The play, Macbeth was probably created by Shakespeare in 1603-06 when James I was the King, it was published in 1623 which was 7 years after Shakespeare's death. All the information and dialogue in Macbeth will not be historically correct because Shakespeare had to write Macbeth with the King in mind so he could get in his good books. There is plenty of evidence of this in Macbeth for example; there are various compliments in reference to the King's ancestors, pays homage to James I fascination with witches and explores themes which the King enjoys and finds important such as loyalty and kingship. Banquo was King James's ancestor so Shakespeare had to keep this in mind also when writing Macbeth.

Just before the Banqueting scene Macbeth had been troubled, as the witches had told him that Banquo's descendants would become Kings. So Macbeth arranges Banquo and his son to be murdered whilst they are out together riding on their horses. Macbeth persuades the two murderers that Banquo is their enemy and he is better off dead and if they carry out the

Macbeth and his wife had arranged the banquet because they wanted to show off their new leading roles as King and Queen. At the beginning of the scene it was a celebration for Macbeth for becoming the King, the Lords and people at the banquet all looked up to him and saw him as their new ruler. Macbeth and his wife both were very confident and happy at the start of Act 3 Scene 4-'Our self will mingle with society and play the humble host.' Macbeth was the dominant of the relationship at the beginning but as the scene progressed Lady Macbeth became the one which held the situation together. About half way through the banquet the first murderer brings the news of the dirty deed to Macbeth, Macbeth was so anxious and desperate to know what had happened that he risked the people at the banquet over hearing their conversation and therefore risked being found out. Instead of taking the murderer away from the danger of being discovered, Macbeth listened to him in a not so well hidden corner where the disaster of being found out increased the more they talked about the day's events. The news of Fleance's escape rattles the King and his fears of losing his Kingship are quickly renewed. As Lady Macbeth is welcoming the guests Macbeth is troubled but tries to comfort the situation he has created for himself by thinking that Fleance is to young to do any harm yet. Just as Macbeth is starting to regain his confidence by reassuring himself he sees a ghost sitting at one of the tables. At first he thinks someone is playing a practical joke on him but then Macbeth realises that the ghost is Banquo-' Which of you have done this?' We know from the text that he realises that it is Banquo because Macbeth shouts-'Thou canst not say I did it; never shake Thy gory locks at me!' We will never know whether the ghost of Banquo was a hallucination as Macbeth had had pyschological problems or whether Banquo really did appear to Macbeth. Lady Macbeth tries to calm the guests as they think that Macbeth is not well. The ghost soon disappears and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have private discussions where Lady Macbeth gets to know why Macbeth became so distressed. Macbeth recovers from the incident and resolves the situation by proposing a toast to Banquo and his guests. But the ghost re-appears and this time Macbeth loses it completely as he starts shouting abuse and using violent jesters; unacceptable behaviour for a King-'Avaunt and quit my sight! Let the earth hide thee.' And 'Be alive again, and dare me to the desert with thy sword.' At this point Lady Macbeth cannot control Macbeth and the Lords are becoming more suspicious and worried so Lady Macbeth takes control of the situation and orders them all to leave. As soon as the Lords go Lady Macbeth comforts her husband as he talks about the murders and the situation he is now involved in. To make more sense of what he is going to do he promises to go and look for the witches hoping that they can tell him about what the future lies. Macbeth is now beginning to recover his composure and become more stable and in control again-'I hear it

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2075
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)