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Class notes English literature Almond Books Macbeth(text with paraphrase) for ISC Class 11 and 12 English literature test and exam study material.$3.09
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Class notes English literature Almond Books Macbeth(text with paraphrase) for ISC Class 11 and 12 English literature test and exam study material.
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In depth knowledge of Macbeth, Shakespeare's tragedy Act III and Act IV, conceptual knowledge, textual interpretation and passage study of the major events, literary interpretation, themes, and motifs discussed concept of ambition, power, guilt, conscience, appearance vs reality, fate vs free will,...
The beginning of act III, lets the dust settle after frenetic (wild) and chaotic few scenes.
Banquo’s opening speech is characterised by cynicism and distrust; one can imagine him
lurking in the shadows as he delivers his lines, observing events as they play out and offering
his opinions on Macbeth’s seemingly rapid ascent to power.
Macbeth is not present, but Banquo delivers his lines to him as if he is. He lists what his
friend has gained, saying ‘Thou hast it now…/ as the weird women promised.’ Shakespeare,
here, suggests the suspicions dividing their friendship run deeper than they appear. The
combination of ‘hast’ and ‘now’ makes it seem that Banquo has recognised that what
Macbeth has gained is temporary; power is ephemeral and can be lost just as easily as it is
gained. Banquo would think this. After all, he is expecting his progeny to be crowned at
some point in the future.
‘I FEAR THOU PLAYED’ST MOST FOULLY FOR’T’
Banquo’s opinion is amplified further when he says, ‘ and I fear/ Thou played’st most foully
for’t.’ Banquo worries that Macbeth has done something terrible in order to obtain the
crown. A vital question must be posed: should we be suspicious of Banquo, or at the very
least critical of him? He doubts Macbeth yet he does not voice his scepticism. He does not
even tell anyone of their consultation with the witches. Why?
Perhaps it is because Banquo cannot actually do anything to make his prophecy come true
immediately. After all, he will not become king himself, but will be ‘ the root and father/ of
many kings’. He has already fathered Fleance, And so there is nothing for him to do but wait,
unlike Macbeth, who could act whenever he wants. Regardless of speculation, the fact
remains that Banquo’s unvoiced worries have given Macbeth free reign, something Macbeth
has taken advantage of in order to commit unthinkable crimes.
The witches’ words of dualism dominate the play, and Banquo’s speech is no exception.
Believing Macbeth ‘Playd’st most foully’ for the kinship is a direct reference to their ‘fair is
foul and foul is fair’ incantation from act one scene one.
‘MYSELF SHOULD BE THE ROOT AND FATHER OF MANY KINGS’
Yet Banquo is not the ideal hero we often make him out to be. When he begins deliberating
his own prophecy, audiences realise he himself is starting to succumb to the seductive
nature of the supernatural albeit briefly. He comments on his role as ‘the root and father of
many kings’, a reference to himself as the origin of a royal line which will anchor itself in
Scotland’s history. Through this deliberation, however, Banquo’s character invites criticism.
When he speaks of the ‘truth’ emanating from Macbeth prophecies, he anticipates his will
,come true too and wonders whether they ‘set [him] up and hope’. Although he fears
Macbeth’s success, it has also blinded him from the wisdom he voiced in act one scene 3.
He has become susceptible to these ‘instruments of darkness’ Since he has seen how
favourably they look upon Macbeth.
Macbeth’s entrance causes Banquo to put the thought out of his mind. A ‘sennet sounds’
when Macbeth enters, the trumpets part of a ceremonial notice of arrival which confirms he
has been crowned king. What follows is a conversation full of artificial praises which both
Banquo and Macbeth bestow upon one another in an attempt to maintain a charade of
friendship. Macbeth is secretly envious of Banquo's role as a father whilst Banquo is fearful
of Macbeth’s actions.
Banquo now addresses him as ‘your Highness’ and ‘my Lord’ throughout their conversation.
Macbeth is superior and Banquo must recognise this.
‘ GOES FLEANCE WITH YOU?’
Macbeth informs Banquo that Malcolm and Donald Bain have led to England and Ireland
respectively, cleverly describing them as ‘bloody cousins’ in order to ‘remind’ the other
characters that they are the ones who are being accused of Duncan’s murder. Referring to
their crime as ‘parricide’.
Macbeth who swiftly changes the topic and asks Banquo whether Fleance is due to join him
on his ride. This causes a sense of unease; Macbeth speaks warmly to his friend, yet there is
no denying he is calculating the likely success of his next murderous plan. He must kill
Banquo to eradicate any future lineage and murder Fleance to prevent the witches’
prophecy from coming true.
As Banquo leaves, there is no doubt he has been targeted because of Macbeth’s jealousy
and fear. Macbeth has won the crown, yet his lust for power and more importantly for
maintaining it remains unsatisfied. For his first line of the scene, ‘Here’s our chief guest’,
Shakespeare is warning audiences more blood will be spilled he is not really ‘chief guest’ but
‘chief target’ and must be eliminated if only to settle Macbeth’s tormented mind.
This goes on to show how far Macbeth has fallen; he instructs Banquo, ‘fail not our feast’,
knowing fully well his friend will not be attending the celebrations. There is a cruel irony
here, as technically, Banquo will not fail to attend the feast, he will make his presence felt in
other ways.
Macbeth has become just as scheming and malicious as was lady Macbeth when we first
met her. Gone are his doubts as to whether they should ‘proceed further in this business’.
