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A summary of Act 3: Scenes 4–6 in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of Macbeth and what it means. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth: "Blood will have blood" (3.4.121), and asks what Lady Macbeth makes of the fact that Macduff does not appear at the royal court. He decides to visit the weird sisters to find out more about his fate.
Analysis. Act 3, scene 4 shows Macbeth’s reign rapidly descending into chaos almost as soon as it has started. Rather than quelling rebellious behavior, Macbeth’s tyrannical rule...
Macbeth knows that stones have moved, trees have spoken, birds have told secrets. All of these things have "brought forth / The secret'st man of blood" (3.4.124-125). Macbeth himself is a secret man of blood, and the bloody Ghost confronted him. His guilt was almost "brought forth" in front of his guests.
Summary. At Forres, Macbeth and his wife welcome the thanes of Scotland to the banquet. Immediately prior to the feast, one of the murderers appears at a side door and reveals to Macbeth the truth about the mission: their success in the killing of Banquo and their failure to murder Fleance. Macbeth recomposes himself and returns to the table.
Summary: Macbeth finds out that Banquo has been murdered, but that his son has escaped. As Macbeth heads back to eat at his banquet table, he finds his seat has been taken by none other than the ghost of Banquo. He freaks out at the sight, and Lady Macbeth dismisses it as a momentary fit.
The nerve! Everything is just getting back to normal when the ghost reappears. Again Macbeth calls out a toast to the missing Banquo (he's just asking for it now). When he sees that the ghost has returned, Macbeth screams at him for being so spooky.
