After reading Act II of the Macbeth play, I found that there were two scenes that interested me the most and engaged my interest the most. The first scene was when the porter going to answer the gate door for Macduff and Lennox. each time Macduff would knock on the door, we would make a reference to Beelzebub, or a reference to the dark image of that effect. The dark references peaked my interest due to the events that happened before it with the murder of the innocent King Duncan. I believe that the reference to the devil is used as symbolism of the lost of purity and of a greater good, allowing evil to fill the castle. the direct reference to the devil and calling his position such as "porter of hell gate..." as both dark and reinforcing the idea that something "unholy" has taken place. The second scene that caught my interest is right after the murder is committed and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth speak to each other. Lady Macbeth states that she can no longer say "amen".This particular act in act 2.2 is important in the idea of forgiveness and personality change. From the first moment Lady Macbeth was introduced, all she was concerned with was killing Duncan and Being the queen. however, this one moment show a dramatic change in the character. The fact that she is concerned that she can say "amen" shows that she is concerned with the idea that she can never be forgiven by God and thus never be cleansed of her sins or her worries about what they did. I find this to be in perfect alinement with the line "fair is foul, and foul is fair." This double loaded phrase illustrated that the once foul and uncaring Lady Macbeth will become fair and be tormented by the demons that haunt and torture her soul.
My questions for this act are some small things that I became aware of as I read. Why did Lady Macbeth make a comparison to Duncan and her father? Is this what causes her change and her transformation and her decent into madness? Another point that got me curious is right after the king's death, Macduff decides to leave the kingdom during this great time of panic. Is Macduff aware that someone in the castle killed Duncan? Has he already figured out that Macbeth is the murderer?
Excellent analysis Drew and a fine set of discussion questions (I wish we had time to address them all in class). I really appreciate that you pulled in specific quotes into your analysis, and I would like to see that even more. For example you reference 2.2 but what line specifically raised the question of personality change? Bring in some more textual evidence to analyze and it will only improve your post. Keep it up!
ReplyDelete