Macbeth Act 3 Notes

Type Macbeth notes

Reviewed

Act 3

Banquo:
Foil character of Macbeth
Historically related to James I

Tragedy:

Macbeth is the tragic hero. He is responsible for his own downfall because of his
hamartia (ambition)
Truth vs appearance
Banquo’s soliloquy: The truth about what he’s feeling about Macbeth
Dialogue: Artifice; the artificial
Macbeth’s soliloquy: The truth about what he’s feeling about Banquo-elevating him

Macbeth and the murderers:

Prose in the beginning to close the gap between King and murderers

After the murderers refuse, Macbeth switches back to iambic pentameter to

remind the murderers of his rank

We see similarities between Banquo and Macbeth when Banquo contemplates

the benefits of the witches’ prophecies for him, which is ironic because he had
previously discouraged Macbeth from listening to their prophecies

Parricide: murdering your father

Macbeth Act 3 Notes 1

 Saying “bloody cousins are bestow’d” to remind his audience that it was them
who murdered King Duncan, however, we as the audience know that he’s lying

“Let your highness” spoken by Banquo, he is using different language now

because Macbeth’s position has changed

Macbeth keeps asking Banquo questions: “Ride you this afternoon?”, Is’t far
you ride?, Goes Fleance with you? Trying to find out what Banquo is doing,
who’s going with him, when he’s going, and getting information out of him.

“To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus”. Macbeth thinks that being King
now is nothing, and he wants to be King safely.

“Our fears in Banquo Stick deep, and in his royalty of nature” almost suggests
Banquo is more deserving of being King than Macbeth.

“Tis much he dares” we know that Banquo must be extremely courageous, as

Macbeth is his friend and has probably experienced his bravery first-hand

Many positive values about Banquo in Macbeth’s soliloquy, the fact that
Macbeth is saying this in his soliloquy makes an even bigger impact because
we know his thoughts and feelings are genuine.

“Barren scepter in my gripe” suggests infertility, Macbeth isn’t going to pass

the crown down to anyone. Very emotive language used. The polar opposite to
Banquo, who has sons.

“Wrench’d” violent language used to show his frustration and fear

“Was it not yesterday we spoke together” shows Macbeth has been having an
ongoing conversation with two murderers. Macbeth speaks using prose now
compared to when he was speaking in blank verse previously. It seems like
Macbeth is changing the way he speaks to put the murderers at ease.

Macbeth keeps reminding the two murderers that it is because of Banquo that
they are below what they deserve, and he’s trying to convince them to murder
Banquo.

Macbeth changes his language after the murderers reply with “We are men,
my liege”

Lists breeds of dogs to show that even if they commit murder they are still
men, which is insulting as he is comparing the murderers to beasts

Macbeth Act 3 Notes 2

 “Grapple..us” Macbeth uses emotive language to say that if the murderers
murder Banquo they will have gained his love. He is using blank verse which
elevates this quote even more because having the love of the king is rare and
special.

“Who wear our health but sickly in his life” Macbeth is not a well man while
Banquo lives, but if he dies, he will be well. Shows Macbeth and Banquo are
foil characters, one of them has to die for the other to be healthy.

“Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world…” using plosives to show the
struggles of his life because of Banquo, so they will take the risk and commit
the murder.

Macbeth uses the fact that they have a common enemy (Banquo) to persuade
the murderers

Macbeth says that he would kill Banquo himself, however, he has “certain
friends that are both his and mine”, and he doesn’t want to lose those friends

“That I to your assistance do make love” showing how appreciative Macbeth

would be

So far, Macbeth has done all the killings, however, he is ordering people to kill
Banquo instead, which could be seen as a cowardly act, which is why he used
the excuse of having common friends to show he is not cowardly.

It might be that Macbeth and Banquo are so close and they have been through
so much together that Macbeth may find it difficult to murder his friend.

The fact that Macbeth is a king now shows the difference between Macbeth
and Duncan-Macbeth abusing his power as King, however, Duncan never did.

“Your spirits shine through you” flattering the murderers now that they are
agreeing to carry out the murder.

“the perfect spy o’th’time” personification

Now he is the plotter/schemer for murder like Lady Macbeth previously

“It is concluded. Banquo, thy soul’s flight, If it find heaven, must find it out
tonight.” reminds us of the lines Macbeth spoke before killing Duncan in act 2
scene 1

Macbeth Act 3 Notes 3

 “Gentle my lord” Lady Macbeth is attempting to soothe Macbeth, showing her
caring side which we have not seen before.

“O, full of scorpions is my mind” scorpions are evil, and poisonous, which
shows how all his thoughts are now evil. However, scorpions can also sting
which shows how Macbeth is in mental anguish.

Scene 3

Three murderers, there is symmetry with the three witches. Connected to the
tripling that is used often in literature.

Macbeth hired another murderer possibly because he is paranoid

Banquo is a good man, his dying thought is to save his son. “Fly, good
Fleance, fly, fly, fly!”

We hear Banquo saying “Give us a light there, ho!”. We see the light when
Banquo and Fleance come with a torch, which contrasts with Macbeth who is
associated with darkness.

The first murderer strikes out the light, which is a visual reminder that this is an
evil scene and they are trying to commit the murders secretly.

Scene 4

There is a sense of order at the beginning of the banquet, all the lords are
orderly sat

The presence of the murderer is a reminder that Macbeth is duplicitous, he’s

very gracious in front of the lords, but he speaks with a murderer

“Both sides are even; here I’ll sit i’th’midst” symmetry in the line, represents
order

“Whole as the marble, founded as the rock” two similes where Macbeth is
describing how he would’ve been if both Banquo and Fleance were killed.
Marble and rock are both quite strong, which suggests he would have been
strong if both of them were dead.

Macbeth Act 3 Notes 4

 “Cabin’d, cribb’d, confin’d” the fact that Fleance wasn’t killed removes the
freedom he would’ve had. Plosives and asyndetic listing highlight how
constrained Macbeth is feeling.

“There the grown serpent lies;” biblical metaphor to refer to Banquo as being a
symbol of evil, which is very ironic as the only evil person is Macbeth.

“The worm that’s fled” belittling Fleance

“With twenty trenched gashes on his head” is extremely violent, symbolic to

show that this is what Scotland has become.

The fact that we as the audience can see the ghost of Banquo first creates
suspense, as we wait to see Macbeth’s reaction.

Short sentences create tension

“Never shake Thy gory locks at me!” Banquo has relatively long hair covered
in blood, further shows how brutal his murder was.

Shows how Macbeth has changed, the people he killed on the battlefield
previously never haunted him

Macbeth trying to initiate a meeting with the witches, who represent evil

“I am in blood stepp’d in so far that should I wade no more” hyperbolic

imagery represents how much bloodshed Macbeth had to initiate to get the
crown and keep it

Scene 5 and 6

Hecate is angry because the three witches didn’t consult her before showing their
powers to Macbeth

Presents Macbeth as a man who only loves himself and his ambition. Spiteful and
full of rage

She’s going to poison a vap’rous drop, which will cause deluding spirits that will
confuse Macbeth

Form of Hecate’s language: Iambic tetrameter and rhyming couplet-unnatural

Macbeth’s overconfidence will be his downfall

Macbeth Act 3 Notes 5

 Repeatedly refers to Macbeth as a tyrant-emotive language

Everyone thinks that Malcolm is the rightful heir of the thrown

“Pious Edward” Edward is associated with God

“Give to our tables met, sleep to our nights, free from our feats and banquets
bloody knives” shows the King is not taking care of Scotland, and every time
there is a feast it feels like there will be violence.

Macbeth Act 3 Notes 6