Banquo's Motivation In Macbeth

Macbeth’s motivation throughout the play is not just a lust for power, it’s also a fear of what he did that follows him and guides him through his actions. His lust for power and fortunate prophecy in the beginning is what drives him to commit his first murder, but it is the madness from this action that keeps him going down this path. Lust for power is mirrored in our society by government officials and even people in our work force that can become just as power hungry as our tragic hero. In the beginning of the play, Macbeth is told by the witches that he will become a king and that his friend Banquo will have kings in his family line. However the three bearded women also tell Macbeth “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none/ So all hail, Macbeth and Banquo!” (1.3.47) which causes him and Banquo to talk about their credibility and wonder about their paradoxical statements. Duncan appointing his son as the next king is what leads Macbeth to fan the flame of his ambition and “fulfill” the prophecy of the weird sisters. He even goes on to say I have no spur/To prick the sides of my intent,/ but only vaulting ambition,/

He decides to have Banquo and his son murdered. He tells the murderers “I require a clearness: and with him to leave no rubs nor botches in the work/Fleance his son, that keeps him company/Whose absence is no less material to me/Than is his father's.”(3.1.61) Meanwhile, his wife begins to worry that her husband is losing his mind as he hallucinates and sees Banquo’s ghost after that murder is committed and causes a scene during dinner when he yells, “Avaunt! and quit my sight! let the earth hide thee!/Thy bones are marrowless, thy blood is cold/Thou hast no speculation in those eyes/Which thou dost glare with!”(3.4.77) He and Lady Macbeth both struggle with hiding their guilt about the murders they