But who did bid thee join with us?
But who did bid thee join with us?
but who did bid thee join with us?
but who did bid thee join with us?
Macbeth.
Macbeth.
macbeth.
macbeth.
He needs not our mistrust; since he delivers
Our offices and what we have to do
To the direction just.
He needs not our mistrust; since he delivers Our offices and what we have to do To the direction just.
he needs not our mistrust; since he delivers our offices and what we have to do to the direction just.
he needs not our mistrust; since he delivers our offices and
Then stand with us.
The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day.
Now spurs the lated traveller apace,
To gain the timely inn; and near approaches
The subject of our watch.
Then stand with us. The west yet glimmers with some streaks of day. Now spurs the lated traveller apace, To gain the timely inn; and near approaches The subject of our watch.
then stand with us. the west yet glimmers with some streaks of day. now spurs the lated traveller apace, to gain the timely inn; and near approaches the subject of our watch.
then stand with us. the west yet glimmers with some streaks
Hark! I hear horses.
Hark! I hear horses.
hark! i hear horses.
hark! i hear horses.
Then ’tis he; the rest
That are within the note of expectation
Already are i’ th’ court.
Then ’tis he; the rest That are within the note of expectation Already are i’ th’ court.
then ’tis he; the rest that are within the note of expectation already are i’ th’ court.
then ’tis he; the rest that are within the note of expectati
His horses go about.
His horses go about.
his horses go about.
his horses go about.
Almost a mile; but he does usually,
So all men do, from hence to the palace gate
Make it their walk.
Almost a mile; but he does usually, So all men do, from hence to the palace gate Make it their walk.
almost a mile; but he does usually, so all men do, from hence to the palace gate make it their walk.
almost a mile; but he does usually, so all men do, from henc
A light, a light!
A light, a light!
a light, a light!
a light, a light!
Directors and scholars have wrestled with the Third Murderer since the play's earliest performances. He arrives unexpectedly, sent by Macbeth, who apparently decided not to trust the original two with the full job. But his identity is never revealed. Some productions cast him as Ross, who appears throughout the play as a go-between carrying bad news. Others make him Macbeth himself, the king unable to stay away from the violence he has commissioned. Others simply leave him unknown. Shakespeare's silence on the point may itself be the point: Macbeth's world is now so saturated with surveillance, suspicion, and covert action that we cannot see all his agents. The audience's uncertainty about who is working for Macbeth mirrors the court's uncertainty. Nobody knows who to trust.
’Tis he.
’Tis he.
’tis he.
’tis he.
Stand to’t.
Stand to’t.
stand to’t.
stand to’t.
It will be rain tonight.
It will be rain tonight.
it will be rain tonight.
it will be rain tonight.
Let it come down.
Let it come down.
let it come down.
let it come down.
O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!
Thou mayst revenge—O slave!
O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! Thou mayst revenge—O slave!
o, treachery! fly, good fleance, fly, fly, fly! thou mayst revenge—o slave!
o, treachery! fly, good fleance, fly, fly, fly! thou mayst r
Who did strike out the light?
Who did strike out the light?
who did strike out the light?
who did strike out the light?
Was’t not the way?
Was’t not the way?
was’t not the way?
was’t not the way?
There’s but one down: the son is fled.
There’s but one down: the son is fled.
there’s but one down: the son is fled.
there’s but one down: the son is fled.
We have lost best half of our affair.
We have lost best half of our affair.
we have lost best half of our affair.
we have lost best half of our affair.
Well, let’s away, and say how much is done.
Well, let’s away, and say how much is done.
well, let’s away, and say how much is done.
well, let’s away, and say how much is done.
The Reckoning
The shortest scene in Macbeth's middle acts, and deliberately brutal. Shakespeare gives us no build-up, no ceremony. Banquo and Fleance arrive talking about horses; the torches are extinguished; Banquo fights and dies, calling out to Fleance to flee and avenge him. Fleance runs into the dark. The murderers report their partial success to each other with flat disappointment. The scene is designed to be over almost before we register it — which is the point. This is how Macbeth's violence works now: quick, efficient, administered. The fact that Fleance escapes is the hinge of everything: Macbeth's plan is half-executed, the prophecy remains alive, the ghost will come.
If this happened today…
A hit contracted by someone powerful. The team is in position in a dark parking garage. The target arrives. The lights go out. The older man fights, shouts to his son to run. The son gets away in the confusion. The team stands there in the dark with a dead man at their feet and an open question: the kid is gone.