Active Reading Notes of ACT III (MACBETH)

Scene i:
- Banquo notes that so far the witches prophecy has been correct, but fears that some foul play has been involved
- He next wonders if because the first part became true, if it will be true that his son will become King
- Macbeth and Lady Macbeth invite Banquo to dinner that night, and he says he will be horseback riding before
- We learn that Macbeth feels that Banquo is a threat to him and that Macbeth wants to kill him because Macbeth feels guilty and is slowly loosing his mind. He is also jealous that Banquo still has a clear conscience
- Macbeth now seen as a bad/diseased person who sees the world with violence that is not there
- Macbeth hires murderers to go after Banquo, trying to bring them to action by telling them wrong doings Banquo did against them
- Macbeth sends the murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance 
Scene ii:
- During a talk between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth, Macbeth says that he is still not content with their work because there are still threats to eliminate
- Macbeth states that he has planned “a deed of dreadful note” for Banquo and Fleance and tells his wife to be jovial with Banquo at the feast to he slips into a false sense of security
Scene iii:
- The murderers wait outside the castle walls for Banquo and Fleance and are able to kill Banquo, but his son escapes
- As Banquo dies he yells for his son to avenge his death
Scene iv:
- Macbeth and Lady Macbeth enter the hall and Macbeth hears from a murderer that Banquo has been slain but his son escaped
- This sets Macbeth into a type of frenzy because he feels even less secure; the word "safe" is used repeatedly to mean "dead"
- Macbeth enters the feast and is the only one that sees Banquo's ghost in his seat
- He makes such a scene that Lady Macbeth is led to insult him by asking him if he is a man
- It is Macbeth's guilt that leads him to see Banquo, for he says "Avaunt! and quit my sight! let the earth hide thee!/ Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold;/ Thou hast no speculation in those eyes/ Which thou dost glare with!"
- Lady Macbeth encourages Macbeth to go to sleep and he promises in the morning to find the three witches and learn more about his future
Scene v:
- Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft, comes to scold the witches for making contact with Macbeth, saying that they did not show him the full potential of their power, but plan to the following day when they know he will come to visit them
- In Hecate's speech you say that there is a rhyming scheme where the last word of two lines at a time rhymes
Scene vi:
- Lennox and a lord talk about the status of the Kingdom
- Fleance has been blamed for his fathers deaths, but Lennox feels that Macbeth may be guilty for both Banquo and Duncan's deaths
- Macduff and Malcolm, Duncan's sons, have gone to the King in England and requested help for defeating Macbeth, which has led to Macbeth preparing for war