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Responsibility Of Banquo's Downfall In Macbeth By William Shakespeare

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In the play "Macbeth," Macbeth is mainly responsible for his own demise, with Lady Macbeth and the three witches sharing some of the guilt. Since we witness Lady Macbeth and the three witches influencing Macbeth because of his intrinsic propensity to succumbing to the influences of others. The genre of tragedy is a main theme while exploring the responsibility of Macbeth’s downfall as it was never Macbeth’s fault that the witched entered his life and left him delusional but because they did, it influenced Macbeth into doing awful things, also relating his own hamartia. In the play, when Macbeth sees the three witches with Banquo, you will witness the brave soldier on the battlefield change into a soldier who is giving in to evil forces starting …show more content…

"Good gentleman, why do you begin and appear to be afraid of/ Things that appear to be so fair?" Banquo asks, noticing Macbeth's rapid alteration. He doesn't seem to understand why Macbeth should be afraid, given the prophesies of all three witches appear to be true and good. While Banquo acts nonchalant by the witches, Macbeth is terrified by the third prophesy of the witches; Banquo serves as Macbeth's foil because of the way he deals with a situation that foreshadows who will rule in the near future. We must assume that when Macbeth analyzes the options, he will have to make in order to fulfill the 'fair' prophecies, he feels he will have to commit awful sins. Macbeth endorses this viewpoint when he asks whether the witches vanished "into thin air." This might be interpreted as Macbeth's allegiance to the king having disappeared into thin air, implying that everything he considered to be true has dissipated. This causes Macbeth to be deeply troubled by the witches' remarks, and he appears unconcerned about what Banquo says. As a result, we can see that he will always be drawn to evil influences such as the witches above good ones, such as Banquo's, causing him to be responsible for his own demise. Shakespeare felt compelled to include witches because it demonstrates that anybody who engages in witchcraft will only harm the people of the …show more content…

"Is this a dagger I see before me?" Macbeth asks in Act 2 Scene 1. He is hallucinating and sees a bloodied dagger in the air, which is his weapon of choice for assassinating the King. This dramatic device conveys Macbeth's sense of guilt. His head is filled with evil thoughts, visions of blood and the fear of the unknown torture him. Surprisingly, although we may assume that the supernatural is simply a psychological force that influences and opposes Macbeth throughout the play, many people during James' reign took witches and the supernatural quite seriously. As a result, Macbeth's relationship with the supernatural would have been far more terrifying to the common person. Furthermore, Macbeth is hallucinating when he says in Act 3 Scene 4 that the "table's full" because he sees Banquo's ghost sitting in a banquet chair. Banquo's spirit can only be seen by Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, and the nobility, which is a theatrical irony. According to stage directions, Banquo's ghost "sits in Macbeth's seat" and "smiles." This suggests that Macbeth's conscience has returned, putting him on the path to his own demise. Since he has witnessed so many strange events and atrocities, Macbeth believes he can no longer be terrified.

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Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature” (Act 3. Scene1. Lines 47-49. Page44). To Macbeth, becoming king is worthless unless his position as king is safe. He fears that Banquo’s murder will be revenged by his own murder, and it may reveal the hidden knowledge of his guilt.

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In the first meeting with the witches; where Macbeth is prophesied to become the Thane of Cawdor and finally king. Banquo, whom had also been prophesized to become the father of many kings, comes to a realisation that “the instruments of darkness tell us truths; win us with honest trifles, to betray in deepest consequence”. By saying this, Banquo believes that the witches will earn Banquo and Macbeth’s trust by telling them truth about little things, but if the witches decide to betray the two men, it may leave a devastating effect. Nevertheless, in contrast to Banquo’s skepticism regarding the witches, Macbeth desires to know more, “stay, you imperfect speakers, tell me more”, and the idea of becoming king now occurs to him as a possibility. This suggests that Macbeth already has a deep desire for power and status; although, at this point, Macbeth is “too full o’th’milk of human kindness”, to commit himself to this immoral act of murdering the innocent

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In fact, Macbeth becomes fascinated by them, "would they had stayed." Banquo serves as his conscience, perhaps representing the period audience who would have also thought the witches to be evil and unnatural, and warns him of the dangers of trusting such supernatural messengers; a warning that goes unheeded. After hearing the prophecy, Macbeth already thinks about, "murder," and becomes preoccupied with thoughts of becoming king showing the powerful hold they have over him with only one meeting, scaring the audience who would have believed in Witches. Macbeth believes the Witches as there first prophecy came true and ignores the fact that they’re evil beings whereas Banquo recognizes them for what they are. He even informs his most beloved, Lady Macbeth, who also shares his ambition.

