Banquo Vs Lady Macbeth

Mahatma Gandhi once said that “Man's nature is not essentially evil. Brute nature has been known to yield to the influence of love. You must never despair of human nature” (Mahatma Gandhi). Human nature can easily be misguided when there is weakness in one’s character. Shakespeare’s Macbeth states that the will to commit evil is not present from prenatal existence of man, rather it is grown by external forces. Firstly, Lady Macbeth’s manipulative personality pushes Macbeth to execute regicide, thus leading him to impose cruelty upon his innocent king. Additionally, the supernatural force of the wicked witches, especially their involvement in Macbeth’s life, removes the admirable characteristics from his personality, thus corrupting his soul.

The three witches are introduced as malevolent beings who enjoy creating chaos in the lives of people, and thus they take their first step when they inform Macbeth and Banquo of their futures, utilizing their supernatural powers on them. Macbeth, intrigued by the three fortunes that he will be Thane of Cawdor, Glamis, and King of Scotland, says “Stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more” (1.3.73). Telling both Macbeth and Banquo what their futures hold is a deceitful way for the witches to enjoy the events that will occur as a result of the disruption of the order of things. This also instills fear in Macbeth because Banquo also received a prophecy to be a father of kings, yet Macbeth did not. Macbeth is fearful that Banquo will become much better than him, which he does not want at all. It is the witches that are responsible for Macbeth following his malicious intents to kill Banquo. Furthermore, the witches decide to make Macbeth overconfident in order to create chaos in his life, thus demonstrating that they can be held accountable for Macbeth’s downfall. In a paper written by Al Mannes and Don Moore, cited by Kreuger, they state that “[overconfidence] can compromise action planning. Overconfident individuals bite off more than they can chew” (Kreuger 7). The witches successfully implanted overconfidence in Macbeth, making it a way to create chaos in Macbeth’s life,

For instance, Banquo’s sensibility elicits fear in Macbeth’s mind, and leads him to resort to evil to make himself feel secure. Macbeth, when all alone, says that “There is none but he / Whose being do I fear” (3.1.58-59). Macbeth, who was previously easily manipulated by his wife to commit the murder of Duncan, demonstrates how he will do anything to ensure his own security; if Macbeth can kill his own king to satisfy his ambitions, then he can kill anyone, even his dearest friend, to keep those acquired ambitions safe. In addition, Banquo’s prophecies create disturbance in Macbeth’s mind, and as a result, he chooses to do evil in order to prevent his own loss. While talking to the murderers about killing Banquo and Fleance, Macbeth says, “ With barefaced power sweep him from my sight / And bid my will avouch it, yet I must not, / For certain friends that are both his and mine” (3.1.131-133). Because of one of Banquo’s prophecies that he will be a father of kings, Macbeth is ungrateful for being in the position of simply king and is greedy for more power, and thus lies to the murderers about why he wants Banquo to be murdered. Macbeth’s jealousy towards Banquo blinds his rationality and leads him down a path of darkness. Lastly, the hallucination of Banquo’s ghost serves as an indication of the transition of