1. At the beginning of Act Two, how does Banquo show that he is already on guard and fears for his life? At the beginning of Act Two, Banquo is clearly uneasy. He admits to Fleance that he senses there is danger and that he has been having trouble sleeping. We later learn that this is because he has been dreaming of the weird sisters. When he hears someone approach, he immediately grabs his sword and demands to know who is there. 2. What sign do you see that, even before the murder, Macbeth is losing touch with reality? Macbeth shows that he is losing touch with reality by beginning to imagine things before he has committed the murder.
He imagines that he sees a dagger, “Is this a dagger which I see before me, The handle towards my hand? ” , and although he knows that this is an hallucination, he takes it as a sign. The image of the dagger then changes to one which is covered in blood. (Line 32) Scene 2. 3. In Scene 2, why is Macbeth still in possession of the murder weapons? Macbeth still has the murder weapons as he claimed he heard a voice calling that “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep! ” before he had a chance to dispose of them. (Line 34-5) He also claims to have heard the drugged guards cry out and was troubled when he could not answer ‘Amen’.
4. What happens to the daggers? Lady Macbeth takes the daggers from her husband and plants them on the grooms, who have been drugged and are sleeping outside Duncan’s door. 5. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth comment on the stains of Duncan’s blood. Compare their reactions. Macbeth shows his guilty conscience by wondering if he’ll ever be clean. He imagines that his bloody hands will stain the oceans themselves. Lady Macbeth is much more reserved and practical and tells her husband that “A little water clears us of this deed. ” Her conscience does not trouble her here. (Line 66)