Examples Of Lack Of Compassion And Mercy In Macbeth

Banquo's declaration of allegiance also allows for proof towards his unchanging ideals, whereas immorality and blind ambition poison Macbeth?s thoughts. Macbeth describes his fear of Banquo shrewdly in that they ?stick deep, and his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared. ?Tis much he dares he hath a wisdom that doth guide his valor to act in safety? (III.i). Macbeth concludes his friend has remained his pure self and therefore is his moral antithesis. Banquo continues to hold a much clearer grip on life and real quality as a man in comparison to Macbeth, hence, Macbeth is forced to kill him if he is to follow through with his plan and go down a dark road.

One of the many timeless plays by William Shakespeare is Macbeth, a tragedy written in 1606, shortly after the attempted treasonous assassination of James 1, the current King of England at the time. James 1 was disliked due to his strive to unite England, and the place in which Shakespeare’s work took place, Scotland. Enkindled by these recent events, Macbeth, the protagonist, experiences power struggles in his relationships with other characters, which prove to be crucial to the outcome of the play. It is his relationships with Banquo, a fellow soldier; the Apparitions produced by the Witches, and Macduff, the Thane of Fife, that most significantly portray his internal strife.

His desire to stay in power overcomes him as he realizes that Banquo’s son may take his place. Shakespeare reveals Macbeth’s feelings about his best friend after becoming king in another soliloquy: “To be thus is nothing; but to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be fear’d…” (3.1.48-51). Macbeth’s fears of Banquo are expressed, and it all started because he heard that prophecy about Banquo. Macbeth does not see much point in becoming king if he in not “safely thus”. In order to preserve his power, he feels the need to sacrifice other people’s lives. The murderous path he has chosen will only lead him to death, as people will find out and kill him for it, contributing to the theme that death is inevitable. In conclusion, Macbeth’s desire to stay in power is what made him choose to take another life; however, if it was not for the witches, he would not have felt a need to carry out any of the deeds he has done.

He realizes that if he want to start his own dynasty, then he will have to have control of all the variables. Then Macbeth began to think, “For Banquo’s issues have I filed my mind;/ For them the gracious Duncan I have murdered” (Shakespeare 85). He realizes that he has set himself up to fail. He is cleared a path to the crown for Banquo’s kin. Macbeth goes on to state, “He chid the sisters/ When first they put the name of king upon me” (Shakespeare 85). This give the readers the thought that Banquo is jealous of the king. Macbeth, not wanting to risk his crown, calls for some outside murderers. As I stated earlier, Macbeth knew he must get rid of Banquo and his sons. He succeeds in having Banquo killed, but Banquo’s son, Fleance (the one person Macbeth needed to kill), escapes.

After he had attained his destiny, Macbeth felt that Banquo would become a serious threat. He did not like the fact that Banquo was destined to be a father to a whole line of kings. "Our fears in Banquo stick deep, and in his royalty of nature reigns that which would be feared...If `t be so, for Banquo's issue have I filed my mind; for them the gracious Duncan have I murdered..."(85). The path Macbeth chooses to take in order to stay at the throne was to have Banquo killed. But, Macbeth was never destined to kill anyone. Killing Duncan, Banquo and Macduff's whole household were all his decisions to attain his destiny.

Audience becomes aware of Macbeth’s corruption when he plans to kill his ‘friend’, Banquo. He describes him as “dispatched” (3.4.15), and later as “safe” (3.4.25). This positions the audience to feel as though Macbeth is somewhat desperate to convince himself that he has acted appropriately despite using corrupt power. Using this stylistic device of language further demonstrates that Macbeth has now been corrupted to the extent that he longer feels compassion for his former companions. This ultimately establishes the representation that Macbeth’s illegitimate power has directly resulted in his destructive nature.

Macbeth shows his desire for power, he was friendly to Banquo before he became the king, but after he became the king, he let three murderers to kill Banquo and his son. “So is he mine, and is such bloody distance That every minute of his being thrusts against my near ‘st of life”(3.1 line 116-118). Macbeth sent three murderers to kill Banquo and his son since they ran away. All he thinks about is to kill more people in order to gain more power. Macbeth didn’t just kill Banquo only, he also killed Macduff’s whole family. “Murderer. What your egg! Stabbing him. Young fry of treachery! Son. He has killed me, mother: Run away, I pray you”(4.3 line 84-87). He killed Macduff’s whole family, he just wanted to make sure he doesn’t lose his power, so he just killed anyone who against him, he’s obsessed with his power, he never cares about breaking other people’s family.

After everyone has found out that the king is dead Banquo suspects Macbeth of doing something to make the witches predictions that they ways saying to become true. At that time Macbeth is king so he turns on his best friend Banquo and has him and all of his family including Fleance killed because he was the only person there when the predictions of Macbeth becoming king and also the witches said that Banquos son Fleance would become king too. So this shows that that Macbeth is getting over protective of his crown to the throne so he will do anything to stop people becoming king. So he will kill he’s best friend and his family only because the three withes said that predictions of Macbeth becoming king. So Macbeth is going into a downward spiral towards great darkness and becoming ever more evil from every action he makes and does to protect the crown.

