Macbeth Analysis Act 3 Scene 4: Full Commentary

Summary

The video by 5Quote Shakespeare dissects Act 3 Scene 4 of Macbeth, a pivotal moment where Macbeth's guilt manifests through a ghostly vision during a banquet. This scene is crucial as it highlights Macbeth's psychological disintegration and his struggle to maintain composure amidst public scrutiny. Banquo's ghost serves as both a literal and metaphorical reminder of Macbeth's treachery, challenging his ability to uphold his facade. Lady Macbeth's attempts to cover for Macbeth underscores the theme of appearance versus reality while showcasing her own descent into paranoia. The video also draws parallels between Macbeth’s breakdown in this scene and the gradual build-up to climaxes in modern storytelling, such as in the film “Uncut Gems."

Highlights

• Macbeth's hallucinations reveal his guilt and fear when Banquo's ghost appears at the banquet. 👻
• Lady Macbeth struggles to maintain normalcy, showcasing a crack in their united front. 🍽️
• The theme of appearance vs. reality is prominent as Macbeth tries to put on a brave face. 🎭
• Macbeth's fear of being exposed drives him further towards tyranny and paranoia. 🔍
• The supernatural, especially the ghost, plays into the Elizabethan belief system, amplifying the story's tension. 🔮

Key Takeaways

• Macbeth's guilt becomes public at the banquet, signifying his psychological unraveling. 😱
• Banquo's ghost symbolizes Macbeth’s inner turmoil and guilt, appearing at a critical public event. 👻
• Lady Macbeth attempts damage control, exposing her complicity and desperation. 🕵️‍♀️
• This scene is a micro-climax, part of Shakespeare’s tension-building technique leading to the ultimate climax. 📈
• The supernatural elements enhance the theme of guilt and mental instability. 🧠

Overview

In this haunting scene from Act 3, Scene 4 of Macbeth, the protagonist's guilt and fear are brought to the forefront when Banquo's ghost makes a startling appearance at a public banquet. The event throws Macbeth into a fit of paranoia and hallucination, as his mental stability is further compromised. His inability to interact with the ghost discreetly causes a spectacle, disturbing the guests and alerting them to his unstable state of mind.

Lady Macbeth, ever the quick thinker, attempts to mitigate the damage by explaining away Macbeth's erratic behavior. She urges the guests to ignore his ravings and reassures them that it's an ailment he has had since youthful days, showing her swift but futile damage control efforts. Meanwhile, Macbeth's public breakdown emphasizes the themes of appearance versus reality, as he struggles to keep his murderous deeds hidden behind a mask of kingly demeanor.

This scene is particularly gripping for its demonstration of Shakespeare's mastery in building tension. By using supernatural elements such as Banquo's ghost, Shakespeare taps into the Elizabethan audience's superstitions, making the psychological horror palpable. Furthermore, this micro-climax serves as a precursor to the ultimate downfall of Macbeth, propelling the narrative towards its tragic end while showcasing the unraveling of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's mental states.

Chapters

• 00:00 - 00:30: Introduction The introduction chapter discusses the aftermath of Banquo's death and Fleance's escape, focusing on Macbeth's internal struggle and guilt. The setting is a party, which appears to be an informal dinner rather than an official event for Macbeth's ascent to kingship.
• 00:30 - 02:00: The Banquet Begins The chapter 'The Banquet Begins' focuses on a significant test for Macbeth's ability to disguise his true intentions and feelings. This moment is pivotal, as it examines his capacity to maintain a facade under public scrutiny. From the start of the play, signs have hinted at his impending failure at this. Lady Macbeth previously warned him that his face is like a book that reveals his inner thoughts, heightening the anticipation for when Macbeth's composure will inevitably crumble.
• 02:00 - 06:00: Macbeth's Inner Conflict This chapter delves into Macbeth's internal struggle as he grapples with his ambitions and the moral dilemmas that accompany them. The narrative builds up through minor climaxes, reflecting Macbeth's descent into conflict as he inches closer to his ultimate confrontation. The interplay of these micro climaxes mirrors the tension and emotional turmoil experienced by Macbeth as he dwells in the turmoil of his own making.
• 06:00 - 10:00: The Ghost of Banquo The chapter titled 'The Ghost of Banquo' explores the storytelling techniques using the example of a film that builds tension through a series of micro climaxes. The narrative discusses how these climaxes keep the audience engaged and prepared for the final, devastating climax. The repetition of phrases like 'oh my god' signifies the increasing tension and anticipation built throughout the story. The chapter highlights the effectiveness of preparing the audience for major plot points by leading them through several smaller tense moments.
• 10:00 - 12:00: Lady Macbeth's Intervention Lady Macbeth's Intervention focuses on a pivotal moment in the story where anticipation builds for the crux of Macbeth's psychological turmoil. Known as the ghost scene, this chapter delves into the preparations and foreshadowing leading up to this climax. Although the narrative assumes a familiarity with the story of Macbeth, it highlights the critical role of storytelling in shaping audience expectations and emotional buildup before Macbeth's notorious breakdown.
