Banquo And Free Will Analysis

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It has been said that one’s fate lies in one’s own hands; however, when one tries to use free will to rush this fate, the consequences are dire. In the tragedy, Macbeth, Shakespeare uses the character Banquo as a foil to Macbeth to highlight the differences in their personalities and actions. Banquo embodies the belief that fate should run its course; in this way, Banquo represents nature. On the other hand, Macbeth utilizes free will to try to rush time to reach his fate faster. These characteristics are displayed as Macbeth and Banquo hear their fates from the witches and act in response to those prophecies throughout the play. The distinct characteristics of the two demonstrate the clash between fate and free will throughout Macbeth. When …show more content…

Even Banquo’s “revenge” isn’t very subversive. Macbeth’s paranoia makes him believe that he must kill Banquo in order to stay king. He even convinces the murderers that Banquo is at fault for evil things. Before Macbeth has the murderers kill Banquo, Macbeth says, “We have scorched the snake, not killed it,/ She’ll close and be herself whilst our poor malice/ Remains in danger of her former tooth” (III. II. 93). Macbeth compares Banquo to a snake that must be killed so that Macbeth can stay safe. Comparing Banquo to a snake is another way of comparing him with nature. Macbeth must keep killing people because he has used free will to mess with fate, and he must continue killing to avoid facing the consequence of taking fate into his own hands. After Banquo is killed, Banquo’s ghost comes back to Macbeth. This makes Macbeth seem crazy in front of the Scottish lords. Perhaps, it was Banquo’s way to get a small revenge. As Macbeth betrays loyalty throughout these events, Banquo’s calm and rational actions are juxtaposed to Macbeth’s rash and aggressive ones. This helps to emphasize how free will can have consequences that fate and nature don’t

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