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Macbeth. Act III. Banquo sees that the prophecy has come true but suspects Macbeth’s foul play in achieving it. Macbeth fears Banquo because he’s daring, discerning, and was there at the beginning.
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Macbeth Act III
Banquo sees that the prophecy has come true but suspects Macbeth’s foul play in achieving it. • Macbeth fears Banquo because he’s daring, discerning, and was there at the beginning.
Macbeth sees that Banquo suspects him, so he hires two assassins to kill Banquo and Banquo’s son, Fleance.
Macbeth concludes his plan with the comment: “Banquo, thy soul’s flight,/If it find Heaven, must find it out tonight.” • The two murderers have been joined by a third when Banquo enters with Fleance. • The murderers attack Banquo, who cries, “O, treachery! Fly good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!”
He dies and Fleance escapes. • According to the witches, Banquo’s destiny is to father kings, but Macbeth wants to thwart that prophecy by killing Banquo and Fleance.
The astute viewer sees that Macbeth’s situation is hopeless. • The prophecy will come true, and anything Macbeth tries to do is the means by which the prophecy will be fulfilled.
King Macbeth and his wife, now queen, prepare for a banquet. • Macbeth is fearful and nervous, and his wife tries to calm him down, saying that “what’s done is done” (3.2.12).
They must present a fair face to the Scottish lords and pretend that they have nothing to hide. • At dinner, Macbeth invites his guests to sit down, but Banquo’s ghost arrives uninvited and takes Macbeth’s seat.
Naturally, the others can’t see the ghost. • Forgetting his manners, Macbeth shouts at his guest, “which of you have done this?” (Who has killed Banquo?)
If Macbeth was nervous before, he is tormented now; his mind is “full of scorpions” (3.2.36). • The guests don’t have a clue what Macbeth is talking about. • Macbeth shouts at the ghost, “Thou canst not say, I did it (the murder); never shake…Thy gory locks at me.”
The ghost disappears. • Macbeth offers a toast “to our dear friend Banquo, whom we miss;…Would he were here!”
He shouldn’t have pushed it. • Guess what? Banquo’s ghost reappears. • Macbeth shouts for it to leave his sight and the ghost disappears.
Lady Macbeth tries to cover for her husband and explain that this happens sometimes, and with a little rest, he’ll be all right. • She shoos the lords from the room with her apologies.
Alone, Macbeth feels so deep in blood “returning were as tedious as go o’er.” • Going back is as difficult as going forward – Macbeth’s in so deep he might as well keep going.
Lady Macbeth tells him he just needs a good night’s sleep. She’s off the mark because the banquet scene shows how Scotland has moved from order to Chaos as a result of Macbeth’s deed.
Fleance escaped the assassins, but now the rumors are that he killed his father, just as everyone thinks that Malcolm and Donalbain killed Duncan.
In another scene, Lennox and an unnamed lord discuss their suspicions about Macbeth. • We learn that Macduff is out of favor because he has also voiced his suspicions.
The lord Macduff, however, does not believe Macbeth to be innocent. • He follows Malcolm to England and incites the English king (Edward the Confessor) to lend his strength and attack Scotland and Macbeth.
The End Act III