• 12:00 - 15:00: Macbeth's Fear and Guilt In this chapter, we are introduced to the theme of Macbeth's fear and guilt. The setting includes a social gathering where people are warmly greeted by Lady Macbeth, indicating that everything seems normal on the surface. However, the presence of a murderer at the side door introduces a sinister element. This suggests that Macbeth's fear and paranoia are beginning to surface in public events, hinting at the unraveling of his mental state as guilt and fear take center stage in his psyche.
• 15:00 - 21:00: The Vision and Its Effects The banquet scene in Macbeth is depicted where Macbeth is hosting a grand dinner. However, during the festivities, he spots one of the murderers at the corner of his eye. Despite the celebration atmosphere and everyone else immersing in the merriment, Macbeth is troubled. He decides to position himself in the middle of the action, declaring his intention to join the joy and offer a toast. Nonetheless, his mind is overtaken by the sight of the murderer, leading him to fixate on the murderous deed and even confront the murderer about the blood, all while the guests remain unaware of his preoccupation.
• 21:00 - 27:00: Macbeth's Descent into Tyranny The chapter titled 'Macbeth's Descent into Tyranny' details Macbeth's increasing descent into madness and tyranny as he converses with a murderer about Banquo's death. Macbeth expresses satisfaction that Banquo is dead, as indicated by the blood on the murderer's face. The murderer confirms Banquo's throat is cut, and Macbeth morbidly commends him. Macbeth's tyrannical nature is further revealed as he suggests that the murderer would be the best, 'the best of the cutthroats,' if Fleance, Banquo's son, were also dead, indicating Macbeth's increasing paranoia and ruthlessness.
• 27:00 - 36:30: Macbeth's Realization and Despair In this chapter titled 'Macbeth's Realization and Despair,' there is an exploration of Macbeth’s moral awareness and his capacity for brutality. The transcript describes a back-and-forth debate on whether Macbeth is simply a morally conscious individual or if he is, instead, a brutal savage. His reaction to his friend’s murder, showing a lack of empathy and a tendency towards cruelty, supports the argument that he possesses a significant level of brutality. His realization and despair unfold as he grapples with his own actions and the resulting isolation from morality.
• 36:30 - 40:00: Conclusion The conclusion chapter reflects on various interpretations of Macbeth's character. It discusses how different film versions depict Macbeth's ambition and cruelty differently. The favorite interpretation presented is that Shakespeare intended to portray Macbeth as being weaker than he appears, despite his savagery on the battlefield, which is justified as it serves a good cause.

Macbeth Analysis Act 3 Scene 4: Full Commentary Transcription

• 00:00 - 00:30 [Music] okay act 3 scene 4 Banquo is dead Fleance has escaped and now Macbeth has to face the world with that on his conscience it's a big party scene we don't know really why but I don't think it's an official thing for his first coming out as the king I don't think that's the case it's just a mr. to bank we were a formal dinner where everyone
• 00:30 - 01:00 has to get together it's the real first test of Macbeth serpent and flower skills if you know what I mean he learned early on in the play right from the very beginning we've been prepared for this weave he's gonna crack he's gonna crack in this scene he can't stand up to public scrutiny and we've been prepared for this for it from the beginning Lady Macbeth said at the beginning if your face my Thane is as a book where in men may read strange matters so we're waiting for it we're waiting for it to crack she said it
• 01:00 - 01:30 there she said it a few times all throughout the aisle throughout the story now if you remember what I mentioned before about about there being minor of course I can do this now about there being these minor climaxes before we get to the big climax at the top we get these little ones well this this was as certainly is the biggest of the littlest of these micro climaxes interestingly I watched uncut gems over
• 01:30 - 02:00 the weekend and it that it's the same thing the storytelling techniques it's the same there's a devastating climax in that film but there's all of these little micro climaxes where oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god you and you're following the the tension the rising tension all the way up and but but you're prepared you're prepared for that big bang by all of these there's at least three or four of these instances where you're saying okay this is where this is where this is where it's gonna
• 02:00 - 02:30 happen but it doesn't because the the the filmmakers and the storytellers wait until the end so this is one of the big things we're we're we're getting we've been prepared for his his breakdown it's the famous scene it's the ghost scene I'm gonna I'm giving you spoilers here because I'm assuming you've actually watched a movie just once you should have watched one of the versions of the Macbeth once so you have an idea of what's going on so you kind of know what's going on anyway okay so um to know what's he saying here you know our
• 02:30 - 03:00 own degree sit down welcome everyone hearty welcome blah blah blah I'm not gonna go through all this this is just the parents versus reality Flower and the serpent blah blah blah we will mingle with you in a moment our hostess Lady Macbeth is here cheers Cheers to all we you know welcome welcome welcome she says the same thing everyone is welcome now the murderer appears at the side door so there's a stage and the audience is down there Macbeth is here and you know he's giving all of the things are lined up or sitting down or going to take their
