Banquo Flashcards
What are the personality traits of Banquo
he is praised for his courage in battle like Macbeth but while Macbeth is guided by his own selfish desires Banquo thinks before he acts and does what is right, he is ambitious and hopes the witches’ prophecies come true but does not act on their predictions so he represent the path Macbeth could have chosen as he is not corrupted with ambition like Macbeth, his conscience is more important to him that power and glory
How is it shown that Banquo doesn’t trust the witches
he behaves rationally when he meets the witches and questions whether they are real and does not trust them, but Macbeth wants them to tell him more, Banquo tells the witches that he ‘neither beg nor fear your favours’ but is still intrigued to hear what they have to say, he is more cautious about believing than Macbeth
How is it shown that Banquo doesn’t act to protect himself
he suspects that Macbeth murdered Duncan but he doesn’t act in his suspicions and instead reminds himself that he will be the ‘father of many kings’ which shows that ambitious thoughts can distract even the most honourable characters, Banquo is seen as a threat to Macbeth so when he hires killers to kill him and Banquo says ‘Treachery!’ it shows that he did not expect Macbeth to betray him
Banquo overall
doesn’t trust witches, doesn’t act to protect himself
