In the first scene of this act Macbeth dwells on the worthlessness of
the mere title which he has won, “To be thus is nothing, but to be
_safely_ thus.” Then, too, the succession was promised to the issue of
Banquo, leaving a barren sceptre in the hands of Macbeth. He resolves to
have the substantial prize for which he had “filed his mind,” and
therefore plans the destruction of Banquo and Fleance. In the
conversation with the murderers whom he engages for that purpose, the
theme is curiously illustrated. In reply to Macbeth’s question as to
their readiness to revenge an injury, they say, “We are men, my lord.”
_Macbeth._ Ay, in the catalogue, you go for men
As hounds, and grey-hounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs,
Shoughs, water-rugs, and demi-wolves are clep’d
All by the name of dogs; the valued file
Distinguishes the swift, the slow, the subtle,
The house-keeper, the hunter, every one
According to the gift which bounteous nature
Hath in him closed.
The _ambiguity_ of the general name is remedied by the _specific_
description. The name is _formal_, the description _substantial_.
In the next Scene (the 2d) both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth continue their
reflections on the insecurity of their usurped honors: “We have scotched
the snake, not killed it.” She exhorts him to “sleek o’er his rugged
look;” and he refuses to explain his purposes as to Banquo, bidding her
be innocent of the knowledge till she can applaud the deed; thus sparing
her conscience the _formal_ guilt of the murder. His invocation to night
and darkness, at the end of this scene, is very similar to that of Lady
Macbeth, on a similar occasion, before referred to.
In the 3d Scene the murderers, whilst waiting the approach of Banquo,
justify to themselves the deed they are about to commit, by pleading the
orders of Macbeth. The deed is his; they are the mere instruments of his
will. The allusion to the fading light; “the west yet glimmers with some
streaks of day,” seems to refer to the near approach of Banquo’s end; as
the extinguishment of the light does to the simultaneous extinguishment
of his life, immediately afterward.
The next is the Banquet Scene. It opens with _formal ceremony_. The
murderers then inform Macbeth that they have executed his will on
Banquo. Macbeth expresses surprise and regret at Banquo’s absence, but
in the midst of his hypocritical professions, his excited imagination
_embodies_ the description which has just been given him by the
murderers, and the ghost of Banquo, “with twenty trenched gashes on its
head,” rises and shakes its gory locks at him. The whole scene abounds
with illustrations of the theme. Macbeth endeavors to shelter himself
under the _letter of the law_, when he exclaims, “thou canst not say I
did it!” He thinks that after a man has been regularly murdered, he
should stay in his grave; he declares his readiness to encounter any
_substantial_ foe—the rugged Russian bear, the armed rhinoceros, or the
Hyrcan tiger; it is the “horrible _shadow_” that blanches his cheek with
fear. After the guests have retired, he falls into a superstitious train
of reflection, in which he expresses his belief in augurs, etc. He
declares his intention to revisit the weird sisters; he is fast becoming
as formal and as reckless of consequences as his wife; he speaks of his
qualms of conscience as the “_initiate_ fear that wants hard use;” and,
as if he now passively allowed himself to be borne onward by the tide of
events, says he has strange things in his head, “which must be _acted_
e’er they may be _scanned_.”
Scene 5th. This is another witch scene. Hecate declares her intention to
raise up artificial sprites for the purpose of deluding Macbeth, and
drawing him on to his confusion, thus preparing the way for the
ambiguous predictions.
In the 6th Scene, the relation between the letter and the spirit is
exhibited in the _ironical_ speech of Lennox, and in the King of
England’s regard for the “dues of birth.”
Things have been strangely born; the gracious Duncan
Was pitied of Macbeth; marry, he was dead;
And the right valiant Banquo walked too late,
Whom you may say, if it please you, Fleance killed,
For Fleance fled. Men must not walk too late.
Who cannot want the thought, how monstrous
It was for Malcolm and for Donalbain,
To kill their gracious father? damned fact!
How it did grieve Macbeth! did he not straight,
In pious rage, the two delinquents tear,
That were the slaves of drink and thralls of sleep?
Was not that nobly done? Ay, and wisely, too;
For ’twould have angered any heart alive
To hear the men deny it. etc. etc.