• 03:00 - 03:30 seats at the big banquet table and he sees of course over the corner of his eye Macbeth sees the the murderer but he still says to everyone mmm here I'll sit in the middle and I'll join your your mirth I'll join the happiness in a moment I'll I'll give the toast then he steps aside and he looks at the murderer and he says there's blood he talks to the murderer everyone else's mingling the audience is watching everyone else just just having their party and he says
• 03:30 - 04:00 to the to the murderer there's blood on your face and he says it's Banquo's well it's better it's better outside of your body then inside Banquo's body so he's happy that macbeth that that Banquo has been killed is he dispatched my lord his throat is cut I did that for him so he's saying yes bank was dead and so he's happy and he says thou are the best of the cutthroats and you'd be the best of them all if FLE aunts were dead too so you'd be if thou didst it thou art
• 04:00 - 04:30 the nonpareil so you have no parallel you have no equal now um this this could be this could be taken I mean I've been going back and forth on Macbeth here are they morally I they're definitely morally aware and I do believe their moral or are they just brutal savages this might be that you could take this as an argument to suggest that he's no he's concerned he's pretty brutal his friend is is murdered and he's in he's being quite you know quite quite cruel in his
• 04:30 - 05:00 assessment of the of the situation so you can use you know yeah I don't you could argue you could argue either way and I think the film versions that we have I think I've said before some film versions take a hard line on Macbeth his cruel ambition and you could twist it like that my favorite interpretation of it and I think Shakespeare's text bears it out is that Macbeth is weaker than he is savage on the battlefield we know he's a great warrior savage in that respect but in a good cause
• 05:00 - 05:30 psychologically certainly not so it not in this certain psychological inert not as strong as he as he would like to be most royal sir flee ounces escape so the murderer says flee ants got away so this is more evidence that perhaps he's just cruel and perhaps he's just ambitious and perhaps he's just an awful person without that moral strong moral core we could argue that here Leon says gadelle had gotten away so as soon as he hears that Fleance has gotten away that's when he has this fit it's not when he hears
• 05:30 - 06:00 that Banquo has been killed his buddy has been killed he doesn't have his fit when he realizes that oh my god I really did it I really did kill my buddy he has a fit when Fleance gets away which is going to be a threat to him of course that's when he has that panic attack then comes my fit again I had else been perfect before that I was perfectly strong whole as the marble found it as the rock as broad in general as the casein air so I was so I was my great nobleman I was my great noble King general as the widen and powerful as all
• 06:00 - 06:30 of this before I heard that Fleance got away but now I am cabined cribbed confined bound in saucy doubts and fears that's how Shakespeare describes the mental illness of Hamlet Hamlet says I could consider myself king of all the world and bounded in a nutshell or something if except that I have bad dreams so there's the sense of the mental illness being something that that imprisons you and he certainly is imprison which leads
• 06:30 - 07:00 to the question that I asked about retro redemption is he redeemed has he suffered I have both of them fair enough by this the mental prison that they're in you know I don't know probably not or in some ways perhaps so then he tries to do okay okay okay Fleance has gotten away but bank was safe right bank was dead right i am i good lord he's in it he's in a ditch 20 gashes on his head the least death to nature so every gash with it was the death death to nature so nature
• 07:00 - 07:30 there's the nature versus the unnatural thanks for that so some more serpent imagery comes in here some it's and it's kind of ironic he says there the grown serpent lies so your teacher might want you to focus so you teachers very often ask you to find metaphors and explain them and stuff like this well here's one of them they are the grown serpent lies the worm that's fled hath nature that in time will breed venom will venom breed no teeth for the present so Banquo is the full-grown snake that can kill me he's gone fine the worm the little snake
• 07:30 - 08:00 he's gotten away and in it he has a nature he has a neat cause for revenge and and the ability to do it because he's of noble lineage I suppose from from Banquo who was a good strong man that in time so it's eventually Fleance is gonna become a problem he's gonna have venom but he's the the snake is not a problem for now get thee gone tomorrow we'll talk about this later on okay so the murderer leaves so now he's got this on his head um let's talk about this
• 08:00 - 08:30 tube first so so Bank want Banquo and Fleance are described as the serpent of the world worm so there's irony there because of course who's the real serpent and we've seen that that image come up again and again it's Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are the Serpent's I might be overthinking this a little bit perhaps this is projection Macbeth calls Banquo the serpent as a way to he knows that he himself is the serpent because they've called themselves Lady Macbeth and has called them that the serpent already so Macbeth knows that he's the
• 08:30 - 09:00 evil guy but he projects that image on to someone else remember we talked about scapegoating in a previous video there might be a bit of that here I might be overthinking it but well it's the motif right so that this is this is a read this is a connection to that serpent motif and and with the scapegoating is a motif that runs throughout the whole play so maybe or maybe a bit of overthinking here Macbeth projects his own corruption on to his enemies my royal Lord you do not give the cheer so Lady Macbeth realizes
