Act 3 scene 2 & 3 & 4
Summary
Act 3, scene 2
In act 3, scene 2, Lady Macbeth and her husband feel anxious and depressed. They feel guilty for the crimes they have committed. Macbeth and his wife spend every moment in fear because Macbeth states that their job is not yet completed. Lady Macbeth tells his husband to act joyfully in front of their guests. During this time, Macbeth has trouble sleeping. Later, Macbeth tells his wife that he has plans for next actions, to kill Banquo and Fleance, but he did not tell the details to his wife. This time, Lady Macbeth is not involved in the murder.
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ACT 3, SCENE 3In act 3, scene 3, the murderers that are hired by Macbeth meet and plan to kill Banquo and Fleance. When Banquo and his son come into the scene, the lights turn off (the lanterns extinguish), the scene is dark. The murderers were only able to kill Banquo and Fleance escaped.
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ACT 3, SCENE 4 |
At the kingdom, Macbeth and his wife welcome the guests to the banquet. Later, one of the murderers arrives and tell Macbeth that they have half of the job done, they killed Banquo but Fleance escaped. Next, Macbeth returns to the feast and he claims to see and talks to the ghost of Banquo. The ghost appears and disappears. Lady Macbeth tells the guests that Macbeth is okay and he always talks to himself and to just ignore him. In this scene Macbeth is paranoid and lady Macbeth gets angry that he does not take good care/entertains their guests. After, when the guest leaves, Macbeth thinks that Macduff is suspicious, he plans to kill Macduff next. Macbeth decides to meet the Weird Sisters again (the witches). |
Comments/ Notes |
Theme
The theme is guilt because Macbeth feels guilty for killing Banquo. For instance, in the act 3, scene 4 Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo sitting on the chair while the chair is empty. There is also the theme of fear in these scenes as the audience can see that anyone can become scary when they do what it takes to achieve what they desire. Reaction to the play I was very curious about why the ghost of Banquo did not talk much in the play. I was surprised that none of the guests really understood what Macbeth was saying to himself when he was talking to the ghost. Character description Macbeth's ambition led him to kill more people and he becomes guilty of killing all these people afterwards. Lady Macbeth is not involved with the murders anymore, she doesn't seem to respect Macbeth. Lady Macbeth still thinks that Macbeth is a coward and she doesn't believe in Macbeth. Questions Why didn't Macbeth tell his wife about killing Banquo and Fleance? Will Fleance survive by himself? How will he survive? How will Fleance become the king? Fleance is too young to be the king; will the witches save or help Fleance? Will the old Man from act 2 save Fleance? Predictions Macbeth will never get to kill Fleance and Fleance will kill the Macbeth, the current king. Later on in the play, maybe near the end, the lords will know that Macbeth is the killer. Soon Ross will know that Macbeth killed Banquo because Banquo's death seems suspicious to him. |