Macbeth
Prompt #6 · Macbeth
Prompt Type: Scene Analysis
In Act III, Scene 1, Macbeth meets with murderers and manipulates them by questioning their manhood to convince them to kill Banquo and Fleance. Analyze how Shakespeare uses this moment to illustrate Macbeth's transformation from reluctant murderer to calculating tyrant. Explain how it contributes to the meaning of the work as a whole.
Quote 1
“Ay, in the catalogue ye go for men; / As hounds, and greyhounds, mongrels, spaniels, curs, / Shoughs, water-rugs, and demi-wolves are clept / All by the name of dogs”
Act III, Scene 1
Argument
This quote from the target scene demonstrates Macbeth's calculated manipulation as he uses an extended simile comparing the murderers to dogs of varying worth, questioning their status as 'men' to goad them into proving their manhood through violence—a stark contrast to his earlier reluctance when Lady Macbeth had to manipulate him in the same way.
Quote 2
Act III, Scene 1
Argument
This quote from the target scene reveals Macbeth's cold finality as he concludes the murder plot with chilling certainty, using ironic euphemism ('soul's flight') that contrasts sharply with his earlier horror at Duncan's murder, illustrating his transformation into a tyrant who can now order death without hesitation.
Quote 3
“I have given suck, and know / How tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: / I would, while it was smiling in my face, / Have pluck’d my nipple from his boneless gums / And dash’d the brains out, had I so sworn as you / Have done to this.”
Act I, Scene 7
Argument
This quote from an earlier scene establishes the baseline manipulation tactic—Lady Macbeth's use of violent imagery and questioning of manhood to overcome Macbeth's reluctance—which Macbeth now deploys himself against the murderers, demonstrating how the reluctant murderer has internalized and weaponized the very technique once used against him.
Quote 4
Act III, Scene 2
Argument
This quote from the scene immediately following Macbeth's manipulation of the murderers reveals his internal torment despite his outward calculation, using visceral imagery of 'scorpions' to illustrate how his transformation into a tyrant has not eliminated his psychological suffering but rather intensified it—he now orchestrates murder while fully conscious of its horror.
Quote 5
“I am in blood / Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as tedious as go o’er.”
Act III, Scene 4
Argument
This quote from later in the act demonstrates the culmination of Macbeth's transformation, as he uses the metaphor of wading through blood to rationalize continued violence—the calculating tyrant now views murder not as a moral crisis but as a strategic calculation, revealing how completely he has internalized the ruthless logic he deployed against the murderers.