English LiteratureISC Class 12 · Macbeth (Acts III, IV & V)

Macbeth Act III: Banquo's Murder, the Ghost and Hecate (ISC Class 12)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In Act III Macbeth, now king, finds the crown worthless unless he is safe, so he has Banquo killed. Banquo dies but Fleance escapes, and at the banquet only Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost. Lady Macbeth covers for him and ends the feast. Macbeth resolves to consult the witches, and Hecate plans to give him false security.

Understand Banquo's Murder and the Banquet Scene (Macbeth, Act III)

Why Banquo must die (III.i). Banquo, alone, suspects that Macbeth 'play'dst most foully' for the crown, yet he hopes the witches' promise about his own descendants will come true. Macbeth, in his soliloquy, fears Banquo's 'royalty of nature' and wisdom. He is also tormented that the witches gave him 'a fruitless crown' while hailing Banquo 'father to a line of kings'. His key line is 'To be thus is nothing, / But to be safely thus'. He persuades two murderers that Banquo is their enemy and orders both Banquo and Fleance to be killed.

The Macbeths in private (III.ii). Lady Macbeth admits 'Naught's had, all's spent' when desire is gained without contentment. Macbeth says they have 'scorch'd the snake, not kill'd it' and that his mind is 'full of scorpions'. He hints at a 'deed of dreadful note' but keeps her 'innocent of the knowledge'. Notice the change: he now plans alone.

The murder (III.iii). A third murderer joins the other two. Banquo is killed, but Fleance escapes in the dark. Banquo's line therefore survives, and Macbeth's purpose fails.

The banquet (III.iv). The first murderer reports the news. Banquo's ghost sits in Macbeth's place, visible only to him. Macbeth cries out ('Thou canst not say I did it'). Lady Macbeth says he has had such fits since youth and then dismisses the guests abruptly. Alone, Macbeth says 'blood will have blood', notes that Macduff refused his summons, and decides to visit the witches. He admits he is 'in blood / Stepp'd in so far' that turning back would be as hard as going on.

Hecate and Lennox (III.v-vi). Hecate scolds the witches for dealing with Macbeth without her and plans illusions that will make him overconfident, since 'security / Is mortals' chiefest enemy'. Lennox then speaks with heavy irony to a Lord about how conveniently Duncan's and Banquo's deaths were blamed on their sons. The Lord says Malcolm is at the English court and Macduff has gone there for help.

Devices to name. Soliloquy (III.i), dramatic irony (Macbeth says 'Fail not our feast'; Banquo returns as a ghost), imagery of blood and scorpions, and dramatic contrast between Macbeth's panic and Lady Macbeth's control in public.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus.
Macbeth: Soliloquy after Banquo leaves (III.i).
A crown without safety is worthless to him: the motive for the murder.
Naught's had, all's spent, Where our desire is got without content
Lady Macbeth: Alone, before Macbeth enters (III.ii).
She sees that the crown has brought no contentment: the futility of power.
O, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife!
Macbeth: To Lady Macbeth (III.ii).
A tormented, poisoned mind.
It will have blood, they say, blood will have blood.
Macbeth: After the guests leave (III.iv).
Murder breeds murder; guilt will be exposed.

Banquo's Murder and the Banquet Scene (Macbeth, Act III): key facts

Why Macbeth fears Banquo: Banquo's royalty of nature
Banquo's wisdom
the witches hailed Banquo father to a line of kings
Macbeth's crown is fruitless; Use any two for a 1-mark statement question; all four for a long answer.
Scene order of Act III: i: Macbeth hires murderers
ii: the Macbeths in private
iii: Banquo killed, Fleance flees
iv: banquet and ghost
v: Hecate
vi: Lennox and the Lord; Place every quotation in its scene before answering.
Outcome of the murder: Banquo dead
Fleance alive
Macbeth still unsafe; This is the irony of III.iii.

How to answer Banquo's Murder and the Banquet Scene (Macbeth, Act III) questions

Use this for 5-mark answers on two bullet points from Act III.

1Give each bullet its own half of the answer.
2Name the scene and the speaker.
3Add one short quotation or event for each point.
4End with what the scene shows about Macbeth.
5Stay within 100 to 150 words.

Banquo's Murder and the Banquet Scene (Macbeth, Act III) in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Fear of a rival makes a leader unsafe

Suppose the captain of a school team wins the captaincy by a trick and then, instead of enjoying it, keeps removing the most talented player from every squad so that nobody can challenge him.

How does this match Macbeth's behaviour in III.i, and what does it suggest about his security?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The captain has the post but fears the talented player, as Macbeth fears Banquo.
Each removal creates new enemies, as each murder turns more people against Macbeth.
His fear grows with the harm he does.

Answer: Like Macbeth, the captain holds power but does not feel safe, so he harms others to protect it. The harm makes him less safe, which is what 'To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus' means.

Memory hook: Power taken by harm is never safe.

