Scene Summary
Act 2 opens on a dark night with Banquo and his son, Fleance. They talk about the night as Banquo confesses he feels uneasy, telling his son “there’s husbandry in heaven... a heavy summons lies lead upon me... restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature gives way to in response.” Macbeth arrives, to Banquo’s surprise, and gifts Macbeth a diamond to pass on to Lady Macbeth for being such a gracious host. They talk further about the witches, and Banquo tells Macbeth he has dreamt of them and the wisdom they gave to Macbeth. Refusing to discuss them further, Macbeth requests that they should discuss this another time and dismisses him from his presence. After telling a servant to have Lady Macbeth ring a bell, he is left eventually on his own.
Alone, he has a vision of a phantom dagger within the air. Reaching out he cannot take it, blaming the “bloody business” he is to commit for it. He speaks darkly calling upon Hecate, the goddess of the moon and magic, to give him strength in the darkness to kill Duncan. The bell tolls, and he begins his journey to Duncan’s chamber, ominously muttering about his own deception and disloyalty – “false face must hide what the false heart doth know” as the scene ends.
Scene Analysis
The opening of the second act begins much like the first, ominous and shrouded in mystery. Though not as blatantly gory as the scenes to follow, Shakespeare still uses dark imagery and word play here in order to create a sense of growing unease and tension. The stormy entrances of the witches, the witches themselves, and Lady Macbeth’s calling upon demons to “unsex” her are all examples of Shakespeare evoking a dark and seemingly unnatural tone. Contextually, his audience would have understood the meaning of such imagery, as the deeply spiritual Jacobean masses would be wary of the fates that befell those who dabbled in unnatural forces. Shakespeare uses Banquo within this scene to reflect this notion, as he admits to his son Fleance that he feels uneasy and that something is amiss that night. Thus, Shakespeare uses Banquo as a reflection of the audience’s knowledge of the darkness looming over the plot, as aside from Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, only Banquo and the audience know of Macbeth’s meeting with the witches, and we are made to sympathise more with the rational and cautious Banquo over the violent and confronting Lady Macbeth.
The theme of guilt is also prominent in this scene, as Macbeth struggles with the task that lies ahead. Unlike the previous times where this has occurred, Shakespeare now visually represents the strain on Macbeth’s conscience with the phantom dagger ominously floating in front of him, a powerful symbol of the murder he is going to commit. Macbeth’s vision can interpret in a number of ways, each lending a deep understanding to his character. The dagger can be interpreted as just another example of magic in this world, a simple but true vision of Macbeth’s task and destiny. Though valid, a deeper interpretation is that the dagger is a figment of Macbeth’s slowly deteriorating mind, poisoned by ambition, fear, and greed. Although less obvious, this interpretation fits better with the overall themes of the play, and the guilt Macbeth feels at his unjust ambition. He says it himself, as when he attempts to grasp the dagger he cannot, claiming it as a “dagger of the mind, a false creation... an instrument I was to use.” The link between Macbeth’s guilt and the supernatural elements of the play are more common than what is first assumed, and throughout the rest of this act (and indeed the play), the idea that Macbeth’s deterioration mentally is somehow linked to the disorder brought upon Scotland by his actions only becomes stronger.