• 09:00 - 09:30 that okay it's time dude dude dude you got to play the game come on over here you do not give the cheer the feast is sold that is not often vouched while Tisza making it is given the welcome okay so this is kind of convoluted old-fashioned weird language basically what she's saying is that you at home when when we're dining casually at home you don't have to worry about formalities you don't have to worry about giving the toast but when we're out in public and we're doing what we're doing a feast properly you have to come and you have to give the welcome you
• 09:30 - 10:00 have to give the toast so come on over and she's a hidden Macbeth of course puts on the smile and says oh of course thanks reminded me I was I was lost in something else and he gives the toast good digestion wait on appetite and health on both yay and everyone gives the gifts that gives the cheer so Lennox says one of the one of the things says may it please your highness it he said come on sir sit down and join us the ghost enters the ghost of Banquo enters of course it is the ants it's
• 10:00 - 10:30 Macbeth's place now it's significant that the ghost sits in Macbeth's place of course because it echoes back to the borrowed robes theme Macbeth knows the Kings seat is not his Banquo is more suited and Macbeth knows this so psychologically of course the ghost is a projection of Macbeth sown psychologies on guilt and it sits in the place where Macbeth should be and he knows that and that he did macbeth knows that he doesn't deserve that seat Macbeth knows that probably make Banquo is the better man cuz he said before that Banquo was a
• 10:30 - 11:00 better man than I am perhaps Banquo deserves the kingship more and the witches have promised that seat to Banquo's sons so there's many reasons why Banquo should take Macbeth's chair mmm so Macbeth's looks he doesn't quite recognize the ghost yet he doesn't know the ghost is there yet and so he says to the to the crowd he's trying to be you know full of cheer and he's trying to keep things together and he says here had we now our country's honoured roofed were the graced person of our banquo presence so he says we
• 11:00 - 11:30 would have all of our all of our most noble P in all of Scotland would be here if Banquo had been here who may I rather challenge for unkindness than pity for miss chance so he's trying to make a joke and saying mm I'd like to just kind of um challenge him for being unkind and not showing up at her feast then I would pity him for you know having an having a something bad happen that they couldn't he couldn't derive he's trying to make a joke teasing Bank well for not showing up at
• 11:30 - 12:00 his party it's a bit feeble and it shows that Banquo is first and foremost in Macbeth's mind here for which reason is reason a which is his his guilt and his his humane guilt or fear of getting off Leonce having gotten away I think it's I was both I think it's absolutely both and Ross joins in the light teasing of bank one says his absence sir lays blame
• 12:00 - 12:30 upon his promise so he promised to be here and he should be here or maybe it's not so light maybe it's not maybe it is a bit of a rebuke please at your highness grace is with your company come sit down let's well let's just read this this is quite obvious though personification Bank was ghost as a manifestation of the Macbeth's guilt shame and fear does Kane feel guilt for killing Abel we don't hear much about it in the traditional story I don't think but there's a question for us Macbeth looks around the table and he
• 12:30 - 13:00 sees that the table is full because there's a ghost sitting there now if you have to imagine the stagecraft of this scene would be something like well then you can do it in hundred ways I suppose but you know the audience is here there's a big long table and very often what I saw it once the Royal Shakespeare Company the the I'm Macbeth and at the head of the table standing at the head of the table and Macbeth and the audience is back there and Banquo sits at the closest to the stage with his
• 13:00 - 13:30 back to the audience and facing Macbeth who's standing at the head of this death the front of that the back of the stage and so it's kind of chilling you know when you're in the audience and you see the just this ghostly you know guy come in and just sit down there very often there's a a track door and the chair will come up and he'll just be there and then he'll kind of disappear and then he'll come back up again so there's lots of different ways you can stage it you've so you just have to kind of imagine it the 1979 version that I'm so familiar
• 13:30 - 14:00 with is the and and in love with is the they don't have they don't have the ghost at all they just have Macbeth scene nothing which I think maybe makes as much sense because it's all a hallucination anyway nobody sees it uh so we have a place reserved for you where I don't see anything here my good lord and then after the Lenox says this that's when Macbeth you know freezes is oh my god I see Banquo there and everyone freaks out he says what's what's freaking you out your highness
• 14:00 - 14:30 what what is it that moves you and make Beth accuses everyone who has done this who's done what and then he's speaking here to the ghost and the ghost has blood all over his hair and he says you can't say that I did it ghost Banquo you can't say that I did it it of course is the crime you can accuse me never shake your gory locks at me so I guess there's the image of the ghost is just kind of looking straight at bang at Macbeth and accusing him it's the it's
• 14:30 - 15:00 the it's the finger wag for good reason and he says don't don't shake your bloody hair at me Roth says of gentleman stand up there's something wrong with his Highness His Highness is not well now of course we are waiting for Lady Macbeth to come in and rescue the scene because she's got an F she's got an ever watchful eye on her husband who she knows is not very good at this which kind of begs the question why on earth would she set him upon this task to begin with lack of self-knowledge
