After this scene we have Macbeth meeting Duncan. Duncan tells him that he is now the Thane of Cawdor. ‘I have begun to plant thee, and will labour to make thee full of growing’. This makes Macbeth to feel more confident in believing the witches. If the prediction about becoming Thane of Cawdor is true, so therefore prediction about becoming king is also must be true.
In this scene Duncan also tells Banquo that he deserves advancement in his career as much as Macbeth. ‘Noble Banquo, that hast no less deserved, nor must be known no less to have done so, let me enfold thee and hold thee to my heart’. To what Banquo responds ‘There if I grow, the harvest is your own’. Banquo is a very selfless man, he thinks of other people, but Macbeth is very selfish, he thinks only of himself. During the play these two characters are becoming more and more different.
Macbeth is a very ambitious character. After he became the Thane of Cawdor, he is becoming mad about a prospect of becoming a king. His wife Lady Macbeth also becoming very excited about it and she can do everything to make her husband a king. They have a plan to kill Duncan, but to do so, they will have to pretend that both of them respect Duncan. ‘False face must hide what the false heart doth know’.
When Duncan and Banquo come to Macbeth’s castle, Banquo say: ‘the heaven’s breath smells wooingly here’ ‘the air is delicate’. Both of them trust Macbeth. They can not even think that Macbeth can betray the king.
At the beginning of second act we can see a big contrast between Macbeth an Banquo. Banquo is calling on goodness to resist temptation: ‘Merciful powers, restrain in me the cursed thoughts that nature gives way to in response’. He conscientiously fights the evil thoughts ‘restrain me’. He tries to stay calm and free of guilt. In sharp contrast Macbeth associates himself with evil and dark spirits to prepare himself for murder. ‘wicked dreams abuse the curtained sleep; now witchcraft celebrates Pale Hecate’s offerings’. He also lies to Banquo. There is a speech when Banquo asks ‘Who is there?’, Macbeth replies ‘A friend’. Banquo is very outspoken with Macbeth. He tells him about his dreams and bad thoughts: ‘I dreamed last night of three weird sisters’, and Macbeth lies again: ‘I think not of them’. Again he does it to make Banquo think that he has already forgotten about predictions.
When Macbeth kills Duncan he then kill two guards, to make it look like the have done it. After the murder he becomes very scared and stressed. ‘I’m afraid to think what I have done’. So we can see that Macbeth is actually not that cold and fearless inside. He also can worry and be afraid. I think that the biggest reason why he did murder Duncan is because he was manipulated by his wife.
When everyone discovered that Duncan was killed Macbeth and Lady Macbeth beginning to act. Macbeth pretends to be very worried, but he is very bad at acting so to make sure that he does not cause any suspicion Lady Macbeth faints to attract attention.
Banquo is the only person who stays calm and thinks with logic to find out who is the murderer. He suspects Macbeth as the instigator of Duncan’s murder. He is the only person who knows about conversation with witches and he sees how Macbeth has changed after it. Macbeth than notice that Banquo suspects him in Duncan’s murder, so he decides to kill him.
I think that at the beginning of the play Macbeth and Banquo were very identical characters, but after they have spoke to witches Macbeth completely changes. He falls under the influence of the witches and becomes wicked. From my point of view Banquo is much stronger character than Macbeth. He has a strong personality, he is very equitable and respects other people.
