What are your thoughts on Act 3, Scene 6 of Macbeth?

In act 3, scene 6 of Macbeth, a lord reveals to Lennox that Macduff has fled Scotland for England to rendezvous with other rebels. It is clear that both men sympathize with Macduff, as they now openly believe Macbeth to be a tyrant. Macbeth has also recently added to his growing infamy by killing Banquo and pinning the murder on his son, Fleance. Neither Lennox nor the unnamed lord are in the least bit convinced by the official version of the story; they know full well that Macbeth is wholly responsible for Banquo's death.

Scene 6 adds to the grim sense of foreboding that has been developing over the previous scenes. The reappearance of the witches and the materialization of Banquo's ghost add an appropriately eerie, supernatural quality to Macbeth's increasingly despotic rule. Yet, at the same time, the growing realization of Macbeth's tyranny, and the introduction of the names of the rebels, provide a brief glimmer of hope. In sending his prayers to Macduff at the end of the scene, the lord is expressing the fervent wish that the power of the Almighty will prevail over the dark, demonic forces unleashed by Macbeth's crazed ambitions for power. The stakes really could not be higher. By the end of this scene, we are left in no doubt that a battle between the forces of good and evil is imminent.

What is the purpose of act 3, scene 6 in Macbeth?

Act 3, scene 6 of William Shakespeare's Macbeth is a very short scene of little more than fifty lines sandwiched between two scenes involving the Witches.

The first Witch scene, also very short, involves Hecate, the leader of the Witches, who scolds the Witches for interacting with Macbeth and making prophecies to him without her.

Many scholars believe that this scene with Hecate, which is often cut from modern productions of Macbeth, wasn't written by Shakespeare at all, but might have been added by another playwright at some time after 1605/06, when Shakespeare wrote Macbeth, and before the publication of Macbeth in the First Folio in 1623.

The scene directly after act 3, scene 6 is the famous "Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble" scene involving the Witches, Macbeth, and several apparitions who make further prophecies to Macbeth.

Act 3, scene 6 involves only two characters, Lennox and a Lord. Lennox is a nobleman and warrior who has been suspicious of Macbeth since the moment he and Macbeth went together to look at the body of the murdered Duncan at Macbeth's castle.

In this scene, Lennox and the Lord are standing outside Duncan's former castle at Forres, and Lennox is basically thinking out loud to the Lord about what has occurred up to this point in the play.

It occurs to Lennox that anybody who had any serious dealings with Macbeth is dead, but Macbeth has somehow escaped any suspicion or consequences for those deaths.

Duncan's death was first blamed on his guards (who were conveniently killed by Macbeth), then on his sons, Malcolm and Donalbain. The irony is that the audience knows that Macbeth killed Duncan, and that Lennox's suspicions about Macbeth are well-founded.

Banquo's death is blamed on his son, Fleance, who fled the scene of Banquo's murder, much as Malcolm and Donalbain fled Scotland after their father's death. Again, the audience knows that Macbeth ordered the murder of Banquo and Fleance, but that Fleance barely escaped with his life.

Lennox and the Lord's reference to Macbeth as "tyrant" rather than "king" are a clear indication that both of them suspect that Macbeth had an "accursed" hand in all of these murders.

The Lord tells Lennox that Malcolm has fled to England, and that Macduff has followed him there. They've persuaded the English King to join them against Macbeth, and plans are being made to invade Scotland, remove the "tyrant," restore order to the "suffering country," and relieve Scotland's people from Macbeth's oppression.

In time, Lennox and his soldiers will join with Malcolm and Macduff against Macbeth

Nevertheless, Macbeth needn't worry. In the "Double, double toil and trouble" scene that follows, Macbeth learns from the Witches and the apparitions that "[N]one of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth" (4.1. 88-89), and that "Macbeth shall never vanquish’d be until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / Shall come against him" (4.1.103–105).

By the end of the play, the irony of those prophecies will also become clear.

What is the purpose of act 3, scene 6 in Macbeth?

By this point, Macbeth has killed Duncan, his two guards, and Banquo. He also acted strangely at a banquet where he saw Banquo’s ghost, when he all but admitted to his crimes. In Act III, Scene VI, Lennox ponders over Macbeth’s behavior: “Things have been strangely borne.” He first points out how Macbeth cared for King Duncan, yet he is dead. Macbeth’s friend Banquo was also killed, perhaps by his son Fleance. If taken at face value, they are to believe that both Duncan and Banquo were killed by their own sons, which is “monstrous” and unusual.

