Act 2
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MACDUFF Wherefore did you so?
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MACDUFF What did you do that for?
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MACBETH Who can be wise, amazed, temp'rate, and furious,
Loyal and neutral, in a moment? No man.
Th' expedition of my violent love
90Outrun the pauser, reason. Here lay Duncan,
His silver skin laced with his golden blood,
And his gashed stabs looked like a breach in nature
For ruin’s wasteful entrance; there, the murderers,
Steeped in the colors of their trade, their daggers
95Unmannerly breeched with gore. Who could refrain,
That had a heart to love, and in that heart
Courage to make ’s love known?
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MACBETH Is it possible to be wise, bewildered, calm, furious, loyal, and
neutral all at once? Nobody can do that. The violent rage inspired
by my love for Duncan caused me to act before I could think
rationally and tell myself to pause. There was Duncan, his white
skin all splattered with his precious blood. The gashes where the
knives had cut him looked like wounds to nature itself. Then right
next to him I saw the murderers, dripping with blood, their daggers
rudely covered in gore. Who could have restrained himself, who loved
Duncan and had the courage to act on it?
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LADY MACBETH Help
me hence, ho!
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LADY MACBETH Help me out of here, quickly!
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MACDUFF Look to the lady.
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MACDUFF Take care of the lady.
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MALCOLM
(aside to DONALBAIN ) Why do we hold our tongues,
100That most may claim this argument for ours?
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MALCOLM
(speaking so that only DONALBAIN
can hear) Why are we keeping
quiet? The two of us have the most to say in this matter.
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DONALBAIN
(aside to MALCOLM) What should be spoken here, where our
fate,
Hid in an auger-hole, may rush and seize us?
Let’s away. Our tears are not yet brewed.
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DONALBAIN
(speaking so that only MALCOLM
can hear) What are we going to
say here, where danger may be waiting to strike at us from anywhere?
Let’s get out of here. We haven’t even begun to
weep yet—but there will be time for that later.
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MALCOLM
(aside to DONALBAIN) Nor our strong sorrow
105Upon the foot of motion.
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MALCOLM
(speaking so that only DONALBAIN
can hear) And the time
hasn’t come yet for us to turn our deep grief into
action.
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BANQUO Look
to the lady.
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BANQUO Take care of the lady.
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Exit LADY MACBETH, attended
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LADY MACBETH is carried out.
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More Help
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Character List
CHARACTERS -
Macbeth: Character Analysis
CHARACTERS -
Plot Analysis
MAIN IDEAS -
Is Lady Macbeth a Villain or a Victim?
MAIN IDEAS -
Quotes by Theme
QUOTES -
Themes
MAIN IDEAS -
Review Quiz
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