Act II scene ii is a very important scene in this Shakespeare’s play as it shows when and how Macbeth gives into evil and murders the king he loves, all for the love of his wife. This scene shows how Macbeth is aware of the consequences of killing Duncan and that thought sticks with him until he does the deed. He is aware that he will be in a constant battle with himself should he kill his dear king but Macbeth feels when he has done the deed of murdering Duncan, that he would be better off forgetting who he is and that he should take on a new identity from then on. Also in this scene we find that Macbeth is not very happy for himself and feels miserable and remorseful for the enormity of the deed he has done. Lady Macbeth tells her husband,
“My hands are of your colour, but I shame
To wear a heart so white.”
She describes her heart as being white meaning a bloodless heart.
The themes and imagery Shakespeare uses in his writing would make an audience watching the play for the first time think that Macbeth is a weak personality and slightly deranged as he hallucinates about the blood on his hands never washing off. Lady Macbeth recommends Macbeth to,
“Go get some water
And wash this filthy witness from his hand.”
In order to wipe away any evidence of the murder.
Macbeth replies,
“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 incarnadine,
Making the green one red.”
This means that the numerous oceans would stain his hands red, which would tell us that he is aware of the scale of the crime and would be troubled by this deed for years to come, and this represented the stain of blood on his hand. He also claims he hears a crying voice in the distance saying,
“Sleep no more to all house;
Glamis hath murder’d sleep and therefore Cawdor
Shall sleep no more: Macbeth shall sleep no more.”
This suggests Macbeth will have a hard time sleeping as he believes that his conscience will be troubled by the ghost of King Duncan hunting him for revenge.
What I find interesting about this scene is how both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are very jumpy after the killing of their dear King Duncan, making them seem suspicious of the others in the castle. I notice also how Macbeth and his wife respond funnily to every noise in this scene, again showing signs of suspicion. For example when the owl shrieked and the crickets cried they looked upon this as an omen for it has been believed by the Elizabethans that the chirping of crickets was a sign of heralding death. This was significant in Shakespeare’s time as he placed a lot of significance on such prophecies. It is also interesting how Macbeth and Lady Macbeth help each other out when they are in need. At this stage Macbeth seems to be going mad - he describes his hands as of a ‘hangman,’ and he feels that he will be caught and discovered for the deadly deed he has done in killing Duncan.
Stephen Walsh 11K
