Macbeth Act III

Had this all written out yesterday but forgot to post... maybe i'll do a double post today...

3.1

This act starts with Banquo revealing to the audience that Macbeth, indeed, is now King. "thou hast it now King" there's something so wonderful and achingly sweet about having Banquo do this. and that in his next breath he reveals suspicions that he did not come to the title of king honorably, and that the wyrd sisters may have foretold misery and yet he still trusts in the second half of their prophecy. Macbeth invites Banquo to dinner and hears that Banquo will be out riding with his son. once banquo leaves the stage he calls in two murderers to send after his friend. This starts on another beautiful soliloquey which begins

To be thus is nothing;
But to be safely thus.--

there's something SO HUMAN in that. fear of happiness or achievements slipping away is so much harder to deal wtih than not having had them yet and longing for them/striving for them. speaking of... macbeth then turns his attention to his barrenness. No babies for him. And we see quite clearly that the crown was not worth it if it ends with him. He doesnt just want to be king, he wants his line to continue the royal family. sorry about your luck Macbeth.

and mine eternal jewelGiven to the common enemy of man,
To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!

There's someting so creepy and sad about macbeth declaring that he's already given his soul to the devil. It disturbs me in a way that Richard III doesnt because he doesnt seem to acknowledge that piece until the very end of the play and its too late. we're only in Act III and Macbeth is there. SO. DARK.

I love that Shakespeare is a fan of multiple murderers in these big scenes instead of a single assassin. Furthermore that his murderers are stunningly complex. Here they tell us what kind of men would be used for this:

Second Murderer

I am one, my liege,
Whom the vile blows and buffets of the world
Have so incensed that I am reckless what
I do to spite the world.

First Murderer

And I another
So weary with disasters, tugg'd with fortune,
That I would set my lie on any chance,
To mend it, or be rid on't.

So these are men beaten up and brought down already. so different from Macbeth when he murdered. The only thing they all seem to have in common is a sense of desperation and wrecklessness. I just think those lines are SO BEAUTIFUL. Worth it to be in this play JUST to say those lines. So they all agree banquo is going to die. end of scene.

3.2

This scene shattered me as I re-read. I feel like this is when the Macbeth marriage starts to just completely fall apart because with Duncan they were in it together and while they were dysfunctional they were communicating and seemed to be doing it for the two of them against the world kind of times. now this scene Lady M says

Nought'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.

Again, give me those four lines to say on a stage each night and I'd be happy. Let alone all the other great scenes.

Things without all remedyShould be without regard: what's done is done.

Her whole place in this scene is trying to care for her husband. But he goes on about how his place is not secure and we revisit the pain of his curse of sleeplessness...

And while Lady M KNOWS something is wrong/ Macbeth is plotting something he won't tell her.

Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck,
Till thou applaud the deed.

THAT is a game changer. they aren't in this together. she has to stand aside and wait.

3.3

Another murder scene. This play must be a fight choreographer's dream.

A quick and dirty scene. we now have 3 murderers instead of the 2 who originally spoke with Macbeth, an intentional red flag for the audience based on the first lines

First Murderer

But who did bid thee join with us?

Third Murderer

Macbeth.

Yeah.. nothing good can come from Macbeth at this point. Banquo and Fleance enters and they kill him almost instantly. NOt much of a fight since there are three against 2. I always find dying lines to be interesting and Banquos is:

BANQUO

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

Lots of choices for an actor there, especially with the repetition of "fly" and the beautiful gift of those Os.

Of course Fleance gets away and the murderers are clearly concerned about what Macbeth's reaction will be.

3.4

Ah the banquet scene. I love that instead of bringing Macbeth away from the party like he does when thinking about killing the King, now the murderer with a bloody face comes into the banquet hall and Macbeth ahs to try and awkwardly cover going to talk to the man. You think maybe that's the worst of it but then, once Lady M has prompted Macbeth to be more like a proper host and he responds by calling her "Sweet remembrancer!" which is really wonderful as a phrase. I think I'll bring it up to dan as an alternative for when I'm nagging him over one thing or another we've forgotten... anyway, then the ghost of banquo comes on stage. I'll once again turn to slings and arrows for what I think is a brilliant performance choice for this section:
brilliant words in this section
never shake your gory locks at me
andImpostors to true fear, would well become
A woman's story at a winter's fire,
Authorized by her grandam. Shame itself!
and my favorite:If charnel-houses and our graves must send
Those that we bury back, our monuments
Shall be the maws of kites.
Macbeth finally recovers himself and tries to explain away that his fits are some sort of medical condition he's had forever. he proposes a toast: I drink to the general joy o' the whole table and seems to be back on track when Banquo's ghost enters again. Side note- I LOVE that this is one of the quotes on a series of shakespeare coasters I used to own. there were actually several quotes about drinking that seem like someone just did a glossary search for drink or wine and are actually in AWFUL dark parts of plays that you would not necessarily want to think about in a party setting... or maybe the people who made those did it on purpose and share my slightly dark sense of humor...

Another favorite exchange:MACBETH
What is the night?
LADY MACBETH
Almost at odds with morning, which is which.
and of course it all comes back to my favorite theme:You lack the season of all natures, sleep.

Here's your daily dose of slings and arrows (to get to the Macbeth bit I'm going for skip in about 1:55):

3.5
this is SUCH A STRANGE scene. Hecate comes and yells at the witches. does someone have a legit bigger reason aside from it covering time others actors may need to double or the fact that every audience loves more creepy magic times. anyone have thoughts?

3.6
another very short scene about how distressing and slightly confusing the last events have been. We get the hint that war is coming. so a short little kickstart to the rest of the play... onward to Act 4!