Examples Of Banquo's Murder

Although some may argue that Macbeth is responsible for King Duncan's death because he was the one to murder him, Banquo is actually the one to blame because he could have stopped it from happening. From the second the witches told the men their fortune and the prophecies came true, Banquo knew that things would end poorly, "All’s well. I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters: To you they have showed some truth." (Act 2, Scene 1). Why would Banquo be dreaming about the witches and wondering if Macbeth was alright unless he was questioning how Macbeth received the witches' predictions? As one of King Duncan's most trusted men, Banquo should have notified the King of the witches and the fortunes they told. Truth be told, one can't help but wonder if Banquo wanted to see

The Tragedy of Macbeth details the downfall of the tragic hero, Macbeth, and is one of William Shakespeare’s most famous works of tragedy. Macbeth’s bloody murders and eventual descent into complete madness serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of uncontrolled ambitions in humanity. Macbeth may not be held responsible for the death of Duncan and Macduff’s family, but he should be for that of Banquo’s. It is definitely arguable that Macbeth is the cause behind the death of Duncan, Banquo and Macduff’s family; however, the influence of others and his mental instability greatly reshaped his persona, as such, Macbeth cannot always be held responsible for his actions.

There is ample speculation over the situation of the mysterious third murderer, in Macbeth. Tremendous arguments based solely on whether the murderer is, in fact, Macbeth himself. However, it is highly doubtful, that Shakespeare would have made this mystery as straightforward. Speculators often look past the idea that the murderer could have been someone other than Macbeth, like his servant. The servant, like Macbeth, would have his reasons to fulfill this deed.

We certainly know that the direct responsible for Duncan’s death is Macbeth. However this does not necessarily mean he is to blame, for his violent death is obviously the consequence of certain influences that forced Macbeth to perform his fatal deed. Furthermore, to unearth the truth about who is really the guilty for Duncan’s murder we must explore the influences the different characters have on Macbeth’s impulses and the overall scenario of the slaying.

Macbeth has hallucinations based around guilt and to others he seems delusional and insane. After he hires the three murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance, they come back unsuccessful, only managing to kill Banquo. He is haunted by a hallucination of an apparition of (supposedly) Banquo and says “(to GHOST) Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake. Thy gory locks at me./ Gentlemen, rise. His highness is not well” (Shakespeare 3.4.61-63). Without being prompted by the ghost, Macbeth responds and another noble is weary of his actions. He kills Banquo because Banquo suspects that Macbeth did something horrible (like killing the king) to become king. Macbeth wants to keep the power that he

Prior to the assassination, Macbeth explains to the two murderers that he has to keep in good relations with the people around him. "And something from the palace (always thought / that I require a clearness), and with him, / to leave no rubs nor botches in the work" (3.1.131-133). He needs to have the murder take place away from his castle. The scene following the murder of Banquo, the two murderers inform Macbeth of Fleance escaping. When Macbeth learns this knowledge, it seems to shock him and surprise him. Macbeth exclaims in response to hearing the news, "Thanks for that! There the grown serpent lies; the worm that's fled hath / nature that in time will venom breed, no teeth for the present" (3.4.30-33).

     After Duncan’s murder, Macbeth realizes that the witches’ prophecy about him becoming king has come true, and he feels that it is his destiny to be the king of Scotland. Macbeth begins to believe in everything the witches say. Macbeth, however, does not want to risk giving up his crown to the son of Banquo like the prophecy said. Thus, Macbeth hires three murderers to kill both Banquo and his son. He tells the hired murderers to "leave no rubs nor botches in the work . " (Act III: ii: 133). By having both men killed, no one will be in line to take the crown from Macbeth, and he will secure his position has king.

Macbeth soon realises that he can not stop at just killing King Duncan. There are now other people that he must eliminate in order to retain his position as King. He realises that the one person who is most likely to threaten his position is Banquo. This is because Banquo was present when the weird sisters gave Macbeth their predictions, and he may suspect that Macbeth is the true murderer of the King. In Act Three, Scene One, Line 48, there is a large speech which shows Macbeth’s fears about Banquo’s knowledge of his dirty crime. After this speech, the three murderers enter, and he assigns them to kill both Banquo and his son Fleance. This act does seem to be butcher-like as Banquo was Macbeth’s best friend and had done nothing wrong. However, it has become a necessity for Macbeth to have Banquo killed.

Lady Macbeth wasn't involved in the plot against Banquo because Macbeth didn't want to worry Lady Macbeth. So in Act 3,Scene 3 Macbeth told Lady Macbeth "be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck".....Till thou applaud the deed." So Macbeth decided to keep his plans of the murder of Banquo from his

Macbeth is easily tempted into murder by his wife to fulfill his ambitions to the throne. Once he stabs Duncan there is no stopping him. Macbeth then proceeds to kill Banquo, Fleance, Lady Macduff, and her children. Lady Macbeth only manipulated him to kill the king, but the decisions to kill Macduff and Banquo were his own. Banquo was his good loyal friend, after he killed him we know that he was out of his mind. Each person he has killed

The third and final mistake of Macbeth was the suppression of his conscience leading to: the vicious murder of Banquo, The slaughter of Macduff’s family, and the whole country despising him. This furthermore results in Macbeth bringing down his country and himself into a state of destitution. When Macbeth was about to kill Duncan, he was afraid, because it is a sin to commit murder. However when he was hiring murderers to slay Banquo and his son Fleance, there was no sign of hesitation. When the murder was about to take place a third murderer appeared but this may have been Macbeth himself for at the time he did not trust anyone. If it really was him, it is one of the first signs that Macbeth is enjoying inflicting pain upon others. After he sought out the witches for the second time, his doubts of Macduff are confirmed. In his aside he says:

Macbeth tells a story of deceit, betrayal, and a man who, once pushed, would stop at nothing to get what he desired and keep it that way. The murder of King Duncan was not simply just because of Macbeth, as most people would usually believe since he was the one that went ahead with stabbing him. The blame should rightly fall on both Lady Macbeth and the Witches. There are multiple facts to support this statement.

After killing King Duncan , Macbeth is starting to realize what it is that he has done, and becomes suspicious and paranoid of everyone around him by puting spy's in every castle and killing those who are any treat to him what so ever. Banquo is the only other person who knows of the meeting with the witches and he would assume that it was Macbeth who killed the King. The witches also said that Banquo would beget kings but he himself would never be king after Macbeth, and so Macbeth decides that Banquo is a threat to him. To get rid of the treat with banquo he decides to kill him and his son Fleance.

Julio Villarreal English 4-W Professor Zirulnik January 18, 2015 The Tragedy of Macbeth Macbeth and his wife invite thanes of Scotland to a banquet with means of proving themselves throne-worthy. Much like the ethereal dagger that leads to Duncan's room, the ghost of Banquo appears at the banquet constantly, pushing Macbeth into random fits of rage and despair. Macbeth’s first order of events as a king is this exquisite banquet, a supposed representation of great discipline and benevolence, which becomes a wicked mockery of itself. Instead of Macbeth gathering with his subjects as he would wish, he is thrown off by the bloody apparition of his former ally. Australian filmmaker Justin Kurzel tackles Macbeth in a true-to-the-origin fashion in

Macbeth hires two men to murder Banquo and Fleance, but they only accomplished to kill Banquo, and Fleance is able to escape.