Tricks to remember Banquo's Murder and the Banquet Scene (Macbeth, Act III)

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

I-II-III-IV-V-VI = H-P-M-B-H-L
Hires, Private talk, Murder, Banquet, Hecate, Lennox.
Use it when: To recall the six scenes of Act III in order.
Four fears
Nature, wisdom, line of kings, fruitless crown.
Use it when: Reasons for Macbeth's fear of Banquo.
Banquo dead, Fleance fled
The murder half-succeeds, so it fails.
Use it when: III.iii outcome questions.

Banquo's Murder and the Banquet Scene (Macbeth, Act III): solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Lady Macbeth's 'Naught's had, all's spent' · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Lady Macbeth's words 'Naught's had, all's spent' suggest that:
(a) she is proud of the crown (b) she realises the futility of power (c) she plans to kill Banquo (d) she wants Macbeth to feast

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The line says that when desire is got without content, everything is spent (1 mark).
So she sees that the crown has not brought contentment.

Answer: (b) she realises the futility of power.

Example 2: Why the feast ends abruptly · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonBoard level

Finish the sentence with the cause: Lady Macbeth sends the guests away suddenly in III.iv because ____

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Macbeth has spoken wildly to a ghost only he can see (0.5).
Her aim is to stop the lords from learning the truth (0.5).

Answer: Macbeth's strange behaviour at the sight of Banquo's ghost might expose him in front of the lords.

Example 3: Macbeth and Banquo (5 marks) · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Why does Macbeth consider Banquo a danger? Write about:

Banquo's qualities
the witches' prophecy about Banquo

(100-150 words)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Bullet 1: Banquo's 'royalty of nature' and wisdom (2).
Bullet 2: 'father to a line of kings' against Macbeth's 'fruitless crown' (2).
Link to the decision to have him killed (1).

Answer: Macbeth considers Banquo a danger because of what he is and what he has been promised. In his soliloquy in III.i he fears Banquo's 'royalty of nature', a natural nobility, and his wisdom, which would let him act safely where Macbeth cannot. Macbeth's fear is made worse by the prophecy. The witches hailed him as king, but they gave him 'a fruitless crown', since he will have no children to inherit it, while they hailed Banquo 'father to a line of kings'. His belief that 'To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus' leads him to persuade two murderers that Banquo is their enemy and to order the death of both Banquo and Fleance.

Example 4: The ghost at the banquet (5 marks) · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level

How do Macbeth and Lady Macbeth react when Banquo's ghost appears? What does each reaction show about them?
(100-150 words)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Macbeth's cry and fear (2).
Lady Macbeth's cover-up and dismissal of guests (2).
What each shows (1).

Answer: Banquo's ghost sits in Macbeth's place and only Macbeth can see it. He cries out, 'Thou canst not say I did it', and his words risk exposing him in front of the lords. This shows that his guilt is stronger than his control. Lady Macbeth, in contrast, acts quickly. She tells the guests that Macbeth has had such fits since youth and, when the disturbance continues, dismisses them abruptly. She shows presence of mind and command in public. The scene therefore contrasts a husband breaking under guilt with a wife who is still in control. Later, in V.i, her control will also collapse, but at the banquet she holds the court together.

Example 5: Is Macbeth moving beyond control? (5 marks) · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

After the banquet Macbeth says he is 'in blood / Stepp'd in so far' that going back would be as hard as going on. What does this show about the direction his actions will take? Discuss with reference to Act III. (100-150 words)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Explain the image of wading through blood (1).
Link to the murder, the ghost and the decision to see the witches (2).
Judgement: choice or fate (1).
Conclusion (1).

Answer: The image of wading through a river of blood means that Macbeth believes he has gone so far in crime that stopping would be no easier than continuing. This explains his next step: after the failed murder of Fleance and the ghost, he does not repent but resolves to visit the witches and notes that Macduff has refused his summons. His crimes now multiply instead of ending. The scene also shows that his choices, not only fate, drive him: Banquo's murder was his own plan, kept secret even from his wife ('Be innocent of the knowledge'). Macbeth therefore moves toward ruin by his own decision to continue, with each murder meant to make him safe and leaving him less secure.

Where students lose marks in Banquo's Murder and the Banquet Scene (Macbeth, Act III)

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Writing that Banquo is killed and Fleance too
Fleance escapes in the dark (III.iii).
Wrong working
The murderers kill Banquo and Fleance.
Right working
The murderers kill Banquo; Fleance escapes.
Do this: Always add 'Fleance escapes' when you narrate the murder.
Usually costs: 1 mark in an MCQ or 2 in a long answer
Mistake: Confusing the scenes of Hecate and the witches
Hecate appears in III.v, the cauldron scene is IV.i.
Wrong working
Hecate gives the apparitions in III.v.
Right working
Hecate scolds the witches in III.v; the apparitions come in IV.i.
Do this: Write the scene number beside every incident.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Narrating the whole act when two bullet points are given
The question asks for analysis of two points.
Wrong working
A full summary of scenes i to vi.
Right working
Half the answer for each bullet, with an event or quotation.
Do this: Use the bullets as paragraph headings.
Usually costs: 2 of 5 marks
Mistake: Vague reasons in completion items
Reason-completion items need the exact cause in one clause; vague answers earn no mark.
Wrong working
Hecate is angry because the witches did something wrong.
Right working
Hecate is angry because the witches dealt with Macbeth without her.
Do this: Give the exact cause in one clause.
Usually costs: 1 mark

Exam tips

Place every quotation in a scene, for example III.iv, and name the speaker.
Write only one option or its text in an MCQ.
Give each bullet point of a 5-mark question its own half of the answer.
Do not rewrite the question in a reason-completion item: give the cause only.
Keep to 100-150 words for 5 marks; analyse rather than narrate.

