Act 3 Scene 4 Flashcards
What could be significant about the murderer’s face being smeared with blood?
This can be read as a symbol that Macbeth cannot always hide the evil he has indulged in to get as far as he is.
What could be significant about the timing of the murderer’s arrival?
The fact that the murderer enters just as everyone is seated for the feast means that Macbeth cannot sit with them, just as he is unable to stand alongside them in society in terms of honour and respect.
What could the apparition of Banquo’s ghost symbolise?
- It could represent Macbeth’s tremendous guilt; his paranoia is further exemplified by his hysteric reaction.
- More interestingly, the fact that Banquo sits in Macbeth seat could portray the inevitability of his descendants becoming Kings.
What is significant about the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth?
Lady Macbeth seems to have lost her previous male-like power and is strangely quiet; on the other hand, Macbeth’s evil drive grows stronger and the role reversal is profoundly evident at this point in the play.
“I am in blood, stepp’d in so far that should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as go o’er.”
Macbeth acknowledges that he has gone too far down the path of evil and murder that going back would make no difference in comparison to whether he continues.
How has the relationship between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth collapsed?
It is clear that Macbeth no longer has a need for Lady Macbeth due to the role reversal; LM seems to have lost her drive to do evil and has been consumed by her own guilt - meanwhile, Macbeth is now planning his further actions on his own, without her help, signifying the breaking down of their relationship.
