English 20-2
Macbeth - Summary Notes for Act III
Act III, scene i
Setting the Stage
Macbeth is now King of Scotland. In Scottish history, the real King
Macbeth ruled from 1040 to 1057. He became king after leading a rebellion
against King Duncan and slaying Duncan in battle. For ten years, Macbeth
was a fairly good monarch. But in the last seven years of his rule, he became
suspicious and cruel.
For the murder plot in the play, Shakespeare borrowed from another
time in history. A Scottish king named Duff was murdered in his sleep when
he was a guest of Donwald, one of his nobles. According to history,
Donwald’s wife convinced him to murder King Duff.
So Shakespeare used historical facts to make his play exciting and to
please King James. But he changed history to suit his purposes.
In scene i, notice how the murder has affected Macbeth.
This scene begins at Macbeth’s royal palace. Banquo enters alone. The
audience will learn the secret thoughts of both Banquo and Macbeth in their
soliloquies.
In this soliloquy, the reader finds out that Macbeth is suspected of murdering King Duncan and
that Banquo is able to see through Macbeth's mask. Banquo says,
Thou hast it now --King, Cawdor, Glamis, all,
As the weird women promised, and I fear
Thou _________ most ___________ for ’t
Banquo comments on how Macbeth has everything he was promised, but he thinks Macbeth gained
it through evil. Banquo considers whether his prophecies will come true and his ________ will be
kings. He shows his own desire for fulfillment of his part of the prophecy, "May they [witches]
not be my oracles as well / And set me up in __________?”
Macbeth invites Banquo, his chief guest, to a __________. Banquo and Fleance are riding that
afternoon, but can be back by supper. Macbeth says that Malcolm and Donalbain, their cousins
whom guilt rests upon, are in England and Ireland but don't ___________ to the crime. Macbeth
bids them (Banquo and Fleance) farewell, then tells the servant to fetch the ____________.
While waiting, Macbeth delivers a soliloquy about how it is insufficient to be king, unless he is
____________. He fears that Banquo, with his wisdom and temper, will try to unseat him, since the
prophecies said his children would be kings. Macbeth fears he has given up his ________ to the
____________ and committed an evil act, just to put Banquo's descendants on the throne. “Upon
my head they placed a ____________ crown / And put a ____________ scepter in my gripe.” He
tells fate to fight him to the death.
Macbeth has felt power. He is now King, and he doesn't want to give it up. At first he wasn't at
peace because he wanted the throne, but now that he has the throne, he loses his peace with the
prospect of loosing the __________. He murdered Duncan in order to make the prophecies come
true, but now he plots to murder Banquo and Fleance so that the witches promise to Banquo will
__________ come true.
Macbeth hires murderers to do the job for him, but doesn't just give them a command to kill
Banquo and Fleance, he also expertly ______________ them. He makes the murderers believe that
Banquo is an ______________ of their country and that they would be patriotic if they killed
Banquo. Macbeth tells the murderers they have a special role as __________ to avenge their
misfortune. (He challenges their ____________ like his wife did to him). The murderers say they
have had a rough life and would do anything. Macbeth tells them to kill Banquo, their mutual
enemy. He tells them to do it carefully, and to kill Banquo's son Fleance as well. The murderers
agree and leave to carry out the task.
Act III Scene ii
Setting the Stage
To this day, some people are fearful when a black cat crosses their path.
This old superstition is linked to the notion that cats were helpers of witches
and devils.
People in the Middle Ages and in Elizabethan times held many such
beliefs about animals. Like cats, hares that crossed your path were unlucky
because they, too, were linked with witches. The meat of the hare was not
good for you, either. It was thought to produce sadness.
Another unlucky sign was the crowing of a hen. Such a sound
supposedly meant someone would die soon. Ravens could be unwelcome birds
as well. Their appearance was said to foretell disease, starvation, and death.
