Macbeth LRJ 3

In Act III of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and her husband are switching roles. She is becoming the careful one, comforting her husband as he obsesses over murder. “Come on, gentle my lord,/ Sleek o'er your rugged looks. Be bright and jovial/ Among your guests tonight.” (Shakespeare 93) She tries to calm him down in preparation for the feast he hosts, for though she is becoming more cautious, she is still conscious of their public image. Macbeth, on the other hand, is now becoming cruel and cold. He believes he is too far into blood to turn back now, so he might as well keep murdering. He is also becoming paranoid. “Oh, full of scorpions is my mind, dear wife! Thou know'st that Banquo, and his Fleance, lives.” (Shakespeare 93) The fact that Fleance, his true contender (according to the witches’ prophecy) is still alive, scares Macbeth.
An image that appears over and over again in Act III is blood. Macbeth makes many references to it throughout, and it appears in literal form when the murderer reports back to Macbeth, drenched in Banquo’s blood. Macbeth says “bloody cousins,” meaning Malcom and Donalbain’s guilt; “bloody distance,” in this case meaning he hates Banquo with a passion; and “bloody and invisible hand,” which here means the night has murdered Banquo. When the murderers appear, Macbeth observes, “There’s blood upon thy face… ‘Tis better thee without than he within.” (Shakespeare 99) This is just another way of saying he is glad Banquo was murdered and gone forever.
The themes of paranoia, horror, and retribution are portrayed in Act III through dialogue and allusions. When Macbeth says, “But now I am cabined, cribbed, confined, bound in/ To saucy doubts and fears. --But Banquo’s safe?” (Shakespeare 101) his choice of words reveal a lot about himself and the themes of this act. First he talks about his all-encompassing fear, enough that he would reveal it in a dinner party in front of many important nobles. However, when he says that Banquo is “safe” as opposed to “dead,” he hints that though he might be glad his enemy is dead, he secretly envies him and the security death brings upon its victim. This theme of desiring death appears several other times throughout the act and the entire play.