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Who is the Third Murderer? |
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Tuesday, 30 November 1999 00:00 |
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Although Shakespeare had a great flare for plot material, he often had trouble with loose
ends. Many times, seemingly important people will disappear from the script; they are
never seen again. And other times, characters will suddenly appear out of nowhere. One
such inconsistency is the identity of the third murderer in Macbeth.
At the beginning of act 3, scene 3, the third murderer makes his entrance.
FIRST MURDERER: But who did bid thee join with us?
THIRD MURDERER: Macbeth.
SECOND MURDERER: He needs not our mistrust: since he delivers/ Our offices and
what we have to do/ To the direction just. (act 3, scene 3.1-4)
It is clear that the other two murderers had no prior knowledge that another would
be joining them. The shortness of response by the Third Murderer may indicate that he is
lying about who sent him. If Macbeth had hired a third man, he probably would have
informed the original murderers. Much speculation is put to the thought that Macbeth sent
one of his aides as a sort of baby-sitter to make sure that everything went as planned. The
most popular choices as chaperones are Seyton and Ross (Iago; Spielbauer). However, if
Macbeth had sent another man, wouldn't he also have instructed him to report back to
him? The First Murderer is the only one to return to the castle. The Second and Third
Murderer disappear and the audience never sees them again. If the additional man were
Seyton or Ross, wouldn't it have been he who would take the news back to Macbeth? If
perchance, Macbeth's spy should have made it back before the First Murderer arrived, why
would Macbeth put on such a show of surprise at the events of the evening? Unless one of
them was working on his own will, it was probably neither Seyton nor Ross.
Not quite as popular a belief is that the Third Murderer is Macduff. He was invited
to Macbeth's banquet, but did not attend. It turns out that he is on his way to England to
find Malcolm, and help him become achieve his rightful place as King. No one knew
where he was, which probably meant that he had left quite recently. Macduff was fully
aware of Macbeth's tyranny and ruthlessness, and may have found out about the plot to
slay Banquo. In act 3,scene3.12-4, "Almost a mile: but he does usually-/ So all men do-
from hence to th' palace gate/ make it their walk," it is hinted that the Third Murderer
knows Banquo, at least by habit. Commoners would not know by what path a thane goes
to the castle. It seems that he made the slip of this information and tried to cover it up
with the "So all men do-". If the Third Murderer were Seyton or Ross, why would they
hide their identity from the other two? They have no risk of being killed, as they would
have been telling the truth by saying that Macbeth sent them. Macduff, however, may need
to conceal his identity to protect his interests.
If Macduff was the Third Murderer, it would not be to aid in the killing, but instead to
protect Banquo and Fleance.
THIRD MURDERER: Who did strike out the light?
FIRST MURDERER: Was't not the way?
THIRD MURDERER: There's but one down; the son is fled. (act 3,3.19-20)
Here, it is easy to tell that the Third Murderer is not experienced in the ways of small scale
ambush. He was probably counting on the torch light in order to see who was who and to
help the victims to escape alive. Another interesting theory appears here. Who else would
be interested in keeping Banquo and Fleance alive? The witches, of course. They may
want to ensure that at least Fleance lives so that their third prophesy will come true
(Gathergood; Iago). However, the witches are instruments of fate. What they say will
come true, no matter what happens, and the witches would have known that. The only
reason for them to participate in the murder scene would be for the fun of it; but that
would destroy their whole mystic image in the play, and it is not likely that Shakespeare
would have done that to them.
The identity of the Third Murderer may never be uncovered, but most of the evidence
points to Macduff. He wouldn't have gone back to the castle after the affair was finished,
because he would have been found out, and he was on his way else where. It seemed to be
the Third Murderer's fault that Fleance lives, and he doesn't seem to be too disappointed
about it, which would prove that he didn't want them to die. Most of all, it was possible
for him to be there. All other suspects would probably have been other wise tied up with
more important things to do. Of course, there is always the theory that the Third Murderer
is just another Bum Joe from the street who really needed a job. But that would be
disappointing, wouldn't it?
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