Despite having as much anger welled up inside them as they did, and despite the fact that Macbeth sent a third murderer to ensure that the deed was done, the murderers only succeeded in extinguishing Steeva. Steeva's son Fleance fled and found safety from the foolish murders in the darkness.
The celebratory feast was arranged to begin at twelve o'clock midnight on the anniversary of Macbeth's becoming president, not even an hour after the murderers' evil deed.
The feast began and an honored guest, Banquo, was no where to be found. The seat to the president's right was left unoccupied, as all sat in their seats, according to rank. Shortly after the meal began, and while the guests shared stories among themselves, one of the three murderers entered—blood speckling his face—and whispered into the master's ear. “Banquo is dispatched, but his son has 'scaped,” he said. Macbeth's face darkened, and his features sunk, as though suddenly infected with a deep depression. He sent the murderer away. The Lady informed Macbeth that he was definitely not helping entertain the guests with a look like that. Most of the guests were not accustomed to being at such a high-class dinner and had no preconceptions about their head of state. They soon formulated undesirable opinions of their president.
Macbeth ejaculated “Sweet remembrancer!” A man, bloodied and battered, sat at the right hand of President Macbeth. Pretending the corpse was not there, Macbeth expressed his faux regret at the disappearance of Banquo. “If only our friend Steeva Banquo were here to celebrate this wondrous feast!” In his hysteria, he forgot what he was pretending and complained, “But the table is full!” People were now thoroughly confused: one moment he announces a missing person and the next moment he proclaims the seat is full! One head of a department pointed to the newly-filled seat and informed the president of its vacancy. The occupant's bruised face turned to Macbeth, eyes staring where they had been staring. Shortly the hollow eyes followed the dead face. With a deep blank stare, looking beyond Jason, the eyes revealed the identity of this beaten body: Banquo. Macbeth would not believe that no one else saw the unbreathing body. “Which of you have done this?” he inquired. The air became thick. A crimson-covered hand raised and pointed its finger at Macbeth. All were nervous. None knew how to react to his bizarre behavior. “Don't point your mutilated finger at me! I did nothing!” The leader commanded the empty seat. All movement in the room ceased.
One commander suggested the congregation leave, due to the president's apparent illness.
“Sit!” Lady Macbeth ordered. She thought quickly and fabricated a history about the president's ailments. She explained to the group that he often acted thus and that if they left, they would offend him when he came to. She instructed them to eat and disregard his hysteria. She then turned from the guests, and tried discreetly to knock sense into her husband. “O proper stuff! This is the very painting of your fear. This is the air-drawn dagger which, you said, led you to Duncan. O, these flaws and starts, would have made excellent wives' tales. Nothing you see is true! There is no one here.” Her hand passed through the body.
Calmed by her proof of the phantom's nonexistence, Macbeth relaxed some, and sat. Juliee, glad that she could calm him informed her husband, “You are frightening our guests.” Jason conferred with his wife for a moment and excused his symptoms as his wife had. “It is merely a strange infirmity, which is nothing to those that know me well,” he explained. Following his short speech, Macbeth again expressed his sadness that Banquo could not come.
But Banquo had come, as promised. And came again.
Macbeth tried to restrain himself, but was unable. He shouted at the phantom hysterically. “Why do you haunt me? You are dead!”
Seeing nothing of the ghost, the guests slowly filed out, hoping to be as unseen to Banquo as the phantom guest was to them. The fit lasted several minutes. Lady eventually convinced her husband to leave, and go off to bed.
Again, he did not sleep.
The following day, Macduff, whose seat at the previous night's feast was also empty, left Olympus's top ring, and visited the lower rings to meet with the small rebel government that had organized itself to keep order and provide for those the president ignored.. The president was so inadequate, that even the poor and uneducated arranged a more-successful government.
Macduff overheard two witnesses to the night before's madness speak. Macduff laughed at the tyrant's mental instability. So many, including the witnesses, had worked so hard to maintain order in their upper rings. Now, many figured it was all for naught and fled to the lower rings. From there, they could only pray that Macduff's leadership and the spreading stories of Macbeth's madness could inspire the lower ring's rulers to aid the higher society.
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