How Is Macbeth A Foil Character
Macbeth: His Journey to the Dark Side
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is one of the greatest Shakespearean tragedies written in the 18th century, a drama full of murder and revenge. By these mysterious prophecies of the three mystical witches, Macbeth is prompted to kill his dear ruler, and friend, Duncan, in order to seize the throne. This leads to ghosts, hallucinations, more murders, and other unnatural events, eventually resulting in the downfall of Macbeth. Macbeth develops and changes greatly, from a loyal, trustworthy person to a corrupted and murderous man throughout the course of the play. Many factors affected the shaping of the character of Macbeth, including the witches’ prophecies and foil character, Banquo. This character …show more content…
Despite the fact that both Banquo and Macbeth had heard the witches' eerie prophecies in Act 1 Scene 3, Banquo stayed serene, not believing in the prophecies, and let things flow naturally in life. “...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.” (Act 1 Scene 3). This quote portrays how Banquo is aware of the decivious ways of the witches’ and their prophecies, and that he would not be easily fooled by them. On the other hand, Macbeth, overly fixated on the prophecies, is easily fooled by the prophecies, and takes action right away, causing everything to slowly break down, and eventually fall apart at the end, resulting in the downfall of Macbeth. They both started at the same point, but began to go in opposite directions. Banquo followed the better path, as Macbeth wandered into the dark side. Banquo’s calmness, in comparison, makes Macbeth seem even more urging and ambitious as well, wanting to become king right away by any means necessary; even if it meant murdering some of his dearest
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, is one of the greatest Shakespearean tragedies written in the 18th century, a drama full of murder and revenge. By these mysterious prophecies of the three mystical witches, Macbeth is prompted to kill his dear ruler, and friend, Duncan, in order to seize the throne. This leads to ghosts, hallucinations, more murders, and other unnatural events, eventually resulting in the downfall of Macbeth. Macbeth develops and changes greatly, from a loyal, trustworthy person to a corrupted and murderous man throughout the course of the play. Many factors affected the shaping of the character of Macbeth, including the witches’ prophecies and foil character, Banquo. This character …show more content…
Despite the fact that both Banquo and Macbeth had heard the witches' eerie prophecies in Act 1 Scene 3, Banquo stayed serene, not believing in the prophecies, and let things flow naturally in life. “...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.” (Act 1 Scene 3). This quote portrays how Banquo is aware of the decivious ways of the witches’ and their prophecies, and that he would not be easily fooled by them. On the other hand, Macbeth, overly fixated on the prophecies, is easily fooled by the prophecies, and takes action right away, causing everything to slowly break down, and eventually fall apart at the end, resulting in the downfall of Macbeth. They both started at the same point, but began to go in opposite directions. Banquo followed the better path, as Macbeth wandered into the dark side. Banquo’s calmness, in comparison, makes Macbeth seem even more urging and ambitious as well, wanting to become king right away by any means necessary; even if it meant murdering some of his dearest