Macbeth Quote Analysis

Macbeth, trying to appear normal to his guests, proposes a toast to the absent Banquo, expressing a wish that he were present.

Macbeth's toast is thick with situational irony—he toasts the man he has just had murdered and says 'Would he were here' at the exact moment Banquo's ghost is sitting at the table. The phrase 'whom we miss' is unintentionally true: Macbeth does 'miss' Banquo, in the sense that Fleance escaped. Shakespeare layers meanings so that Macbeth's performance of innocence becomes an accidental confession.

Support a thesis that Macbeth's public language constantly betrays him—his attempt to sound innocent backfires because the words he chooses carry unintended meanings that expose his guilt.