Act 2, Scene 1 Summary

The scene begins with Banquo and his son Fleance walking in the torch-lit halls of the castle. It is past midnight, and Banquo mentions that he hasn’t been able to sleep well due to an onslaught of “cursed thoughts.” As Macbeth enters, Banquo explains to him that he is unable to stop thinking about their encounter with the three witches. Macbeth and Banquo agree to discuss the matter later, and Banquo pledges his loyalty to the king before leaving. Macbeth, now alone, has an extraordinary vision in which he sees a dagger suspended in midair, its tip aimed at King Duncan’s bedchamber. He thinks he sees blood on the blade, but is soon able to tell that this is only a hallucination, a manifestation of his discomfort about the imminent murder. The bell tolls, a signal from Lady Macbeth, indicating that the chamberlains are asleep. Macbeth walks toward King Duncan’s chamber.

Act 2, Scene 1 Analysis

The hour of the murder has now arrived. When he meets a troubled Banquo in the halls, Macbeth lies to him that he does not think much about the prophecy. Macbeth is also alarmed by the sight of Fleance, Banquo’s son, as Macbeth remembers the prophecy about Fleance ascending the throne. This encounter informs the audience that should Macbeth succeed in killing Duncan, he will be driven to more violence to make his kingship secure, that Fleance will inevitably be in danger. On the other hand, Macbeth’s hallucination shows that he is tortured by the thought of betraying his king.

Act 2, Scene 2 Summary

The scene begins with Lady Macbeth anxiously awaiting Macbeth’s return from Duncan’s chamber. When she hears a sudden noise, she fears that Macbeth may not have been able to kill the king. She proclaims that she would have killed the king herself if not for his resemblance to her old father. Meanwhile, Macbeth appears, his hands stained in blood. He is visibly shaken, and tells Lady Macbeth that he’d heard the chamberlains saying their prayers and had wanted to join them, but couldn’t bring himself to utter the words. He tells her that he couldn’t even say “Amen.”

Macbeth also tells her that he’d heard someone say, “Sleep no more, / Macbeth does murder sleep” when he’d killed the king. Lady Macbeth tries to calm Macbeth, but is enraged to see him carrying the bloodstained daggers he should have planted on the chamberlains. She urges him to go back and frame the chamberlains, but Macbeth refuses to reenter Duncan’s chamber. Lady Macbeth goes back with the daggers, proclaiming that she would be ashamed to be as cowardly as her husband. When she is gone, Macbeth hears a mysterious knocking, which sounds ominous to him. The knocking happens again when his wife returns. Lady Macbeth leads him back to their bedchamber, assuring him he can wash the blood off with water.

Act 2, Scene 2 Analysis

This scene is singularly concerned with Duncan’s murder. However, the murder is not directly depicted; it is only alluded to, and this approach directs the audience to focus on the killers’ emotions and travails. Shakespeare’s use of elision, a technique he employs throughout the play to heighten intensity and menace, is especially exemplary in this scene. By not portraying the murder, the act becomes more treacherous and gruesome, and details such as how Duncan might have struggled for life are left to the audience’s imagination.

Disappointed at Macbeth’s hesitation and poor execution, Lady Macbeth finds herself agitated and takes it upon herself to redeem the situation. As she goes about correcting Macbeth’s errors, Lady Macbeth seems to acquire a heightened sense of awareness. In fact, she becomes aware of every noise in the castle.

When Lady Macbeth states that she would have killed the king herself if he hadn’t resembled her old father, the audience gets a rare glimpse of her vulnerability. This also shows that, though she berates Macbeth for not being masculine enough to spill blood, she, too, is susceptible to being rattled. She dismisses Macbeth when he tells her that he’d heard an ominous voice announcing that he has murdered sleep. Ironically, later in the Act, Lady Macbeth is deprived of sleep and finds herself walking around the castle all night. She remains resilient nonetheless. Though she is briefly rattled, Lady Macbeth seems more equipped than Macbeth to handle the bloodshed. She seems convinced that the Macbeths’ involvement in the murder can be concealed altogether. Though she is also certain that she can deal with the guilt, later in the play, she imagines that her hands are bloodied and repeatedly washes them to get rid of the imaginary bloodstains.

