Macbeth- Act 2 Reading Journal

 Act 2, Scene 1
-Scene 1 opens with Banquo and Fleance which is interesting because Macbeth has just decided to murder the King and Banquo is a possible threat because his 'children shall be Kings'. They then meet Macbeth in a dark corridor which is fortunate for Macbeth because his 'face..is a book where men may read strange matters'. There is dramatic Irony when Banquo says to Macbeth 'I dreamt last night of the three Weird Sisters' and Macbeth replies 'I think not of them' which as an audience, we know to be untrue because he has become obsessed by them. This highlights that Macbeth realises that even to his best friend, he has to keep this secret which only further isolates him and allows him to fester in his own thoughts. This could possibly mean that he is planning Banquo's murder and by veiling the truth is makes Banquo unguarded and vulnerable.

-Macbeth is then left by himself and Shakespeare gives him a soliloquy. Within this, he speaks of a dagger that is floating before him- 'Is this a dagger which I see before me'. This is a supernatural event as he is seeing an inanimate object. This is the first time that we possibly start see Macbeth having psychological problems as his mind reacts to murder. This is the scene before he kills the King, as he says 'A dagger of the mind, a false creation' suggesting that he understands it is a hallucination. There is a chance that this is because of the trauma of him knowing what he is about to do. This isn't the first time that he has killed a person so perhaps, the trauma is a result of the person he is about to kill rather than the act itself, to some extent celebrating murder as in one instance it is portrayed as a positive and heroic act while another it can be portrayed as something sick and masochistic. 

Act 2, Scene 2
-Lady Macbeth enters and her speech is full of animal imagery, saying 'the owl that shrieked' which suggests that the act of murder is possibly an animal instinct and this makes them seem quite simple characters as they don't use their knowledge and logic. Animal imagery is a theme used throughout the play.  She also says at the end of her speech while she is alone that 'had he not resembled my father as he slept, I had done't'. She is suggesting that she would have done it, had he not looked like her father. She may being trying to justify to herself that she is not weak and if she wanted, she would be able to do it herself or possibly this is her mind playing tricks as she is carrying out a sin that her father would've instilled to be wrong.

-Macbeth has 'done the deed' meaning that he has killed the King. At this point in the play, we know that there is no turning back. We don't actually see Macbeth kill the King and this could be to keep some sort of detachment from Macbeth and the act so that as an audience, we don't feel repulsed by him. Although he did it, it didn't go quite to plan because he brought the daggers with him, he then refuses to go back into the room and so Lady Macbeth commands him 'give me the daggers'. This may be because she wants to have done something to prove it to herself that she can. Even though she didn't kill him, she was still able to go into the room to plant the evidence that the guards had killed the King. 

Act 2, Scene 3
-The Porter is drunk and portrays a comic character. This brings a comic relief after such a serious scene. When he meets Macduff, he is trying to be crude and shocking when he says that 'urine' is provoked by drink. Macbeth then enters the scene and Macduff asks him whether the King is up yet. Macbeth tells  him no so Macduff goes to wake him. This is an important scene because we see the way that both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth react to the news. In the mean time Lennox suggests that he heard 'strange screams of death'. Macduff enters very shocked and then goes to wake everyone to tell them the news. It is Lady Macbeth the comes out first, this is probably because she hasn't actually been sleeping and has been waiting for Duncan to be discovered. When she is told the news, she acts to be horrified and shocked 'woe'. Macbeth suddenly admits that he 'did kill them' and the attention shifts onto him however Lady Macbeth needs the attention to be away from them so she pretends to swoon. It is also possible that she did this to act as though she is sickened by what has happened meaning that no one will suspect her.

-The King's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, are left together. They conclude that running away would be the best thing so one goes to England and the other to Ireland. As far as they are aware, it was the guards outside the room that killed the King meaning that they have been given no reason to suspect anyone else. However they believe that 'there's daggers in men's smiles' implying that they can't trust anyone. 

Act 2, Scene 4
-Macbeth killed the guards which seems like it was in vain as now they are not the suspects. Macduff tells Ross that because Malcolm and Donalbain have fled, it 'puts upon them the suspicion of the deed'. So now, it seems that everyone believes that both the sons have killed their father rather than the guards and this means that they will never become King as they have committed murder and treason. Macduff goes on to say that Macbeth 'is already named and gone to Scone to be invested'. This means that Macbeth will soon become King and the three witches prophecy will come true however it is interesting that no one suspects Macbeth. This could be a natural ending for the play because both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have got what they wanted however further turmoil is needed in order for there to be punishment, ultimately Shakespeare is reinforcing society's values. 

-There also seems to be freak events happening as the horses 'ate each other' which could be a result of the witches. It could also be a reference to Macbeth as he is harming his own race, just like the horses that 'turned wild in nature' much like Macbeth.