WARNING: SPOILER ALERT
Part 1:
Can mere water truly wash away the foul actions of a crime? Lady Macbeth seems to think so. Or, at least, that is what she tells her husband when he begins to worry in Act II, Scene II, lines 62-71. He has just murdered the king and, as one should after committing so despicable a deed, he is beginning to wig out about it.
First off, his very descriptive, over the top worries show how seriously awful, world-shaking a crime he has committed. He knows the consequences will stick to him, whatever powers in the world try to break their hold (lines 63-64). Whatever he does, he will still have that murder of Duncan to deal with mentally. It's going to bleed out into all other aspects of his life, just as says the blood on his hands would discolor all the oceans on Earth (lines 64-66).
Of course, Lady Macbeth thinks a little splash of water should set her mind straight (lines 70-71). If they just wash their hands, she believes that they will completely cleanse themselves of the murder discoloring them. She is so completely convinced that she goes and washes her hands . . . and washes her hands . . . and washes her hands right through the play. As Macbeth commits more murders and gains more power, Lady Macbeth futilely continues attempting to cleanse her murderous hands.
Maybe all the death begins to catch up to some inner humanity residing deep within her? Or maybe she just reacted to her feelings of ambition here in Act I and Act II without really thinking about where it would take her? In either case, it's easy to enjoy the bit of irony here, where she believes washing her hands is all it takes to put the murder behind her and move on.
Part 2:
Why is the Third Murderer such a big deal? They open the scene questioning him, and there is so much speculation. . . But where did he come from and why does he matter so much?
Can Lady Macbeth see Banquo's ghost, too?
Is the Old Man outside Macbeth's castle just a peasant? Or why he is there?
Excellent response Erica and I appreciate the specificity. You keep a close eye on the theme of hand washing, although you can keep pushing your analysis further by expanding beyond the physical plain to the metaphoric and even spiritual. Also I would like to see you pull in some quotes as well, although I appreciate that you referenced the line numbers. Excellent start.
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