Act 2, Scene 3 Summary

The knocking continues, and this time someone is indeed at the castle’s door. The porter, who compares himself to hell’s gatekeeper, answers the door. At the door are Macduff and Lennox, who have been summoned to arrange the king’s departure. When they complain that the porter took too long to answer the door, he tells them that he is drunk and could not move fast enough. He also tells them that though alcohol might increase sexual desire, it only seems to diminish one’s capacity to focus on the sexual act.

It is early morning, and while the rest of the castle is deep asleep, Macbeth is unable to find sleep or quiet. He directs Macduff toward Duncan’s bedchamber. To his horror, Macduff discovers that the king has been killed. Lady Macbeth emerges and pretends to be horrified. Duncan’s sons, Donalbain and Malcolm, also arrive. Noticing the chamberlains’ bloodied daggers, everyone agrees that the chamberlains must have killed Duncan. Meanwhile, Macbeth admits to killing the chamberlains in a fit of rage. However, Macduff seems suspicious of these deaths. At this stage, Lady Macbeth faints. Fearing that their life, too, might be in danger, Duncan’s sons decide to flee.

Act 2, Scene 3 Analysis

The light comedy in the porter scene heightens the suspense. Unlike other characters of noble birth who speak in iambic verse, the porter’s speech is presented in prose. This conveys that his role is less important than the others’. However, his jocular manner and merry banter reveal many truths, such as the likening of the castle to hell, a comparison justified by the murders that takes place in the castle. When he broaches the matter of sex, it hints at Lady Macbeth’s sexual taunting of her husband when he was hesitant about the killing. His speech on the themes of hell, lechery, and confusion of mind obliquely refer to the play’s major themes.

Similarly, when Lennox talks of the previous night’s storm, it is an allusion to the chaos about to burst forth. After persuading her husband to commit the murder, Lady Macbeth’s character now becomes secondary to Macbeth’s, who now emerges as the central character. In his conversation with Macduff, Macbeth is reduced to speaking in clipped, halting sentences, and this indicates his anxiety and troubled mind. He is terrified of the imminent discovery of the murder, and he is unsure if he can get away with it.

Once the king’s body is discovered, things move fast. Macbeth is no more hesitant; he assumes control of his narrative by admitting he killed the chamberlains. Macduff, who so far has had no significant role in the play, becomes the first person to suspect Macbeth. He later expresses his suspicion to Ross. Macduff also opposes Macbeth’s rise to the throne, and decides to return home to Fife instead of traveling to Scone to participate in Macbeth’s coronation. The scene swiftly establishes Macduff as Macbeth’s nemesis. Though Malcolm is the rightful heir to the throne, he lacks Macduff’s initiative. That Malcom lacks initiative is evident in his decision to flee; he does not consider opposing Macbeth’s claim to the throne.

Act 2, Scene 4 Summary

Ross is in a conversation with an old man who tells him about the evil and chaos that have disrupted the natural order in the kingdom. The day is dark. The audience is also told that an owl had killed a falcon earlier in the week, and that Duncan’s horses had acted strangely—both being ominous signs of doom. Macduff enters and states that Duncan has been buried, that his sons have fled, and that Macbeth is the new king of Scotland.

Act 2, Scene 4 Analysis

The old man—a symbol of wisdom, experience, and tradition—describes to the audience the omens that foretell the imminent chaos and disruption. The storm that accompanied the witches’ appearance at the beginning of the play and the storms currently ravaging the kingdom signify the unleashing of the terrible order set forth by the treacherous murder of Duncan. The storms signify that King Duncan’s benevolent reign has been replaced by Macbeth’s tyranny. When Macduff enters and declares Macbeth the new king, the scene represents the fulfillment of the witches’ prophecy.