ACT 3 SCENE 2
Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. The play follows the life of a fictional Scottish Thane Macbeth to show the themes of treason, vengeance, supernatural and witchcraft. Furthermore, this play is considered as a propaganda player to please King James the first who was originally born in Scotland.
This extract is from Act 3 Scene 2. In previous scenes, lady Macbeth successfully persuaded Macbeth to kill King Duncan and they are now the King and Queen of Scotland. However, Macbeth is worried that others might overthrow him like what he did to the King and starts suspecting his subjects. He regards his best friend, Banquo, as a big threat because of the prophecy and he believes Banquo knows he was responsible for killing the king. Hence, despite their brotherhood on the battlefield, he sent the murderers to kill him and his son. On the other hand, the relationship between Macbeth and lady Macbeth has become increasingly distant from each other. Lady Macbeth gives up the domination position and begins to regret what they’ve done in order to get what they have now, as she is tired of living life in “doubtful joy” and wants her old husband back. Macbeth seems to show less care to lady Macbeth and starts to hide secrets from her, which also can be seen in this extract as Macbeth didn’t want to tell her the plan directly after he dispatched the murderers. Overall, this scene serves as a turning point in the plot as it reveals the transformation in their personalities and the change of the dominating position in their relationship. Moreover, it shows the beginning of lady Macbeth’s discontent with her current life and will foreshadow her descent into madness that is revealed later on in the play.
Lady Macbeth uses “you” instead of the less formal, more familiar “thy” to address Macbeth at the start of the scene, which implies that the relationship between them has become more formal and distant compare to the one they had before. Moreover, this personal addressing might suggest that lady Macbeth regards Macbeth differently from the previous scenes. He becomes a more dominant and distant figure who is no longer approachable for lady Macbeth, perhaps Shakespeare tries to inform the audiences implicitly that something went wrong in their relationship. The phrase “keep alone” suggests that Macbeth tries to separate himself from others; probably he is brooding over what he has done. Even though there is distance between lady Macbeth and Macbeth, she still tries to tell Macbeth what to do like she used to, however, her tone has softened with more polite and formal selection of words. “Using those thoughts which…what’s done is done” suggests that she is persuading Macbeth to forget the past and move on. To wrap up her thoughts and feelings, lady Macbeth uses the phrase “what’s done is done” to persuade Macbeth that he can’t change the past, and hence the best way to live life without guilt is to simply let all the bad thoughts go. Her notable effort in comforting Macbeth probably suggests that she notices the change in his character after the murder, and she wants to help him get out of the misery because she misses the old Macbeth. Ironically, lady Macbeth is the one who goes crazy because she can’t let go the guilt later in the play. This contrary adds on dramatic tension to the play, engaging the audiences’ attention and interest.
Macbeth’s emotionless response contrasts with lady Macbeth’s heartfelt consolation, which highlights that he is in full control of their relationship now. The metaphor “scorch’d the snake…not kill’d it” uses the imagery of “snake” to represent Banquo and his son, Fleance. Macbeth regards Banquo as his biggest threat now despite the days they used to fight together on the battlefield. He believes that Banquo suspects him as the murderer, which Shakespeare implies i previous scenes, furthermore, he is afraid that Banquo will do the same thing to overthrow his power. Moreover, at this point of time, we have reason to believe that Macbeth trusts witches’ prophecies so much because they all turn to be true. To maintain his kingship, he has to kill Fleance who is promised to be the king. Macbeth gains his power by murdering the righteous King, and he confesses that he is afraid of others “teaching bloody lessons” to him perviously, which makes him live his life under endless doubts and fears. Shakespeare implies his madness to the audience by showing he is over sensitive and paranoid of anything that could possibly reveal him as a killer or overthrow his power. The negative cognation behind the word “snake” probably suggests Macbeth’s deep fear towards Banquo, which makes him to send the murderers. The notable alliteration “scorch’d snake” uses “s’ sound to create a sense of uncomfortableness, provoking a vicious atmosphere on the stage, foreshadowing the upcoming murder.
Macbeth confesses to lady Macbeth that he lives life in fear using the phrase “In the affliction of these terrible dreams”. “Terrible dreams” might refer to the nightmares he experienced after murdering King Duncan, showing Macbeth’s fear and regret over what he has done to get the crown. On the other hand, the “terrible dreams” might imply that Macbeth is scared of his enemies who are going to do to him the same thing he did to Duncan. The audiences might link his fears and worries to the phrase “teaching bloody instructions” that he mentioned in previous scenes, which highlights his insecureness and foreshadows his personality transformation. The metaphor “restless ecstasy” symbolises the murder and its long lasting impact on Macbeth and lady Macbeth. Moreover, the noun “ecstasy” suggests a sense of madness, which reflects to Macbeth’s current mind state. The line “Duncan is in his grave…fever he sleeps well” shows that Macbeth is jealous of King Duncan because the dead man can rest in peace now but Macbeth still has to live in turmoil. Shakespeare recalls the “sleep” image which first appears in Act 2 Scene 2 to emphasise that Macbeth has lost his inner peace. Shakespeare uses this section to illustrate the mixed feelings within Macbeth’s brain, which implies that he lives live in fear and doubts after the murder.
Although Macbeth is not willing to reveal his whole plan to lady Macbeth, he givers her clues which implies Banquo’s assassination. The line “let you remembrance…Banquo” adds on dramatic tension to the play because it foreshadows Banquo’s death. However, since only the audiences know the assassination plan which lady Macbeth doesn't know, they might laugh at this point of time, which adds on some comedy content to the play. Furthermore, Macbeth asks lady Macbeth to toast Banquo and respect him without revealing any further details, perhaps he’s giving hints to what is about to happen. We can view Macbeth’s decision of keeping the murder secret as a way to protect lady Macbeth, because he knows that she can’t afford another malicious loss.They still love each other, but they can never be as close as what they used to be. Macbeth confesses to lady Macbeth about his mental condition through a strong imagery “full of scorpions is my mind”. Macbeth’s mind is being stung by scorpions which are scary and poisonous creatures, showing that his brain is messed by multiple feelings: guilt, remorse and regrets that he has to face. These “scorpions” is accompanied by his apparent success in becoming the King of Scotland, which Shakespeare implies the idea of “what goes around comes around”, warning the audiences that the sinners will eventually pay their prices.
Macbeth makes some direct reference to Banquo and his son, Fleance in the line “thou know’t that…lives”, which gives another big hint of the murder. Lady Macbeth perhaps behind to suspect something is up, while she replies with “nature’s copy’s not eterne..assailable” which means that Banquo and his son are not going to live forever. She might try to free Macbeth from the worries that Banquo gives him based on the witches’ prophecies. Shakespeare uses strong imagery to create a dark, frightening and mysterious tone of Macbeth, for instance, the use of the “bat” and “beetle”. All of this insect imagery represents a dreadful deed that is being done soon. However, when lady Macbeth tries to dig in and ask for more information, Macbeth cuts her off by referring her as the “dearest chuck” who doesn’t need, or deserve to know the plans in depth. It emphasises the dramatic change in their relationship domination roles, showing that everything’s under Macbeth’s control at this point of the time.
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