In Shakespeare’s eponymous tragedy, “Macbeth,” Banquo and Macbeth has very different reactions to the Witches prophecies. Banquo acts like traditional Jacobean man who is cautious about the witches and their prophecies however is close friend, Macbeth, forgets how dangerous the supernatural can be and chases after his ambition. Macbeth’s ambition overpowers his sense of morality and righteousness and as a result we see later on in the play that he chooses to side with the supernatural I order to achieve his ambition.
Banquo is extremely weary of the witches prophecies and quickly identifies the witches as “instruments of darkness”. He immediately knows that the witches are not to be trusted. Not only does the noun “darkness” have illusions to the unknown; it also has illusions to danger. This shows the audience that these witches are not to be messed with or trusted. Furthermore, Shakespeare may have used the noun “instruments” to imply that the witches will soon mess and play around with Macbeth and therefore the supernatural lead to the end of Macbeth. This metaphor foreshadows that the witches evil intentions will cause harm and chaos as it uses dark imagery which links the witches to the devil and agents of chaos. The devil was very prevalent in Shakespearean times and therefore the Jacobean audience would understand exactly how Banquo was feeling.
On the other hand, Macbeth is completely blindsided by the witches and their prophecies. He says aside that “two truths are told… happy prologues to the swelling act”. This is a key metaphor in the play as it shows how Macbeth’s fate was almost predetermined just like a real play and depicts the witches like directors; controlling Macbeth’s fate. Macbeth does not recognise that the witches are a huge threat as he is blinded by the witches prophecies and his ambition. Macbeth has simply accepted his life and lets fate and his destiny take control. Shakespeare uses Macbeth as character who resembles a person that lets ambition blind them, even if it means submitting yourself to the supernatural. The Jacobean audience would have been extremely surprised at Macbeth, this is because the Jacobean audience were extremely superstitious and strongly believed in the presence of witches.
Moreover, we see Macbeth continues to submit himself to the supernatural. Whilst secretly plotting to commit regicide he says “Stars hide your fires,/Let not light see my black and deep desires”. The light and dark imagery used here shows the audience that Macbeth is extremely confused as to whether he sides with the witches (evil) or puts his trust in God (good). Through this phrase we can see that Macbeth deeply wants to get rid of Duncan, but wants it to be done in secrecy. Shakespeare uses Macbeth as character who is not willing to accept the consequences (hell) of his actions (regicide). "Light" is personified to be an active agent that can "see" into desires; possibly a supernatural force that scrutinises human actions. Furthermore, we see that Macbeth is slowly making an allegiance with the supernatural. The command “stars hide your fires”, shows the shear hubris of Macbeth. Macbeth believes that he can command God due to his increased level of power after his adherence with the supernatural. Both the Jacobean audience and the modern audience would’ve been extremely horrified by Macbeth’s action as Macbeth acts like he is superior to God. The Jacobean audience strongly believed in the presence of God and Macbeth may be considered to committing blasphemy.
In conclusion, Shakespeare uses Macbeth as a character who willingly invites the supernatural and chaos into his life. Macbeth is blinded by ambition and the greed for power, that he cannot see how dangerous the witches will be. On the other hand, Banquo, the complete opposite of Macbeth does not let ambition fool him into committing horrific actions such as regicide. Shakespeare shows how differently two characters reacted to the same situation. Macbeth chose to have an allegiance with the supernatural which in turn led to his downfall.
