More From That Scene From Macbeth With Banquo's Ghost.

As many of you may know, I just recently uploaded on Youtube that famous scene from Macbeth where he sees Banquo's ghost. (Didn't I share it here BTW? It's not under Performing Arts for some reason. Oh, well.)

In Act III, Scene 4, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are at a banquet when Banquo's ghost suddenly appears, but only visible to him. Banquo, who Macbeth had just murdered, appears visible only to him. One the murderers arrives telling Macbeth that Banquo is dead but his son Fleance had escaped, leaving Macbeth anxious. Macbeth tells the guests there

Here had we now our country’s honor roofed,
Were the graced person of our Banquo present,
Who may I rather challenge for unkindness
Than pity for mischance.

Trying to cover up what he did, he tells the nobles he can only scold Banquo for rudeness and not have to grieve because something has happened to him. I read recently online that in that verse he makes a serious verbal slip, kind of like Susan Smith did during a television interview in 1994. (Smith sparked a massive nationwide search in 1994 for her two boys until she finally confessed to the police in November. Revealing she was the one who drowned them in a lake in a small town in South Carolina.)

That's an interesting plot twist if Shakespeare did that. I'll have to read those verses over again to see what they mean. Because I also recently read that that scene is the turning point in the play and the ghost symbolizes Macbeth's overwhelming guilt and fear, showing his mental unraveling. I also just read that scene reveals Macbeth's instability to his lords, marking the beginning of the end for his reign.