Among other strange animal beliefs, it was said pelicans fed their young
with their own blood. Deer were believed to shed tears. And toads were
thought to have a great jewel in their heads which would cure poison.
As you read Scene ii and iii, notice if the insects and animals
mentioned bring good fortune or bad.
Scene ii begins before the banquet. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are alone
together. Macbeth is greatly troubled.
Lady Macbeth and Macbeth go through a reversal in roles. Macbeth has become the plotting,
treacherous one who can't rest until the murder of Banquo and Fleance are completed. Lady
Macbeth shows her first sign of ____________ for what they have done when she says (read
modern version),
"When we gain ____________ and __________ everything
when we get what we want without achieving ___________.”
That is, when one has attained one's goal without mental ease and satisfaction, all the effort used to
attain the goal has been put forth for nothing. She continues by saying that it is safer to be the
murdered person ("the ______________ we destroy") than to be the murderer living in uncertain
happiness ("dwell in _______________ _______________").
She asks Macbeth why he is keeping to himself and acting worried when he can't change what he
has done. (“what’s ________ is _________”). Macbeth says there is still a threat, and he wishes
he were one of the dead, who are in peace, rather than to have such constant worries. Lady Macbeth
tells him to act happy. Macbeth says his wife needs to remember that, too, and that they need to
_____________ Banquo to cover up for their dark plans. He adds that before night a dreadful deed
shall be done. "What's to be done?" she asks. "He replies that she does not have to know about the
deed until it is over, at which time she can _____________ him for it. Macbeth hides the facts
from Lady Macbeth and this is the beginning of the break in their relationship.
When Macbeth calls upon ‘____________night’ to hide his wickedness, we should remember
how Lady Macbeth, before the murder of Duncan, had called for the night ( and the spirits of
darkness) to hide the murdering dagger from the sight of heaven. This truly is a reversal of roles.
Act III Scene iii
Three murderers wait in hiding for Banquo and Fleance to return to the castle. Two of them we
know; they had the interview with Macbeth in the first scene of this act. The third one is known
neither to us nor to the first two Murderers. Macbeth can ___________ no-one, not even the thugs
he appointed to murder Banquo. Banquo is murdered, but just before he dies, he gives Fleance an
command, "_____________ ________ _____________" [Avenge my death] Will Fleance do
something to take revenge upon his father's killer?
Act III Scene iv
Setting the Stage
Shakespeare’s plays often feature supernatural creatures. Yet none are
more terrible than the ghost Macbeth will meet.
The thought of a ghost was even more frightening to Elizabethans than
it is to horror fans today. Some people who thought they’d been visited by a
ghost went mad. Most Elizabethans thought that ghosts came back to earth
for a reason. Usually that reason was thought to be revenge.
The Church of England has its own beliefs about ghosts. Clergymen
insisted that spirits were really devils that took on the shape of a dead
person. This notion was naturally very alarming. People feared that these
demons could drag them to hell.
As you read Scene iv, notice how Macbeth reacts to the horrifying shape
that haunts him.
The banquet begins, and the lords and ladies of the court sit in the order of
their rank. Macbeth is anxious to hear from the killers.
Macbeth finds out from a murderer that Banquo was killed but _____________ escaped. Macbeth
is disturbed by the news of Fleance, but is happy that Banquo is killed. He says, "There the grown
serpent lies; the worm that’s fled / Hath nature that in time will ____________ breed, /
No___________ for th’ present". In other words, he's worried that Fleance will still fulfill the
prophecy in time.
Macbeth is told by Lady Macbeth to make a ____________for his assembled guests. The speech
is interrupted by the appearance of __________ ____________. Macbeth rants and raves strange
things that confuse and worry his guests, "Thou canst not say I did it [murder]. Never shake thy
gory locks at me." The guests don't see who Macbeth is talking to. Lady Macbeth calms the group
down, telling them that Macbeth is just sick; that this is just a _____________fit. She tells
Macbeth that it is just his imagining from __________. Macbeth’s guilt has become so strong that
he believes that Banquo has come from the dead, even though he has sufferred “__________
mortal murders on their _________”. Macbeth comes “out of is imaginings” and explains to his
guests that he is just ill and drinks wine to Banquo. He tells the ghost to go away, that it is not real.
