1. As Scene 1 opens, Banquo is fearful and suspicious of Macbeth. He suspects him of killing Duncan. Since the witches’ prophecy has come true, Banquo feels that Macbeth has been rotten in his pursuits to be king. The quote, “Thou hast it now---King, Cawdor, Glamis, all/As the Weird Women promised, and I fear/Thou played’st most foully for‘t’” (Shakespeare, 81) is said by Banquo. He comes to the realization that Macbeth is power hungry and his ambitions are unchecked. He is also suspicious that since Macbeth’s prophecy came true, Macbeth will want to make certain that his prophecy won’t be fulfilled.
2. In Macbeth’s soliloquy in Scene 1, his thoughts and motives are exposed to the audience. The quote, “To be thus is nothing,/But to be safely thus,” (Shakespeare, 85) is representative of his inner thoughts. Although, he has already become king, he is wary of what is to come. He cannot enjoy being king because he feels as if he won’t be safe until he makes sure to ruin Banquo’s prophecy. He believes that killing Banquo will solve this problem. He reasons with himself by explaining that Banquo has always tried to steal the glory away from him. This is significant since it shows that in order to ease his conscience Macbeth excuses his plans to kill Banquo as just and fair under the circumstances. At this point,
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At the beginning of Scene 5, Hecate is shown to be angry at the three witches for the harm they had caused to Macbeth. She is not really mad at them for doing it; instead, she is mad at them for not including her. She contributes to their scheme by conjuring up magical illusions. The quote, “Upon the corner of the moon/There hangs a vap’rous drop profound./I’ll catch it ere it come to ground,/And that, distilled by magical sleighs,/Shall raise such artificial spirits,” (Shakespeare, 111) provides information that she does this. The magical illusions she conjures up are the three apparitions that will appear to Macbeth and eventually prophesize his
Fear, this moves us to do many things no matter if they are against or for our morals. In the play The Tragedy of Macbeth it was fear that was the main deciding factor that themed throughout this play. This can be proved by the other murders that happened after King Duncan's. These murders were committed, because Macbeth was scared of being caught and having to serve justice for the crimes he had committed. And as for Lady Macbeth, she washes her hands all the time trying to get the blood that is no longer on her hands off and sleepwalking, all of what she does is out of her own fear.
Fleance does not return back to Macbeth’s castle shows that he has control over his own fate by opposing to the future that the witches had seen in their prophecy. “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none” (act1 scene3 line 70) In the beginning of the play the witches had foretell Banquo that his sons will become the king. Macbeth strongly believes in the witches prophecy. He commits murder against Banquo and Fleance in order to fight against the destiny that the witches had prophesied. “Thou may ’st revenge —O slave!”(act scene line) Banquo urges Fleance to escape and someday to take revenge of this gory tragedy. The reader expects Fleance to return to Macbeth’s castle to take revenge by murdering Macbeth similarly like he had done to his father. Though, the reader loses where he had fled in the story after he had escaped from that scene. This may show that he would not become the king. As the witches recite in the beginning of the play. “Fair is foul, foul is fair”(act scene line), Macbeth acts as what the witches had said. He is brainwashed by the evil spirits, he has no more control over himself. He believes that he is doing the right thing but he is actually trapping himself in a difficult situation. Although, both Banquo and Fleance opposes to this
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
In Shakespeare's “Macbeth” both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are crazy but the crazier one is Macbeth. Macbeth murdered innocent people, he was obsessed to become king and he believed whatever the witches said.
After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is titled the King of Scotland. Having Macbeth murder Duncan to become King makes it seem to Macbeth that he can control his own fate. This only makes it worse for Macbeth, because it is now engraved in his mind that murder can change fate. Now that Duncan is taken care of, it is Banquo that Macbeth is worried about, for Macbeth is convinced that Banquo knows too much because he was the only other person with him when the witches prophesized his fate. It’s not only Banquo that Macbeth wants to murder, he also wants to change the prophecy of Banquo’s descendants becoming Kings by murdering them as well, as he states “To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings!;/ Rather than so, come fate into the list,;/ And champion me to th’ utterance.” (III, I, 70-73). This line directly shows that Macbeth now thinks he is in control, and that he can challenge fate by murdering the sons of Banquo to change what the witch’s prophesized for the descendants of Banquo to become kings.