• 15:00 - 15:30 foolishness etc terror we are the agents of our own destruction so she says that's okay that's okay guys sit worthy friends My Lord is often thus and hath been since his youth so she tries to pass it off I mean back in those days we didn't know anything about you know medical conditions we didn't owe anything about panic attacks we don't know anything but you know these kinds of mental illnesses epilepsy was very very widely misunderstood but fairly much except that I suppose because well we have evidence from Julius Caesar
• 15:30 - 16:00 Julie cz apparently historically did have epilepsy was caught it was called the falling sickness or something like that I can't remember but anyway so that was an excuse and Julius Caesar Julius Caesar he had a buddy that would come by and stick the stick in his mouth so he wouldn't bite his own tongue and stuff like that so it was understood you know epilepsy was understood to be something so Lady Macbeth tries to pass it off and say it was just just just just as he has the falling sickness or he has this illness from from youth pray you please sit down it is the fit is momentary upon
• 16:00 - 16:30 a thought he will be well again if much you note him you shall offend him and extend his passion now of course this is the mother hen protecting her young the mother protecting her her young don't look at him don't look at him she's trying to get attention away from him go ahead continue your meal feed and regard him not then she turns to him and viciously attacks him are you a man which of course is the manhood theme and you would think that would make his fit
• 16:30 - 17:00 the worst to make him feel even more horrible but again these people are ignorant of you know how psychology works and uh and he replies in a quite witty way he says yes I am a bold man that dare look on that which may appalled the devil on the thing that might appall the devil that would shock the devil so she's looking at a ghost that comes back he's looking at a ghost that comes back and he says yes of course I am a strong man that can bear to look at that yeah it's true Oh proper stuff stuff in
• 17:00 - 17:30 Shakespeare's day means just a bunch of nonsense we use it as physical stuff but they meant it kind of mean nonsense this is the very painting of your fear this is the air-drawn dagger which you said LED you to duncan so it's interesting that he actually confided in Lady Macbeth whose ism you know wife I saw this dagger and it led me to the thing I'm not sure what they would have thought this is an interesting task for you if you're interested in this kind of stuff would would Shakespeare's audience have have understood hallucinations to
• 17:30 - 18:00 be something more real they were they were superstitious that were very superstitious as I mentioned they believed in witches they believed that the devil had little minions they believed in fairies fairies were associated with the you know that they were the trickster gods that they did believe would come and interfere with people's lives perhaps they were agents of of the devil these minions of the devil so they didn't believe in all this stuff so they might have believed in something you know they might have believed that yeah the witches brought the daggers or you
• 18:00 - 18:30 really did see a dagger they didn't understand you know what what panic attacks and hallucinations all would have been so she just says she tries to brush it off and so this is just all nonsense this is just all the painting of your fear this is just all you know you're imagining it oh these flaws and starts and postures to true fear and well what I I have no idea what she means by that what I mean imposters to true fear if what Macbeth is not because if what my Beth has experienced is not true fear then there is no such thing as fear because it's exactly what fear is
• 18:30 - 19:00 well how would she define true fear perhaps oh no it's obvious she believes in the true the true manhood which would mean if you're facing a bear or a lion or another soldier that's true fear she doesn't understand the more subtle nuances of the human experience would well become a woman's story so all of these flaws and starts would be part of a woman's story at a winter's fire told by her grandmother so again he's calling
• 19:00 - 19:30 her he's calling him a woman he's calling him he's saying she's saying that he is not a man shame itself why do you make such faces when all is done you look but on a chair you look but on a stool fair enough she's absolutely right but her haranguing I don't think is gonna help him snap out of it at all it's probably gonna make things worse so he's starting to freak out perhaps and staid again the stagecraft the ghost is flitting around you know it's moving around so he's looking around the stages and look over here look behold how I say
• 19:30 - 20:00 you he's screaming at it then he's trying to compose himself he says what care I you know but then he's shifting this this language is here is all broken and and hectic and and and disordered which of course reflects his state of mind and he talks to the ghost and he says if you can nod so the ghost is you know you know doing this to him if you cannot go ahead and speak to me go ahead then again a disjointed thought he moves on
• 20:00 - 20:30 to another's thought so we're jumping all around here so you can't try to make sense of all this in a fluid as a fluid argument or anything it's just all he's his thoughts are bouncing around he says if Charnel houses and graves must send those that we bury back our monuments shall be the Mosel kites now the general idea of this is Channel houses where we put the bones graves of course is a grave and he says if the graves are going to send back their dead then the birds of prey that eat our corpses are going to be eating our corpses so he's making a comment
• 20:30 - 21:00 Shakespeare just has to fill up the Shakespeare has to get Shakespeare has to use words to get these kinds of images of the dead rising his stuff into the audience's head he has to use more words than just images of course you could have a corpse you could have a bloody actor come up over the stage out of the floor and have it there so there's the visualisation of it but remember Shakespeare's age was a more it was a it was it was it appreciated words more and and part of the fun of going there was to hear the description of it
