In the beginning of act 3, we see the relationship between Banquo and Macbeth has become strained. The two no longer speak like friends; Banquo is a bit chilly and Macbeth is a little high and mighty. Macbeth is now officially king and has already started acting like it.
Banquo says he will be spending his afternoon out riding and assures the king that he will be back in time for the big feast that night. Macbeth makes it a point to ask whether or not he will be taking his son, Fleance, with him. Banquo says that, yes, he is.
Now why on Earth would Macbeth be asking that?
Glad you asked! It's because of the PROPHECY. You know, the one the witches told him about where Banquo's sons would eventually overthrow him as king?
Now why on Earth would Macbeth be concerned about Fleance's location?
We find out shortly after Banquo leaves: Macbeth has hired murderers to kill both Banquo and Fleance for him.
Macbeth's former hesitation from when he killed Duncan is now gone, demonstrating just how self-destructive and corrupting ambition can be. Macbeth explains to the murderers about how everything bad that has happened to them is Banquo's fault and how he needs them to kill Banquo quietly and in a way that can't be traced back to him.
And did I mention that Fleance is a CHILD?! Yes, a child. Macbeth is hiring men to kill his best friend and a child.
He also states that every moment Banquo is alive is a thorn in his side, so he needs it taken care of quickly.
Later on, Lady Macbeth muses about how she has seen Macbeth go off by himself a lot lately and look stressed and frustrated. She is not aware of the plot against Banquo. She tries to assure Macbeth to simply enjoy his position as king and that things out of their control shouldn't concern them.
This is a complete 180 from her attitude before when she actively pushed Macbeth to kill Duncan! It could be because she believed Duncan's murder to be fate and is thus putting her future in the hands of that same force. Either way, she tries to calm her husband, who tells her he can't relax as long as he feel his position as king is in danger.
He describes his mind as being full of scorpions and that Duncan is the lucky one, being dead and nothing being able to stress him out.
Lady Macbeth reminds Macbeth that men are not immortal and Macbeth agrees, pointing out that, before the end of the night, he will be sure to take care of the thing that bothers him. When Lady Macbeth asked what he has planned, Macbeth instead tells her not to worry and to just act normally and graciously at dinner.
You know, just like she said to Macbeth back in Act 1!
In scene 3, we see the rather abrupt murder of Banquo. Thankfully, one of the murderers puts his torch out, so Fleance is able to escape in the darkness.
Later, when the murderer goes to tell Macbeth the news, Macbeth muses on how he does not feel in control as king, but rather feels enslaved to his fear. With the murderer, though, he states that Fleance is just a boy for now and is, therefore, harmless. He does, however, thank the murderer for the good news that Banquo is dead in a ditch with 20 head wounds.
His joy is short-lived, though. Lady Macbeth scolds her husband for not being more social and so Macbeth wishes everyone a good feast, lamenting that Banquo not appearing means he is probably not in support of him as king.
Of course, then Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost sitting in his seat.
Macbeth, understandably, freaks out, yelling at the Banquo ghost that no one else can see. Lady Macbeth tries to calm the other lords and guests by lying that Macbeth is just having a fit from an illness he's had since childhood. When Macbeth demands Banquo's ghost leave, he does (because he's a polite and honorable ghost lol). She then pulls Macbeth aside and insults her husband for not being able to hold it together just like he did with Duncan's murder. He insists his wife is wrong, stating that murder these days always seems to come with hauntings and that he would prefer the old times when a murder ended when the man was dead.
Eventually, Macbeth apologizes to the guests, proposing a toast to all, especially to their absent friend Banquo.
Of course, being the polite ghost he is (LOL), Banquo's ghost reappears at the table, to which Macbeth demands he take any other form but that and begs him again to leave. Lady Macbeth scolds Macbeth for ruining the evening. The other lords grow suspicious as to what could be bothering Macbeth so and begin to wonder if he is a stable ruler. Lady Macbeth finally demands that everyone leave so that her husband can rest.
After everyone is gone, Macbeth contemplates how it is said that the dead always get their revenge, but that Macbeth is so far gone down this path of murder that it would be pointless to try and turn back.
Macbeth then points out Macduff did not attend the feast and, so, may not be trustworthy. He admits that he has hired spies in the other nobles' houses to get information about who he can trust (revealing his intense paranoia) and that, in the meantime, he will go to the witches and see what other information they can tell him about his fate. Macbeth's last lines imply that he has other people he knows he wants to kill others in order to secure his position, but has yet to figure out how he should do it.
Scene 5 reveals the goddess of witchcraft, Hecate, and that she is ultimately controlling the dark fate of Macbeth and of all evil. She tells the witches to take Macbeth to a pit in hell and to show him visions that will confuse him and make him overly confident in his future. Eventually, the witches will lead Macbeth to his destruction.
In the last scene, we see Lennox being salty about all the deaths that have been occurring, (not-so) subtly stating that he does not trust Macbeth and he knows the king probably had a hand in killing them. The lord he speaks to reveals that Macduff is in England with Malcolm who is working with King Edward to rally an army to try and win Scotland back from Macbeth.
Some important points (NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR READING):
- In this scene, we see two key themes crop up at various moments
- "Not everything is as it seems" - Macbeth's position as king is not as satisfying as he thought; Lady Macbeth has now become the voice of reason, implying she may not be as ambitious as she made herself out to be
- "Ambition can corrupt and destroy the self" - Macbeth has grown paranoid, planting spies in the houses of people he claims to trust; Macbeth has evolved into a relentless, bloodthirsty tyrant willing to kill his friends to maintain his position
No comments:
Post a Comment