Macbeth Act 3 Summary with Key Quotes
Macbeth and Banquo- they were very close friends. They fought together in battles. They know each other very well. Now that Macbeth is king they're suspicious of each other. Banquo says, "Everything's come true for Macbeth just as the witches said.
He became Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland!" Banquo says, "I think Macbeth did something bad to become king." Here's the quote. Banquo thinks "What they said to Macbeth came true." The Macbeths enter and remind Banquo of the feast that evening. Banquo hide his true feelings and is very polite. Banquo is going to go out for a horse ride during the afternoon with his son, Fleance. Macbeth worries that Banquo knows he had something to do with King Duncan's death. Macbeth is mad that he is the one that did the dirty work of killing King Duncan. According to the witches it's going to be Banquo's children who are going to be kings in the future. So, Macbeth is feeling quite ripped off here. Macbeth meets with two murderers in secret. He has planned how and when they are going to kill his 'good friend' Banquo. Also, Macbeth orders Banquo's son, Fleance, to be killed at the same time! Macbeth doesn't want Banquo's children to become kings.
Lady Macbeth find Macbeth and wants to know why he's keeping to himself. Lady Macbeth tells him to leave his gloomy thoughts behind. She says... Macbeth isn't enjoying being king. He is suspicious of people around him. What scorpions are in his mind? He's sorry that he killed King Duncan. He can't sleep. He's suspicious of Banquo and becoming suspicious of other people. Those are the scorpions in his mind. Lady Macbeth wants to know, "What's going on?" So, Macbeth here is starting to act all on his own and leave his wife out of his plans. Three murderers wait for Banquo and his son, Fleance. When they are attacked, Banquo knows immediately what's going on and yells to his son, Banquo is murdered; Fleance escapes. and he is never mentioned again in this play. The Macbeth are enjoying a banquet. Macbeth is told by one of the murderers that Banquo has been killed and Fleance has escaped. One of the guests invites Macbeth to sit at his table. Macbeth says, "There are no empty seats." "Yes, right here is an empty seat." Macbeth doesn't see an empty seat. He sees Banquo's ghost, shaking his head his hair is full of blood. Macbeth freaks out and says to the ghost... Guests can't see the ghost and they wonder why Mabeth is yelling at the air. Lady Macbeth thinks fast and lies to the group. "Oh Macbeth always has these fits. Don't worry about it!" Then she grabs Macbeth trying to calm him down. Macbeth does calm down. The banquet continues and Macbeth makes a toast to Banquo who still hasn't arrived at the party. Banquo's ghost comes back and Macbeth freaks out again! The ghost disappears.
Lady Macbeth orders all the guests to leave. She wants them to leave before Macbeth says something he shouldn't say. Macbeth is alone with his wife. His thoughts turn to Macduff. Macduff hasn't been hanging around in the court. He's been off on his own and this disturbs Macbeth. Does it mean he's not loyal? Here's the quote... Now, we have a metaphor alert! Macbeth is comparing his murderous life to walking in blood. So, if you think of a river of blood that will help you out. Macbeth says he's stepping in blood so deeply, by killing people, that returning to where he started from would be just as tedious (boring) as moving forward and continuing to kill people. This is very different from the Macbeth at the beginning of the play who really wanted to be king. This scene wasn't written by Shakespeare. It features witches so I'm just going to skip it because there are no major plot developments in this scene. Just one more scene to go.... Minor characters are discussing recent events. Two men agree that things are strange! So, from this scene we know that people around Scotland are talking about these strange event even though they don't accuse Macbeth directly.
In this scene, we learn some new information. Remember when King Duncan was murdered and his sons ran away without telling anyone where they were going? Now we hear that Duncan's oldest son, Malcolm, is now living in the English court (with the English king.)
