Act 3 Response
"Fear is the tax that conscience pays to guilt." - George Sewell
After Banquo departs for a ride with his son, Fleance, Macbeth has a soliloquy in which he expresses and explains his intentions to kill his best friend, Banquo. He ponders about what he had to go through to become a king--betraying Duncan and having emotional breakdowns afterwards--and about what the witches have foretold. He realizes that the source of his constant stress and fear is Banquo, who also heard the witches' prophecies and whom Macbeth suspects will bring trouble to his throne with his knowledge. He says, "To be thus is nothing, / But to be safely thus" (III.i.52-53), which roughly means that being a king means nothing unless you are safe as a king. He feels insecure at the throne and is becoming paranoid because of his sins. Furthermore, he says, "Upon my head they place a fruitless crown / And put a barren scepter at my grip, / Thence to be wrenched with an unlineal hand, / No son of mine succeeding" (III.i.65-68). Now, he is showing resentment against the prophecies, saying that he is currently wearing a meaningless crown soon to be stolen by descendants that are not of his own but of Banquo. In short, his personal reason for wanting Banquo dead is because the prophecies, some of which came to be true, foretold that Banquo's descendants will become kings instead of Macbeth's descendants.
The reason he gives to the murderers for wanting Banquo dead is that Banquo is the one who has made their lives miserable and should be the one to be punished. He says, "Know / That it was he, in the times past, which held you / So under fortune, which you thought had been / Our innocent self" (III.i.81-84). He blames Banquo for the murderers' hardships and misfortunes in exhorting them to kill him. Furthermore, Macbeth questions the murderers' manhood, a "technique" that Lady Macbeth used to goad Macbeth into killing Duncan. He says, "Now, if you have a station in the file, / Not i' th' worst rank of manhood, say 't, / And I will put that business in your bosoms" (III.i.110-112).
In scene 2, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are conversing about Macbeth's paranoia. They seem to have almost changed characters since the beginning of the play because Macbeth is now the aggressive one while Lady Macbeth is the hesitant one. His paranoia has completely changed him, and now he has the malevolent disposition that Lady Macbeth had. He says, "We have scorched the snake, not killed it. / She'll close and be herself whilst our poor malice / Remains in danger of her former tooth" (III.ii.15-17). The metaphors employed here emphasize Macbeth's insecurity at his throne as well as his enmity. He also seems domineering and authoritative over his wife, which again suggests a shift in personality since the murder. He is the one devising the plans and giving his wife orders. Near the end, he says, "Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck, / Til thou applaud the deed" (III.ii.50-51). He is keeping the plan from his wife, showing superiority and dominance.
Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth is now the reluctant "coward" that Macbeth was before committing the murder. She does not want to exacerbate things by committing even more sins and questions Macbeth's malicious intentions. Before Macbeth arrives, she says, "Naught's had, all's spent, / Where our desire is got without content. / 'Tis safer to be that which we destroy / Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy" (III.ii.6-9). This roughly translates to, "if you are unsatisfied after getting what you want, you've spent everything and gained nothing." She seems to have the mentality of "enough is enough", while Macbeth has the mentality of "I am never safe."
In scene 4, Macbeth is portrayed as more of a coward than a paranoid traitor. He hallucinates and sees the ghost of Banquo who haunts him in the seat of Macbeth. Frightened, he begins to rage at the ghost, discomfiting his guests. He says to the ghost, "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!" (III.iv.114-118). His fear and remorse are evident; he both fears the ghost of Banquo and also feels guilty for his deeds. The combination of these two is what drives him mad.
Scene 6 is a conversation between Lennox and the Lord. Lennox is suspicious of Macbeth because both murders occurred strangely close to Macbeth's coronation. Macbeth became king right after Duncan's death and Banquo died right after Macbeth became king. Both Lennox and the Lord call him a tyrant. Also, he finds it odd that sons suddenly decided to kill their fathers and that Macbeth killed the guards almost immediately.
Macduff has fled to England, where he hopes to gain King Edward's aid with Malcolm. He hopes that King Edward will ally with Siward in defeating Macbeth and bringing Scotland back to peace. Lennox and the Lord pray that Macduff is successful in his mission.