Lesson plan

Third Murderer

The Third Murderer is a character in William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (1606). He appears in one scene (3.3), joining the First and Second Murderers to assassinate Banquo and Fleance, at the orders of Macbeth. The Third Murderer is not present when Macbeth speaks to the First and Second Murderers, and is not expected by his partners. Although the Third Murderer is a small role, the identity of the character has been the subject of scholarly debate, and various productions have equated him with other characters.

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Article summary

The Third Murderer is a character in William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (1606). He appears in one scene (3.3), joining the First and Second Murderers to assassinate Banquo and Fleance, at the orders of Macbeth. The Third Murderer is not present when Macbeth speaks to the First and Second Murderers, and is not expected by his partners. Although the Third Murderer is a small role, the identity of the character has been the subject of scholarly debate, and various productions have equated him with other characters.

Key claims

  1. publication date: 1937 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

  1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
  2. The record states that the publication date is "1937". What evidence would count against this claim?
  3. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
  4. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1372985437

Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.