The murderers have just returned and told Macbeth that Banquo is
dead but Fleance has escaped. As he was after killing Duncan, Macbeth becomes stricken with
guilt. But this time his fear and guilt are increasing and playing on his mind. When Lady Macbeth
says, “This is the very painting of your fear,” she means that Banquo’s ghost is a hallucination.
Macbeth’s guilt is causing him to see things. The ghost/hallucination is being “painted” by
Macbeth’s fear. She is trying to get him to snap out of it.
She
tries to tell him that all he is looking at is a stool, but Macbeth sees Banquo sitting on that
stool. This entire quote is significant because it shows how Macbeth’s fear and guilt have
consumed him. Lady Macbeth seems to have her wits about her, but she falls victim to fear and
guilt later in the play.
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