Macbeth - BANQUO Flashcards
Context point about banquo and king James
King James traced his ancestry back to banquo so as a direct descendant of banquo, king James would be flattered by any positive representation of banquo. As the king was Shakespeare patron he would make sure he was was presenting banquo In a good way
How is banquo presented
As a foil to Macbeth
How are banquo and Macbeth similar
Both captains “our captains, Macbeth and banquo”
Both describe as “noble” therefore respected
How is banquo presented as sceptical compared to Macbeth
Act 1 scene 3 both B and M meet witches
B receives one prophecy stating he won’t be king but his descendants will be
“Neither beg nor fear your favours or your hate”
Shows he’s sceptical and wary
Macbeth receives prophecy that he will be king
Banquo asks “why do you start” meaning why are you startled
Reacting of Macbeth is mire notable when compared to banquo
What does these two reacting signify
Even thought they have equal position in the social hierarchy, when they receive prophecies from the “weird sisters” only Macbeth takes matters into his own hands and embarks on his bloody campaign of violence. Banquo doesny succumb to the prophecies the same way as he doesn’t have the same hamartia - which shows he’s not that ambitious
How is banquo presented as loyal
He suspects Macbeth is the one that killed Duncan but doesn’t raise objections or refuse to support new king like Macduff. This is because in A2S1 Macbeth tells banquo “cleave to my consent” which means he should stay loyal to him and when the time comes it will work out well for him. Therefore banquo believes he stands to gain from Macbeth’s position as king
How is else banquo shown as sceptical and wary
“Though play’dst most foully for’t”
He’s worried Macbeth did the killing
Alliteration of the fricative ‘f’ as well as the reference to ‘foul” echoes the witches in A1S1 who said “foul is fair and fair is foul” which shows that Macbeth did evil to get the position
