Act III of Macbeth

1. Act III of Macbeth By Shahdee, Willy, Nicole, and Justin

2. Agenda • Take the quiz!  • Go over the answers! • Presentation • Answer several important questions presented in the play. • Enactment

3. Quiz • Who arranges the murder of Banquo? • Who do the murderers kill and why does the outcome worry Macbeth? • Who goes to England to seek help in overthrowing Macbeth? • How does Lady Macbeth conceal Macbeth’s actions at the banquet? • How many murderers does Macbeth initially ask to kill Banquo? How many does it take to commit the assassination?

4. Quiz Answers • Macbeth • The murderers kill Banquo but Fleance escapes. This worries Macbeth because Fleance can still become king; the “worm” has escaped. • Macduff • She says that Macbeth usually eccentric and he is just having one of his occasional fits. • He originally asks two but it takes three to assassinate Banquo.

5. Brief Summary • Banquo starts to think that Macbeth killed Duncan in order to become king. Macbeth invites Banquo to a feast. Because Macbeth doesn’t want the descen-dents of Banquo to be-come king, he plans on killing Banquo and Fleance when they are on the way to the feast.

6. Summary Continued • Macbeth hires two murderers to do the job by convincing them that Banquo is their enemy. One more murderer later joins the assassination. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that something big will happen that night, but he doesn’t tell her exactly what will happen. He just tells her to act normal during the feast.

7. Brief Summary Continued • The murderers kill Banquo but Fleance gets away. One of the murderers tells Macbeth that they killed Banquo but that Fleance escaped. • The serpent is killed but the worm escapes is the analogy Macbeth uses to describe the situation. • When Macbeth goes back to the banquet, he is confronted by Banquo’s ghost. • Macbeth is the only one that can see the ghost, and it caused him to make a fool of himself in front of his guests. Lady Macbeth tried to calm the guests, but she was forced to send the guests away.

9. Last Slide of Summary  • Macbeth decides to go back to the witches. Lennox, one of the guests at the banquet, suspects that Macbeth has been lying about the death of Duncan and Banquo. He finds out that Macduff has gone to England to seek help from Malcolm to overthrow Macbeth.

10. Take a breath! 

11. Major Themes -The association of evil with masculinity. -The fall of man -Fate vs. free will -The inevitability of fate -Nothing is what it seems!

12. Throughout the text, characters manipulate each other into violence by questioning manhood. Lady Macbeth believes that she should have been born a man because she has such a great capacity for evil. Similarly, Macbeth persuades the murderers into killing Banquo by questioning their manhood. “Come you spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here” (1.5.76-78). The Association of Evil with Masculinity

13. The Fall of Man • Macbeth exhibits a major theme present in both Greek and Christian drama. He falls from worthy thane, a position of superiority, to a position of humility on account of his ambitious pride. A characteristic flaw due to excessive pride and ambition is known as hubris. Not only is ambition a man’s weakness, but the pressure of a female only worsens the situation. • “But screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not fail” (1.7.70-71).

15. Fate vs. Free Will • The major debate in Macbeth is whether his actions were due to fate or free will. • Although the witches tell him that he is to become king, his emotions are self-driven. Yet, in the last battle scene before he is killed, he realizes that there is no escaping fate, since the witches’ prophecy is fulfilled. • “Accursed be that tongue that tell me so, for it hath cowed my better part of man!” (Act 5.8 lines 21-22).

16. The Inevitability of Fate The play portrays that it is impossible to avoid fate. A prophecy will always be fulfilled. Macbeth tried to avoid the situation the witches prophesized but the coming of the forest to Dunsinane and his killer who was not born from a woman was inevitable. It is only a matter of time until fate catches up. “And now a wood comes to Dunsinane-Arm, arm, and out!” (5.5.31-32).

17. Nothing is What it Seems! • The play portrays the idea that nothing is what it seems. Macbeth was a brave, noble thane yet he became the most-despised, violent tyrant. Even fairest nobleman can have the foul stench of evil. • “Fair is foul and foul is fair” (1.1.12).

18. The Importance of the Ghost Scene • The scene in which Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo provides insight into the instability of Macbeth’s mind. He enters a state of withdrawal, paranoia, and guilt even though he has finally has the power he has been longing for. This is the climax of Macbeth’s mental instability. He pleas to the ghost that it wasn’t he who actually committed the murder.

19. Do you think that it is fate that drove Macbeth to his actions or was it his free will and ambition? In many pieces of historical literature, women have been known to manipulate men, just as Lady Macbeth manipulated Macbeth. Why do you think women have this power? Discussion Questions

20. Pop QuizWe Hope You Paid Attention! • What do you remember? 1.What does hubris mean? 2. What is revealed about Macbeth in the scene in which he envisions the ghost? 3. Why does Macbeth kill Banquo? 4. How is the theme that it is impossible to escape fate portrayed in the play? 5. In Act III, who is regarded as the “serpent” and who is regarded as the “worm”?

21. Pop Quiz • A characteristic flaw due to excessive pride and ambition is known as hubris. • He feels guilty for the murder of Banquo. • Macbeth kills Banquo because he perceives him as a threat to the throne. • The prophecy the witches describe comes true; he is killed by a person not born from a woman. • Macbeth regards Banquo as the serpent and Fleance is the worm. Fleance got away and is still a threat.