The witches manipulate Macbeth into becoming a murdering, power-hungry evil being, by telling him, “someday you’ll be king.” “I'll drain him dry as hay. Sleep shall neither night nor day Hang upon his penthouse lid. He shall live a man forbid. Weary sev'n nights, nine times nine, Shall he dwindle, peak, and pine.” (I,i) The witches use the two other prophecies to get in the mind of Macbeth. They say that Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor, and Banquo will be the father of future generations of kings. Though his bark cannot be lost, Yet it shall be tempest-tossed.They give Macbeth a false sense of security with the visions they perceive. These influential women are the ones that instill the idea of murdering the king. Macbeth lets greed get the best of him. The witches sway Macbeth into killing Duncan for the throne. “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” (I,i) The Witches intend to turn Macbeth from his good ways, into something evil. As the only character that understands their cruelty, the witches want Macbeth dead. The witches give Macbeth the temptation to kill the king by telling him their prophecies. In the end,
He realizes that if he want to start his own dynasty, then he will have to have control of all the variables. Then Macbeth began to think, “For Banquo’s issues have I filed my mind;/ For them the gracious Duncan I have murdered” (Shakespeare 85). He realizes that he has set himself up to fail. He is cleared a path to the crown for Banquo’s kin. Macbeth goes on to state, “He chid the sisters/ When first they put the name of king upon me” (Shakespeare 85). This give the readers the thought that Banquo is jealous of the king. Macbeth, not wanting to risk his crown, calls for some outside murderers. As I stated earlier, Macbeth knew he must get rid of Banquo and his sons. He succeeds in having Banquo killed, but Banquo’s son, Fleance (the one person Macbeth needed to kill), escapes.
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.
David Rosenberg once stated that “hope is a tree sitting on a mountain where the grass don’t grow ” . This quote relates to Macbeth because he hopes things that never lasts forever even if he tries no matter way . Lady Macbeth influenced Macbeth to carry out evil activities.
But, later on in the play we learn by the witched that Banquo's descendants will become King and that they will prosper. It says “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none”, when Macbeth learns about this and hears about it he is scared and then eventually considers Banquo as a threat to him to become King. So Macbeth has to come up with a solution to this and eventually comes up with the solution that he must murder Banquo and his son Fleance. He gets two murders to go out and murder Banquo and his son while they are walking so that his promise of becoming king will not be in jeopardy. This is an ironic act of betrayal because Macbeth and Banquo have been friends for a long time and have done everything together. Banquo was not just his friend he was also the co-commander of the army and had some power in Scotland.
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
After killing King Duncan , Macbeth is starting to realize what it is that he has done, and becomes suspicious and paranoid of everyone around him by puting spy's in every castle and killing those who are any treat to him what so ever. Banquo is the only other person who knows of the meeting with the witches and he would assume that it was Macbeth who killed the King. The witches also said that Banquo would beget kings but he himself would never be king after Macbeth, and so Macbeth decides that Banquo is a threat to him. To get rid of the treat with banquo he decides to kill him and his son Fleance.
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
Shakespeare uses Banquo to highlight the fact that Macbeth is “Rapt withal”, Macbeth is very gullible and takes things at face value and he begins to think of the witches’ statements as providence rather than prophecy. Shortly after, during his aside he state that he will leave it to chance but the seeds of ambition are already beginning to grow in his mind due to these prophecies. Also, the quote “to me you speak not” shows that Banquo, contrasting heavily from Macbeth, is rather unfazed by these prophecies. This also furthers their character’s differences, in the sense that Macbeth is more easily persuaded and not questioning anything, while Banquo is more down to earth and is taking the witches words
Point #4- Macbeth planning to kill Banquo: Quote: “I wish your horses swift, and sure foot- and so I do commend you to their backs. Farewell. Let every man be master of his time till seven at night- To make society the sweeter welcome, we will keep yourself till supper-time alone- While then, god be with you”- Macbeth. (Act 3 Scene 1).