Banquo and Macbeth are quite opposite when you sit down to compare the two: Banquo comes off as more religious while Macbeth will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even when that means taking shortcuts and quite literally removing anyone from your path. While Banquo does not take the three witches seriously, Macbeth eats up their every word as if it were the finest chocolate he’s ever tasted. The fact that Banquo inadvertently demonstrates that he is a man of God due to the fact that he doesn’t take the prophecies seriously. Banquo makes it fairly clear that he believes that bad things happen when you open yourself up to evil actions and this is continuously proved as Macbeth goes on “his” killing spree that he himself doesn’t actually …show more content…
Although there is a ghost in Hamlet, the faith base seems to be slightly stronger. There is reason to believe this simply because of the dialog and how the characters choose to go about things. The ghost of King Hamlet is certainly going to be slightly bitter seeing as how he was murdered by his own brother and then his widowed wife married his killer – you would have to be quite mental if this gave you a reason to rejoice – and even though he still came back to seek revenge on Claudius through his son Hamlet, he still chose to leave some things up to God to decide. In King Hamlet’s second appearance as the Ghost, he makes himself known to Bernardo, and Marcellus, and Horatio again along with Hamlet who came along this time. During his first visit he said nothing due to the cock crowing, signaling the sign of morning; however, this time the ghost of Old Hamlet beckoned Hamlet to come with him and to come alone. This is when King Hamlet chose to expose Claudius’ actions to Hamlet in order to get Hamlet on board the revenge train all the way to Claudius Ville. He chooses to inform Hamlet that he is stuck …show more content…
King Hamlet was beyond annoyed that Hamlet had done what every child does when their parent asks them to do something, and did the exact opposite. Not only had Hamlet spoken to his mother about her poor choices, but he also had yet to kill Claudius. In Hamlet’s defense he had a good reason for why he hadn’t killed his uncle yet (definitely a good conversation to have over the holidays) and had half of Shakespeare’s characters taken the time to make sure things are done right then there probably wouldn’t be so much tragedy. Hamlet had waited to kill Claudius because he wasn’t certain about the ghost being his father and so he did not want to commit a sin that was not necessary. However, he still failed because he entertained King Hamlet’s ghost and that is a sin in and of its own. In order for Hamlet to decide whether or not he can trust the ghost of his father he decides to put on a play for his mother and uncle that was based around his father’s murder. As the play took place, Hamlet kept a close watch on Claudius and all of his emotions and that is how Hamlet knew that the ghost was not an evil spirit, but was definitely his beloved father. Once Hamlet comes to terms with the fact that he’s letting down his father even after he’s passed Hamlet is able to come up with a plan to kill Claudius so that he can suffer the same way that he has made
Hamlet was told by the ghost of king hamlet to get back at Claudius for his death, or his soul will travel on earth forever. Even before hamlet knew about Claudius killing his father he had problems. It made hamlet mad that his mother would marry so fast and with his uncle. What Claudius did was an outrageous, back stabbing, and unbelievable thing. It was clearly an act of jealousy for his brother's throne and the wife. Claudius did pay back for his actions. Claudius lost his wife, his messenger, and died and even after his death kept loosing because he lost his castle to Fortinbras.
During the first act, Prince Hamlet meets the ghost of his father, King Hamlet. His father's ghost tells Hamlet that Claudius poured poison in his ear while he slept. The spirit also explains that he wishes for Hamlet to avenge his death, but not to punish Queen Gertrude for marrying Claudius. He tells Hamlet that she will have to answer to her conscience, and eventually God for her incestuous actions (absoluteshakespeare.com 1 of 4). It was believed during these times that when a person died, especially in such a tragic fashion, that their spirit lingered about while suffering in Purgatory. This could cause a normally virtuous person's spirit to become filled with malevolence and begin to meddle in living men's affairs (en.wikipedia.org 4 of 9). This belief caused Prince Hamlet to want to investigate his father's spirit's claims to ensure that they were indeed true. In order to do this, Prince Hamlet feigns madness in order to remain hidden from members of the court's suspicions while he plots his revenge on King Claudius (www.sparknotes.com 1 of 3). He also takes advantage of a group of actors who come to Elsinore Castle to perform by rewriting a play to recreate the scene of his father's murder. He does this with the hope of flushing a confession out of Claudius' guilty conscience. When Claudius sees the play, he stands up and leaves the room (en.wikipedia.org 5 of 9). After many more events, Claudius' guilt becomes more obvious. Claudius then begins to change his focus towards killing Hamlet, as he is beginning to become aware of the Prince's plans to kill him. Claudius then arranges a fencing match between Hamlet and Polonius' son Laertes and has Laertes poison the blade of one of his swords to be used in the match (Hamlet).
Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare comment that Banquo is a force of good in the play, set in opposition to Macbeth:
In Shakespeare's original Macbeth, Banquo was portrayed as an intelligent individual capable of making rational decisions. After meeting the three witches and asking about his future, he was able to understand after a few days of thinking that the prophecies given were potentially very dangerous. Both, Macbeth and himself should actually be worrying and not trying to achieve these prophecies. Even though Banquo was being tempted by the witches' insight, these temptations only appeared in his dreams, "I dreamt last night of the three Weird Sisters" (Shakespeare 51), while Macbeth says that he "thinks not of them" (Shakespeare 51) even though it is apparent he is focused on becoming King. Once Banquo realizes that these witches were correct in their prophecy toward Macbeth, he began to pl...
Macbeth and Banquo are foils because the compare and contrast each other in many different ways. One important way is that given to us through the prophecies of the witches in act 1. Banquo already knows that the witches and prophecies are no good. Although, Macbeth ignores good sense, caution, and prudence and instead becomes obsessed. Macbeth and Banquo highlight other characters throughout the play, also. They highlight Duncan and Macduff. Duncan is a compassionate ruler, while Macbeth is not. He’s more consumed with his own
Hamlet is given reason to believe that his Father was murdered. A ghost bearing the “…same figure like the king that’s dead.” (Bernardo 1:1) informed him that the old King’s death was “Murder most foul…” (Ghost 1:5). When Hamlet eagerly inquires as to the meaning of the Ghost’s words he is told that “The serpent that did sting thy father’s life/ Now wears his crown.” Upon hearing this Hamlet immediately knows that his Uncle Claudius, the new king and his new step-father, is the guilty party. A mature person upon hearing news like this would, most likely, also have gone slightly insane with anger. How ever a mature person, upon regaining some control of his or her faculties, would have taken steps to punish the murderer in a just fashion. These steps would have included informing to populace and the Queen of the New King’s treachery against the old. Hamlet does not do this, instead he schemes and plots ways to kill his Uncle as opposed to giving him the opportunity to exculpate himself. Had Hamlet acted with maturity and expressed his concerns about his uncle the lives of many people would have been spared.
After Macbeth and Banquo have the experience with the three witches, Macbeth discovers that he is to wind up plainly the Thane of Cawdor and that he will one day move toward becoming King. Banquo discovers that his relatives will likewise progress toward becoming rulers. They know fiendishness is grinding away in light of the fact that Macbeth is given the title of the Thane of Cawdor not long after they meet the witches. Macbeth thinks upon the forecast that he will progress toward becoming Ruler and says “If chance will have me King, why chance may crown me without my stir.” This quote implies that if Macbeth is to end up King, it will occur without him doing anything.King Duncan welcomes himself to Macbeth's manor. This is the point at which
Clark and Wright in their Introduction to The Complete Works of William Shakespeare comment that Banquo is a force of good in the play, set in opposition to Macbeth:
In the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet the king of Denmark is murdered by his brother, Claudius, and as a ghost tells his son, Hamlet the prince of Denmark, to avenge him by killing his brother. The price Hamlet does agree to his late father’s wishes, and undertakes the responsibility of killing his uncle, Claudius. However even after swearing to his late father, and former king that he would avenge him; Hamlet for the bulk of the play takes almost no action against Claudius. Prince Hamlet in nature is a man of thought throughout the entirety of the play; even while playing mad that is obvious, and although this does seem to keep him alive, it is that same trait that also keeps him from fulfilling his father’s wish for vengeance
After receiving personalized prophecies from the three witches, Macbeth and Banquo seem as if they are polar opposites. Banquo takes the prophecies as warnings for the both of them, “And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betrays us in deepest consequence”. Simply stated, Banquo fears as if the witches
