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What do the "asides" in act 3 of Macbeth accomplish?
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The asides in Act 3 of Macbeth reveal characters' private thoughts and motivations. Macbeth's asides, such as "Then comes my fit again," expose his growing paranoia and realization that Banquo's murder hasn't resolved his problems. Lady Macbeth's asides attempt to manage Macbeth's public outbursts and maintain their façade, highlighting her control over him and the situation.
An aside in Shakespeare's plays, as well as in any other play, is a brief revelation of a character's private thoughts that the character speaks aloud. An aside can be spoken directly to the audience, or it can be thoughts that a character simply expresses to themselves. A true aside is not meant to be heard by other characters.
A situation in which a character takes another character aside or speaks to them in confidence while other characters are on stage—such as when Lady Macbeth takes Macbeth aside in the "banquet scene" and chides him for acting like he's seen Banquo's ghost (3.4.70-102)—isn't a true aside. It's simply dialogue which takes place apart from other characters.
Many modern publications of Macbeth include an aside for Macbeth at act 3, scene 4, line 23, which begins, "Then comes my fit again..."
There is no aside indicated at that point in...
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the play in the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays published in 1623, or in the Second (1632), Third (1663), or Fourth Folio (1685), or in any other early published edition of the play.
In 1709, Nicholas Rowe published the first purposely edited versions of Shakespeare's plays (including Macbeth), to which he added act and scene divisions where they seemed appropriate, a list of characters (or dramatis personae), and stage directions for characters' entrances and exits as well as incidental stage directions that he believed would assist the reader in visualizing a performance of the play.
Rowe's edition of Macbeth doesn't include an aside at "Then comes my fit again..."
The modern Folger Shakespeare Library editions of Shakespeare's plays, considered to be highly reliable, scholarly versions of the plays, includes nine true asides in Macbeth, as well as what are termed "asides" but are made to other characters.
Eight of the nine asides belong to Macbeth, and one rueful, comic aside is spoken by the Doctor in Lady Macbeth's "sleepwalking" scene (at 5.3.70-71).
One of the asides that the Folger edition of Macbeth includes is the speech in act 3, scene 4 that begins "Then comes my fit again..."
Whether the speech fulfills the Folger Shakespeare Library's criteria for a true aside or not, what Macbeth says that begins with "Then comes my fit again" seems like an aside. It seems as if Macbeth is talking to himself, even though the Murderer is standing within earshot of Macbeth and could easily hear what he says, even if Macbeth whispers or simply mumbles to himself.
The speech reveals what Macbeth is thinking to himself at that moment, and whether or not he reveals his thoughts to the Murderer, he definitely reveals them to the audience. Macbeth believed that all of his problems would be solved if Banquo and Fleance were murdered, but Fleance has escaped. Macbeth realizes that his problems aren't over yet and that perhaps he was foolish to believe that the situation could be resolved so easily.
Just a few lines later, Macbeth has three lines that appear to qualify as an aside, no less than the "Then comes my fit again" speech.
MACBETH. Thanks for that.
There the grown serpent lies; the worm that's fledHath nature that in time will venom breed,No teeth for the present. Get thee gone. Tomorrow
We'll hear ourselves again (3.4.31-35, emphasis added)
"Thanks for that" and "Get thee gone. Tomorrow / We'll here ourselves again" are clearly spoken to the Murderer, but "There the grown serpent..." and what follows are either Macbeth's own thoughts to himself about Banquo or something he's confiding to the Murderer to ease his own mind about Fleance's escape.