Macbeth, Banquo, and the Witches' Prophecies
We have now begun our study of Shakespeare's Macbeth in our college preparatory literature class. In scene three, Macbeth, a commander in the Scottish King's army, and Banquo, his fellow commander, are traveling back from a battle when they come across three witches who have been waiting for them. The witches tell Macbeth and Banquo strange prophecies--they tell Macbeth that he shall not only be Thane of Glamis, as he already is, but also that he shall be named Thane of Cawdor shortly, and that he shall someday be king. They tell Banquo that he shall not be king, but that his children will, and that he shall be "lesser than Macbeth and greater, not so happy, and yet much happier".
They react in different ways. Macbeth, immediately after hearing the witches' prophesy for himself, falls into sort of a daydream, either considering the potential truth of the prediction or revelling in the idea of being king, or thinking other untold thoughts. It is during this pause in conversation that Banquo speaks up and asks to hear what the witches would say to him, and it is then that the witches tell him his prophesy. After they tell him this, they begin to vanish, and Macbeth chases after them, stirred from his thoughts, and so we do not hear Banquo's immediate reaction. After the witches vanish, Banquo seems befuddled and mystified, wondering aloud, “the earth hath bubbles, as the water has, and these are of them. Whither are they vanished?”. Banquo seems to doubt what they have just seen, asking “have we eaten on the insane root that takes the reason prisoner?”, or, basically, ‘did we eat something funky? Was that a hallucination?’. Macbeth, on the other hand, seems somewhat excited about what they have heard, hardly questioning what has taken place. He even says, “would they had stayed!”, as he wishes to hear more of what may be his future from these unearthly beings. Immediately after Banquo questions whether the happenings were a hallucination, Macbeth notes to him “your children shall be kings”, and while the play lacks subtext or stage directions for this quote, I imagine that Macbeth is saying this in an incredulous tone, and that Banquo’s response, “you shall be king”, is in an equally incredulous tone. I feel like this is the moment when Banquo begins to entertain the idea that what the witches said could possibly be true. I think Banquo is still doubtful, though, but he is wondering, and he thinks there is a possibility the witches might be speaking truthfully. Later, he gathers his thoughts more, and after Macbeth is indeed named Thane of Cawdor, he no longer thinks that the witches were just a hallucination, but he distrusts them, and he warns Macbeth not to trust them. Banquo tells Macbeth, “oftentimes, to win us harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray’s in deepest consequence.” Banquo knows that witches are evil and deceitful, and that they likely had an ulterior motive in telling Macbeth this truth. Macbeth, however, is unheedful of this. He refers to the witches as “those that gave the Thane of Cawdor to me”, as though he is thanking them, and giving them the credit for the title he received. He even says to Banquo, “do you not hope your children shall be kings?”, as though saying, ‘what’s wrong with you? This is great news! If the prophecy came true for me, it will for you too! Why aren’t you more excited?’.
While it is understandable for Macbeth to be excited, Banquo really has the more levelheaded, and more normal, reaction. It makes sense to be wary of witches popping up on the heath and telling you your future amidst cryptic riddles and then vanishing into thin air, after all. Macbeth is unperturbed to a somewhat unreasonable degree. Perhaps his mind is still scrambled from the gory battle he has just left, but it is rather strange to hear your future from a ragtag trio of witches who you have never met yet who already know much about you. Macbeth doesn’t really seem to process the strangeness of this. He seems almost mentally lacking, as if his brain does not fully connect. Banquo seems more sane in the face of these events.
Strange things have begun to brew today beyond the violet mist.
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