Scene III explained

What happens

Themes in this chapter

• Violence and Masculinity

  The murderers' cold-blooded attack on Banquo demonstrates how violence is used as a tool to assert power and eliminate threats, a key aspect of Macbeth's tyrannical rule.

• Fate vs. Free Will

  Fleance's escape introduces uncertainty into the witches' prophecy that Banquo's descendants will be kings, suggesting that human actions can alter the course of fate.

Characters to notice

• Banquo

  Ambushed and killed by the murderers; his last words urge Fleance to flee and seek revenge.

• Fleance

  Escapes the assassination attempt, carrying the torch and fleeing as his father commands.

• Murderers

  Three murderers carry out Macbeth's orders; they kill Banquo but fail to kill Fleance.

Key passages

• “O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! Thou mayst revenge. O slave!”

  Betrayed! Run, Fleance, run! You can avenge me someday. Oh, villain!

  Banquo's dying cry reveals his awareness of the betrayal and his hope that Fleance will survive to seek retribution.

• “We have lost Best half of our affair.”

  We've failed in the most important part of our mission.

  The second murderer acknowledges that letting Fleance escape undermines the purpose of the attack, as the prophecy about Banquo's heirs remains unfulfilled.