The witches prophecies and Lady Macbeth’s influence intensifies his ambition and drives Macbeth to obtain and maintain his title of Scotland by whatever means, even murdering his best friend, Banquo. “Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, ...no son of mine succeeding. If’t be so, for Banquo’s issue have I filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan I have murder’d; ...To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings! (Act III. sc.I) At this point Macbeth’s passion becomes more and more extreme to the point where no one stands in his way. His greed, violence, and hunger for power drastically declines his

Throughout the play we see the character of Macbeth change, not only from the way he thinks and speaks, but from his actions as well. Killing Banquo and having Lady Macduff and her children murdered show the insecurity that is present in Macbeth’s character.  After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth becomes paranoid.  This paranoia leads to his killing the guards to help secure the place that he has found for himself.  Macbeth is also very superstitious, which becomes evident when he allows the witches’ prophecy to convince him that Banquo’s offspring would become Kings.

Macbeth is involved with many different people including those whom he ends up having murdered. Macbeth and Banquo, for example, have a good and strong military relationship and friendship. The fact that they are cousins makes their relationship extremely unique in many ways. When the Witches are there to tell Macbeth about his future, Banquo keeps a steady head almost to the point where he is starting to become more worried about his own future and powers, not what is being told to Macbeth. Banquo then proceeds to ask the witches about his own future to which they respond by telling him “ Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none”(I,iii,67). This reveals that Banquo might not exactly become king, but his children will, which angers Macbeth later on. Once Macbeth becomes king and Banquo has suspicions about how he obtained power, Macbeth then changes the relationship between the two by going after Banquo and his son Fleance with hired murderers. This again allows for the Witches to change how those in the relationship act and turn against one another shocking many. It is believed that Macbeth and Banquo are good friends until shortly after the

Contextually, Banquo was King James’ cousin, and so Shakespeare was Obsequious and bestowed the character within the play with good ambition and godly values. Macbeth and Banquo are after all, equals up to the Heath scene, both fighting

Macbeth in the past wouldn’t have found it to be in his taste to joke around his close friend’s death. His consciousness brewed up a image of Banquo to express his own guilt, and he truly lost himself once he saw Banquo. Macbeth can be best described to be hallow shell once he lost himself in the feast. Simply put, for a person to forsake everything deserves no pity at all. A final reason why Macbeth deserves no compassion is the fact that he did killed two of his close friends directly, and indirectly. In Duncan’s case, he murdered him with his own hands. In Banquo’s case, he ordered the death, but is no less guilty than the former. To summarize, Macbeth deserves no sympathy at all because these facts cannot be refuted against as he did cause the deaths of Duncan and

This angers Macbeth and enables him to follow Lady Macbeth's scheme to kill the King easier. Macbeth's first murder is definitely a trying experience for him. However, as the play progresses, killing seems easy and the only solution to maintain his reign of the people of Scotland. Macbeth becomes increasingly ambitious as the play goes on. The witches prophecies and Lady Macbeth's influence intensifies his ambition and drives Macbeth to obtain and maintain his title of Scotland by whatever means, even murdering his best friend, Banquo. "Upon my head they placed a fruitless crown, ...no son of mine succeeding. If't be so, for Banquo's issue have I filed my mind; For them the gracious Duncan I have murder'd; ...To make them kings, the seed of Banquo kings! (Act III. sc.I) At this point Macbeth's passion becomes more and more extreme to the point where no one stands in his way. His greed, violence, and hunger for power drastically declines his character. The witches prophecy, Lady Macbeth's influence, and Macbeth's own ambition all contribute greatly to his deterioration of character which results in his downfall, which was death. All the causes link to one another. If it wasn't for Macbeth's strong will and passion, Macbeth would still be his ordinary self. Because of this, Macbeth's curiosity of possibly becoming king was brought out which led to Lady Macbeth's controlling influence. Macbeth's ambition then builds and causes him to commit a

After Macbeth and Banquo receive prophecies, the foil characters start to diverge as Banquo’s takes the moral path of goodness while Macbeth takes the immoral path towards his ultimate decline. Banquo and Macbeth have the opportunity to pursue the same path, but because of his unchecked ambition, Macbeth deviates from Banquo's path of good morals. Immediately after the witches tell their prophecies, Banquo’s mindset is wary and rational. He warns Macbeth that, “oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / the instruments of darkness tell us truths...” (1.3.125-126). Banquo is not obsessed with the prophecies and the idea that one day his ancestors will be kings. On the other hand, Macbeth speculates, “Two truths are told, / as happy prologues to the swelling act / of the imperial theme.” (1.3.130-132) Because two of the three prophecies have come true, Macbeth is blinded by his ambition and seems to fantasize about the idea of being king. These contrasting reactions show that Macbeth takes a