Reading Journal - Act II.

Act II – Scene I:

·         Soliloquy

·         “heat oppressed brain?” – Heat of the moment.

·         Questioning his heroism, overwhelming thoughts.

·         “Thou marshall’st me the way I was going” – military style precision, a word associated with an idea or direction.

·         Macbeth likens himself to a rapist – ‘Tarquin’ Lucrece.

·         “Moves like a ghost” – swift movements as if it’s not him – invisible.
·         Procrastinating ‘while I threat, he lives’.

Act II – Scene II:

·         Duncan’s death = an air of mystery, hard to stage, killing someone successfully.

·         Lady Macbeth shows signs of having a conscience – “had he not resembled my father as he slept” -possible signs of guilt.

·         Quickly pace, tremulous and anxious.

·         Stichomythia .

·         He’s remorseful, regretful, sorry it’s come to an end in this way “This is a sorry sight”

·         Lady Macbeth likes the idea of the blood? Thrilling to her?

·         She undermines him “ a foolish thought” .

·         “I could not say ‘amen’” -  a sense of guilt again, lost his religion.

·         Shakespeare uses colourful imagery “White”, “Red” and “Green”.

Act II- Scene III:

·         Comical scene?

·         Lady Macbeth ‘swooning’ – acting, clever deception.

·         Malcolm and Donalbain leave to England and Ireland. Suspicion may fall on them, back then family kill family.

·         Malcolm and Donalbain’s departure is overshadowed by Macbeth – “I did kill them”.
·         Paralleling porter scene and Macbeth.

·         Drunk on power.

·         The relevance of the porter? Is he needed?

·         Darkly satirical.

·         How did he get drunk?

·         He references death, does he know that Duncan is dead?

·         He makes MacDuff seem more regal and worthy of his title.

·         Don’t take the scene literally, it is not meant to make sense.

·         It parallels what a mess the situation Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are in.

·         Is it there to purely please a Shakespearean audience?

·         The DVD version = comic relief?

·         Sexualised

·         Contrast of light and dark = Gothic.

Act II- Scene IV:

·         The Macbeth’s become royalty

·         Thanes etc should go to the coronation; however it’s happening too quickly.

·         Noble or cautious?  - They don’t want to give Macbeth allegiance.

·         The Old Man and Ross discuss events that will happen – foreshadowing the rest of the play.

·         They talk about Duncan’s death being represented in his horses “And Duncan’s horses – a thing most strange and certain...turn wild in their nature...”

·         Philosophical in the way that the scene ends – “That what make good of bad, and friends of foes!”