Poll: Was Macbeth the 3rd murderer?

[Joehova]

For those who have read Macbeth you have probably heard the theory that the mysterious third murderer of Banquo was actually Macbeth in disguise. What do you think?

 

[ReservoirAngel]

I don't think Shakespeare would do that without putting massive hints about it in the text

 

[Skuffyshootster]

EDIT: Double post, ignore.

 

[Skuffyshootster]

I don't think he would have it in him.

Maybe the third murderer really was just another guy Macbeth hired.

 

[Sightless Wisdom]

In the original... probably not. Shakespeare doesn't usually leave things unexplained or without excessive hinting at least. In many other depictions of the play Macbeth has been cast as the 3rd murderer however.

 

[Twilight_guy]

No. I can't see MacBeth of actually having the motivation to do it. On top of that, I really do think it was just a generic character.

 

[Buzz Killington_v1legacy]

Almost certainly not. In practical staging terms, the exit of the murderers and the entrance of Macbeth in the banquet scene are right next to each other, so there'd be little to no time for Macbeth's actor to change costumes.

In terms of the play, the First Murderer reports to Macbeth at the banquet:

Spoiler: Double, double, toil and trouble...

MACBETH

'Tis better thee without than he within.
Is [Banquo] dispatch'd?

FIRST MURDERER

My lord, his throat is cut; that I did for him.

MACBETH

Thou art the best o' the cut-throats: yet he's good
That did the like for Fleance: if thou didst it,
Thou art the nonpareil.

FIRST MURDERER

Most royal sir,
Fleance is 'scaped.

MACBETH

Then comes my fit again: I had else been perfect,
Whole as the marble, founded as the rock,
As broad and general as the casing air:
But now I am cabin'd, cribb'd, confined, bound in
To saucy doubts and fears.

If Macbeth had been the Third Murderer, there'd be no reason for him to ask about Banquo, and he'd already know of Fleance's escape. And there's no reason for him to feign ignorance to the First Murderer, either--remember, he's king by this point. He could outright point to the First Murderer and say "This man just confessed to murder" and have him hanged from the battlements before the banquet's second course.

 

[Kortney]

Definitely not. Shakespeare didn't do things like that - he was quite clear with his storytelling and would of definitely hinted at it. I've seen a few productions where they have made MacBeth the third and it has worked quite well however.