Shakespeare's Macbeth: Banquo During The Banquet Scene

     After the death of Duncan Macbeth begins to work on his own without the help of his wife. He plans the murders of Banquo and the heir to the throne, Banquo’s son Fleance. Although it does not turn out as expected Macbeth remains calm until Banquo’s ghost appears. ‘... and keep the natural ruby of your cheeks, when mine is blanched with fear.’ This was the turning point in the whole story because until this point everything was going great for Macbeth, he had power, fame and fortune, all you could ever want;however, when this ghost appeared Macbeth went on a little insanity trip. He, also like his wife was engulfed with guilt and unable to function properly anymore. This led to another visit with the witches. Showing

Macbeth shows several symptoms of schizophrenia. These symptoms are techniques that Shakespeare uses to create the idea that Macbeth actually has a mental illness. Macbeth’s main symptom is detachment from reality. While contemplating killing Banquo to secure his fate, Macbeth begins to see an imaginary dagger in front of him. He asks, “Art thou not, fatal vision sensible to feeling as to sight, or art thou a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-opposed brain?” (Act 2, Scene 2, lines 35-39). Then after Banquo is dead, Macbeth believe he sees his ghost during dinner with the county’s nobility. Macbeth says, “The

This time due to a cowardly action committed out of selfish fear. It is no surprise to me that Banquo’s ghost haunts Macbeth at this table since Macbeth called for two murders to kill him and his son. Banquo’s ghost appearing shows that Macbeth felt guilt and that he was not the completely heartless monster that he appeared to become. When Banquo's bloody ghost sits at the table with the lords, Macbeth tries to believe that he did not kill banquo. “ Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake Thy gory locks at me.” (III,iv,53-54). Macbeth’s episode with Banquo’s ghost reveals how the quest for power had driven his mind into pure insanity. This powerful hallucination driven from the little heart left in Macbeth proved to all the lords that Macbeth’s mind was gone, and that he was not fit to

For one, it is without a doubt that, at this stage of the play, Macbeth is delusional and is no longer mentally fit enough to think rationally. This is clearly shown when he begins to see Banquo’s ghost at the banquet, who is part of his imagination. His madness is clear when he rages at the ghost, commanding,

After murdering King Duncan, Macbeth returns ashamed of what he had done and becomes weak and morose. Lady Macbeth remains as bold and cold-hearted as she was at the moment she plotted to kill the king, but it was obvious that it would only be a matter of time before all of that bravery faded away and guilt would overcome her. She realizes that Macbeth is at one of the lowest points of his life and tries to give him that same sense of boldness that she has as she tries to cover up his weaknesses. Macbeth had a lot on his conscience that shortly after Banquo had been killed, he believed he saw the ghost of who was once his friend. No one else sees this apparition but Macbeth speaks to it as if it was

As well as seeing the ghost of his murdered friend Banquo at the diner table, he also develops insomnia, and goes so far on as to suggest that he is jealous of Duncan because he can sleep forever whereas he cannot sleep at all. He also loses his appetite and can no longer eat well; this shows that his insides are turning with the memory that he himself had killed a King who had been so good to him and to Scotland. After getting Banquo killed, Macbeth sees his ghost at the banquet with twelve bloody gashes in his head; this makes Macbeth completely insane in an instant. He is not only scared by seeing the ghost of Banquo, but also by the thought that he had done these horrible things, and that his soul would be haunted by his murdered friends ghost for ever. It is through the main characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth that this theme of guilt and conscience is so vividly portrayed.

When Macbeth see 's Banquo 's ghost sitting in his seat, I think that he did not have a strong enough reaction for someone who just saw a ghost of their former comrade sitting in their dining room seat. Macbeth also

Unable to sleep, Macbeth is unable to function properly, and starts to see the ghost of Banquo, who he had just had murdered by assassins.

Macbeths shows very clear and severe symptoms of insanity when he sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in his place at the table (III, iiii, 39-40). Lady Macbeth rushes everyone out of the room and says he has sudden bursts of insanity and you’ll get used to them (III, iiii, 53-58). Further deepening the suspicion of insanity. Just after he sees Banquo’s ghost in his place at the table, the ghost returns and Macbeth says you are dead go back into the earth (III, iv, 93-96). Then he says that if the ghost took any other from than Banquo he wouldn’t be scared (III, iv, 99-107)

