Question

When the characters of Banquo and Macbeth are introduced in Act I of The Tragedy of Macbeth, they appear quite similar in rank, loyalties, and character. However, as the act progresses, the two characters begin to diverge. Write an essay comparing and contrasting Macbeth and Banquo in this act. How do they seem alike? At what point do they first diverge?

Answer 1

Both Macbeth and Banquo, being noblemen, start out as both loyal and honest men. It is through the witches remarks that we actually learn that Banquo see's the witches as giving evil premonitions, with Macbeth taking them as premonitions that would help his personal ambitions. This leads to a large diverge in character personalities and ideals, as Macbeth plans to murder and betray the King, as Banquo continues to stay loyal to the King. At first, the two characters were loyal and honest servants to the King, Macbeth leads a different path of dishonesty and betrayal. Banquo says, "...What are these/ So withered and so wild in their ttire./They look not like th' inhabitants o' th' Earth." (1.3.2). This shows Banquo's immediate disapproval of the witches and his distaste in what they have to say in their premonitions.

Step-by-step explanation:

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Answer 2

Macbeth and Banquo are two noblemen. They have several similarities, loyalty, honesty and courage are some of these. In the first scene with the witches is when these similarities started to desappear and the differences began to be clearly seen. On one side, Banquo believed that the witches' premonitions were something evil. On the other side, Macbeth believed those premonitions as something that would benefit himself. Macbeth conspired against Malcom but Banqui stayed loyal.