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This points out that the Witches are adept at using indirectness and half-truths to deceive Macbeth. There prophecies, which can be open to interpretation, lead him into making fatal assumptions. Showing irony again, even Banqo acknowledges the Witches' use of honest trifles, and their ultimate goal of betraying and leading them to deal with the consequences. Thus, while Macbeth played a role in his own demise, the witches are accountable for the tragedies that took

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Macbeth’s fear is so intense that he does not know if he is touching the dagger or if it is a figment of his imagination. Alternately, he may wish what he is seeing is false because he knows his

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His capricious and malicious acts prove how naive and vile he is as a person. Macbeth even attempts to kill Banquo to prevent any trace of his nature from making him, a “fruitless crown.” Macbeth states, “Must lave or honors in the flattering streams, and make our face vizards to our heart, disguising who we are,”(3.2.45). With such desperation, Macbeth is willing to include other people in his premeditated murder. By having Lady Macbeth be part of his plot to kill Banquo, Macbeth reveals two things about himself: That he does not value those around him, even if they are his loved ones, and that he places his personal success over all aspects of his life.

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(3.1.9-10). This means that Banquo will not act upon what the witches are telling him. What the witches are telling Macbeth would also never be coming true if he hadn’t acted upon it. As Banquo puts it in the play, “The instruments of darkness tell us truths,/Win us with honest trifles, to betray ’s/ In deepest consequence.”

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And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, The instruments of darkness tell us truths, Win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence” Here, Banquo starts to catch on to the fact that the witches may be trying to trick them into darkness by telling them this information, something Macbeth had yet to realize, which ended up in his

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In Act 2, Scene 1, Macbeth describes the dagger he sees, saying, "Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand? Come, let me clutch thee". Shakespeare uses a soliloquy to highlight Macbeth's inner turmoil as he questions his own sanity, while the metaphor of the dagger represents the growing darkness within him- as it’s a mere figment of his deranged mind. The repetition of the word "come" emphasizes Macbeth's desperation and increasing mental instability.

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At a glance, Banquo may appear innocent in regards to the tragic events that plague Scotland, yet he demonstrates how he ultimately surrenders in the battle against evil. He originally cautions Macbeth after being confronted with the witches, and declares, “The instruments of darkness tell us truths,/ Win us with honest trifles, to betray us/ In deepest consequence” (1.3.126-128). However, he makes it clear he does not heed his own warning when they next encounter each other. When given the chance, Banquo revisits the topic: “I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters:/ To you they have showed some truth,”(2.1.19-20). His curiosity is evidence that the corrupt thoughts planted by the witches have been festering in his mind.

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Banquo’s ghost constantly shows up to taunt Macbeth in his paranoiac schizophrenic state. Shakespeare is pointing out the beginning of the consequences of Macbeth’s standing out of line of the Great Chain of Being. However, Macbeth gains confidence throughout time as his murder rate exponentially rises, due to the witches misleading prophecy that, “Laugh to scorn/ The pow’r of man, for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” (Shakespeare IV.i.79-81).

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After killing Banquo Macbeth evokes fear from the audience. Yet at a banquet thrown in honor of Macbeth’s new title of King, Macbeth begins hallucinating about the ghost of Banquo haunting him, this not only ruins the evening, but causes the audience to question the mental deterioration of Macbeth. Yes he is to be feared for his actions taken against Banquo, but the audience is left to question if Macbeth’s actions are not still reactions from the prophecies the witches gave him. They played on his ambitious tendencies and clearly manipulated him, which draws pity, although Macbeth is acting on his own, not under the constructs of any direction which causes fear of what he is capable of. In this moment with the apparition of Banquo the audience has to question the confounds of Macbeth’s sanity, it is easy to fear Macbeth because of what he is doing, but circumstances such as these and the encounters with the Weird Sisters make it difficult for the audience to despise Macbeth, instead they take pity on what they view as a delusional mind.

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During Macbeth's dinner when becoming king, the ghost of Banquo takes his place at the table and only Macbeth can see him blurting out, “Ay, and a bold one, that dare look on that which might appall the devil.” (Shakespeare 3.4.71-72). Banquo’s ghost completely ruins the mental state of Macbeth. He is continuously plagued by his choice to kill Banquo throughout the entire story. Banquo’s ghost follows Macbeth throughout everything, this ruins Macbeth to the point of his ravenous attitude later in the book.

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In Act 2 Scene 1, Banquo discusses how he has been unable to sleep, as “cursed thoughts”, referring to the witches, have been flooding his head until he asks the “Merciful powers” to rid him of them. The word “merciful” has religious connotations, used to refer to Gods forgiveness of his creatures’ misdemeanours, demonstrating his intrinsic goodness. Banquo asks God to forgive him and rid him of the act of thinking about the witches, as he thinks of them to be “devils”, acknowledging their evil and wanting to completely detach those thoughts from himself for fear of becoming dishonourable. In contrast, Macbeth talks about how “witchcraft celebrates Pale Hecate’s offerings”, allying himself with sorcery and murder. To ally oneself with witchcraft at the time the play is set would spotlight how significantly evil someone would have to be as those who were thought to be witches would be burned.

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Unlike Macbeth, Banquo, from the beginning of this encounter, continues to doubt the witches, “I’th’name of truth are ye fantastical, or that indeed which outwardly ye show?” (1.3.51-52) Banquo didn’t believe what the witches were saying, he questions their intentions and accuses them of raising Macbeth’s hope. Throughout this whole encounter, Banquo continues to protect Macbeth while staying loyal. He never once acted on his prophecies, he simply disregarded what the witches were saying and remained the noble man he is. Even to his death, Banquo has not once acted without honour and

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