macbeth act 3 Flashcards
anquo suspicious of how Macbeth got throne but hopeful for himself, Macbeth’s first appearance as royalty (alongside Lady Macbeth), royal “we” in pronoun usage (hypocritical as he will never speak on behalf of his castle, he only has concerns for himself), macbeth’s interrogation of banquo’s whereabouts, meets with murderer 1 and 2 \, macbeth insults them and compares mankind to the species of dog, tells them banquo is their enemy, parallel to duncan’s death: “Banquo, thy soul’s flight, if it find heaven, must it find out tonight.”–> “hear it not duncan for it is a knell which summons thee to heaven or hell.” (scene 2, act 1)
act 3 scene 1
Act 3 Scene 2- Lady Macbeth & Macbeth reversals, Macbeth is now calculated one leaving out details to his wife in his secrecy, lm’s use of “my lord”
“Naught’s had, all’s spent, where our desire is got without content.” lady macbeth
“Ere we will eat our meal in fear, and sleep in the affliction of these terrible dreams that shake us nightly.” (Macbeth’s insomnia, and later hysteria in act 4
“Duncan is in his grave/After life’s fitful fever he sleeps well…” → association with safety and death
“O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!”
act 3 scene 2
climax, #3 murderer because macbeth can’t trust anyone when Banquo dies/scene 4 during banquet, reversal from death of Duncan because this death is his own doing and he is becoming Lady Macbeth, Macbeth has changed his character so deeply there is no return after he’s killed his friend, and instead he’s onto the next murder for Macduff
Lady Macbeth uses Macbeth, Macbeth uses the murderers
“We have lost the best half of our affair”–> murderer 2
act 3 scene 3
Climax- macbeth losing his reign of power by exposing his weakness/illness of hallucinations of the ghost of Banquo, causing him to declare the table is full and go into a fit of madness: “thou canst not say i did it.”
Lady macbeth references the “air drawn dagger which you said led you to duncan”- her attempts to cover up her husband’s hallucinations with calling them normal fits don’t really work “i have a strange infirmity…”
“Blood hath been shed ere now….the time has been that when the brains were out, the man would die, and there was an end”–> his murder will always follow him
“Are you a man?”–> Lady Macbeth continues to mock Macbeth of his manhood, only he is more bold now and she is more timid so he has more power even in his fits
“..keep the natural ruby of your cheeks when mine is blanched in fear”–> callback to when lady macbeth is mocked because he has a white heart (and fearful one) while lady macbeth’s are red (flip- this time macbeth is worried about being caught, last time he was worried about what had just happened, at the time lady macbeth was only worried about getting caught, hence why she had to go and get the daggers but now she’s worried about what happened)
“Blood will have blood” → he will pay for his actions but he cannot go back and immediately begins planning murder of macduff
“You lack the season of all natures, sleep.”- ties in with after macbeth kills duncan and realizes he will never sleep again act 2 scene 2 “methought i heard a voice cry sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep …”
act 3 scene 4
Security is a double entendre- dead/safe “Is Banquo safe?”, synonym with murder, Macbeth now publicly lives in disgrace safety only found in death
And you all know, security/Is mortals’ chiefest enemy, formalites, pronoun usage-> are/dare, odd rhyme scheme meant for publics’ enjoyment and merely represents a parallel to macbeth’s words foreshadowing how he will die
act 3 scene 5
Lennox & the lord, Lennox is highly suspicious of Macbeth, finds it odd that in both murders to people Macbeth were close to, the “suspects” ran away, but fleance is literally a child, news is revealed that macduff has fled to join forces with malcolm to get support of siward of northumbria (military support?), calls macbeth a tyrant and his messenger is hung because he couldn’t get macduff back and macduff is too paranoid to leave it be
“God is with the English”, pious holy court- paid flattery to Edward
Malcolm is calling upon Siward of Northumbria, people hope pious english will intervene
Verbal irony, rhetorical question, “he hath borne all kings well”→ he, being macbeth, has manipulated the circumstances to benefitting him (did well for himself vs doing well for others
Verbal irony, rhetorical question: Did he not straight in pious rage the two delinquents tear that were the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep? (sarcastic) was that not nobly done?
act 3 scene 6
blood motif
cannot run from murders, blood will have blood, his theme of guilt, reference to the ghost of banquo being covered in blood, bloody daggers, sight of physical blood represents his deeds (seeing blood on murderers’ face)
