Macbeth
Scene #7 · Act III, Scene 4
During a state banquet, Banquo's ghost appears and sits in Macbeth's designated seat at the table. Only Macbeth can see the apparition, which has "gory locks" and appears twice during the feast. Macbeth becomes increasingly agitated, crying out "Thou canst not say I did it" and later commanding the ghost to "Avaunt! and quit my sight!" while describing its "marrowless" bones and cold blood. Lady Macbeth attempts to cover for her husband's bizarre behavior by telling the guests he suffers from a lifelong affliction, but his continued outbursts force her to dismiss everyone abruptly, ending the banquet in chaos.
The ghost's appearance marks Macbeth's psychological unraveling and demonstrates that his guilt over Banquo's murder manifests as hallucinations that he cannot control, even in crucial public moments. His inability to maintain composure before his nobles undermines his authority as king and reveals the heavy psychological cost of his crimes. The scene establishes that Macbeth's ambition has trapped him in a cycle of violence and paranoia from which he cannot escape, as he later acknowledges he is "in blood / Stepp'd in so far" that continuing forward is as difficult as turning back.
What man dare, I dare: / Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, / The arm’d rhinoceros, or th’ Hyrcan tiger; / Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves / Shall never tremble
Act III, Scene 4 · Macbeth
This is the very painting of your fear: / This is the air-drawn dagger which you said, / Led you to Duncan.
Act III, Scene 4 · Lady Macbeth
Avaunt! and quit my sight! let the earth hide thee! / Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold; / Thou hast no speculation in those eyes / Which thou dost glare with!
Act III, Scene 4 · Macbeth
Blood hath been shed ere now, i’ th’ olden time, / Ere humane statute purg’d the gentle weal; / Ay, and since too, murders have been perform’d / Too terrible for the ear: the time has been, / That, when the brains were out, the man would die, / And there an end; but now they rise again, / With twenty mortal murders on their crowns, / And push us from our stools.
Act III, Scene 4 · Macbeth
Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake / Thy gory locks at me.
Act III, Scene 4 · Macbeth