Wednesday, October 21, 2015

Which lines in the play show how Banquo is a character foil to Macbeth?Any quotations or general areas that I could find some good examples of it...

Yes, and later in Act 1, Scene 3, after Macbeth learns that part of the witches' prophecy has come true, that he has, indeed, been named the Thane of Cawdor, he says to Banquo:



...Do you not hope your children shall be kings,


When those that gave the Thane of Cawdor to me


Promised no less to them?



Banquo's answer is a cautious one. He's not so sure that the witches "gave" anyone anything. A prediction or a prophesy may only be a suggestion about the future, not an outright gift. So Banquo warns:



That, trusted home,


Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,


Besides the Thane of Cawdor. But ’tis strange;


And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,


The instruments of darkness tell us truths,


Win us with honest trifles, to betray's


In deepest consequence



To Macbeth's wide-eyed amazement and belief, Banquo brings wariness, common sense and a cool head.


Later in the play, Banquo serves as the ultimate foil to Macbeth, when in Act 3, Scene 4, Banquo's ghost comes to taunt Macbeth at the formal dinner party; the bloody ghost points to Macbeth, exposing a horrified Macbeth to his own guilt.

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