Practice questions on Banquo's Murder and the Banquet Scene (Macbeth, Act III)

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
In III.i Macbeth is tormented that the witches gave him a crown that is 'fruitless'. This means that:
(a) he will never be king (b) he will have no children to inherit it (c) Banquo is dead (d) the crown is made of gold
Hint
Compare with Banquo being hailed 'father to a line of kings'.
Answer
(b) he will have no children to inherit it, while Banquo will be the father of a line of kings.
Q2 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
What does Hecate mean by 'security / Is mortals' chiefest enemy'? How does she plan to use this idea against Macbeth? (100-150 words)
Hint
False confidence leads to downfall.
Answer
Hecate means that the greatest danger to human beings is feeling too safe, because a person who believes he cannot be harmed stops taking care. She says this in III.v while scolding the witches for dealing with Macbeth without her. Her plan is to prepare illusions that will make him overconfident, so that he will fall through his own false sense of safety. In Act IV the apparitions tell him that no man born of woman can harm him and that he is safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. Macbeth trusts them and becomes reckless. The idea therefore links Act III to Macbeth's end: his belief in his security helps destroy him.
Q3 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Show how Lennox's speech in III.vi is ironic. What does it tell us about how people in Scotland view Macbeth? (100-150 words)
Hint
Duncan and Banquo, and the sons blamed.
Answer
In III.vi Lennox tells a Lord, with heavy irony, how conveniently the deaths of Duncan and Banquo were blamed on their sons. He seems to accept the official story but his tone shows that he does not believe it. Irony means saying one thing and meaning another, and Lennox uses it because open criticism of the king would be dangerous. The scene therefore shows that Macbeth's explanations are not trusted and that fear and suspicion fill Scotland. Lennox and the Lord also act as commentators: from them we learn that Malcolm is at the English court of the 'pious Edward' and that Macduff has gone there to seek help. The scene prepares the opposition to Macbeth.
Q4 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
The first murderer tells Macbeth that Fleance has escaped. Suppose Fleance had also been killed. Argue whether Macbeth would then have been safe, using the play's themes. (100-150 words)
Hint
Look at what else threatens him: Macduff, guilt, the ghost.
Answer
Even if Fleance had been killed, Macbeth would probably not have been safe. His insecurity comes from his own mind as much as from Banquo's line. He already says his mind is 'full of scorpions', and the ghost appears because of his guilt, not because of Fleance. In III.iv he also notes that Macduff has refused his summons, so another enemy exists. Hecate plans to make him overconfident, and Malcolm and Macduff are gathering support in England. The play's pattern is that each murder is meant to make him secure and instead creates new dangers: he then orders the killing of Macduff's family, which makes Macduff his destroyer. Killing Fleance would therefore only have delayed the problem.
Q5 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Compare the attitude of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to their position as king and queen in III.ii. (100-150 words)
Hint
'Naught's had, all's spent' against 'scorpions'.
Answer
In III.ii both are unhappy, but in different ways. Lady Macbeth privately says 'Naught's had, all's spent, Where our desire is got without content', admitting that the crown has not brought contentment. She advises Macbeth to let what is done be done. Macbeth cannot do so. He says they have 'scorch'd the snake, not kill'd it' and that his mind is 'full of scorpions', which shows a mind poisoned by fear. He also hints at a 'deed of dreadful note' but keeps her 'innocent of the knowledge'. Her feelings are of disappointment and weariness, while his are of active fear and a need to act. The scene shows them drifting apart, with Macbeth now planning alone.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who suspects that Macbeth played most foully for the crown?Show answer
Banquo, alone in III.i.
2.What does Macbeth say is worthless without safety?Show answer
Being king: 'To be thus is nothing, But to be safely thus'.
3.Who escapes from the murderers?Show answer
Fleance.
4.Who sees Banquo's ghost at the banquet?Show answer
Macbeth only.
5.Whom does Macbeth say refused his summons?Show answer
Macduff.
6.What does Hecate say is mortals' chiefest enemy?Show answer
Security.

Banquo's Murder and the Banquet Scene (Macbeth, Act III): frequently asked questions

Which scenes of Macbeth are in the ISC Class 12 syllabus?

Acts III, IV and V; Acts I and II belong to Class XI.

Does the ISC paper ask about Banquo's ghost?

The ghost and the banquet are central to Act III and can be used for 5-mark questions on two bullet points or for character analysis.

How many words for a 5-mark answer?

100 to 150 words; 10-mark answers are 200 to 250 words.

Where does Lady Macbeth say Naught is had?

Alone in III.ii, before Macbeth enters.