How has the friendship between Macbeth and Banquo changed between Act 1 scene 3, and Act 3 scene 1?

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Macbeth

Question: How has the friendship between Macbeth and Banquo changed between Act 1 scene 3, and Act 3 scene 1?

Answer: The first extract is from the point, when Macbeth and Banquo had returned victoriously from the war. It was a “fair and foul day.” Brings out the equivocal nature of the play. Banquo and Macbeth then met the supernatural witches, who immediately addressed Macbeth. This gave us the idea that Macbeth was an evil character in the play. The witches then foretold three prophecies. This was that Macbeth would be Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and King of Scotland. After this extract Macbeth becomes very ambitious, and bad happenings begin.

The second extract is when Duncan has been killed, by Macbeth. King Duncan was buried, on the same day that Macbeth had been crowned King. Here Macbeth is planning to kill Banquo and Fleance, as he thinks that they will get in the way of his cunning plan, of being king. This is mainly because they are suspicious of him. He hires three assassinators, and then invites Banquo to the banquet.

In the first scene we can see that Macbeth and Banquo are speaking on very friendly terms. You can see this as the conversation is very fluent. Many questions are asked, etc. They have just come back from the war, battling together, so they became very close friends. But from this extract we can see that the prophecies that the witches made, we constantly on Macbeth’s mind. Whereas Banquo didn’t believe much of it, and wasn’t taking it very seriously. He mainly thought that he was beginning to go crazy: “Or have we eaten on the insane root?” I can see this because their reactions are very different. Macbeth’s language makes it seem as though he is very interested – keeps on referring back to kingship. Whereas Banquo just keeps on saying that they shouldn’t believe what the witches have predicted as it will be too devious. This is the beginning of the break in their friendship. Banquo begins to note that Macbeth is changing. As he sounded worried when he thought that Banquo’s children might be made Kings. Although at the same time it sounds as though they are both congratulating each other on what might happen in the coming future. M: “Your children shall be Kings” B- “You shall be king.” They both seem very loyal to each other. Looking at the language in this scene the audience mainly knows how Macbeth is acting through Banquo. At this stage in the play we can also see, through the language used that Macbeth and Banquo are thought very highly of, Macbeth especially, known for his bravery and loyalty. This soon dramatically changes. When the messenger arrives Banquo’s reaction is very open. This runs out through the whole play. He was amazed that it had become true. After this happens Macbeth really begins to think deeply about what they had predicted. Yet again he asks Banquo if he wants his children to become King. This tells us that he is very against the idea of Banquo or his children to become King. We can also see how their friendship is beginning to deteriorate. Macbeth’s ambition seems to shine out, in the language that he uses: “The greatest is behind.” Banquo tries to calm Macbeth down, by saying that the witches were doing this to harm him, but Macbeth doesn’t listen. This shows us that his vaulting ambition has really taken over him. As he and Banquo had been through so much, and now all of their trust and belief in each other has gone.

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Straight away in the second scene we can see that the relationship between Banquo and Macbeth has changed because instead of calling Macbeth by his name/ friend, he uses words such as, “King, Cawdor, Glamis, all.” Also we can see that throughout this whole scene Banquo asks Macbeth many questions, and he never replies to them directly. The way that Macbeth speaks has also altered; there are many statements. During this scene Macbeth is acting very much like a, “Serpent, underneath an innocent flower.” He continuously inquires Banquo about where he is going the following day – planning to ...

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