How important is the banquet scene in this play as a whole? Essay

Before we are able to fully explore the importance of Act III, Scene IV, of Shakespeare’s famous ‘bloody’ tragedy it is necessary to look briefly at what is meant as a tragedy for Shakespeare used tragic circumstances in order to give insight into lots of situations and help tell a story, usually with a moral attached. Although Macbeth is undoubtedly ‘tragic’ and one of the bloodiest and violent of Shakespeare’s plays its tragic nature doesn’t necessarily stem from the murders and grievances within the play. Shakespeare has used Macbeth’s vulnerability and naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve nature to portray tragic circumstances and to highlight the flaws within his character. Macbeth is a fascinating individual; he is transformed by evil from a strong and noble general to a king that will stop at nothing, including murder, to retain his throne and hence his power. However, he is rarely in control of a situation and from the beginning, when he encounters the three witches, deeply suspicious and afraid of the supernatural, ‘Speak if you can, what are you?’ Act I Scene III. This is shown as he depends on the witches to guide him with what to do and good becomes entwined with evil, ‘ Fair is foul, and foul is fair’, Act I Scene I. This also gives us a clue that it is going to be hard in the play to tell the difference between good and evil and when we encounter Banquo’s ghost in Act III, Scene IV we know any glimmer of hope felt by Macbeth since the murder of Banquo is to be short lived. The line ‘fair is foul, and foul is fair’, also indicates a warning to us as readers that things may not necessarily be what they seem and they most definitely are not. Many versions of this quote are used throughout the play including the line of Lady Macbeth’s when she tells Macbeth to; ‘play the humble host’ Act III Scene IV. When she says ‘play’ she is showing that she realises they have to cover up their true feelings. This is similar to ‘fair is foul, and foul is fair’ and can also be compared with the line Lady Macbeth uses to tell her husband to cover up his treachery ‘look like th’ innocent flower, But be the serpent under ‘t’, Act I Scene V, just before Duncan is to arrive at their castle. The banquet scene, therefore, is one of the most important scenes of the play and, once the ghost appears, becomes a pivotal point. Things, up until now, were going relatively smoothly for Macbeth and he has fulfilled his dream of becoming king and his wife, lady Macbeth, queen. Although she knows of Duncan’s murder, she has not been included in the plans for murdering Banquo, ‘Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest Chuck,’ Act III Scene II, and at the beginning of the ‘banquet scene’ he wishes only for her to join in the celebrations for his coronation ‘ Our hostess keeps her state, but in best time we will require her welcome,’ Act III Scene IV Line 6-7. The banquet has been arranged so that the new King and Queen can be properly introduced to their courtiers and is going as planned until the Murderers arrive to tell Macbeth that although they have killed Banquo, Fleance has escaped. Although Macbeth is uneasy about this news, ‘Hath nature that in time will venom breed’ Act III SceneIV and is linked to his doubts about one of Banquo’s predictions from the Witches, ‘Thou shalt get Kings, though thou be none’, he dismisses the murderers and prepares to enjoy the banquet in a ceremonious way. However, his ease is to be short-lived for as he is about to sit down he sees Banquo’s ghost in his place at table. He cannot believe this and questions his Lords, ‘Which of you has done this?’ but they are unable to see the ghost and rise to leave, thinking he is ‘unwell’. Guilt, denial and fear swamp Macbeth, ‘Thou canst not say I did it: never shake thy gory locks at me’, and he thinks someone knows he killed Duncan and is setting him up. It seems guilt is the strongest theme in this scene, it is the reason for the ghost of Banquo being present in Macbeth’s mind only, and his guilty conscience is seeping through with this sign of madness. Although Lady Macbeth accuses her husband of being a coward, ‘This is the very painting of your fear’ as she did at the time of Duncan’s murder, she apologises to the guests and tries to cover up for him saying it is an illness he has had from a child, ‘my Lord is often thus and hath been from his youth.’ Because he is so frightened I feel she is beginning to suspect him of something but does not understand what exactly, ‘Why do you make such faces?’ The Ghost leaves and Macbeth tries to understand what has happened, in Scene II he was saying how lucky Duncan was because he was at peace in death, ‘After life’s fitful fever, he sleeps well’, but now he is worrying because he has seen the dead rise up again and wonders that in his own death he too may not be at peace; ‘But now they rise again with twenty mortal murders on their crowns’. This seems to link in with the supernatural introduced with the witches and shows a weakness and confusion in Macbeth’s character as he fears death; ‘ I have a strange infirmity, which is nothing to those that know me’, Act III Scene IV. After the ghost leaves and the guests have gone it is almost dawn. Lady Macbeth says ‘Night, is almost at odds with morning.’ I feel Lady Macbeth is beginning to doubt her previous actions and seems confused over good and evil becoming entwined. Macbeth makes a short speech that could easily be compared to an earlier scene in the play – Act II Scene II, when Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are washing away Duncan’s blood from their hands. This could be an image of them ‘washing’ away the guilt that, in the end, forces Lady Macbeth to commit suicide when she feels she can’t wash the blood from her hands. This drives her to her madness like the ghost of Banquo starts to do to Macbeth. This is a famous speech that talks about wading in blood and has the word ‘blood’ repeated five times, ‘ blood will have blood’. Macbeth feels he is in this so deep there is no going back, ‘Returning were as tedious as go’er’, the turning point has now been reached and the last line indicates there is more killing to come, ‘We are yet but young in deed.’ This proves the importance of the Banquet Scene. We have reached the end of one chapter and the beginning of another and it is also a turning point in the relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. At the beginning of the banquet they were as close as they were at the beginning of the play, despite the ‘cloud’ of Duncan’s death. But by the end of the banquet we find Macbeth unable to confide in his wife for advice and going to the witches in place of her, ‘I will to-morrow (And betimes I will) to the Weird Sisters.’ And we now know that Lord and Lady Macbeth do not know darkness from light or evil from good. There must only be darkness and death ahead for them both. Fair has become foul and foul has become fair.