Plays It is believed that Shakespeare wrote 38 plays in total between 15.Helen Mears is an English teacher who sits on the education committee of the British Shakespeare Association. In the early 1600s it was believed that Fleance was an ancestor of James I, and so in creating the decent, loyal, Banquo, Shakespeare is flattering the new King of England as well as providing a good foil to Macbeth’s evil. “Thou hast it now: king, Cawdor, Glamis, all, as the weird women promised, and, I fear, thou play’dst most foully for’t”įittingly, Banquo’s final thoughts are of saving his son, Fleance. The implication is that Banquo is already fearful of what Macbeth might do to become King.
“A heavy summons lies like lead upon me, and yet I would not sleep”īanquo’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. They are both soon to become Macbeth’s victims.
Shakespeare uses dramatic irony at the beginning of Act 1, Scene 6, as both Banquo and Duncan comment on the pleasant aspect of Macbeth’s castle at Dunsinane. “This guest of summer, the temple-haunting martlet, does approve, by his loved mansionry, that the heaven’s breath smells wooingly here” He explains that those in league with the devil may tell a small truth to lure a listener in, before leading them to graver consequences. In the brief, closeted conversation that Macbeth and Banquo have after the revelation that he is to be Thane of Cawdor, Banquo warns Macbeth about listening to the Weird Sisters. “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.” To the Jacobeans, a witch was someone who had sworn an allegiance to Satan, so his response would resonate with the contemporary audience. 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. The ‘insane root’ was hemlock, which was believed to cause madness in those who consumed it. “Were such things here as we do speak about? Or have we eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?”īanquo’s own reaction to the Weird Sisters is to question his sanity and wonder whether the witches existed at all. This reaction may be the root of Banquo’s suspicions after the murder of Duncan.
He seems to react nervously to the suggestion he could become King. Immediately after the Weird Sisters speak their prophecies Banquo notices the strength of Macbeth’s reaction. “Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear things that do sound so fair?” Intended as a foil or contrast to Macbeth, he remains loyal to Duncan and becomes a victim of his friend’s campaign to take the Crown. He is with Macbeth when they encounter the Weird Sisters after a battle, and hears them prophecise that Macbeth will be King.
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Download free quote posters for Shakespeare plays here.īanquo is Macbeth’s friend and a fellow captain in the Scottish Army, which has been fighting a rebellion against King Duncan.
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