Student Question

Discuss the use of blood, violence, nature, and animal imagery in act 3, scenes 4–6 of Macbeth.

Quick answer:

In act 3, scenes 4–6, there are numerous examples of imagery which increase the tension surrounding Macbeth's mental decline and foreshadow his eventual destiny. One example of imagery that connotes violence and utilizes animals for a more shocking effect occurs when Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo sitting at his table:

If charnel houses and our graves must send
Those that we bury back, our monuments
Shall be the maws of kites. (III.iv.74–76)

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Scene 4:

This scene contains numerous examples of imagery relating to the violence that Macbeth has encouraged. Early in the scene, the first murderer tells Macbeth that Banquo's "throat is cut," which provides a particular image of the gruesome way that Banquo died.

Macbeth also uses the imagery of snakes as metaphors for Banquo and his sons:

There the grown serpent lies. The worm that's fled
Hath nature that in time will venom breed;
No teeth for th' present. (III.iv.30–32)
Macbeth portrays Banquo as an adult snake who "lies" dead. Meanwhile, the younger snake, as small as a "worm," has fled, just as Banquo's son Fleance has escaped. Macbeth realizes that this son could, in time, become a "venom breed" who might strike him down. For the moment, he tries to reassure himself that Fleance has no "fangs" in the situation.

When Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo sitting...

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at his table, he is alarmed and questions:

If charnel houses and our graves must send
Those that we bury back, our monuments
Shall be the maws of kites. (III.iv.74–76)

Macbeth is wondering why they bother to bury people at all. If the dead are simply going to come back from their graves, then "kites," which are a type of hawk, are free to use their "maws," or beaks, to pick the bones clean as all the dead just walk around. This particular imagery demonstrates Macbeth's declining mental state and his fear that the murders he has committed will come back to haunt him—which certainly seems to be the case with the appearance of Banquo's ghost.

Scene 5:

When Hecate meets with the witches, she scolds them for their disobedience. She then speaks of her plans for Macbeth's future:

Get you gone,
And at the pit of Acheron
Meet me i' th' morning. Thither he
Will come to know his destiny.
Your vessels and your spells provide,
Your charms and everything beside.
I am for the air. This night I’ll spend
Unto a dismal and a fatal end. (III.v.14–21)

She asks for the witches to meet her at Acheron, which is a river in Hades, or the underworld. Macbeth's destiny is linked to this meeting, and the imagery thus reinforces an ominous ending for Macbeth. In fact, Macbeth himself will "come to know his destiny" at this location, increasing the tension surrounding Macbeth's future.

Scene 6:

The imagery of nighttime is linked with evil in this scene. Lennox notes that Banquo "walked too late" when he was murdered. The Lord responds that he hopes Macduff might bring "sleep to [their] nights" instead of the "feasts and banquets" which are filled with "bloody knives." This imagery is a reminder of Macbeth's own acts of violence, bringing particular focus to the image of the bloody dagger which Macbeth followed as he brought his murderous plans to fruition.

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