Macbeth shows several symptoms of schizophrenia. These symptoms are techniques that Shakespeare uses to create the idea that Macbeth has a mental illness. Macbeth's main symptom is detachment from reality. While contemplating killing Banquo to secure his fate, Macbeth begins to see an imaginary dagger in front of him. He asks, "Art thou not, fatal vision, sensible to feeling as to sight, or art thou but a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?" (II.2.35-39) Then after Banquo is dead, Macbeth believes he sees his ghost during a dinner with the country's nobility. Macbeth says, "The table's full." (III.4.46) Lennox points to the seat where Macbeth sees Banqo's ghost sitting and tells him that it is empty. Puzzled, Macbeth asks, "Where?" (III.4.48) He

Lady Macbeth is more power hungry and ambitious then Macbeth is. She, through ambition she gives the finial push to Macbeth to kill Duncan the king of Scotland. Her power however, is not driven by the sisters, hers is greed. She wants to be Queen, she wants the power of being Queen. Both Lady Macbeth and Macbeths ambition is tragic flaw. Her ambition drives her to her to go crazy which ultimately drives her to her death. There is an instance where she is sleep walking, eyes open. She goes to her vanity and sits down, she looks at her hands a sees blood. Then she sticks her hand in the water bowl and attempts to wash them. When she pulls them back out the blood did not wash away. Only she can see the blood her maid and doctor see this happening and they just think that she is going crazy. This is only the beginning of her insaneness. Just before her death she vilely reads a letter that Macbeth sent to her, telling her that he was to be King some how. It is her guilt that kills her.

Macbeth is feeling paranoid after the witches tell a prophecy that Banquo’s son will inherit the throne, after he has passed away. Macbeth wants his descendants to inherit the throne not Banquo’s. So, Macbeth then hires three murderers to kill Banquo. At his dinner, after he is crowned the king, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost because of his guilty conscience. Macbeth starts to yell at the ghost saying he can not prove it is him who did it, “Thou canst not say I did it./ Never shake/ Thy gory locks at me” (3.4.61-62) When Macbeth freaks out and has a panic attack at the table, Lady Macbeth covers for him and tells the guests that he acts like this at times. Even though Macbeth hires men to kill Banquo, the blood is still on his hands. It is his idea to kill Banquo, and now he can feel even guiltier about what he has done. Macbeth is going insane feeling all this guilt and it is making him see ghosts. Macbeth is thinking that Banquo would become suspicious of Duncan’s murder. He did not want Banquo getting in his

Macbeth’s sense of self seems to diminish as he comes to reality with what he has done and who he has hurt. This leads to him to not being able to sleep because he has “murdered and therefore/Cawdor/Shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more” (2.2.55-57). By him not sleeping it shows that he is going crazy, and is not ok with what has happened. Losing his sense of self is also slowly killing his mental state. His conscience is guilty which makes him think less of himself. When Banquo’s ghost appears it makes Macbeth feel as if he were dead. Wanting Banquo to “Take any shape but that,” because he wants him to “be alive again/And dare [him] to the desert with thy sword” (3.4.124-126). When Macbeth’s fears are confirmed about the line of kings all in the image of Banquo his future is shaken. Once being trusted friends this also helps to twist his mental state; and not for the good. Also by him not being stable Macbeth starts hallucinating and feels tempted to grasp what he sees and use it. These visions are a

So he kills many more people who he believes suspect him of murder. He becomes suspicious and insecure. He is scared of what he has done and fearful of deeds to follow. One of the main pieces of evidence that portrays a breakdown within the person is Macbeth's inability to sleep. This comes forward in Act two Scene 2 "I heard a voice cry `Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep'" (lines 33-34). Sleep was seen as the natural end to the day and it was unnatural to not be able to sleep. Macbeth lost the ability to restore himself within his mind and his body, therefore becoming abnormal. The fact that Banquo's ghost appeared to him at the banquet shows his troubled conscience - his murderous deeds are playing on his mind. The vision of the ghost also represents the fact that after Macbeth killed Banquo, he entered into the world of the supernatural at a level that he had never stooped to before. All the evidence above portrays a steadily growing breakdown within the person - within Macbeth.

First off, Macbeth’s ambition leads him to fall into paranoia. It drives him mad, and makes him hallucinate. Macbeth kills so many men seamlessly but after the murder of Banquo he begins to go crazy. “Macbeth does murder sleep…Macbeth shall sleep no more.”(II.II). When he sleeps he sees Banquo and he cannot deal with the guilt. He even began to have visions of Banquo’s ghost “If thou canst nod, speak too. /if charnel-houses and our graves must send/those that we bury back, our monuments/shall be the maws of kites.”(III.IV) Not only does he ask the murderers twice if Banquo is dead but he also becomes paranoid because Fleance got away. In Act 3 scene 4, Macbeth as king holds a feast with all his friends. During this feast he begins to hallucinate, he sees Banquo’s ghost. Lady