Act 2 Response
Act 2 starts out with Banquo, Fleance, and Macbeth conversing in the middle of the night. Banquo broaches the witches' prophecies, but Macbeth dismisses him, saying he wants to discuss later on that subject. From this brief conversation, we can get a sense of Banquo's stout loyalty towards Duncan. Right when Macbeth proposes that they ought to speak later, Banquo says, "So I lose non / In seeking to augment it, but still keep / My bosom franchised and allegiance clear, / I shall be counselled" (II.i.34-37). He is willing to speak to Macbeth as long as he can maintain his loyalty and allegiance to the king. It is clear that Banquo is like the alter ego of Macbeth; he is a warrior willing to serve his king until death, while Macbeth secretly plans to murder Duncan out of ambition.
After Banquo and Fleance exit, Macbeth has a soliloquy. He hallucinates and sees a dagger floating in front of him, slowly guiding him towards Duncan. In his soliloquy, he says, "I have thee not, and yet I see thee still. / Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible / To feeling as to sight? Or art thou but / A dagger of the mind, a false creation, / Proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?" (II.i.44-48). He also says, "Now o'er the one half-world / Nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse / The curtained sleep. Witchcraft celebrates / Pale Hecate's offerings, and withered murder, / Alarumed by his sentinel, the wolf ..." (II.i.58-62). He is clearly in a nervous breakdown, seeing apparitions and speaking nonsense. He is overwhelmed with guilt and fear of the consequences.
Scene 2 begins with Lady Macbeth's soliloquy. She explains (to herself) how she managed to drug the guards so heavily "That death and nature do contend about them, / Whether they live or die" (II.ii.10-11). She also has left the kill dagger on the guards so that Macbeth can find it easily. Lastly, she comments, "Had he not resembled / My father as he slept, I had done 't" (II.ii.16-17). She is saying that she would've done the deed herself only if Duncan did not look like her father.
When Macbeth enters after committing the murder, the two have an extended conversation. Macbeth is still in a nervous breakdown, traumatized by guilt and shame. He recounts how he could not simply say "Amen" when one of the servants cried out "God bless us!" in his sleep. As a religious man, he needed God's blessing the most for having done what he did, but the magnitude of his deed was simply too large. Moreover, he also says, "Methought I heard a voice cry, "Sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder sleep"--the innocent sleep, / Sleep that knits up the raveled sleave of care..." (II.ii.49-51). He is so ashamed of his deed that he begins hearing imaginary voices decrying his act. These hallucinations and breakdowns show Macbeth's remorse and depression for his treason.
Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth is calm and indifferent to his husband's deeds. Instead of having sympathy, Lady Macbeth only cares about how the plan is going to play out. She says, "Why, worthy Thane, / You do unbend your noble strength to think / So brainsickly of things. Go get some water / And wash this filthy witness from your hand" (II.ii.59-62). This indifference shows Lady Macbeth's cold-blooded-ness and her fervent ambition for power.
Scene 3 begins with a soliloquy from the porter. His soliloquy is a comedic relief from the intense action we saw; it is almost like an intermission. His drunk humor is intended to relieve the readers and bring in a new atmosphere. Also, his extended soliloquy also gives the Macbeth couple some spare time to clean the evidence and prepare an alibi. After the soliloquy, Macduff and Lennox enter and see the deed. Lady Macbeth's ruse points the murder towards the guards, and Macbeth brutally kills them. He says the following to explain for this: "The expedition of my violent love / Outrun the pauser, reason" (II.iii.125-126). His excuse is that his love for Duncan was too great, that when he saw him killed by the guards, his thirst for avenge outran reason and drove him to kill the murderers.
Amid the panic, Malcolm and Donalbain have a discreet conversation among themselves. They agree that this place is not safe for them, saying, "There's daggers in men's smiles; the near in blood, / The nearer bloody" (II.iii.163-164). They believe that they are surrounded by deceitful men, and that they could be the next targets. Malcolm flees to England and Donalbain flees to Ireland.
Scene 4 begins with a conversation between Ross and an Old Man, who describe the unnatural happenings that occur during the night of Duncan's murder. They recount how the darkness covered the skies, a falcon was killed by an owl (which usually go for mice), and Ducan's horses, which are usually swift and beautiful, turned wild and began eating each other. Shakespeare includes these details to set a very menacing and dark atmosphere in the play. What is special about this, however, is that the setting, which is usually described during or before an action, is actually described after the action. Normally, the description of the dark atmosphere by Ross and the Old Man would go before Duncan's murder, but it is placed after the murder. I believe the order was switched like this to emphasize the gravity of the murder and the impact it will have on the rest of the play.
The Great Chain of Being is the hierarchy of everything in the universe. God is in the top, angels in the second, then kings, nobles, merchants, working class, land animals, birds, plants, and lastly minerals. If, however, one class goes against the Great Chain of Being, like when a nobleman kills his king, strange events happen on Earth. These events include darkness, earthquakes, and floods. In the play, the unnatural occurrences happen because Macbeth kills Duncan and the Great Chain of Being is broken. Owls kill falcons, and horses eat each other. The Great Chain of Being has to be restored in order for these events to stop.