But the ghost returns and Macbeth goes into another rant. Macbeth says that he can fight anything
that is living, whether it is a “rugged Russian _________, the armed ________________ or th’
Hyrcan _____________”. Macbeth challenges Banquo to come back to life to fight because he
can’t win against a ghost. Lady Macbeth tells the lords to leave after Macbeth continues to act
strangely. She is attempting to protect Macbeth from saying something incriminating.
Is the ghost real or imaginary? ______________. As said earlier, Macbeth is talking to air, raving,
having gone partly insane. The ghost is a ________________ brought forth from his guilt.
Remember that he sent his best friend to his grave. No one else sees the ghost, giving the image
even less credibility.
After the nobles have dispersed, Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he has put _____________ in
Macduff's castle and that he noticed that Macduff didn't attend the banquet. Will this turn into the
new struggle between light and dark? He also says, "I will, to the _________ _________: More
shall they speak, for now I am bent to know by the worst means the worst. (lines 134 - 136). Lady
Macbeth says that Macbeth lacks something that helps everyone: ____________. Macbeth really
needs peace, but he can't relax because he feels that his power is threatened.
Act III Scene v
_____________, the Queen of witches, is angry because the witches have been dealing with
Macbeth without consulting her. She says he will be told his destiny at the cave the next day. The
various spells she conjures up will lure him into a false ____________ of ___________. The point
of this short scene seems to be that the Witches will make Macbeth feel secure, and his sense of
security will lead him to destruction; his over-__________ will encourage him to take risks and this
will lead to his downfall. It is widely believed that Shakespeare himself did not write this scene.
Act III Scene vi
Setting the Stage
In this scene, you will deal with more Scottish history.
Northumberland is one name you will encounter. This was an English
county on the border between Scotland and England. For centuries, English
and Scottish lords fought over his land. Finally in the 10th century, an
English king tried to settle the dispute by giving the northern part of
Northumberland to Scotland. However, the English earls never accepted
losing part of their land.
Siward is another name out of history. He was an English earl of
Northumberland during Macbeth’s rule. Siward agreed to help Duncan’s son
Malcolm take the throne from Macbeth. Perhaps Siward hoped to get back his
homeland as a reward. No one knows. As Shakespeare portrays him, he is an
honest general who bravely defends Malcolm against cruel Macbeth.
In scene vi, watch for hints that Macbeth’s role in Duncan’s murder is
suspected by his nobles.
Lennox thinks it is __________ how Macbeth has been acting. His entire speech is ___________
as he discusses the similarities between the deaths of Duncan and Banquo. Since Fleance fled, (like
Malcolm and Donalbain) he must have killed his father. One can see from Lennox’s speech that
people are starting to suspect Macbeth of the murderers.
Lennox now changes the subject. He has heard that Macduff is not in the king's good graces
because he has spoken "broadly", that is, Macduff has spoken too obviously - of course, too
obviously against the king; and he did not appear at the "___________'s feast" (Macbeth's
banquet). Macduff is reported to be in the English court, with Malcolm, rallying forces to remove
Macbeth. Macduff has gone there to ask Edward to encourage Siward, the Earl of Northumberland,
to help Malcolm in an undertaking to overthrow Macbeth.
All in all, Act III is based around the killing of Banquo. Having Banquo killed is just another
example of Macbeth's vaulting ambition. It is the murder that puts Macbeth at the point
of no return and contributes to his downfall. In the final scene, the reader learns that
________________, ______________, and King ________________ are planning to overthrow
Macbeth, which in the end, becomes very real.