Key Quotes Banquo Flashcards
- said about Macbeth to convey the trust and respect that he has in Macbeth
- evident that he doesn’t know Macbeth as well as he thinks he does
- being deceived
- exemplifies Banquo’s loyalty
“my noble partner”
- can’t stop thinking about the witches
- they’re haunting his every thought
- paranoid
- fearful and worried
“I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters”
These lines are Banquo’s dying words, as he is slaughtered by the murderers Macbeth has hired in Act 3, scene 3. In his dying breaths, Banquo urges his son, Fleance, to flee to safety, and charges him to someday revenge his father’s death. This sets the stage how the play will end, when Macbeth realizes that the Witches’ prophecy will come true, and Banquo’s children will rule Scotland.
O treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!
Thou may’st revenge – O slave!
Banquo tells Macbeth that he will support and follow Macbeth, but only if it does not cause him guilt. Banquo will not do anything that harms the nobility because his loyalty to the crown is stronger than his loyalty to Macbeth. Banquo is a close friend of Duncan
“So I lose none / in seeking to augment it, but still keep / my bosom franchised and allegiance clear, / I shall be counseled”
Immediately after the Weird Sisters speak their prophecies Banquo notices the strength of Macbeth’s reaction. He seems to react nervously to the suggestion he could become King. This reaction may be the root of Banquo’s suspicions after the murder of Duncan.
“Good sir, why do you start; and seem to fear things that do sound so fair?”
On hearing that Macbeth is to be named Thane of Cawdor, Banquo’s immediate and natural reaction is to link the witches to the devil. To the Jacobeans, a witch was someone who had sworn an allegiance to Satan, so his response would resonate with the contemporary audience.
“What, can the devil speak true?”
Banquo’s observation that he’s unable to sleep because of the dark thoughts he’s having is interesting, because it foreshadows the trouble that Macbeth and his wife will have sleeping following the murders they’re responsible for.
“A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, and yet I would not sleep”
