Brianna Kitchens
Hudgins
AP Literature-1
18, February 2015 In act two scene 1
Banquo and his son Fleance walk in the torchlit hall of Macbeth’s castle. Banquo is having trouble sleeping saying his sleep inspired “cursed thoughts”.
Macbeth enters, and Banquo is surprised to see him still up. Banquo says that the king is asleep and mentions that he had a dream about the three sisters. Then Banquo suggests that the witches have revealed some truth to Macbeth. Banquo and Fleance leave, and suddenly, in the darkened hall, Macbeth has a vision of a dagger floating in front of him, its handle pointing toward his hand and its tip aiming him toward Duncan. He wonders whether what he sees is real or a “dagger of the mind, a false creation / Proceeding from the heatoppressed brain”. Continuing to gaze upon the dagger, he thinks he sees blood on the blade, then decides that he is just a little uneasy about killing Duncan. Lady Macbeth signals that the chamberlains are asleep and Macbeth strides toward Duncan’s chamber.
In scene two Macbeth leaves the hall, Lady Macbeth enters, boasting about her boldness. She imagines that Macbeth is killing the king even as she speaks. Hearing Macbeth cry out, she worries that the chamberlains have awakened. She says that she cannot understand how Macbeth could fail—she had prepared the daggers for the chamberlains herself. She then says that she would have killed the king herself but he reminded her of her father. Macbeth
