How Does Banquo Change Throughout The Play

In the early part of the play, Shakespeare presents Banquo as one of the leading characters and the companion of the tragic hero Macbeth. First impressions of Banquo are positive. Shakespeare initially raises awareness of how Banquo and Macbeth are good friends; they are spoken about as equally brave and are linked from the onset although Banquo is portrayed more as Noble Banquo and brave Macbech. The pair are assumed to have had a close friendship for a long time as they have both fought side by side for King Duncan. Shakespeare inextricably links them and their fate throughout the play. The men's friendship is then tested when they have their encounter with the witches in Act 1 Scene 3 and the friendship then changes. Banquo is skeptical

Shakespeare highlights the character of the title role from the first scene, as our initial introduction of Macbeth is from the wounded sergeant who tells of his valor on the battlefield. We also learn of Banquo's ferocity and victory in the same speech.The pair are linked from the start as they “doubly redoubled strokes upon the foe” and King Duncan recognises Banquo's role in conquering the enemy when he says he is as just as good as Macbeth and deserves great rewards for his action; ‘Noble Banquo', nor must be known no less to have done so.’ Yet it is clear that despite joint exploits on the battlefield it is only Macbeth who is rewarded with a title. He is therefore perceived as possessing less power than Macbeth. From such actions the audience starts to see Banquo as a less iimportant casualty of the aspiration and brutality of others. However, in reality he isn't as it were a victim of Macbeth’s state of fearful mind but a fatality of what the prophecies said and eventually by his own mind and his true thirst for control. In many ways he is represented as the antithesis of Macbeth. If it wasn't for his own premature fateful death, who knows what Banquo would have done for his son to become king, his death could very well have saved him from a further moral decline. Shakespeare uses the constructions of Macbeth and Banquo to show how and when men react to temptation. Banquo is represented as a foil to Macbeth and is thus a human symbol of the ability to resist temptation. The antithesis of Macbeth suggests that Banquo is a morally strong character. He resists evil and is also a very honest man as in Act 1 scene 5 he can be seen in his short but heartfelt reply to Duncan's speech: ‘There I grow, the harvest is your own.’ This is very contrasting with Macbeth who is morally weak, inherently flawed, and an evil personality that yields to