Macbeth · Chapter
Scene IV explained
At a royal banquet, Macbeth learns that Banquo is dead but Fleance has escaped.
What happens
At a royal banquet, Macbeth learns that Banquo is dead but Fleance has escaped. Haunted by Banquo's ghost, Macbeth behaves erratically, alarming his guests. Lady Macbeth tries to dismiss his behavior as a recurring fit. After the guests leave, Macbeth resolves to visit the witches again and expresses his deepening commitment to violence.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Rising action.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This scene marks the dramatic climax because it presents the definitive psychological and strategic turning po…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Guilt and Conscience
Macbeth's guilt over Banquo's murder manifests as a terrifying vision of the ghost, disrupting the banquet and revealing his inner torment.
- Appearance vs. Reality
The festive banquet masks Macbeth's inner turmoil and the bloody deeds behind his kingship, while Lady Macbeth pretends his behavior is normal.
Characters to notice
- Macbeth
Hosts the banquet, reacts with terror to Banquo's ghost, and resolves to seek the witches for more prophecies.
- Lady Macbeth
Attempts to cover for Macbeth's strange behavior and urges him to act like a man.
- Banquo
Appears as a ghost, sitting in Macbeth's place and silently accusing him.
- Ross
Attends the banquet and observes Macbeth's disturbance.
- Lennox
Attends the banquet and notices Macbeth's agitation.
Key passages
“There the grown serpent lies; the worm that's fled Hath nature that in time will venom breed, No teeth for the present.”
Banquo is dead like a full-grown snake, but Fleance, who escaped, is like a young worm that will grow into a poisonous threat later, though harmless now.
Macbeth acknowledges the immediate safety from Banquo but fears future revenge from Fleance.
“I am in blood Stepp'd in so far that, should I wade no more, Returning were as tedious as go o'er.”
I have committed so much murder that stopping now would be as hard as continuing; there is no turning back.
Macbeth expresses his fatalistic commitment to violence, seeing no way to undo his crimes.