• 21:00 - 21:30 like hearing a good story we all loved hearing somebody tell us a story if you listen to audiobooks I listen to a lot of audiobooks and we love someone reading a good story to us so this is what he's doing he's reading the story to the audience filling in filling in the visuals with with with beautiful words again she slaps him down what of the ghost vanishes what unman didn't folly have you been on a view lost her manhood in this foolishness and he swears he swears if I stand here I swear bye-bye well I if I stand here I saw him
• 21:30 - 22:00 I swear I saw him five for shame well that's a big one five just means this curse that shows disgust so she's got a contempt for him a contemptuous wife contempt to his mother poor Macbeth five for shame the chastising mother uh Macbeth says blood hath been shed err now in the olden time before err human statue purged the gentle wheel so this is actually kind of weird let me just explain this a bit he's saying that it's
• 22:00 - 22:30 a childish kind of complaint it's kind of this why me complaint he's saying that well everybody's been murders have happened in the past blood has been shed before now and in the olden days before humans have civilized the world before human laws have civilized has brought civilization to the savage world before that and even since that murders have been performed too terrible to hear and in all those times when the brains were out the man would die and not come back and there
• 22:30 - 23:00 would be an end so there's an echo here of this if the if the if this act would be the be-all and the end-all here so it's this childish kind of wine and says why why am I seeing this ghost it every tons of murders have happened before why me but now they rise again with 20 mortal murders on their on their crowns and push us from our stools but now they're coming back again so the times are weird well yeah you know it's it's a foolish childish you know a notion to
• 23:00 - 23:30 have this you know why am I being punished and nobody else has been through the past you know he's a fool this is more strange than the murder was so this returning of the ghost is more strange than the actual murder was well yeah fair enough it's your psychology buddy my noble lord your friends do lock you so she's trying to pull him back she's trying to say God you know Macbeth you know everyone's watching you can you can you kind of get your get your stuff together here he does come back
• 23:30 - 24:00 momentarily he says okay okay I do forget I'm sorry do not Muse at me my most worthy friends I have a strange infirmity which is nothing to those who know me so she picks up Lady Macbeth's argument and says yeah it's it's just a strange a weakness that I've had perhaps this is a bit of the theme the the sickness theme the corruption of Scotland yeah that's a bit of overthink I suppose come love come love and health to all and then I'll sit down so he gives the cheer and
• 24:00 - 24:30 then I'll sit down give me some wine you know full filfil I drink to the general health blah blah blah he's raising a cup and he raises a cup and again first and foremost in his mind is his friend Banquo and again look at the language I ask the question always his does he sincerely miss Banquo does cane miss Abel I suspect so Ian McKellan and the director of that that version thought so because they have ian mckellen wince when he says this is a lovely moment to when he says these
• 24:30 - 25:00 words you see it's the words it's my might remember the analysis the why a why not B why did Shakespeare put these words there if Macbeth was truly cruel if Macbeth truly did not regret at the deepest level killing his buddy then he could have just said cheers to the table and Banquo too bad he's not here he could have skipped the dear friend he could have skipped this home we miss but Shakespeare chose to put it in there and I think Ian McKellen
• 25:00 - 25:30 and/or the director of that version they had they decided to have Ian McKellen wince and he just kind of he there's a pained expression on his face when he says this and I I think the play bears it out or he's just being all flower is that being all flower or their sincerity in there go ahead write your essay one way or the other and I probably couldn't disagree with you if you disagree with me because there'd be lots of evidence to show that he's quite cruel would he were here again this is the same thing
• 25:30 - 26:00 why would he were here means I wish he were here that's an old-fashioned way to say I wish would he were here to all and him we thirst repeatedly repeatedly to Banquo doesn't keep banquet of his mind a real a real you know king would you know if somebody doesn't show up a real King was it yeah whatever you know here's here's to us wouldn't even bother mentioning Banquo but again but again is he mentioning banquet because of the guilt or as he mentioned banking because if he's just simply afraid anyway okay so our duties are in
• 26:00 - 26:30 the pledge so there's the toast and the ghost comes back again he says go away avaunt and quit my sight let the earth hide thee go back into your grave thy bones are marrowless you have no marrow on your bones thy blood is cold thou has no speculation in your eyes you can't see with your eyes which thou which thou dust glare with lovely words choice there's the Cain and Abel thing by his mere presence Abel is a judgment on Cain Cain knows that he's inferior to
• 26:30 - 27:00 people's efforts to ables character and just by being alive able as a judgment on Cain so here it is judgmental glare of the ideal here's those eyes Macbeth is the Banquo is the better man and just looking at is it's an accusation just looking at Macbeth is an accusation so that the focus on the glare can't stand the glare the accusatory glare Lady Macbeth steps in again and she
