Macbeth Act 2, Scenes 3 & 4

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Transcript

Hello and welcome to "Read it and (Don't) Weep," the podcast that will help you breeze through your high school literature classes. Are you tired of struggling to understand the themes and characters in classic works of literature? Well, I’ve got you covered! I am your host, Jackey Taggart, and I taught high school English for almost 20 years. Join me each episode as I dive into the world of high school literature and break down the essential elements of each work. From Shakespeare to Steinbeck, I'll cover it all. My goal is to give you valuable insights and analysis on some of the most popular high school literary texts, as well as tips and tricks for acing your tests and essays. Let’s start reading!

Act 2, Scene 3

Hello and welcome back to Read it and (Don't) Weep. Scene 3 opens with a shift in tone, bringing in some humor before the reality of Duncan’s murder begins to spread through the castle. This is a common technique Shakespeare uses to break up the tension between intense scenes allowing the audience to step back before the tension builds again. If you have not yet read up to this point in the play, it would be a good idea to get caught up with your reading and listen to my other episodes before continuing.

Scene 3 is supposed to be viewed as funny.  Not necessarily comedy like we think of it today, but some dark humor to relieve the tension. It is also important to note that the porter’s lines are written in prose, not poetic form.  Shakespeare does this intentionally.  He has his noble characters speak in iambic pentameter, but commoners speak in prose. This language shift  helps the audience recognize both the humor of the moment and the social divide between the characters on stage.

So, this scene opens with the persistent knocking we heard at the end of Scene 2. The knocking grows so loud that the Porter, who guards the castle gates, finally comes in. Half asleep, he imagines the castle is Hell and jokes that he is the one stuck turning the key for all the people trying to get inside.

He plays along with the idea, imagining who might be pounding at the gates. Maybe it is a farmer who killed himself after expecting a big harvest and got nothing. Maybe it is a dishonest politician who thinks he can lie his way out of anything. Or maybe it is a tailor who cheated his customers by stealing extra cloth for himself. So, what is the point here besides comic relief? Well, Shakespeare uses this moment to remind us that people might try to talk their way out of their mistakes, but those actions still have consequences, something everyone in the castle is about to learn.

When the porter finally opens the gate, he admits, "this place is too cold for hell," and please remember the porter. 

The people who were knocking are Macduff, the Thane of Fife, and Lennox, one of the other noblemen.  Here is where chaos ensues.

Macduff arrives and immediately asks the Porter why he was up so late. The Porter admits they were up late drinking and then launches into a rambling joke about alcohol. He says drink causes three things, a red nose, sleep, and trips to the bathroom. He also makes sexual jokes saying that alcohol “provokes” desire but then ruins performance. You can add your own interpretation here.

The humor ends once Macbeth enters. Now we are back to the serious tone. Macduff asks whether the King is awake yet, and Macbeth, playing the perfect host, simply says not yet and offers to take Macduff to the king’s chamber.

While Macduff goes inside, Lennox talks with Macbeth about the night the just had. He says it was wild and unnatural, filled with strange screams, violent winds, and even rumors that the earth shook. Macbeth holds it together and barely reacts, brushing off Lennox’s comments

Then Macduff rushes back in, completely shaken, screaming out in horror. He declares that chaos has reached its peak and that Duncan has been murdered. He calls everyone to see for themselves and begins shouting “Murder and treason,” ringing the alarm so the whole castle wakes up.

Lady Macbeth enters pretending she has just been startled awake, asking what is all the yelling is about. Banquo arrives as well, horrified by the news. But he is actually also a little suspicious.

Macbeth then launches into his show of grief, claiming that if he had just died an hour earlier, he would have lived a happy life. Now, he says, nothing in life seems meaningful anymore.

Suspicion quickly falls on the guards, who are found covered in blood with the daggers beside them. But then Macbeth makes a crucial move. He announces that he killed the guards himself. Wait, what?

When Macduff demands to know why, Macbeth claims his love for Duncan pushed him to act before reason could stop him. He paints a dramatic picture of Duncan’s body and says no one who truly loved the king could have held back.

Now, whether this was a mistake or a calculated move, it doesn’t really matter, it works. The only witnesses are now dead.

Just as questions begin to rise, Lady Macbeth suddenly faints, drawing everyone’s attention away and buying time. In the confusion, Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, quietly decide they are in danger. They may actually be blamed for the death of their father. Donalbain warns that there are “daggers in men’s smiles,” meaning that threats could be hidden anywhere.

The brothers decide to flee for their lives; Malcolm goes to England and Donalbain goes  to Ireland. Their escape keeps them safe, but it also makes them look very suspicious.

Banquo ends the scene calling for everyone to meet later and investigate this bloody act. But already, suspicion is already shifting away from Macbeth and toward the missing princes.

That’s it for Scene 3.  Before starting scene 4, take a few minutes to write down your thoughts in your reading journal. Think about this, who in this scene is trying to control how others see them, and what does that reveal about the theme of deception in the play?

Hey teachers! Are you looking for some top-notch resources to go along with this podcast episode? You'll find them right in my store. A quick click on the link in the show notes gets you right there. What awaits? A stash of guided questions, note-taking aids, and assessments to use with your students. Go ahead, make the most of these resources today!

Act 2, Scene 4

Scene 4 moves us outside the castle, where Ross is talking with an Old Man about everything that has happened. The Old Man says in all his seventy years he has never seen anything like this night, suggesting that Duncan’s murder has thrown the natural world out of balance. This is important to note as it will drive the action in the rest of the play. 

Ross agrees. He points out that even though it should be daytime, darkness is covering the sky, as if night is choking out the sun. To them, this darkness feels just as unnatural as Duncan’s murder.

They start listing strange signs that seem to reflect how off things seem to be. They talk about a powerful falcon was killed by a small owl, which flips the normal order of nature. Then they mention Duncan’s horses, usually calm, suddenly went wild, broke free, and even turned on each other. To Ross and the old man, it feels like the entire world is in chaos after the king’s death.

AT this point, Macduff then joins them and confirms what people are already saying. Because Malcolm and Donalbain fled, suspicion has fallen on them, and many believe they are responsible for the murder of their father. 

Macduff also brings big news. Macbeth has already been named king and has gone to Scone for the coronation, while Duncan’s body has been taken to be laid to rest with his ancestors.

Ross decides to go see the coronation, but Macduff chooses to head home instead. His decision hints that he is not fully comfortable with what is happening. The scene ends with a quiet but ominous feeling that the new order in Scotland may not be as stable as it looks. As Ross and Macduff head their separate ways, the old man calls out to them saying, “God’s benison (or blessing) go with you, and with those / That would make good of bad, and friends of foes.” In other words, the Old Man hopes that people can turn this wrong into a right, but Shakespeare keeps showing us the opposite happening. In Macbeth’s Scotland, appearances are misleading, and what seems fair is often foul underneath. We are back to that fair is foul and foul is fair theme again. 

And that brings us to the end of Act 2. Before you move on, take a minute to jot down your thoughts in your reading journal. Think about the characters’ behavior, the strange events in nature, and the shifting suspicions. How do these details show that things are not what they seem in Scotland after Duncan’s murder?

Closing

Thanks for listening to this episode of Read it and (Don’t) Weep. Be sure to subscribe to the show so you will be notified when new episodes are released. If you liked today’s show, please leave a review so others can discover my show.  If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, drop me an email at readitanddontweep@gmail.com, or reach out to me on social media. I would love to hear from you. The links are in the show notes.  

Thank you for listening.  I am Jackey Taggart and remember to Read It and Don’t Weep.