Act III of Macbeth
By Shahdee, Willy, Nicole, and Justin
Agenda
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Take the quiz! 
Go over the answers!
Presentation
Answer several
important questions
presented in the play.
Enactment
Quiz
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5.
Who arranges the murder of Banquo?
Who do the murderers kill and why does the
outcome worry Macbeth?
Who goes to England to seek help in overthrowing
Macbeth?
How does Lady Macbeth conceal Macbeth’s actions
at the banquet?
How many murderers does Macbeth initially ask to
kill Banquo? How many does it take to commit the
assassination?
Quiz Answers
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Macbeth
The murderers kill Banquo but Fleance escapes.
This worries Macbeth because Fleance can still
become king; the “worm” has escaped.
Macduff
She says that Macbeth usually eccentric and he is
just having one of his occasional fits.
He originally asks two but it takes three to
assassinate Banquo.
Brief Summary
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Banquo starts to think that
Macbeth killed Duncan in
order to become king.
Macbeth invites Banquo to
a feast. Because Macbeth
doesn’t want the descendents of Banquo to become king, he plans on
killing Banquo and Fleance
when they are on the way
to the feast.
Summary Continued
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Macbeth hires two murderers to do the job by
convincing them that Banquo is their enemy. One
more murderer later joins the assassination. Macbeth
tells Lady Macbeth that something big will happen
that night, but he doesn’t tell her exactly what will
happen. He just tells her to act normal during the
feast.
Brief Summary Continued
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The murderers kill Banquo but Fleance gets away.
One of the murderers tells Macbeth that they killed
Banquo but that Fleance escaped.
The serpent is killed but the worm escapes is the
analogy Macbeth uses to describe the situation.
When Macbeth goes back to the banquet, he is
confronted by Banquo’s ghost.
Macbeth is the only one that can see the ghost, and it
caused him to make a fool of himself in front of his
guests. Lady Macbeth tried to calm the guests, but she
was forced to send the guests away.
Last Slide of Summary 
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Macbeth decides to go
back to the witches.
Lennox, one of the guests
at the banquet, suspects
that Macbeth has been
lying about the death of
Duncan and Banquo. He
finds out that Macduff has
gone to England to seek
help from Malcolm to
overthrow Macbeth.
Take a breath!
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Major Themes
-The association of evil
with masculinity.
-The fall of man
-Fate vs. free will
-The inevitability of
fate
-Nothing is what it
seems!
The Association of Evil with Masculinity
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Throughout the text,
characters manipulate
each other into violence by
questioning manhood.
Lady Macbeth believes
that she should have been
born a man because she
has such a great capacity
for evil. Similarly, Macbeth
persuades the murderers
into killing Banquo by
questioning their
manhood.
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“Come you spirits that
tend on mortal thoughts,
unsex me here” (1.5.7678).
The Fall of Man
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Macbeth exhibits a major theme present in both Greek and
Christian drama. He falls from worthy thane, a position of
superiority, to a position of humility on account of his
ambitious pride. A characteristic flaw due to excessive pride
and ambition is known as hubris. Not only is ambition a
man’s weakness, but the pressure of a female only
worsens the situation.
“But screw your courage to the sticking place and we’ll not
fail” (1.7.70-71).
Fate vs. Free Will
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The major debate in Macbeth is whether his actions
were due to fate or free will.
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Although the witches tell him that he is to become king,
his emotions are self-driven. Yet, in the last battle scene
before he is killed, he realizes that there is no escaping
fate, since the witches’ prophecy is fulfilled.
“Accursed be that tongue that tell me so, for it hath
cowed my better part of man!” (Act 5.8 lines 21-22).
The Inevitability of Fate
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The play portrays that it is
impossible to avoid fate. A
prophecy will always be fulfilled.
Macbeth tried to avoid the
situation the witches
prophesized but the coming of
the forest to Dunsinane and his
killer who was not born from a
woman was inevitable. It is only
a matter of time until fate
catches up.
“And now a wood comes to
Dunsinane-Arm, arm, and out!”
(5.5.31-32).
Nothing is What it Seems!
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The play portrays the idea that nothing is
what it seems. Macbeth was a brave, noble
thane yet he became the most-despised,
violent tyrant. Even fairest nobleman can
have the foul stench of evil.
“Fair is foul and foul is fair” (1.1.12).
The Importance of the Ghost Scene
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The scene in which Macbeth sees the ghost of
Banquo provides insight into the instability of
Macbeth’s mind. He enters a state of withdrawal,
paranoia, and guilt even though he has finally has the
power he has been longing for. This is the climax of
Macbeth’s mental instability. He pleas to the ghost
that it wasn’t he who actually committed the murder.
Discussion Questions
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Do you think that it is fate
that drove Macbeth to his
actions or was it his free
will and ambition?
In many pieces of
historical literature,
women have been known
to manipulate men, just as
Lady Macbeth
manipulated Macbeth.
Why do you think women
have this power?
Pop Quiz
We Hope You Paid Attention!
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What do you remember?
1.What does hubris mean?
2. What is revealed about Macbeth in the scene in
which he envisions the ghost?
3. Why does Macbeth kill Banquo?
4. How is the theme that it is impossible to escape
fate portrayed in the play?
5. In Act III, who is regarded as the “serpent” and
who is regarded as the “worm”?
Pop Quiz
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A characteristic flaw due to excessive pride and ambition
is known as hubris.
He feels guilty for the murder of Banquo.
Macbeth kills Banquo because he perceives him as a
threat to the throne.
The prophecy the witches describe comes true; he is
killed by a person not born from a woman.
Macbeth regards Banquo as the serpent and Fleance is
the worm. Fleance got away and is still a threat.