ACT II
SCENE I. Court of Macbeth's castle.
Enter BANQUO, and FLEANCE bearing a torch before him
BANQUO
How goes the night, boy?
FLEANCE
The moon is down; I have not heard the clock.
BANQUO
And she goes down at twelve.
FLEANCE
I take't, 'tis later, sir.
BANQUO
Hold, take my sword. There's husbandry in heaven; Their candles are all out. Take thee that too. A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, And yet I would not sleep: merciful powers, Restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature Gives way to in repose!
Enter MACBETH, and a Servant with a torch
Give me my sword. Who's there?
MACBETH
A friend.
Act 2 begins – as Act 1 ended – in the dark. We are still within the walls of Macbeth's castle and we seem to have passed some hours: the "moon is down" and Banquo and Fleance are alone. Like Macbeth, Banquo here manipulates the imagery of light and dark, observing that "there's husbandry in heaven; / Their candles are all out". The metaphor of "candles" is proverbial for stars and the idea that they are "all out" recalls Macbeth's desire for the stars to "hide your fires" in 1.4. The absence of light certainly suits Macbeth's quest for the night, with the lack of light "in heaven" suggesting that good has been overcome by evil. The idea of "husbandry" is an agricultural one, suggesting economy and thrift. Applied to "heaven", it seems oddly deflating; the idea of angels economising leaves Duncan vulnerable to the malice of Macbeth. Much like Macbeth, Banquo "would not sleep" despite a desire to do so ("and yet" suggests frustration). Sleep is for Banquo a "heavy summons"; his mind is too troubled (we assume by the witches' prophecies, though perhaps also Macbeth's rapid rise to Thane of Cawdor) and he worries that he will have nightmares he will not be able to control. The disruption of sleep and order prompts Banquo to an almost prayer-like request to the "merciful powers", a direct imperative address which recalls Lady Macbeth's attempt to channel spirits for her own needs in 1.5. Banquo's prayer is to a more benevolent spirit than Lady Macbeth's, though the juxtaposition of "merciful" with his "cursed thoughts" implies that – like Macbeth – Banquo is perhaps entertaining ambitions of his own, similarly in a limbo between good and evil. Whereas Macbeth's quieter reflections have been interrupted by a goading, ambitious wife, Banquo's are broken by the entrance of Macbeth. His instinct at the first noise is to grab for his "sword", suggesting he is attuned to threat and poised to act, although the sword is a more valiant weapon than the stealth dagger Macbeth will shortly carry. When Banquo asks who is there, Macbeth's response is oddly unnerving - "a friend" - and we suspect that the truth of their friendship will be soon challenged.
- Ruiyun