Macbeth's strange behavior is explained away by Lady
Macbeth,"...My lord is often thus,/And hath been from his
youth."
Since the murder of King Duncan, strange things
have been happening. In Act II, scene 4, a seventy year old man tells Ross that never
in his long life has he seen so many unnatural happenings like an owl killing a falcon,
heavy darkness when it should be day, and the unnatural behavior of Duncan's horses.
"Tis said they ate each other."
Since it seems to be a time
of odd behavior, Macbeth's odd behavior seems to be just part of a litany of strange
happenings. Lady Macbeth's explanation fits right into the current
pattern.
Another thing to remember when reading the scene
is who is Macbeth talking to and just how much of it is meant to be heard by the
gathered thanes. For example is he talking to them when he talks about blood being
shed? He could be "talking to himself" as it were and Lady Macbeth brings him back to
the group and the toast.
These are all men who have been to
war and perhaps have demons of their own that haunt them. Kind of like Scottish battle
fatigue.
Do these thanes begin to suspect things aren't
what appear to be? Probably, since this as a time full of fear and suspicion. With
constant warfare, alliances often shifted. The Thane of Cawdor's defection is a good
example of this. Who do you trust?
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