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Third Murderer

The Tragedy of Macbeth · 6 speeches across 1 scenes

A hired killer in Macbeth’s employ, instrumental in the attempt on Banquo and Fleance’s lives.

Who they are

Murderer 3 is a minor but crucial player in the bloody engine Macbeth has set in motion. Tasked with ensuring Banquo and Fleance are dead, this character is a blunt instrument of Macbeth’s paranoia. Unlike the first two murderers, this one likely reports directly to Macbeth, appearing suddenly in the scene. The key relationship is with Banquo, whose murder this character helps execute; their failure to kill Fleance shifts the play’s trajectory.

Playing them

Play Murderer 3 as the sharp, focused newcomer—physically coiled, waiting for the signal. The lines are short, so build tension with precise delivery: the ear that hears horses, the eye that marks the man. Let the voice drop to a murmur for 'Macbeth,' then startle the auditorium with 'Who did strike out the light?' The swift turn from controlled plan to frantic improvisation (when the torch is doused) gives a brief emotional spike. Tradition: sometimes played as the one who actually stabs Banquo, sharing the action with Murderers 1 and 2.

Appearance

Costumed in dark, nondescript leather or wool, ready for night work. A short sword or cudgel visible. The staging often places this murderer slightly apart from the others, emphasizing their designated role as the one who will strike when Banquo arrives.

Where they appear

Play Third Murderer

Take the part and Yorick reads every other role aloud, following you line by line as you speak.

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Shakespeare the way it was meant to be had — out loud

These plays were written to be performed, not silently read. Yorick is a rehearsal app that lets you perform them: you take a part in any of Shakespeare’s 38 plays, and Yorick reads every other role aloud, listens while you speak your lines, keeps your place, and prompts you the moment you dry.

It is built for the person who has to be off book by tech week — school and college productions, community theatre, festivals, drama students and classical auditions — and for anyone who wants to hear a scene rather than skim it. Alongside the performance you get a plain-English translation of every speech, scene context, performance notes, and the ability to ask about any line and get an answer that already knows the play, the scene and who is speaking.

The text is the public-domain Cambridge/Globe edition. Translations and notes are AI-generated rehearsal aids for actors and students, not a scholarly apparatus. Yorick runs in a browser with nothing to install, and on iPhone and Android.