roblem here is that forced internalization of his fear and the stress of maintaining decorum in the environment of the court has finally gotten to Macbeth. He only reveals this in asides and soliloquies but never to anyone, not even his wife whom he keeps unaware of the plot to kill Banquo. In Act 3 Scene 1, he says that his fears about Banquo "stick deep" and that it is his "being I do fear" (3:1 54-55). It is not fear of discovery at this point which rankles him so, but the fear that all his dirty deeds will have been for naught.With "no son of mine succeeding" and Banquo being "hailed father to a line of kings", Macbeth’s ultimate fear is that all the risks taken and all the hard work done to obtain the crown will be fruitless if he cannot hold on to it. He has clearly chosen that if he cannot have his lineage inherit the throne, then neither will Banquo’s seed be kings. By seeking to challenge and change the prophecy, Macbeth wants to justify everything he has done up to this point. When he discovers that Fleance has survived the ambush the full weight and inevitability of his ultimate defeat comes upon him at once. The pressure makes him crack at the banquet because the consequences of Fleance’s escape become clear: his accomplishments will be disposable because they will lack any permanence. What Macbeth’s fear failed to warn him earlier now comes back in full force. The dread which fills him at the banquet is due to the reminder by the ‘ghost’ that ordained actions will happen despite his handiwork. His terror is not merely the specter of a friend he had murdered in cold blood, nor is just the dawning that he might be found out at this time and have his tapestry unravel. The ultimate fear which his mind represents as Banquo’s ghost is that he will lose it all completely and utterly. He is afraid that Ross and the rest of the Lords will see through his deception, that Fleance will one day ...