Lennox does not outright say that he suspects Macbeth, perhaps for fear of being overheard. Instead, he praises Macbeth’s behavior, noting how the king’s death “did grieve Macbeth” and how he “nobly” and “wisely” killed the two men who seemed to have committed the murder. However, the other Lord refers to the country’s leader as a “tyrant.” He relates the plan to gather Macduff, Malcolm, and other lords in order to challenge the current king. This all foreshadows Macbeth’s downfall at the hands of an army and Macduff himself. The scene is small, but it signals shifting loyalty amongst Macbeth’s acquaintances and friends and their awareness that their “suffering country” is “Under a hand accursed!”

What is the purpose of act 3, scene 6 in Macbeth?

With all due respect to tthakkar, Macbeth was actually performed for King James I.  This play would have had some special significance to King James as he was one of those descendants of Banquo - the line of kings shown in the mirror during the witches' prophecies. 

This show of respect to King James from Shakespeare is why it was so easy for the king to commission Shakespeare's troupe as "The King's Men."

What is the purpose of act 3, scene 6 in Macbeth?

In this scene, Lennox hints at his belief that Macbeth is responsible for the deaths of the king and Banquo.  The purpose is to let the audience know that Macbeth's people do not trust him, foreshadowing his eventual downfall.

What is a critical appreciation of Act 3, Scene 4 in Macbeth?

A critical appreciation of a literary text is the same as a critical analysis. A critical appreciation discerns and analyses the individual parts of the literary devices that comprise a work, including non-optional literary elements and optional literary techniques. Thus a critical appreciation (i.e., analysis) will cover from structural elements to figurative language techniques and everything in between. Some of the things you will analyze in a critical appreciation of a work are:

ELEMENTS
structure
theme
point of view
characters
chronological framework (time features)
voice
tone
mood
conflict
narrator/narrative style

TECHNIQUES
figures of speech
irony
metonymy/synecdoche
imagery
symbolism
tropes
word schemes
diction
vocabulary
metaphor/simile

Concerning structure, III.iv is in two parts and set in Macbeth's banqueting hall. There are six major entrances and exits. First, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and various Lords enter the banqueting hall; First Murderer enters but remains by the door where Macbeth approaches him; after the murderer's exit, the Ghost of Banquo enters, then exits, doing this twice; finally, the Lords exit the hall, leaving only Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. They then exit the stage themselves. The time is chronological progression until the entrance of First Murder, who introduces a flashback to the recent time of the slaying of Banquo. The mood in this scene is one of frenzy and chaos while the Lords listen in wonder and Lady Macbeth feels her panic rise. The focus, or theme, of the scene is the torments that begin to assault Macbeth as a consequence of their foul deed:

LADY MACBETH
You lack the season of all natures, sleep.
MACBETH
Come, we'll to sleep. My strange and self-abuse
Is the initiate fear that wants hard use:

Some literary techniques used include the aside, simile, metaphor, cliche and idiom. After Macbeth sees Banquo, Lady Macbeth speaks to him in an aside to question and caution him:

MACBETH
If I stand here, I saw him.
LADY MACBETH
Fie, for shame!
MACBETH
Blood hath been shed ere now, i' the olden time, [...]
LADY MACBETH
...
Your noble friends do lack you.

Another technique used is simile, as when Macbeth wonders if ghosts can really exist. He compares the apparition's appearance to a "summer cloud" that suddenly overshadows the sun and warmth of a summer's day. Another technique is metaphor. Macbeth wonders how Lady Macbeth can maintain a natural state when seeing Banquo, while he is drained of color and shattered (of course, Lady Macbeth does not see Banquo): he wonders how she can "keep the natural ruby of your cheeks, ...." One last technique I'll mention is the use of cliche and idiom.

Shakespeare is noted for his mastery of language, including the use of popular cliches and idioms. Macbeth is lamenting the appearance of Banquo's ghost and pronounces the idiomatic cliche that "blood will have blood." This saying cannot be taken literally; it has a figurative meaning that is different from the meanings of the words. While "blood" is personified and attributes the human characteristic of demanding or requiring something, the saying means that a murder will often result in another murder of revenge or cover-up. This was true for Macbeth and for the Renaissance period.

MACBETH
It will have blood; they say, blood will have blood: ....