Once Hamlet has learned of his father’s death, he is faced with a difficult question: should he succumb to the social influence of avenging his father’s death? The Ghost tells Hamlet to “revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (1.5.31) upon which Hamlet swears to “remember” (1.5.118). Hamlet’s immediate response to this command of avenging his father’s death is reluctance. Hamlet displays his reluctance by deciding to test the validity of what the Ghost has told him by setting up a “play something like the murder of (his) father’s” (2.2.624) for Claudius. Hamlet will then “observe his looks” (2.2.625) and “if he do blench” (2.2.626) Hamlet will know that he must avenge his father’s death. In the course of Hamlet avenging his father’s death, he is very hesitant, “thinking too precisely on the event” (4.4.43). “Now might I do it…and he goes to heaven…No” (3.3.77-79) and Hamlet decides to kill Claudius while “he is drunk asleep, or in his rage, or in th’ incestuous pleasure of his bed” (3.3.94-95). As seen here, Hamlet’s contradicting thought that Claudius “goes to heaven” (3.3.79) influences him to change his plans for revenge. Hamlet eventually realizes that he must avenge his father’s death and states “from this time forth my thoughts be bloody or be nothing worth” (4.4.69). From this, Hamlet has succumbed to the social influence and has vowed to avenge his father’s death.
In the play, Hamlet seeks revenge on his uncle Claudius. Claudius killed Hamlet’s dad and then married his mom to become the leader of Denmark. Later in the play, Hamlet sees his dad’s ghost and is informed of the horrific act committed by his uncle. Hamlets’ dad’s ghost says, “Revenge his foul and most unnatural murder” (I. V. 25). Hamlets’ dad says this to Hamlet so that his uncle could get retribution for his action. Hamlet has many opportunities to kill Claudius but is unable because of the wrong timing. While Claudius is praying, Hamlet has an opportunity to slay him but doesn’t because if he killed him in his prayers he will make him go to heaven instead of hell. Another minor reason for Hamlet’s revenge against his uncle is his affection towards his mother. As the play progresses, we are able to determine that Hamlet’s relationship with his mom is close to incest status. With this information, we are able ...
As illustrated through his speeches and soliloquies Hamlet has the mind of a true thinker. Reinacting the death of his father in front of Claudius was in itself a wonderful idea. Although he may have conceived shcemes such as this, his mind was holding him back at the same time. His need to analyze and prove everythin certain drew his time of action farther and farther away. Hamlet continuously doubted himself and whether or not the action that he wanted to take was justifiable. The visit that Hamlet recieves from his dead father makes the reader think that it is Hamlet's time to go and seek revenge. This is notthe case. Hamlet does seem eager to try and take the life of Claudius in the name of his father, but before he can do so he has a notion, what if that was not my father, but an evil apparition sending me on the wrong path? This shows that even with substantial evidence of Claudius' deeds, Hamlet's mind is not content.
At first, Hamlet sees the ghost of his dead father and vows to avenge his death. “Christianity forbids followers to seek out spirits for advice or communication” (Ja) Hamlet has his faith tested because he is unsure about what his father is telling him. If the truth is that Claudius is the one who murdered Hamlet’s father then Hamlet will need to commit murder himself in order to fulfill his promise to his father’s ghost. “Hamlet, after the shock of his discoveries, becomes virtually another person and re-evaluates the situation in accordance with his religious views. Perhaps the ghost is just an illusion or mental disorder making him imagine this tale, and the murder of his father is illusory because he is not able to accept this kind of marriage and he wants to justify his crimes.” (****) Hamlet wrestles with his feelings and decides he must arrange for Claudius to admit to the murder instead of murdering Claudius himself. He is aware of the moral dilemma he finds himself in, if he kills Claudius then he, Hamlet may go to hell. If he refuses to kill Claudius then his father may be sent to hell. Hamlet knows from his religious background that murd...
Hamlet's next problem is that of morality. He needs to morally justify the murder of Claudius because Hamlet is restrained by his conscience. He could not satisfy himself that avenging his father's death was the right thing to do. Although Hamlet does not act on instinct, he does understand what the ghost is telling him to do. He expresses no doubt if the ghost is an honest one, but his morality clearly stands in the way of action.