Macbeth And Banquo Foil

Banquo's purpose in the play is the quintessential foil of Macbeth, both in acting, as well as in meaning. Shakespeare utilizes Banquo in order to create opposite moods to what is the drive of the play, which is Macbeth and his wife plotting, scheming, and murdering, by offering great solid blocks of integrity, passion, and goodness, that slightly descend into questioning. In contrast to Macbeth's ambitious state, his transformation into an immoral form of such a state, and his acting on such, Shakespeare creates Banquo in order to give the reader a feeling for contrasting points in order to augment, and practically create, the play.

The main interest of the character of Banquo arises from the changes that take place in him, and from the influence of the witches upon him. And it is curious that Shakespeare's intention here is so frequently missed. Banquo being at first strongly contrasted with Macbeth, as an innocent man with a

This speech portrays Banquo’s new found reluctance towards the witch’s forecast of the future. He now sees what Macbeth is blind too, the possibility of knowledge becoming more harmful to the men rather than helpful in Macbeth’s want for more, particularly pertaining to him becoming King. As Macbeth begins to weigh the prophecy against logic and the now present, he accepts the fact that if “two truths are told, as happy prologues to the swelling act of the imperial theme.” Macbeth is now beginning to assume that if portions of the prophecy are being fulfilled as the witch’s had said, it is only a matter of time before he shall become king. As Macbeth continues to be engulfed by what will be his future downfall, he assumes that all of his new found

In the play, Macbeth was a man who had shown very little mercy to friends let alone his foes. After killing Duncan to become King, he had hired assassins to go and kill Banquo and his son so that he could secure his reign. Banquo was a close friend of Macbeth, they had gone to war together, lived together, fought together and without a second thought, Macbeth has put a death warrant on Banquo and his son’s head. Here Macbeth shows his newly developed uncompassionate character as he does not care about Banquo and their friendship. “ Rather than so, come fate into the list, And champion me that’ utterance.” Here we can see Macbeth speak about the prophecy and how he realises he let go of his morality but for “ Banquo’s seeds” Macbeth not only showed a lack of compassion towards his best friend but also to other characters such as

Contextually, Banquo was King James’ cousin, and so Shakespeare was Obsequious and bestowed the character within the play with good ambition and godly values. Macbeth and Banquo are after all, equals up to the Heath scene, both fighting

He fought bravely for his king and his country, and soon after fighting Macbeth encounters the three witches.The witches give Macbeth prophecies on how he will be king and how Banquo’s descendants will be kings.The moment Macbeth learns he will be king he ponders over committing regicide to take the throne for himself. He wavers on the line to kill King Duncan but in the end decides to go along with the plan to kill the king. He immediately regrets his decision and after a while though that regret gets suppressed deep down inside and he begins to feel nothing when he kills the king. Professor Stanley Rachman states that, “The effects of betrayal include shock, loss and grief, morbid pre-occupation, damaged self-esteem, self-doubting, anger.”(Stanley Rachman), when Macbeth commits an act of betrayal against the king Duncan, he turns to a violent individual with no regard for his actions and displays all of the previous qualities that professor Rachman had stated. Macbeth even goes as far as to feel nothing when he kills innocent women and children. This contrasts his earlier ways of murdering people and regretting his actions to him being cold hearted to these matters. When hearing of an opportunity to gain power, Macbeth loses his previous morals and resorts to acting in barbarous manners to try and seize the huge amount of power at stake. Another example of this theme occurs when Macbeth’s friendship with Banquo is shattered. At first in the play, Macbeth and Banquo are showcased as best friends, they fight alongside each other for the glory of their country and people. Banquo even betrays his own ethics for his friendship with Macbeth, but that is a topic that will be brought up later in the text. Macbeth hires assassins to murder his best friend and this is all because the Witches foretold that Banquo’s descendants will be kings. Out of fear of losing the throne Macbeth betrays his friendship

throughout the play, Macbeth was faced with many hard decisions but constantly made cruel ones which led him to his tragic downfall. In Act one Macbeth encounters the witches and learns the prophecies as he was to be Thane of Cawdor and to be King, Banquo by his side was also told he is to be a father to a king. After the first prophecy

The supernatural powers and beings, throughout Macbeth, bring a secondary element to the play that conducts the flow of events with a unique perspective. Correspondingly, the witches allow for a mythical voice to determine many of the critical actions from the paramount characters. During third scene the witches state, “All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, thane of/Cawdor!/ All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter.”(1.3.51-53) With this in mind, the witches make mysterious speculations about the futures of Banquo as well as Macbeth. In addition, the prophesies that the witches foretell throughout the play develop into the backbone of the performance and are the justification for many of the fatalities. For example, Macbeth meets the enigmatic predictions unquestionably, but Banquo contrastingly meets them with skepticism. Banquo professes, “The instruments of

