Macbeth - Act 2

• What word (used three times) completes the quotation?"Methought I heard a voice cry '__________ no more!Macbeth does murder __________'—the innocent __________"

  The repetition of "sleep" shows that Macbeth is now preoccupied by his guilty conscience. Sleep is a symbol of innocence and a clear conscience in the play.
• After the King's murder, what does Lady Macbeth tell Macbeth to do, which he refuses, saying "I'll go no more. I am afraid to think what I have done" 


  She tells him to take the dagger back and smear blood on the guards to frame them
• What does Macbeth see at the start of Act Two before he kills the King?

  A dagger
• Which character(s) wake as Macbeth is committing murder?

  Malcolm and Donalbain
• How does Macbeth respond to the King's death?

  Kills the guards - it's a rash thing to do, suggesting that Macbeth has panicked because he thinks people will suspect him of murder.
• What character says this quotation? "These deeds must not be thoughtAfter these ways; so, it will make us mad"

  Lady Macbeth - This mention of madness later becomes ironic, as it is Lady Macbeth who eventually goes mad after dwelling on what they have done
• What country does Malcolm flee to?

  English - Malcolm runs away to England as he is afraid that the person who killed his father will kill him too, or that people will suspect him of the murder
• How does Lady Macbeth react to news of the King's death?

  She faints - Lady Macbeth faints to distract the other characters from their suspicion of Macbeth. She uses their expectations of how a woman would behave in that situation to manipulate them
• What three words complete the quotation?"The bell invites me.Hear it not, Duncan, for it is a knellThat summons thee to heaven __________ __________ __________.

  "or to hell" - Macbeth is preoccupied with the afterlife, as he knows that if he kills Duncan, he will lose his own chance to go to heaven.
• What word completes the quotation? "Infirm of purpose!Give me the __________. The sleeping and the deadAre but as pictures"

  Daggers
• What word completes the quotation?"My hands are of your colour, but I shameTo wear a heart so _____"

  "White" - Lady Macbeth emasculates Macbeth by suggesting that he is a coward for being horrified by Duncan's blood. "White" is used as a symbol for cowardice here
• Why is Lady Macbeth unable to kill the King?

  He reminds her of her father - She says he "resembled my father as he slept". This suggests that she is a more sensitive and complex character than we may have previously thought
• What character says this quotation?"What hands are here! Ha, they pluck out mine eyes.Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this bloodClean from my hand?"

  Macbeth
• Which sound in the stage directions does Macbeth say is a "knell that summons thee [Duncan] to heaven or to hell"?

  Bell ringing
• Following the murder of the King, Macbeth feels guilty about the regicide. How does he show this?

  He can't say "amen" when Malcolm and Donalbain said "God bless us"
• When Banquo asks, "Who's there?"; Macbeth responds by saying, "a friend". Why is Macbeth's reply significant?


  Macbeth has his "friend" killed later - The audience begins to suspect that Macbeth’s ambition will override his loyalty to everyone, even his closest friend.
• Following the King's murder, Macbeth hears a voice cry out, "Macbeth does murder sleep". What does sleep come to represent in the play?

  A clear conscience
• Lady Macbeth tells her husband, "a little water clears us of this deed". What does the blood come to represent?

  Their guilt - In Act Five, Scene 1, Lady Macbeth sees the blood on her hands: "Out, damned spot! out, I say!"
• What does Lady Macbeth mean when she tells Macbeth, "My hands are of your colour but I shame to wear a heart so white"?

  She has an equal part in the murder and is frustrated that Macbeth is acting cowardly.
• In Act Two, Scene 2, Lady Macbeth uses lots of imperative sentences, showing that she is calm and in control of the situation as she tells Macbeth what he needs to do. Which is the best example of this?

  1. "A foolish thought…"
  2. "Give me the daggers."
  3. "Infirm of purpose"

  2 - Lady Macbeth takes what a Jacobean audience would expect to be the man’s role here - she gives her partner orders and is calm in a crisis.
• Why does Donalbain flee to Ireland? Choose the LEAST likely explanation.

  1. As one of the King's heirs, suspicion for the murder may fall on Donalbain.
  2. Macbeth threatens to murder Donalbain if he doesn't leave the country.
  3. Donalbain's life could also come under threat as one of the King's heirs


  2 - Donalbain runs away to Ireland as he is afraid that the person who killed his father will kill him too, or that people will suspect him of the murder.
• Macduff responds to the King's murder by using the exclamative, "Oh horror, horror, horror!" What is likely the reason for this?

  1. He doesn't like the sight of blood and it causes him to lose all sense of words.
  2. He cannot believe the King has been murdered and cannot find the words to express how he is feeling.
  3. He wants to make clear to everyone that he is not responsible, so repeats his horror


  2 - Shakespeare uses exclamatives and repetition to show Macduff’s extreme emotion, which reinforces the shocking violence of Macbeth’s act
• Which of these might suggest to the audience that regicide is against the natural order?

  1. the way that animals react to the murder
  2. Macbeth saying that it is a "sorry sight"
  3. the fact that Macbeth cannot say "amen"


  1 - God was thought to be creator of all and this description of the animals' unnatural cries shows regicide is sinful. Additionally, a horse is described as eating another horse, showing the animals have become crazed at the hour the King died
• The King's murder takes place off stage between scenes 1 and 2. Which of these is NOT likely to be a reason for this?

  1. Shakespeare thought the stagecraft would require too much effort, and pig's blood was too expensive.
  2. The act of regicide was thought to be the biggest sin - concerned of showing a crime so sinister
  3. Perhaps Shakespeare wanted to appease the King, who would likely be shocked at the murder of a King on stage.


  1 - Shakespeare performed - with the King's blessing - as a troupe called "The King's Men". It's likely he would not have wanted to offend the King through his production
• Banquo tells Macbeth he "dream'd last night of the three weird sisters". How does Macbeth respond?

  He says he is not concerned about them - He says, "I think not of them", but this is a lie, as the audience knows Macbeth is obsessed by what the witches have told him.
• 1. Lady Macbeth tells her husband, "a little water clears us of this deed". Which of these is NOT a likely reason for her use of euphemism here?


  Perhaps she knows Banquo is listening into Macbeths' conversation as he is suspicious - there is no evidence
• Lady Macbeth tells her husband, "a little water clears us of this deed". What is a likely explanation for her use of euphemism here?


  She might think it's only a small obstacle to overcome or she senses that Macbeth hasn't yet come to terms with what he has done