Macbeth Act 3
Act 3: Scenes 1, 2 and 3 worksheet
Fill in the gaps:
Act 3:1 opens with ______ commenting that ______ now has everything that the
witches promised, but he suspects that Macbeth played foully to get it. Macbeth,
now King, enters and instructs Banquo to attend the ______. Macbeth converses
with Banquo and asks him about his and ______’s plans for that day. Alone,
Macbeth considers the danger that Banquo and his “royalty of nature” pose to his
position. Without his wife’s knowledge, Macbeth employs two ______ to kill
Banquo and Fleance, telling them that ______ is their enemy as well as his own.
Act 3:2 opens with ______ worrying that she and Macbeth are living in “doubtful
joy”. She advises ______ not to brood on what has been done, but he is still
racked by fears, insecurity and bad dreams. He doesn’t tell her of his plan to
murder ______, but instead tells her to pay special attention to Banquo at the
feast.
In Act 3:3 the murderers, joined by a third, ambush Banquo and Fleance. ______
is murdered but his son ______ escapes.
Macbeth’s treatment of Banquo
1. Macbeth publicly asks Banquo to give him advice the next day. Why do you
think he does this?
2. Why are Macbeth’s instructions to “fail not our feast” very ironic?
3. Find an example of Macbeth putting on a “false face” with Banquo.
4. Why do you think Macbeth treats Banquo in this way?
Macbeth and the murderers
1. What kind of characters usually speak in prose?
2. How does Macbeth start off speaking to the murderers?
3. How does this add to our image of him being no longer “noble” or “worthy”?
4. How does Macbeth persuade the murderers to do the deed?
5. What technique does Shakespeare use to finish Act 3:1 which shows how
decided Macbeth is to kill his old friend?
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Copy this paragraph into your book:
It soon becomes clear in Act 3 that there has been a change in the relationship
between Macbeth and his wife. Macbeth seems to be more in control. We can see
this when he does not tell Lady Macbeth about the plan to kill Banquo. Instead he
tells her to pay special attention to Banquo at the banquet. Also at line 34 it is he
who reminds her that they must “make our faces vizards to our hearts” –
reminding her to put on a false face. This is a complete reversal of their earlier
positions. It now seems that Macbeth has taken control.
Act 3 scene 4: The Banqueting Scene
This is another important scene which you will be examined on, so you need to
know it inside out. Complete the activities in as much detail as you can and
remember to use quotations.
Activity 1: Summary Essay
Fill in the gaps.
NOTE: Some are one word answers while some require a sentence or a quotation.
Macbeth welcomes his guests to the banquet. He refers to himself as “our self”,
which shows how his status has grown. The first ______ arrives and reports that
______ has been murdered. ______ however has escaped, and this news upsets
Macbeth. However he feels the real danger to him, that posed by the “grown
______”, Banquo is over and that Fleance is merely a “worm” that poses no
immediate danger.
Lady Macbeth bids Macbeth come and sit with the guests, but ______ cannot
see a free place at the table. ______ offers him a spare place, but instead of a
bare chair Macbeth sees the ghost of ______. Macbeth is shocked and
immediately pleads his innocence to the ghost. Ross tries to get the guests to
leave but ______ urges them to stay, passing Macbeth’s strange reaction off as
an illness he has had since childhood. _______ rebukes Macbeth for his display
of fear, and asks whether or not he is a man. Macbeth’s short sentences show his
panic and fear.
The ghost of Banquo leaves and Lady Macbeth again questions Macbeth’s
manhood. Macbeth recovers his composure and reassures the guests that his
actions were a result of an “infirmity”. He regains his ability to put on an outward
show of innocence when he proposes a toast to ______ and the guests. On seeing
the ______ again he bursts into violent language, commanding Banquo away. He
says he could fight any beast, even mythical powerful beasts, but he cannot fight
something as horrible as the ghost. ______ orders the guests to leave at once
and not wait to leave in their usual order. This shows again how the natural order
of things has been violated by the actions of Macbeth.
After the lords have left, ______ considers how murder breeds more murder.
