Introduction

Compare and contrast Banquo and Macbeth looking particularly at the first meeting with the witches. In the beginning, Macbeth is a successful general, described as noble and courageous. He has a great ambition to be king, which eventually gets the better of him, because the temptation is too strong. The witches play upon Macbeth's weakness and so does his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth. Macbeth thinks that the supernatural powers of the witches will help him, but instead they lead him to his downfall. Macbeth's downfall is really his own fault, because he makes a deliberate choice to take the road of evil. He is responsible (both directly and indirectly) for the murder of King Duncan, his colleague Banquo, and Lady Macduff and her children. Throughout the play there is a gradual progression of Macbeth's character. He changes from the courageous warrior he was described as at the beginning into a ruthless "butcher". However, Macbeth is aware of his mistake and is deeply regretful of what he has done. This is what makes him so fascinating, because he is much more then just a horrible beast. The audience feels both repelled by the evil in Macbeth and sorry for the waste of all the good things in his character. Banquo is Macbeth's friend and is a loyal and honourable Scottish nobleman and a warrior in the king's army.