Name:

Class:

Teacher:

Year Completed:

Assignment/Commentary:

Sabina

English

Mr. Ralston

2002

As an end of semester exam, we had to write a guided commentary on an extract from the first three acts of Macbeth- the book we had been reading. We received a set of eight extracts one week prior to the exam to annotate as preparation, and which we could bring to the exam as help. On the actual test, there were two of these extracts from which we had to choose one to write a commentary during a double period. We had the choice of writing about either character, motif, theme, or atmosphere within the extract we choose to use. I choose to write about character and motifs in Act 3, scene 2.

Macbeth Exam: Guided Commentary

This excerpt, a dialogue between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, occurs in Act 3 scene 2. Immediately prior to this scene, Macbeth speaks with two of the Murderers and instructs them about killing Banquo. Here, Macbeth informs Lady Macbeth of his fears for their safety. He knows that Banquo is suspicious of him and feels that he is in danger until Banquo is killed. He makes sure to remind her to give him special honor by look and speech but does not give her details about his plan. This passage is important because it gives us insight into the characters. It reveals a stronger and more confident side of Macbeth while still showing his present fears. There are several motifs which occur in this passage. The motif of sleep, occurring here twice (once in line 20, once in line 26), acquires in this context the connotation of restoration. The repetition of this word serves to emphasize that Macbeth will not be able to sleep or therefore be restores. There are several other motifs which may be linked together, such as night (line 48, 52, and 59), eye (line 53) and invisible (line 54), bloody (line 54), and hand (line 54). These refer to Macbeth's difficulty to put his imagination and thoughts into action.

In this passage, Macbeth's attitude towards killing is different from how he felt prior to Duncan's murder. Here, it is his decision to murder Banquo and he is entirely confident of being able to go through with the deed. Before, Lady Macbeth had to direct him in Duncan's killing. Macbeth questioned his own will to murder Duncan and was nearly incapable of doing it. Duncan's murder was completely Lady Macbeth's plan. Now Macbeth is the one who is motivated and organizes Banquo's murder. He no longer questions himself and does not even tell Lady Macbeth of his plans. He tells her to be "innocent of the knowledge" (Act 3, sc. 2, l. 51) and that she will learn soon enough of his doings.

In some ways, Macbeth's state of mind and utterances refers to the way he felt before and after Duncan's death. He mentions "the affliction of these terrible dreams/ That shake us nightly" (Act. 3, sc. 2, l.21-22). Ever since his murder of Duncan, he has had restless nights during which he cannot sleep. Before the murder, Lady Macbeth instructed him to hide his thoughts by showing an innocent face. Here, Macbeth says to "make our faces vizards to our hearts" (Act. 3, sc. 2, l.38). Both of these comments show that Macbeth is still very disturbed and unstable though he is able to show a strong outward expression. Lady Macbeth must still comfort him and tell him to relax. She demands that he forget Duncan's murder and move on.

Several of Maceth's remarks foreshadow or prefigure his future thoughts and emotions. When he says "Better be with the dead,/ Whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace,/ Than on the torture of the mind to lie/ In restless ecstasy" (Act 3, sc. 2, l. 22-25), this prefigures how he feels at the end of the play. He would rather die at times than be tortures with his past on earth. He almost envies Duncan because he can "sleep" in peace without being bothered. Later in the play he will wish he were dead rather than bearing his past deeds, the hate of his country, the death of his wife, and the thought that his life was pointless, meaningless, and brought no good.

The motif of sleep in this passage makes reference to the restorative order of nature. Macbeth worries that he will never be able to sleep, and that he will be haunted by nightmares. Sleep, throughout the play, is restorative and heals. If Macbeth cannot sleep, he cannot be restored. In the passage he believes that he is in danger and that he will never be able to sleep peacefully. Their troubles have only been "scorched" (l. 14), not killed; therefore, heaven and earth will perish and he will never heal. Now that Duncan is dead, "he sleeps well" (l.26). Nothing can harm him now; his mind and soul can be restored in heaven. Macbeth envies Duncan's peace of mind in death.

The motifs of eye and hand are closely linked throughout the plat and here the word "night" connects itself to them. The eye is a metaphor for Macbeth's mind and thoughts, whereas the hand is a metaphor for the actions Macbeth must do. In a previous passage, Macbeth must link the "eye" to the "hand" to be able to murder Duncan. Here he summons the night to blindfold his eyes, and therefore block his thoughts and mind, so that his "bloody and invisible hand" (l.54) can do the actions which are necessary for him to live peacefully. The night is the time of action because no one can see what Macbeth does; it blinds the eye. The word "blood" here is linked with "hand" because the action Macbeth must do is murder. The hand is invisible because it is disconnected from the eye or the mind. The eye and hand could be considered synecdoches for Macbeth as a whole because they symbolize the major things of which he is composed: mind and body, or action.

As said before, this passage has lines which foreshadow future thoughts. Here, Macbeth believes death may be the easier way out of his predicament. He feels that he is in constant danger and is jealous of Duncan's peace in heaven. Later, he wishes he were dead because he feels that his life was meaningless. He feels empty and distant, and finds no purpose in life, since people only worry instead of doing good for future generations. Macbeth develops in the sense that he becomes aware of his past. He is almost at peace with himself because he has an understanding of life, though he still feels guilty about his previous actions.