He remembers that ______ was not present at the feast and admits he has a
paid spy in his castle. He also vows to visit the three ______ to learn more about
his future. Lady Macbeth says all Macbeth needs now is ______. Macbeth ends
the scene on an ominous note; stating that the couple were still “young in _____”,
meaning there are more bloody deeds still to come.
Activity 2: Questions
Answer the questions as fully as you, using quotations where appropriate.
Remember to write in full sentences:
The beginning and the end
1. At the beginning who welcomes the lords in and is in charge?
2. At the end who sends the lords away and is in charge?
3. When the lords enter how do they know where to sit?
4. Why is the lords’ usual pattern of leaving according to their rank broken?
Now copy the following into your book:
At this point in the play we can see that Macbeth’s murderous actions have again
broken the natural order of things. The breaking of the tradition of leaving the
room in order symbolizes the breaking of the natural order which is a major theme
in the play.
Lines 12-33
1. What has the murderer got on his face that tells us he has murdered
Banquo?
2. What did Lady Macbeth have to wash off in Act 2:1 that told us Duncan
had been killed?
3. Look at your answers to the above questions. What is a recurring image and
symbol of guilt?
4. Look at line 15. What word does Macbeth use instead of “murdered”?
5. Look at line 25. What word does Macbeth use instead of “murdered”?
6. Why do you think Macbeth uses evasive language (language not to the
point)?
7. Macbeth is shaken when he hears that Fleance is still alive. Write down
lines 24 and 25.
8. What technique does Shakespeare use to show Macbeth is stressed and
spitting out his words?
9. What does this tell us about Macbeth’s state of mind at this moment?
10. Look at line 29. What metaphor does Macbeth use to describe Banquo?
11. What does this tell you about how he feels about Banquo now?
12. How is this different to his feelings towards Banquo in Act 2:1?
13. What metaphor does Macbeth use to describe Fleance?
14. What does this tell us about how Macbeth sees Fleance? (as a future
threat? Harmless?)
Lines 34-45
1. Who is it that reminds Macbeth to propose a toast?
2. How does this fit in with her character?
3. Who does Macbeth say he wished was present at the banquet? (line 41)
4. What word does he use to describe that person? (line 41)
5. Why is all of this ironic?
6. What does this say about Macbeth’s character?
Lines 45-47
Fill in the gaps with the words below:
In lines 45 to 47 we see Shakespeare using language to show us how ______ is
feeling. Immediately before these lines we have seen Macbeth calmly being two
faced and “seeming” to be ______’s friend. However, now Macbeth speaks in
three short sentences, breaking the flow of the ______ or iambic pentameter.
This tells us that he is ______ and uncertain. He also asks two ______ which
again show his uncertainty. Suddenly he is not so sure of ______.
Banquo
poetry
questions
himself
Macbeth
startled
Lines
1.
2.
3.
50-72
What are Macbeth’s first words to the ghost?
How are they a blatant lie?
How does the ghost react to this lie? (look at what Macbeth says the ghost
does)
4. Who is it that takes control of the situation?
5. What excuse does she give for Macbeth’s strange behaviour?
6. Look at line 58. What question does Lady Macbeth ask her husband?
7. What does she mean by this?
8. What is Lady Macbeth’s reaction to Macbeth’s “vision”? Does she believe
him?
9. What does her reaction tell you about her character?
10. In lines 69-70, Macbeth says 4 short phrases. Write down two.
11. What do his short phrases tell you about his state of mind?
12. What does Lady Macbeth accuse Macbeth of being at line 73?
13. How does this fit in with her earlier accusation?
Line 74
Copy the following into your book:
Shakespeare again uses language to show how Macbeth is feeling in line 74.
Macbeth says “If I stand here, I saw him”. Macbeth is saying “as sure as I am
that I stand here, I am sure that I saw Banquo”. However his language reinforces
this certainty. Macbeth speaks in monosyllabic words which give the feeling of
complete certainty. This is a real contrast to his first uncertain reaction and
shows how his state of mind is constantly changing throughout the scene.
Lines 75-107
1. Macbeth says that murders have happened both before and after laws
were invented, but that death would always be the end of a person. What
seems to be happening now?