Macbeth has the crown and is determined to keep it, which makes him very dangerous
indeed.
‘OUR FEARS IN BANQUO STICK DEEP’
,Once Banquo has left, Macbeth reveals his true state of mind: he is fearful and alone,
trapped in his own thoughts and unable to escape them. His desire has transformed into an
obsession, and it is here that Macbeth’s mental capacity to think logically dissolves. His
crown may give him power, yet as audiences witness when he delivers the ‘to be thus is
nothing’ soliloquy, he is weak, desperate and perhaps even vulnerable.
Macbeth opens with his immediate fear: he will not keep the crown nor shall it be passed to
any of his descendants. ‘His fears in Banquo stick deep,’ He acknowledges once again using
‘our’ to denote his newly attained royal status. Shakespeare connects Macbeth and Banquo
in his speech; both characters, alone on stage have discussed only minutes apart how they
fear one another, evidence perhaps of how their relationship has completely crumbled
because of the events that have taken place. Macbeth's use of ‘stick deep’ is an indication of
both his mental and physical anguish, caused by the fear which consumes him. Macbeth’s
fear calls him to seek the services of those who murder for a fee; the weapons they yield will
‘stick deep’ in Banquo because of the fear Macbeth experiences.
These fears are elaborated even further when Macbeth, saying, ‘in his royalty of nature
reigns that/ Which would be feared’, professes that the very way Banquo carries himself as
regal, this observation is a thought provoking one, for if he has pointed out that Banquo can
present himself in this way it would imply Macbeth feels, he himself cannot. His anxieties tell
him he is only playing the part of a king for a temporary time and will eventually disappear
into oblivion with no air to take his place, leaving the crown free for Banquo’s lineage to
seize. Banquo is kinglike, Macbeth is not.
We find that Macbeth is no longer serving Scotland; he is serving only himself. ‘There is
none but he, /who's being I do fear,’ he says. He is afraid of what Banquo knows and what
he could do if given the opportunity. Banquo is a threat and must be eliminated.
‘MY GENIUS IS REBUKED’
Macbeth even goes so far as to say his ‘genius is rebuked, as it is said Mark Antony's was by
Caesar.’ In Julius Caesar act 2 scene iii, an exchange takes place between Mark Antony and a
soothsayer, someone who is supposed to be able to foresee the future: that soothsayer
wants Mark Antony to avoid Ceesar (Gaius Octavius) because his spirit is weakened and
vulnerable when Caesar is around. Macbeth alluding to this moment in his soliloquy is saying
that lining himself with Banquo will scare his guardian angel and all competition between
the two of them will result in Banquo’s favour. Macbeth believes that to avoid this he should
take his fate in his own hands and challenge the witches’ predictions. He believes Banquo
‘chid the weird sisters’, scolding them for only focusing on Macbeth instead of sharing their
auguries with him too. Although Banquo does use an imperative when he speaks to the
witches’- ‘ Speak then to me’ , it may be Macbeth is deliberately miss remembering the
strength of Banquo’s meeting in order to give further justification for his murderous
thoughts.
, Macbeth sees it as his duty to act, bemoaning the ‘ fruitless crown’ and ‘ barren sceptre’ he
has been presented with. Describing these royal objects as such tells audiences Macbeth
feels the objects hold little to no meaning, they have no purpose and will continue to hold
no purpose until his kingship is secure. Macbeth feels the sceptre would be wrenched from
him by an ‘unlineal hand’. The consequences of this ‘theft' are Dire : ‘ For Banquo’s issue
have I filed my mind;/for them, the gracious Duncan have I murdered’. It is not difficult for
an audience to see Macbeth’s anger, confusion and desperation. He acknowledges Duncan
as a ‘ gracious king; Duncan did not deserve death’ and yet it was necessary loss in order for
Macbeth to ascend to the throne. Murdering him, however means Macbeth is no longer the
man he was. His mind is polluted and tarnished, a point he expresses with bitter realisation
as he deals with the prospect that he has sacrificed his ‘eternal Jewel’ and has traded with
the devil for a power which will not last. Essentially, Macbeth has condemned himself to
damnation, faced with the idea of playing the devil's pool forever. The fact this could all be
for Banquo’s children becomes incomprehensible to him. Macbeth will do all he can to stop
the prophecy from coming true, a terrifying prospect for someone who has already
committed the unthinkable to get what he wants.
‘RHETORIC: parallels to Act one scene 7’
The murderers enter and Macbeth is keen to know what they have to say. His conspiracy
with them alone shows how he has disgraced himself. There are no niceties. Macbeth asks
them whether they have considered his proposal to murder Banquo, yet before they can
reply, he cleverly spins a web of rhetoric in an attempt to convince them that his former
friend and ally deserves the fate he will pay them to deliver.
Macbeth uses prose rather than verse, while talking to the murderers. This way he is trying
to be one with them and hopes to compel them to do his bidding, it is a manipulative and
calculated act on Macbeth’s part. In addition, Shakespeare is demonstrating the deliberate
distancing between Macbeth and Banquo.
Macbeth is clearly impassioned when speaking to these murderers.
He is:
... not satisfied with mere mercenaries. He tries to inspire the murderers to a motivated
slaughter - a justifiable revenge - upon Banquo, who according to Macbeth, is the one 'in
the times past, / Which held you so under fortune.
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