“Macbeth’s soliloquy”, Act 3 Scene 1 (passage 54-79)
Macbeth’s soliloquy starts when the servant exits. He begins with Banquo’s character: noble nature, wisdom, and valour. Banquo’s “royalty of nature” worries Macbeth because he is projecting his kingdom into the future but he is tortured by the witches prophecy (3.1.54-60). This fears Macbeth and he is also jealous because he tortured his conscience and murdered the gracious Duncan for Banquo’s sons. He ruined his own peace for their benefit. He handed over his everlasting soul to the devil so that they could be kings. Instead of watching that happen, Macbeth will challenge fate to battle and fight to the death. There is a presence of literary devices in this part for example “There is none but he Whose being I do fear. And under him My Genius is rebuked, as it is said Mark Anthony’s was by Cesar” (3.1.60-64), is an Allusion because he refers to his future which will be negated by Banquo’s son just as Mark Anthony was by Cesar. The themes in this passage are: Macbeth’s ambition to father a line of kings by killing Banquo and particularly Fleance; his fear and jealous for Banquo. Macbeth in this scene seems to be more confident infect he doesn’t even need Lady Macbeth’s help his next step: Banquo and his son’s murder.
“Banquo’s ghost”, Act 3 Scene 4 (passage 39-140)
In this scene Macbeth fears from Banquo’s ghost that only he can see. He is having another hallucination coming from his fear , panic and guilt from Duncan’s murder. When Macbeth goes to sit at the head of the royal table finds Banquo’s ghost sitting in his chair. Horror-struck, Macbeth speaks to the ghost, which is invisible to the rest of the company. Lady Macbeth makes excuses for her husband, saying that he occasionally has such “visions” and that the guests should simply ignore his behaviour. Then she speaks to Macbeth, questioning his manhood and urging him to snap out of his trance. The ghost disappears, and Macbeth recovers, telling: “I have a strange infirmity which is nothing / To those that know me” (3.4.85–86). Continuing to make excuses for her husband, Lady Macbeth sends the alarmed guests out of the room as the ghost vanishes again. The rich banquet, a symbol of great orderliness and generosity, now becomes a hellish parody of itself. Instead of Macbeth sitting “in the midst,” dispensing his largesse as he would wish, his throne has been usurped by the bloody apparition of his former friend.Each time the ghost vanishes, Macbeth’s relief is recorded in softer, more lyrical expression: “Can such things be / And overcome us like a summer’s cloud, / Without our special wonder?”. Indeed, the entire structure of this scene shows a man swinging from one state of mind to another, recalling the structure of the earlier dagger speech. Three times Macbeth sees the ghost, and three times he appears to recover his senses. This alternating structure adds strongly to the impression of Macbeth’s loss of control. The themes in this passage are a mixture of Macbeth’s ambition, guilt, fear and panic that connects to Fleance’s escape.
“Discussion of recent events”, Act 3 Scene 6 (passage 26-54)
In this passage the lord tells Lennox that Macduff has gone to England, where he will join Malcolm in pleading with England’s King Edward for aid. News of these plots has prompted Macbeth to prepare for war. Lennox and the lord express their hope that Malcolm and Macduff will be successful and that their actions can save Scotland from Macbeth. There is a compare of the two characters Macduff and Macbeth: Macbeth will do anything for personal power; Macduff will do anything to save his country. Ambition has made Macbeth a violent tyrant who holds the throne only through fear. The Lord echoes a Christian prayer when he says: “give to our tables meat, sleep to our night”. In his petitions for peace and food, the lord highlights the lack in their current lives. His request that they may “Free from our feasts and banquets bloody knives” shows the brutality of Macbeth’s regime. The alliteration of “banquet bloody” emphasizes the lord’s sense of anger at the tyranny. Lennox is talking about Scotland, saying that freeing Scotland would be a blessing “suffering country”, showing that Macbeth is not only hated for the murders he is suspected of committing, but also the lack of fairness in the country, with Macbeth being a brutal tyrant. The themes present in this scene are: violence, ambition and power.
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