2. How does this fit in with the theme of nature being overturned?
3. Who is it that tries to keep Macbeth focused on his guests? (lines 83-84)
4. Who does Macbeth both raise a toast to, and say he wishes was at the
banquet? (line 90)
5. Why is this ironic?
6. Why is it amusing? (look who enters at this point!)
7. What does Lady Macbeth say to reassure the guests? (lines 96-99)
8. Macbeth says he could fight Banquo in any other form than that which he
appears in. Which three beasts would Macbeth rather Banquo was?
9. What does it tell you about how terrified Macbeth must be of the ghost?
Lines 108-121
1. Look at line 108. What does Macbeth say he has become again now the
ghost is gone?
2. How does this fit in with Lady Macbeth’s accusations?
3. Macbeth can’t understand why the lords are not frightened. Why aren’t
they?
4. Lady Macbeth orders the men to leave immediately. How does this fit in
with the way she has acted during the whole scene?
Lines 122-125
Macbeth says that “blood will have blood”, meaning that murder will be avenged.
He then uses images of nature disturbed to show how spilling blood upsets nature.
Find two examples of disturbed nature and write them down, making a note of
how this fits in with the theme of nature being overturned which runs through
the whole play.
Lines 130-140
Between lines 136-138 Macbeth uses a metaphor to show how much blood and guilt
he is in. Write down this quotation and copy the following information
underneath it:
Macbeth uses a river metaphor to show how far into evil he has travelled. He says
he is so far into it that to go back would be just as hard as to go on. Basically he
has gone too far into blood and evil to stop now. This is reinforced by his final
line when he says “We are yet but young in deed”, meaning there is worse to come.
This gives the end of the scene an ominous and frightening tone.
Look at lines 134-135, and write down what Macbeth says. Underneath it write
the following:
This line tells us how low Macbeth has come – that he will now do anything it takes
to further his own position, no matter how evil. This is such a contrast to the way
he deliberated for ages over whether to murder Duncan. It seems his conscience
is now leaving him.
Line 141
Look at Lady Macbeth’s final line of the scene
1. What does she say will cure Macbeth?
2. Why is this ironic? (what has Macbeth “murdered”?)
3. Why is this ironic for Lady Macbeth herself? (what happens in the future?!)
Activity 3: The relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
Now you know the story you need to see how the characters of Macbeth and his wife
develop in this scene. For each one you need to copy the paragraph and then find the
quotation.
Macbeth
The Macbeth we see in this scene is very different from the Macbeth we saw in the
previous scene. His state of mind continually changes. Here are moments when he is:
 terrified (line 94)
 guilty (line 50)
 putting on a false face (line 90)
 a tyrant (line 135-136)
 calm (line 108)
Lady Macbeth
We have already seen Lady Macbeth persuading her husband to murder the king, making
sure the daggers were planted on the guards and fainting to distract attention. Here we
see her really taking control of the situation.
 mindful of tradition (line 33)
 provides excuses (lines 53-54)
 accuses Macbeth of weakness (line 58)
 is ashamed and embarrassed by Macbeth (lines 66-67)
 takes control of the situation (lines 118-119)
Activity 4: Directing the scene
Every time the play is produced, the director must decide whether or not to bring on a
ghost that the audience can see. Of all the characters on stage, only Macbeth sees the
ghost. In Shakespeare’s time, and in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the
audience was shown the ghost, but in the second half of the twentieth century, some
productions have left it to the audience’s imagination.
Now answer the following questions:
1. Think about a production of Macbeth you have seen. Did the director choose to
have a ghost on the stage?
2. Did you think it was an effective decision?
3. What are the advantages of having a ghost come on? (does it make Macbeth’s
reaction more understandable/would we feel sorry for Macbeth?/sorry for
Banquo and angry at Macbeth?/more aware of the supernatural?)
4. What are the advantages of not having a ghost come on? (does it make Macbeth
seem more “on the edge”/make Macbeth seem really isolated and alone/make us
understand the confusion of Lady Macbeth and the lords?)
5. If you were going to have a ghost, what would you have him look like and wear?
Consider hair, make up, costume and movement.
You’ve finished!!! Well Done!!!