banquo

• supernatural act one: 'look not like th'inhibtants o'th'earth'


  banquo perceives their overt evil and dehumanises them in his description. the witches physiognomy exposes them as inhumane and evil. banquo is portrayed as perceptive as it was believed he was an ancestor of James I, thus this is a form on indirect flattery.
• supernatural act three: 'I dream'd of the three weird sisters last night'


  he is still plagued by thoughts of the witches' prophecies. it seems superstition is taking a hold of him and trespassing his subconscious state of mind. this is a contrast to, macbeth who claims 'i think not of them' as banquo is being honest, characterising him as moral in order to amplify macbeth's dishonesty and deception.
• ambition act three: 'royalty of nature' said by MACBETH


  banquo is depicted as having an exemplary balance of ambition and respectability. his noble majestic nature is not overly powered by his ambition. 'royalty' connotes power and status. macbeth recognises that banquo has maintained his power as an ambition stoic hero whilst maintaining his status as rational and an intelligent being.
• ambition act three: 'he hath wisdom that doth guide his valour to act in safety' - said by MACBETH


  as envy is one of the 7 deadly sins, banquo is used by shakespeare to explore the detrimental effects of envy and unchecked ambition - macbeth's envy of banquo's abilty to restrain himself. thus macbeth is envious of banquo's ability to control his ambition and refrain from over-indulgence into his 'deep desires'
• appearance vs reality act two: the heaven's 'candles are all out'


  he is the inverse of deception, he is honest and sincere and confesses his temptation. he comments on the lack of stars in the sky - banquo seeks salvation and solace from heaven. macbeth tries to hide this, opposed to confess: 'stars hide your fires', this motif of stars exposes macbeth and banquo as diametrically opposed in their aspirations. macbeth wants to hide his malicious intentions from god, yet banquo wants to confess his temptations to be free of them.