Banquo contemplates about the witches‘ prophecy and its connection to Macbeth‘s coronation
he assumes that since the first prophecy about Macbeth becoming king came true, then the second one about his children sitting on the throne should come true as well
Macbeth enters as king with Lady Macbeth and his court
they invite Banquo to the feast that will take place that evening
Banquo accepts and tells them about his plan to go for a horse ride in the afternoon
Macbeth raises the subject about Malcolm and Donalbain‘s escape and their potential conspiracy against the crown
everybody except for Macbeth and a servant leave, Macbeth is informed that there are some men waiting for him
they are to be fetched and Macbeth soliloquizes over the fact that Banqou is an old friend of him and also, the only man in Scotland whom he is afraid of
thinking about the prophecy, he comes to the conclusion that he won‘t have any children to carry on his reign
hence, Macbeth has just cleared the way for Banquo‘s children to become the future kings of Scotland
the servant returns with the two men that Macbeth has hired as murders
Macbeth reminds them of all the mistakes that Banquo has made with regard to the two of them and asks them if they are manly enough to take revenge on Banquo
they promise to murder Banquo and Macbeth asks them to murder Banquo‘s son Fleance as well
Scene 2
Lady Macbeth is by some reason desperate and sends a servant to get her husband
Macbeth enters, claiming that he is discontent and that his mind is full of scorpions
he explains that with killing Duncan, their business is not yet complete and that they have to murder Banquo and Fleance as well
also, he asks her to be cheerful and kind to Banquo at the feast in order for him to think himself safe
Scene 3
setting: a tree-covered park outside the palace, dusk
the two murderers are joined by a third and wait for their victims
Banquo and Fleance appear on their horses and light a torch when the murderers come after them
they kill Banquo and with his last words, he urges his son to flee - he manages to escape
the murderers leave in order to tell Macbeth what happened and take Banquo‘s body with them
Function Scene 1-3
Macbeth has grown used to committing murder in order to achieve his goals and he does not even care about murdering his oldest friend and his son
however, Fleance‘s survival hints towards the fact that the witches‘ prophecy will come true no matter what
Macbeth has traded roles with his wife
he uses the same rhetoric that his wife used in order to convince him to murdering king Duncan
questions the murderers‘ manhood and thus spurs their thirst for revenge
in the scene with Lady Macbeth, he reminds her of looking innocent and of pretending as if nothing is wrong
still, he cannot eliminate his doubts and guilty thoughts which are characterized by the scorpions in his mind
Lady Macbeth takes on her husband‘s role and despairs about the murders, telling her husband that "what‘s done is done" (Act III, Scene 2, 13), using her husband‘s words from Act I, Scene 7
although Macbeth and his wife are now king and queen of Scotland, they are not happy
their language consists of many elements mirroring inner conflicts and paranoia (the scorpions in Macbeth‘s mind)
the more people are killed, the more troubled, violent and terrified Macbeth will be
introduction of another theme: repercussions of acting on ambition without moral constraint
Scene 4
setting: inside Macbeth‘s castle, a table is covered with food
Macbeth and his wife greet their court and Macbeth sees the first murderer and approaches him, learning that Fleance was able to escape and that Banquo is dead
Macbeth is upset over the fact that Fleance escaped because that way, his regency is still insecure
when he returns to sit at the table, Macbeth finds the ghost of Banquo sitting on his seat
Macbeth is aghast and tries to speak to the ghost who is invisible to all the other people
Lady Macbeth is embarrassed about her husband‘s behavior - she asks the guests to ignore him and explains that he is used to having such visions
she also urges her husband to stop his behavior and questions his manhood again
when the ghost disappears, Macbeth relaxes and tells his guests that his disease is normal to those who know him
however, Banquo‘s ghost reappears and Macbeth continues having further outbursts
excusing her husband, Lady Macbeth sends the guests away and the ghost disappears again
Macbeth talks to his wife about the fact that Macduff plans on staying away from court which is equal to treason
in order to know more about his future and potential enemies, Macbeth explains that he wants to meet the witches again the next day
he exclaims that he will keep the throne, no matter what he will need to do
Lady Macbeth is somewhat reserved, claiming that her husband needs sleep and they both go to bed
Scene 5
setting: a stormy heath
the three witches meet with Hecate, the Greek goddess of witchcraft
Hecate is upset with them because they intervened with Macbeth‘s destiny without consulting her first
she will now take over and supervise the mischief
since they all know that Macbeth will come to them the very next day, Hecate urges them that they must summon visions and spirits whose messages will fill him with a false sense of security
Hecate disappeares and the witches go on with preparing their spells
Scene 6
setting: somewhere in Scotland
Lenox takes a walk with a lord, contemplating about what has happened to the kingdom
people assume that Banquo has been killed by Fleance, yet Lenox and the lord suggest that it was Macbeth whom they believe to be a tyrant and whom they also believe to have killed Duncan
the lord informs Lenox about Macduff‘s joining with Malcolm in order to ask England‘s king Edward for help
as Macbeth knows about this plot as well, he prepares for war
Lenox and the lord strongly hope that Malcolm and Macduff will succeed in their quest to save Scotland from Macbeth
Function Scenes 4-6
reappearance of supernatural and unnatural forces that are linked to wickedness and downfall
Banquo‘s silent ghost that is only visible to Macbeth and whose presence might just be a guilt-inspired hallucination
the witches reappear and prepare their spells
the goddess Hecate is introduced
those three elements represent the corruption of Scotland‘s political and moral health
they also function as elements of foreboding
the feast as Macbeth‘s high point of reign and at the same time, its downfall
Macbeth behaves very strangely and confuses his subjects, also confirming their belief that he might be mentally ill
Lady Macbeth appears now more confident than her husband
they switch roles again, and Macbeth appears to be driven by anxiety
