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Macbeth: Act 3, Scene 3 – analysis
The assassins strike in the dead of night, killing Banquo, but a fatal mistake allows Fleance to escape and keep the Witches' prophecy alive.
Scene Profile – At a Glance
Location: A park near the palace at Forres.
Characters: First Murderer, Second Murderer, Third Murderer, Banquo, Fleance.
Key Event: The murderers ambush Banquo and Fleance; Banquo is killed, but Fleance escapes into the night.
The Atmosphere: Pitch black, tense, violent, and chaotic.
Key Quote: "O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!"
Significance: This is the structural turning point (peripeteia) of the play. It is the first time Macbeth's plans fail, marking the beginning of his inevitable downfall.
Scene Summary
Three murderers wait in a wooded park outside the royal palace. The First and Second Murderers are surprised by the arrival of a Third Murderer, who explains that Macbeth sent him to ensure the job is done correctly. Hearing horses approaching, they wait in the dark. Banquo and his son, Fleance, enter on foot, carrying a torch to light their way to the palace doors. Banquo casually remarks to the strangers that "It will be rain to-night." The First Murderer replies, "Let it come down," and the assassins attack. Banquo is overwhelmed and struck down. As he dies, he screams for Fleance to run away and avenge him. During the chaotic scuffle, the torch is knocked out ("Who did strike out the light?"). Under the cover of total darkness, Fleance manages to escape. Realising they have only completed half their mission ("We have lost / Best half of our affair"), the murderers head to the palace to report their failure to the King.
Context
The Third Murderer: The sudden appearance of the Third Murderer is a famous theatrical mystery. Some directors stage this character as Macbeth himself in disguise, or one of his trusted lords (like Ross or Seyton). Regardless of identity, his presence proves Macbeth's absolute paranoia—he does not even trust the assassins he hired to do the job.
The Turning Point: In classical tragedy, the peripeteia is the sudden reversal of fortune for the protagonist. Up until this exact moment, everything has gone perfectly for Macbeth. Fleance's escape is the fatal flaw in Macbeth's design; the prophecy survives, and Macbeth's doom is sealed.
Character Focus
Fleance: The Prophetic Survivor
Fleance has almost no dialogue in the play, yet he is one of its most crucial figures. He represents innocence, the future, and the inescapable truth of the Witches' prophecy. His survival proves that while Macbeth can temporarily violently disrupt the natural order (killing Duncan and Banquo), he cannot permanently destroy it or alter the grand design of fate. Fleance embodies the legacy that Macbeth is desperately and fruitlessly trying to stamp out.
Language & Technique
Light and Dark Imagery: The scene heavily features the physical and metaphorical struggle between light and dark. Banquo calls for a light, and Fleance carries a torch, symbolising truth, goodness, and life. When the murderers attack, their first instinct is to "strike out the light," plunging the scene into the darkness that Macbeth so deeply craves.
Pathetic Fallacy: Banquo’s observation that "It will be rain to-night" is a classic use of pathetic fallacy, where the gloomy, threatening weather anticipates the imminent violence.
Double Entendre: The First Murderer's response, "Let it come down," is a grim double meaning. He is referring both to the falling rain and the falling blows of their weapons raining down upon Banquo.
Key Quotes
Original:
The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day:
Now spurs the lated traveller apace
To gain the timely inn... (First Murderer)
Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
The remnants of the sunlight fade out west;
Spurring the tardy travellers on apace
To seek refuge in time…
Analysis: The First Murderer sets the physical scene. The fading light in the west perfectly mirrors the fading light of Banquo's life. The darkness is creeping in to smother the last "streaks of day," reflecting the overarching theme of evil extinguishing good.
Original:
It will be rain to-night. (Banquo)
Let it come down. (First Murderer)
Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
It’s going to rain tonight.
Then let it rain!
Analysis: This brief, seemingly mundane exchange is loaded with dramatic tension. Banquo is casually observing the weather, entirely unaware of his impending doom. The murderer turns the innocent observation into a violent cue to attack, transforming the "rain" into a shower of blood and blades.
Original:
O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!
Thou mayst revenge. O slave! (Banquo)
Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
I’ve been betrayed! Run, Fleance, son! Run, run!
You might get our revenge! You slave!
Analysis: Banquo's dying words are incredibly selfless. His immediate and only thought is for the survival of his son. By urging Fleance to "fly" (escape) and eventually "revenge," he passes the mantle of the Witches' prophecy down to the next generation.
Original:
Who did strike out the light? (Third Murderer)
Shakespeare Retold (Modern Verse):
How come it turned so dark?
Analysis: This single line encapsulates the fatal error of the assassins. By extinguishing the torch, they provide the darkness that allows Fleance to escape. Symbolically, striking out the light represents the murderers' attempt to snuff out the line of kings, but the resulting darkness ultimately works against them.
Study Prompts (with suggested answers)
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Benchmark Points:
Macbeth's intense paranoia.
Lack of trust in his own hired men.
The escalation of Macbeth's tyranny.
Suggested Answer: The sudden arrival of the Third Murderer visually demonstrates Macbeth's crippling paranoia. Even though he hired the first two assassins, he does not trust them to complete the task unsupervised. This shows that his rule is based entirely on suspicion and fear; he can no longer rely on anyone, forcing him to constantly double-cross and monitor his own agents.
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Benchmark Points:
The peripeteia (reversal of fortune).
First time Macbeth's plans fail.
The survival of the prophecy.
Suggested Answer: Up to this point, Macbeth’s violent rise to power has been flawless. Fleance’s escape marks the first time Macbeth's plans have failed. Because Fleance survives, the Witches' prophecy (that Banquo's heirs will be kings) remains intact, meaning Macbeth's murders have ultimately been for nothing. This failure triggers the unravelling of his reign and his sanity.
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Benchmark Points:
Practical cover for Fleance's escape.
Metaphorical extinguishing of goodness.
The motif of light vs. darkness.
Suggested Answer: Practically, striking out the torch plunges the park into total darkness, confusing the assassins and allowing Fleance to slip away. Metaphorically, the light represents Banquo's life, goodness, and truth. When the murderers extinguish the torch, they are plunging Scotland further into the unnatural, murderous darkness that Macbeth has created.
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Benchmark Points:
Banquo's pathetic fallacy ("rain to-night").
The murderer's double entendre ("Let it come down").
The building of dramatic tension.
Suggested Answer: Banquo’s comment that "It will be rain to-night" uses pathetic fallacy to hint at the dark, weeping atmosphere of the impending tragedy. The First Murderer's brutal response, "Let it come down," is a chilling double entendre. He is using the natural weather as a cue for unnatural violence, initiating the attack so their weapons rain down upon Banquo.
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Benchmark Points:
To fulfill the Witches' prophecy.
To contrast Macbeth's barrenness.
To provide hope for the future of Scotland.
Suggested Answer: Fleance must survive to ensure the Witches' prophecy—that Banquo will father a line of kings—remains a viable threat. His survival serves as a direct, living contrast to Macbeth's "fruitless crown" and lack of heirs. Theatrically and politically, his escape preserves the hope that the rightful, natural order can one day be restored to Scotland.