Macbeth was widely seen and treated as a man of virtue, valiance, and nobility. However, now at a position of such high standing, he starts to act like Lady Macbeth. Like his wife, Macbeth began to hold a very single-minded train of thought and manipulated others to his benefit. For a secure spot on his throne, Macbeth resorted to planning the murder of Banquo, for “He hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor / To act in safety. There is none but he /

Soon after, Macbeth realizes one of the prophecies the witches say has come true and now he believes he will be thrown and is willing to murder anyone in the way. After the murder of King Duncan, Macbeth is starting to doubt who he really believes is on his side. He thinks, Banquo his friend from the start knows what he has done. As the witches said to both of them “ Banquo’s children will be king but he will not”. The second prophecy that is given by the witches makes Macbeth’s mind go spinning around on whether or not the murder of King Duncan should have been Banquo and if he knows he has killed the king.

Prior to his hearing of the prophecy of the witches, Macbeth already has the desire to be king in the future. However, Macbeth becomes a victim of fate. The meeting with the witches lights the flicker inside of Macbeth which fuels his deep aspiration. With most of the prophecy coming to reality, Macbeth sees this as a motivation to pursue his ambition of taking the throne for himself. However, Macbeth’s weak-willed nature prevents him from taking the necessary actions. Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, becomes a major influence on supporting Macbeth’s dark ambitions as she provides him with a strategy about successfully murdering King Duncan. With this newfound perspective ensuing from these external forces, Macbeth begged the stars to “hide [their] fires [and] let not light see [his] black and deep desires” (1.4.57-58) as he still does not approve the way his mind works. Over the course of the play, Macbeth earns the crown for a terrible price as his overpowering passion causes his new persona. During his reign, he recalls the prophecy of the witches which hails Shakespeare’s Banquo, a friend of Macbeth, as a father to a line of kings. Macbeth realizes that “only for them, [his] eternal jewel [was] given to the common enemy of man” (3.1.72-73) and that “upon [his] head [lies] a fruitless crown” (3.1.65) as he does not have sons that will succeed

After receiving the prophecy of his future accomplishments, Macbeth accepts his near future and decides to act upon it. This event signifies the loss of his nobility and the birth of a deceptive and traitorous character. Similarly, In act 3, scene 1, after realizing the exactness of the prophecies, Macbeth then comes to the conclusion that his longtime friend Banquo, is now considered a threat. Even after being crowned King, Macbeth’s ambition drives him to insane lengths such as going on a rabid killing spree in order to secure his position. This ambition can also be considered a trait of human nature, to be driven and motivated is something we share with

Macbeth’s comrade and general, Banquo, fights alongside Macbeth and has a brave and noble character that remains loyal to those above him. Once the witches inform him that he will father a line of kings that will inherit the Scottish throne, he listens, but does not on act on it to ensure that it will come true unlike Macbeth. His courageous character helps him remain true to himself regardless of the power that is to come of him. When Macbeth is persistent to talk about the prophecies of the witches, Banquo seems to neglect and elude the topic since it is considered least important in his perspective. His neutral feelings towards the witches’ prophecies contrast Macbeth’s curious feelings towards the witches’ prophecies.

Shakespeare’s Macbeth features a man’s desire for power, and the acts that he commits in order to gain it. Nevertheless, it also focuses on his power-crazed wife and her ambition for control. In this play, Shakespeare creates an interesting relationship that traces the downfall of not a single person, but of two people. There are many but there are many similarities and differences in their relationship, and as the play progresses their accord changes greatly as a result of how each of them handles their emotions following the murder of Banquo.

After Macbeth and Banquo receive prophecies, the foil characters start to diverge as Banquo’s takes the moral path of goodness while Macbeth takes the immoral path towards his ultimate decline. Banquo and Macbeth have the opportunity to pursue the same path, but because of his unchecked ambition, Macbeth deviates from Banquo's path of good morals. Immediately after the witches tell their prophecies, Banquo’s mindset is wary and rational. He warns Macbeth that, “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths...” (1.3.125-126). Banquo is not obsessed with the prophecies and the idea that one day his ancestors will be kings. On the other hand, Macbeth speculates, “Two truths are told, / as happy prologues to the swelling act / of the imperial theme.” (1.3.130-132) Because two of the three prophecies have come true, Macbeth is blinded by his ambition and seems to fantasize about the idea of being king. These contrasting reactions show that Macbeth takes a