ISC Macbeth Workbook Answers : Act 2 Scene 2

The scene takes place at Macbeth’s castle at Inverness. As the curtain rises Lady Macbeth tells the audience that she has drugged the guards to get them drunk, and that she herself has taken some wine to make herself bold. She imagines that there is a cry from outside the room, and she is afraid that the two grooms are awake and the plan of murder is unsuccessful. Nothing happens and after a few moments Macbeth enters, Lady Macbeth has become bold by now. She tells her husband that she herself would have stabbed King Duncan if he had not resembled her father as he slept.

Macbeth After the Murder: Macbeth tells his wife that, as he descended the stairs someone stirred in his sleep and said a short prayer. Macbeth had tried to say “Amen” in reply to the prayer but the word “Amen” got stuck in his throat. Lady Macbeth advises him to ignore the whole thing. He asks her why he had not been able to say the word “Amen” especially when he needed the blessing.
Macbeth recalls that he heard a voice crying to him to sleep no more..

Methought I heard a voice cry, ‘Sleep no more.
Macbeth does murder Sleep’, the innocent sleep,
Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleeve of care,
The death of each day’s life, sore labour’s bath,
Balm of hurt minds, great Nature’s second course,
Chief nourisher in life’s feast.

The mysterious voice had told Macbeth that he has murdered sleep. Lady Macbeth does not understand what her husband means, but he continues to say that he has murdered sleep. He is overtaken by the horror of what he has done.

Lady Macbeth cleverly advises him to place the daggers in the hands of the grooms, and smear them with blood. That would clear him of suspicion. But Macbeth refuses to do so. Lady Macbeth herself goes into the room, and smears the sleeping guards, with blood. On return, she confides in Macbeth telling him that a “little water clears them of the deed.” He wonders whether all the waters of the ocean can wash the blood clean from his hands. It seems to him that his hands with blood can turn the entire water of the oceans to a red colour. He says:

Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood
Clean from my hand? No, this my hand will rather
The multitudinous seas incarnadine,
Making the green one red.

The Knocking: Lady Macbeth returns after having smeared the guards with blood, tells Macbeth that now her own hands are also red, but a little water clears them of the suspicion. There is more knocking at the gate. They go in and put on their night-gowns to show others that they were on bed during this part of the night. Macbeth expresses the wish that this knocking would wake Duncan from his deep Sleep