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Sabrina Maciariello
Ms. Ryan
English III HH
03 December 2014
Macbeth 3.3 and 3.4 Reading Log
Although it was relatively short, I find Act III, Scene III to be very important. It is the
moment that innocent Banquo is murdered without the slightest inkling that it would occur.
Every time I read this scene, I often get kind of upset when I think about the way Banquo was
betrayed. I try to imagine myself in a similar position, and when I find myself unable to, I am
always shocked at how far ambition and desire will drive Macbeth in carrying out the deeds
necessary to fulfill his prophecy. However, there are small things that occur during this scene that
the audience forgets about. For instance, when Banquo is murdered, both the audience and
Macbeth are under the impression that they stopped Banquo and his sons from ever inhabiting
the throne. However, people often forget that Fleance escapes the murder, making it very
possible that Banquos part of the prophecy comes true. I find it very interesting how the
audience is never specifically told whether or not Fleance ever returns to claim the throne, but
rather leaves it to the reader to speculate and make a decision for his or herself.
Act III Scene IV is easily one of my favorites in the play. The high tensions between
Banquo and Macbeth are both exciting and scary, especially because Macbeth is the only one
that is able to see Banquos ghost. The very first time I read this scene, I could not stop thinking
about how bad I felt for Macbeth. I consider myself to be a rather sympathetic person, therefore I
felt very guilty when I imagined how Macbeth must have felt during this scene. He had just
spoken with the first murderer and confirmed the death of Banquo, and then within seconds he

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sees his ghost. The fact that he is the only person that sees Banquo makes matters infinitely
worse, and I always believed that the sight of Banquos ghost was the first thing that began to
drive Macbeth to insanity. However, after performing this scene various times, the initial guilt I
felt for Macbeth diminished as I began to identify more with Banquo instead, angry with
Macbeth for committing such a terrible act to a friend on the sole grounds of greed and hunger
for power.