• 27:00 - 27:30 tries to cover up with the old epilepsy thing or whatever the hell it was think of this good peers as but a thing of custom it happens all the time tis no other only it spoils the pleasure of the time she says but but I'm sorry that it hit ruins our party great line here and absolutely true what man dare I dare lovely statement lovely statement approach now like the rugged Russian bear the armed rhinoceros the hurt can bear the tiger the Asian tiger take any shape but that take any shape take any
• 27:30 - 28:00 physical shape except the psychological accusation I can't handle that I can't handle that pressure and if you take any of these physical shapes my nerves would be firm and they should never tremble it's true that's he said he's a great he's a he's a he's a good man he's a he's a good man in that he can defend the weak he can defend us against Tigers to whatever the hell of a rhinoceros
• 28:00 - 28:30 would be doing in Scotland I don't know but psychologically he can't handle this or be alive again he says to Banquo and Dara me to the desert with I sword now here we get to the cruelty not such a good man go ahead Bank will come up and let's you and I fight it out with a sword and I can handle it but I can't handle your accusations if trembling I then inhabit protest me the baby of a girl if faced with the tiger face with you hand to hand if I tremble then I am the girl unmet
• 28:30 - 29:00 hence horrible shadow he can't handle it unreal mockery hence he's trying to shove it off as being unreal Bank was ghost vanishes why so being gone I am a man again so ghost is gone and Macbeth has Macbeth's manhood has returned it's all done the party's over all the guys are just staring at him saying what's going on here should I be you know planning a long vacation to the South of France at this
• 29:00 - 29:30 moment Scotland doesn't seem to be in very good hands you have displaced the mirth broke the good meeting with your crazy disorder and he keeps dwelling on this he says of course can such things be and overcome us like a summers cloud without her special wonder he says you know the fits come like a clear sky and the cloud comes over and that's the craziness and the cloud disappears comes and disappears and he says can and he asks everyone he says how can I not freak out
• 29:30 - 30:00 at this how can I not approach this with special wonder you make me strange even to the disposition that I owe when now I think you can behold such sights and keep the natural ruby of your cheeks when mine are blanched with fear and he Macbeth in turn is amazed at everybody else that how can you look at this stuff and keep the redness of your cheeks when mine are made white and pale with fear so Macbeth wonders how everyone else can look at the ghost and not panic
• 30:00 - 30:30 but of course you know he's getting close this is what's happening here he's getting close to actually saying how can you look on those sites and then Ross picks it up and he says well what sites do you see and of course Lady Macbeth the ever-watchful mother hen is like uh-uh I pray you speak not he grows worse and worse question enrages him don't ask him any more questions she's terrified that he's gonna reveal that you know he sees the ghost of Banquo in which case when it's revealed that
• 30:30 - 31:00 Banquo is dead everyone will know that Macbeth killed him at once goodnight stad not on the order of your going below at once don't make don't make formal don't make your formal good good nights to the king just get the hell out of here good night to better health to His Majesty they all leave a kind of good night to all everyone's there but Lady Macbeth Macbeth and now they're just kind of left panting the there in the ball there in the the banquet room and there's dishes and wine all over the place and cold food getting
• 31:00 - 31:30 cold and it's just it's just a total nightmare some lovely poetry here it will have blood they say blood will have blood I've mentioned that before that's the necessary paranoia of the tyrant that's the retribution blood will have blood a little bit of weirdness here a bit of his fear stones have been known to move and trees to speak augers and understood relations have bye maggot pies and choughs and rooks brought forth the secret is blood of man so Macbeth's
• 31:30 - 32:00 is is afraid of being revealed here by this sightseers the soothsayers the future seers back in the old days you know the consult the entrails have you heard that expression the ancient Romans for example they had soothsayers to see the future and they would if a general wanted to know whether we should attack now or tomorrow they would consult the soothsayer and they would rip open the guts of a lamb or something and rummage around in the entrails and by divining the entrails he would determine what the best course of
• 32:00 - 32:30 action would be so Macbeth is kind of there's that kind of thing he says you know soothsayers can read nature can read the Magpies can read the chuff's is the kind of bird and read the rooks which is a kind of crow and they can read the behavior of them and determine the secret dis blood of man so here's Macbeth a little bit afraid of being found out and he suspects perhaps that that somebody is trying to is somebody has shown this ghost to him in order to reveal his guilt so again spooky stuff
• 32:30 - 33:00 remember I've mentioned before that the Shakespeare's audience was superstitious they did believe in these things it's a pre more or less pre-scientific age what is the night what time is it it's almost at odds with morning which is which you can't really tell it's Twilight again there's that equivocation thing we don't know if it's a we don't know if it's B motif how sayst thou Macduff denies his person at our great bidding now his fear returns Macduff didn't show up at the
• 33:00 - 33:30 banquet that's telling and Macbeth notices the tyrants paranoia the endless cycle of violence he's gonna fear everyone because he knows it's coming for him the daggers are coming for him Macduff didn't show up and he and actually Macbeth is right to fear because Macduff is the guy that's gonna come back and get his and and and and set things right did you officially send for Macduff and he says well indirectly but I will send I will find out what's going on there's
