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What happens in Act 2, Scenes 1 & 2 of Macbeth?
In Scene 1 of Act 2, Banquo and his son Fleance walk in the halls of Macbeth’s castle at night. In another part of the castle, Macbeth hallucinates a bloody dagger floating in the air before heading into Duncan's bedchamber. In Scene 2, Macbeth returns to Lady Macbeth after killing Duncan. She puts the bloody daggers he used in Duncan's bedchamber to frame his servants.
Read our Summary & Analysis of Act 2, Scenes 1 & 2. (3-minute read)
Are any key characters introduced in Act 2, Scenes 1 & 2 of Macbeth?
Fleance, Banquo’s son, is introduced in Act 1 of Scene 2—significantly, bearing a torch in the darkness of Macbeth’s Inverness castle. He appears only briefly in this scene and one other, but his existence is crucial to the plot since the witches prophesied in Act 1, Scene 3 that Banquo’s children would rule Scotland after Macbeth. This highly inconvenient detail increasingly preys on Macbeth’s thinking, driving him to further violence.
Read our in-depth Character Analysis of Fleance. (2-minute read)
How violent is Macbeth?
Macbeth is generally considered one of Shakespeare’s most violent plays. It begins and ends with bloody military battles and is peppered throughout with numerous gruesome political murders, including those of a king and of a child. However, it is significant that almost all the violent acts occur offstage. Instead of witnessing the carnage firsthand, we hear grisly accounts of bloodshed that has occurred, forcing us to picture it in our heads.
Read about Violence as a Motif (#2) in Macbeth. (1-minute read)
What does blood symbolize in Macbeth?
In Macbeth, blood is a powerful symbol of permanent guilt. Unlike the physical blood on the battlefield in Act 1, which represents honor and bravery, the blood on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth’s hands after Duncan is murdered represents a moral stain that cannot be washed away.
Read more about Blood as a Symbol in Macbeth. (2-minute read)
What crucial development in the plot occurs in Act 2 of Macbeth?
Macbeth’s murder of King Duncan in Act 2 (which occurs offstage at the end of Scene 1) represents the climax to the play’s major conflict: Macbeth’s inner struggle between his ambitions and his sense of decency. After he butchers the sleeping king, Macbeth has passed the point of no return and his conscience disappears.
Read more about the key Plot Elements in Macbeth. (2-minute read)
