Question

read the excerpt from act 3, scene 4 of the tragedy of macbeth. macbeth. then comes my fit again: i had else been perfect; whole as the marble, founded as the rock, as broad and general as the casing air: but now i am cabind, cribbd, confind, bound in to saucy doubts and fears. but banquos safe? first murderer. ay, my good lord; safe in a ditch he bides, with twenty trenched gashes on his head; the least a death to nature. what does the murderer mean by the phrase “safe in a ditch”? banquo has run away. banquo has attacked them. banquo has been slain. banquo has gone into hiding.

Explanation:

In the context of the play, when the murderer says "safe in a ditch", it is a macabre way of indicating that Banquo is dead. The description of "twenty trenched gashes on his head" further emphasizes that Banquo has been killed.

Answer:

Banquo has been slain.