason for murdering Duncan other than his own wife driving him towards it. Macbeth being unable able to peak the word 'Amen' may be foreshadowing the darkness of his own future, and the beginning of him slowly going insane.
Lady Macbeth: Who was it that thus cried? Why, worthy Thane, You do unbend your noble strength to think so brainsickly of things. Go get some water and wash this filthy witness from your hand. Why did you bring these daggers from the place? They must lie there. Go carry them and smear the sleepy grooms with blood.
ReplyDeleteMacbeth: I'll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done; look on't again I dare not.
Lady Macbeth: Infirm of purpose! Give me the daggers. The sleeping and the dead are but as pictures. 'It's 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.
Macbeth: Whence is that knocking? How is't with me when every noise appeals me? What hands are here? Ha! They pluck out mine eyes! Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood clean from my hand? No. This my hand will rather the multitudinous seas incarnadine, making the green one red.
I was interested in this dialogue passage between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth because I thought it demonstrated how lady Macbeth is the real criminal and the one behind the whole thing. Macbeth really never yearned to kill King Duncan and he is consumed with the guilt of the act, while Lady Macbeth does not have any regrets and is ordering Macbeth around to finish the act. Macbeth is also slowly showing signs of insanity when he is appalled by every noise he hears which "Pluck out mine eyes!" I noticed that the Macbeth's plan is very insecure and has many falts, so I look forward to reading whether or not there were any witnesses or if others begin to catch on to Macbeth's guilt.
"LADY MACBETH
ReplyDeleteThat which hath made them drunk hath made me bold;
What hath quench'd them hath given me fire.
Hark! Peace!
It was the owl that shriek'd, the fatal bellman,
Which gives the stern'st good-night. He is about it:
The doors are open; and the surfeited grooms
Do mock their charge with snores: I have drugg'd
their possets,
That death and nature do contend about them,
Whether they live or die.
MACBETH
[Within] Who's there? what, ho!
LADY MACBETH
Alack, I am afraid they have awaked,
And 'tis not done. The attempt and not the deed
Confounds us. Hark! I laid their daggers ready;
He could not miss 'em. Had he not resembled
My father as he slept, I had done't.
Enter MACBETH
My husband!
MACBETH
I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?
LADY MACBETH
I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry.
Did not you speak?" (II.ii)
I find this passage fascinating in Lady Macbeth's self-dialogue. I enjoy the opposites of "What hath quench'd them hath given me fire" (II.ii) since quench and fire are obviously polar. And I find Lady Macbeth to be more interesting than Macbeth himself, since she has abnormal motives. We don't know why Lady Macbeth wants this to happen, wants Macbeth to be king and kill the king. Does she not know of the prophecy that Banquo's sons will be the future kings? Does that not mean that she will not bear any more children? That her husband's reign will be but short-lived? What is the point of being a king if you are only in power for so long? And you know you are doomed to lose that power. I find her motives to be questionable, and hope more light is shed on her in the future.
Th' expedition of my violent love
ReplyDeleteOutrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan,
His silver skin lac'd with his golden blood,
And his gash'd stabs look'd like a breach in nature
For ruin's wasteful entrance; there, the murtherers,
Seep'd in the colors 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 known?
I think this part of the play is highly significant and quite interesting because of how ironic it is. Macbeth tells the people that he killed the chamberlains because of his love for the king and insisted that his overwhelming love for Duncan, the king, blinded him and permitted him from thinking clearly. In reality, Macbeth was actually the one who killed Duncan.
MACBETH
ReplyDeleteHad 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.
One line from this text is that, "there is nothing serious in mortality." this is a more complex way of saying, life is too short to not have fun, and I agree with this. Our life is too short to take things too seriously, take the time to let things go and laugh about it. I personally get very uncomfortable in serious situations, such as job interviews and meetings. I get being professional, but usually humor doesn't apply there and seriousness is a necessary thing. I feel a lot more comfortable when the person I'm with is relaxed and has more of a laid back vibe. I think that we should just make it a cultural norm to not stress about things. Have fun now and worry later is my life motto, but society forces me to stress about things that really aren't that big of a deal. I think that with the new social media culture and meme culture, we are slowly taking the edge off of serious situations and adding humor to them and personally, Im all for that.