Act II Favourites

Explain in your view, what is the most striking image or line from Act II of Shakespeare’s Macbeth?
The most striking image or line from Act II of the Shakespeare’s Macbeth has to be the lines spoken between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in scene ii. In this scene, Lady Macbeth is waiting impatiently for her husband to murder the king and it reveals that she is also very nervous about the murder, even though she is the one who purposed it.

“My husband!” (Lady Macbeth), “I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?” (Macbeth), “I heard the owl scream and the crickets cry. Did you not speak?” (Lady Macbeth), “When?” (Macbeth) “Now” (Lady Macbeth Act II, scene ii).

This conversation between the two couples is fascinating because readers can tell they are starting to get paranoid. They know that killing the King is wrong, but yet they killed him. Again, dark imagery is used in the scene; “the owl scream and the crickets cry” gives the reader a negative connotation. Ironically, they are scared that someone is watching them. Moreover, this scene is interesting because a fight scene is not presented. Shakespeare purposely skipped the killing scene probably because he wants the audience or the reader to imagine it and to have his or her own interpretation of it.