• 33:30 - 34:00 not a one of them there's not a Seine in Scotland that doesn't have a servant feed a paid servant so he's got spies this is the tyrants paranoia of Stalin etc etc this is Macbeth's Macbeth's was III as I mentioned I focus on the psychology the psychological genius of Shakespeare but psychological genius is also political genius because politics is all psychology I mentioned before that the politics of a nation is just a
• 34:00 - 34:30 grand grander expression of the psychology of each individual within that nation I will tomorrow and betimes I will to The Weird Sisters so now he is he says to his wife that okay I'm all in here for now I am bent to know by the worst means the worst I'm gonna go as far as I have to go to find out what's going on here for my own good I'm gonna preserve myself all else will take second place all causes shall give way
• 34:30 - 35:00 for my own preservation there's the tyrant there's the tyrant that's a definition of tyranny actually the world can be damned I'm gonna preserve myself so he says I'm gonna go to The Weird Sisters actually so this is actually this is pretty significant in the course of the play there's the descent we talked about the descent like Lord of the Flies this is a descent plot the peripeteia will be complete Macbeth will enter the witch's realm and the witch
• 35:00 - 35:30 will signal complete alignment with the powers of darkness and evil and once we get to that scene it's it's a it's when he meets the witches it's absolutely it's it's it's a chilling bit of storytelling I am in blood some beautiful poetry here and it's this first echo remember our echo this it's it's we're building up now to the great extent crisis that Macbeth has in terms of you know plob terms of the the action there
• 35:30 - 36:00 is the climax there's also the psychological climax and the psychological climax comes in the beautiful beautiful poem later on tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow this beautiful despairing probably the greatest poem ever written about existential despair and we get a little hint of it here that that emotional climax the psychological climax and he says here I am in blood stepped so insofar should I wait no more returning
• 36:00 - 36:30 were as tedious as go or as go forward it's the old joke you've heard the joke about you know the guy trying to swim the English Channel he gets halfway there it gets tired and turns back so he fails so there's the joke why not just keep going it's that so he knows that he stepped in so far that he doesn't care anymore I'm just you know forget it I'm gonna go forward damn and damn it all damn the torpedoes
• 36:30 - 37:00 if that's what that is I'm gonna just go for it because going back and tried to try to correct these mistakes or is tedious well this is the thing that that interests me this is my ya1 that by2 shakespeare have that word tedious and they're just like we asked about why does he focus on my dear friend Banquo up here they're not mistakes they're there because they they signal something that's happening it's the existential despair that Macbeth is feeling this alienation from the self leads to a sense of meaninglessness and that's what I read in the word tedious
• 37:00 - 37:30 everything already were not even we're not even at the crest yet he hasn't even maxed out on evil and it's the life is meaningless for him he's not enjoying anything anything very very sad as go or strange things I haven't had that will to hand which must be acted before they may be scanned so he he hints to Lady Macbeth what he's got to do he's got some some evil things to do in his head here's the thought versus action theme
• 37:30 - 38:00 that will to hand the hand is the symbol of action the head of course is the symbol of the thought getting from the thought to the action is not easy as you'll see in Hamlet if and when you get there so he tells me if Lady Macbeth I got some evil stuff to do which I have to do before I think about them now that's significant as well he doesn't want to think about them again I'm gonna argue that he's morally aware he's not the man for this job he doesn't even I don't I just gotta do it just gonna do
• 38:00 - 38:30 it without thinking about it he can't stand his own thoughts he can't stand being cribbed and cabined in his own mind he's ruined himself you lack the nature of all seas of all nature's you lack the season of all nature's sleep there we go again there's the motif sleep as healer sleep as innocence the nature versus nurture theme and you lack the preservative there's the preservative of the season like salt is a preservative of a nature come will to sleep my strange and self abuse is the initiate fear that wants
• 38:30 - 39:00 hard use we are but young indeed lovely finale that's that's a false friend that means lacks to lack will go to sleep my strange itself abuse is the initiate fear so we're newbies basically saying here we're just newbies in this murder business and we lack experience we lack practice in the murder game but there's a signal here that we we've just begun we're gonna commit more murders we are but young indeed we are but young in
• 39:00 - 39:30 action our actions are still young we've got more bloody actions to do it's chilling beautiful language but of course chilling okay so that like I said that was one of them one of the major crests in these these climactic waves and it's very very tense it was one of the most intense scenes in the whole play the other big crest being when they they they actually go in and kill Duncan this is the next big crest and as we've seen
• 39:30 - 40:00 with that other crest the crests that follow are know that the troughs that follow are the are down time down time this is a weird one so there's two down time themes coming up scenes coming up as we'll discuss next time