“Though those that are betray'd do feel the treason sharply, yet the traitor stands in worse case of woe” (Shakespeare Cymbeline). To betray someone you must first be loyal to them. Loyalty and betrayal come together. Once someone is loyal the opportunity for betrayal is there. There is a consequence for being betrayed, which must mean there is an effect of loyalty. Being betrayed is not as bad as the one who does the betraying, because the cost of betraying someone is far heavier than the consequence of trusting someone who did not deserve it. The central themes of Macbeth were loyalty and betrayal, which are two sides of the same coin. Every point in the book ties back to how loyalty and betrayal are returned. The way loyalty and betrayal …show more content…
He trusted Macbeth, but did not tell anyone about the prophecy that he and Macbeth received from the witches. Banquo slightly betrayed his king and country by not telling them of the encounter with the witches. He was killed because he did not tell anyone of the prophecy, but he was loyal to his son, Fleance, in his last moments. His loyalty where he sacrificed his life for his childs, led his death to being avenged. Fleance managed to escape his murder, and this leads to questions being made about exactly what is going on. In England, questions were being asked about how two people that Macbeth was supposed to be loyal to were dead, under suspicious circumstances. Murders like this led to suspicions about exactly how and why they were killed, there were assumptions about who killed them but no actual evidence or reason. The only person who benefited from those deaths was Macbeth. Banquo’s own death led to there being enough doubt about the King and his murder. Dying the day of a banquet held in your honor by the King, is suspicious, especially when this King was crowned after the past King was murdered in his home. His life was the cost of the truth coming out. He was loyal to his son which led to enough suspicions about his death being brought up that Banquo was avenged. He was a friend to Macbeth but died because Macbeth did not believe in his loyalty. Fear of betrayal is what led to Banquo’s death, and Banquo’s death led to him being avenged. Banquo’s loyalty to his son led to his life being avenged, but he was, at one point. loyal to Macbeth by keeping the prophecy secret. He chose his friend over his king, because it is always suspicious if there is a prophecy that Macbeth will be king. The prophecy hinted that King Duncan would be dead, and yet he did not tell anyone about how his king would die. Banquo betrayed his king, which caused his