Act 2: Imagery/Symbolism
Scene observations
Starting from the first scene, we clearly see that the imagery of darkness plays a huge role in building the atmosphere and mood of the plot. This darkness is mentioned mostly throughout the first scene, and is used to foreshadow the death of Duncan in the next scene.
In Scene 1, the symbol of the moon and the stars are used as a type of imagery for darkness. As Banquo and Fleance walk through the courtyard of the castle, Banquo says, “There’s no husbandry in heaven; Their candles are all out” (II, I, 4-5), meaning that the ‘candles’ in the sky, the stars, are not shining tonight. Without the moon or the stars shining, the night is close to pitch black, emphasizing the extremity of darkness.
Following the stars and the moon is the constant imagery of dreams (nightmares) in the first scene. Banquo is unwilling to sleep due to his “cursèd thoughts” (II, I, 7) (the dreams from his heavy spirits→ nightmares) of the witches. The fact that Banquo is having nightmares is yet again another foreshadowing on the darkness that is about to occur in the following scenes (as dreams/nightmares only happen during hours of darkness). While Macbeth speaks about the hallucination of the dagger he sees appearing before his eyes, he mentions, “Wicked dreams abuse the curtained sleep” (II, I, 50-51). This is significant when referring to the importance of darkness, as he says that sleep is curtained, indicating that at night, Macbeth hopes sleep will act as a cover to protect him of his crime of killing the King.
Another image or symbol mentioned in this act is the owl (and birds). As tracked in previous scenes of the book, readers are aware that birds remain a main motif, since it is mentioned various times in Act 2. As Lady Macbeth enters the second scene, she thinks she hears noises and refers it to the “owl that shrieked, the fatal bellman” (II, II, 4). Two literary devices are used in this context- anaphora, and metaphor. She compares the shrieking of the owl at night to the ringing of a bell. The owl, which cries out before death, is compared to the ring of the bellman’s bell before a dead body makes its way to a burial. The owl is mentioned again in Scene 2 when Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that she “heard the owl scream” (II, II, 15). It is mentioned for the last time in Scene 4, when an old man and Rosse, a Nobleman of Scotland, are talking about the unnatural order of the world, just after King Duncan is murdered. The old man proclaims that last Tuesday, he saw a falcon, after towering to the highest point (“pride of place”) get attacked by an owl. This was another example of an unnatural instance occurring in our world.
Lastly, and most importantly, is the image of blood, made especially apparent in Scene 2 of this act. Macbeth feels so guilty after killing the King that several references to his bloody hands were made. He refers to his hands as “hangman’s hands” (II, II, 27)- hands covered in blood, as if they were some sort of sin. He exaggerates his bloody hands even further when he says rather than his hands being made clean by the ocean, it is more likely to turn the entire sea red from the King’s blood.
Act Analysis
Darkness is especially mentioned in this act as the darkness of the night. It is arguable that all memorable scenes in Macbeth take place at night, when darkness is best able to act as a shield to cover up the truths we want to hide. The death of King Duncan could just be one of the many incidents that occur in the play. Hence, darkness may act as an indication of evil deeds, as only once the sky is dark, can our evil actions be covered up, as is perfectly demonstrated in Scene 1 and 2 of this act.
Due to the fact that the owl is mentioned three times in this act, we can easily interpret that it obviously plays a role in imagery. After the first reference to the owl is used (when compared to the fatal bellman), we may interpret the owl to mean death, as bellmen only ring their bell when a dead body is about to move to a burial. The ‘scream’ or ‘shriek’ of the owl could be a foreshadowing, a forewarning sign that someone (a person probably close to Lady Macbeth, as she’s the one who heard the shriek) may be close to death. Shakespeare uses an owl to foreshadow the death of a character, probably because readers/audiences could be more easily persuaded or convinced that the owl’s warning is, in fact, true. This is because the owl has always stood for knowledge and wisdom, as it sees everything, it being a nocturnal animal. If it sees everything, it’s bound to know everything that happens around it, making the owl a clever choice in the imagery of a foretold death.
The mentioning of an owl in Scene 4, Act 2 of the play however, alters our interpretation of the owl as we hear about how the owl kills the falcon, supposedly a much stronger bird than the owl. This is an unnatural event, and we may relate this to another unnatural event the old man was just talking about in his previous sentence. He reckoned that for a man to kill a King was unnatural, and that it went against the natural order of the world. We may therefore interpret, that the ‘falcon’ may mean the King, and the ‘owl’, Macbeth. This is because the falcon is meant to be a lot stronger than an owl; this is true in terms of the King, as he too, has more power and more authority than Macbeth. Which is why when the owl, a creature less powerful and strong than the falcon, kills the falcon it comes off as bewilderment and astonishment to society- an unnatural event.
- Quote: “A falcon, towering in her pride of place, was by a mousing owl hawked at, and killed” (II, II, 12-13)
In the image: The owl appears to be bigger than the falcon to show its dominance and power. Its mouth is open to prepare for the kill of the falcon, which is flying straightly towards the owl, as if helplessly launching itself towards death.
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