Macbeth, Banquo and Lady Macbeth all react differently to the witches prophecies. Macbeth is told by the witches that he will be crowned Thane of Cawdor. At first he is very skeptical of this and shows no emotion when being told this, it seems too good to be true. But when the witches leave he begins to think of how great it would be the be thane. The things he would be able to do, the opportunities. He says If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir. (I,iii 145-146) This shows that he has some faith in this happening. But there are people in his way, so it is impossible. Macbeth begins to think of ways that he could be granted this role. This is how he comes up with the idea of killing the current thane to get what he wants. It drives …show more content…
This shows how he allowed these witches to get into his head and come up with this crazy idea. This idea that no one should ever think of. He has allowed them to let him think about murdering someone. He also shows some humanity when he starts to question the murder, showing that he has some kind of a brain. On the other hand when Banquo hears of this prophecy he believes it is unfair that Macbeth had gotten a prophecy and not him. But he is still happy for Macbeth when they tell him that he will be Thane of Cawdor. This shows that he is envious and can be a little selfish sometimes. He thinks of himself in times of other people’s happiness. But he still is able to be happy for those that he cares about. The witches go on to tell Banquo good news on how his sons will be kings and how he will be happier than Macbeth. He reacted with excitement but also he was questioning it thinking it was too good to be true. This shows that he is skeptical of the prophecies when they are good but has a small ounce of hope that they are true. Macbeth writes Lady Macbeth a letter telling her what the witches told him and she is excited that her husband is going to become the
In Shakespeare's original Macbeth, Banquo was portrayed as an intelligent individual capable of making rational decisions. After meeting the three witches and asking about his future, he was able to understand after a few days of thinking that the prophecies given were potentially very dangerous. Both, Macbeth and himself should actually be worrying and not trying to achieve these prophecies. Even though Banquo was being tempted by the
Fate and prediction have played a big part of Macbeth and has persuaded him to become evil and the “Brave” Macbeth had died out as soon as he meets the witches’ and they tell him that his fate is to become the thane of Cawdor and soon become king; “All hail, Macbeth hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!” “All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter!”. Macbeth does not know yet that the Thane of Cawdor had betrayed the king and went against him also he is being stripped of his Thaneship and is being executed, so he was surprised when the witches’ said that. Macbeth at first did not believe in his fate but when he gets the rob to be Thane of Cawdor he starts to believe his fate and then his mind skips to becoming king and killing Duncan this shows
From the beginning, Macbeth chose to follow the witches instead of letting things just naturally occur. Banquo serves to show how the predictions were not just destiny and did not control his life. Even when he sees that many are becoming true, he states, "may they (witches) not be my oracles"(Act III, sc.i, 9). He is stating that he will just let events occur and not try to fulfill the prophecies. Macbeth also had this same choice. If he had taken the same approach as Banquo, a claim could be made that it was destiny that Macbeth would murder Duncan. However, Macbeth lived on account of the prophecies, not the reverse.
The three witches make three initial predictions. The first witch says, "All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Glamis", the second witch then goes onto say, "All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor", the third witch then says "all hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter". They also tell Banquo that his sons shall become King. The prophecies have a lot of influence over Macbeth. The witches are clever in coming to Macbeth at the right time and in what they said. They chose exactly the right moment to approach Macbeth. He is full of triumph and fresh from the fighting ad killing. He is at a particularly vulnerable time to have his head filled with thoughts of becoming king and fame. He says to Banquo "… Why do I yield to that suggestion whose horrid image doth unfix to my hair, and make my seated heart knock on my ribs, Against the use of Nature." The text states clearly that Macbeth has murderous thought in his mind that are prompted by the prophecy, "Present fears, are less than horrible imaginings: My thought, whose murder is fantastical shakes so single state of man." It is an important point, it shows his reaction that someone has read his mind. The Witches are actually speaking Macbeth's innermost thoughts. Does this
Macbeth wants to know more from the witches, he doesn’t think that what they are telling him is enough because he know he will eventually be Thane of Glamis, by his father’s death (inheritance) but he doesn’t understand how he will be Thane of Cawdor. Banquo wants to know more from the witches because he believes that they can see into the future. He is not scared of what they have to say to him. He is skeptical of them. Macbeth is hard to satisfy, even when things seem to be in his favor, Banquo doesn’t know if he truly believes that the witches were real, and that what they say was true, but he wanted to know in case it might have been
Banquo’s ambition is unlike Macbeths and Lady Macbeths, his ambition does not drive him to kill. His ambition is he wants his son to become king, and he wants his son’s son to become king and so on. He does not quite know how to make his ambition successful but he knows that it is not worth killing for. Macbeth becomes jealous of Banquo’s ambition and Macbeths ambition drives him tell people to kill Banquo.
So fearing for his power being taken from and Banqou taking control he uses his power to have Banquo and his son murdered. Here Macbeth has just killed his own friend because he was paranoid of the loss of his
At first he didn’t think that the prophecy was real until Ross tells Macbeth that He is now the Thane of Cawdor then Banquo and Macbeth know that the Prophecy is true. Banquo also gets jealous because he never thought that MacBeth would be king. Banquo gets
Due to his strong desire, his true senses and beliefs vanished. The trigger to his ambition began with the three witches and their three prophecy. In the beginning of the play after the victory against Norway, three witches appeared and they began speaking about the prophecies, where Macbeth will be the Thane of Cawdor, and the King. However Banquo’s son will also be the king,“ All hail, Macbeth, hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor!, All hail, Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter! , [to Banquo] lesser than Macbeth but greater, not so happy, yet much happier, thou shalt get kings, though thou be none”(Shakespeare, 15).
However, this is all for show. Macbeth at this point in the play does not care about Banquo and is plotting against him. Not too long after that we see that we see “there shall be done a deed of dreadful note. ” (III,ii,45-46). Macbeth knows that he has done awful things and he is feeling the guilt.
When Macbeth first receives the prophecy predicting he will be king and Banquo's heirs will be kings, he is satisfied with the idea of being king. Banquo's heirs do not concern him at this point. Once he assassinates Duncan and is crowned king, however, this isn't enough. Now he wants his heirs to be king. He asks himself, why should he have taken all this risk just to put Banquo's heirs on the throne? Unsatisfied with just ruling himself, he plots to kill not only Banquo, but Fleance. His ambition has grown and become even more menacing.
Macbeth's reaction is as if someone has read his mind, whereas Banquo is reluctant to believe the witches and is aware that they are not what they seem. If their predictions were already thoughts in the back of Macbeth's mind, then the witches don't have very much power over him at this
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
As the witches give Macbeth his predictions, he is distraught because he knows the evil deeds he must do to make the predictions come true. Banquo, not as ill minded as Macbeth, confides in him saying “Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear/Things that do sound so fair?” (1.3.52-53). The predictions the witches gave Macbeth were grand,
Right after hearing the prophecy, he tells Banquo, “Your children shall be kings,” to which Banquo responds, “You shall be king” (1.3). While Banquo is not jealous that he will never be king, Macbeth, aware of Banquo’s fortune, begins to resent him, eventually formulating a plan to kill him and Fleance. While the two characters share the same ambitions, Banquo is much more cautious after hearing the prophecy while Macbeth becomes much more reckless and impulsive, acting on jealousy and anger, and eventually leading to his