Macbeth: If you shall cleave to my consent...

[JB]

Macbeth:
If you shall cleave to my consent, when 'tis,
It shall make honour for you.

Banquo:
So I lose none
In seeking to augment it, but still keep
My bosom franchised, and allegiance clear,
I shall be counselled.

Think about what the characters have been told by the weird sisters.
What could they be thinking as they say these words? Is there any
double meaning in what they say?

[Fiona Sit]

Macbeth knows Banquo may suspect him after Duncan is killed. Macbeth
is using money and power as a temptation to prevent Banquo from
telling others that he is the murderer. There is a double meaning in
the dialogue. On one hand, Macbeth is tempting Banquo, on the other
hand, he is hinting that he will soon be the king. Banquo is willing
to support Macbeth, as long as what Macbeth’s doing is not against his
conscience.

[[Y10 Joy] CHEUNG Ka Yu Gavin [Gavin CHEUNG]]

I totally agree to what Fiona commented on what Macbeth said. To add
on to your comment, I think that the words from the three witches are
very important to these lines. It is because the when the witches tell
Macbeth that he will be the Thane of Cawdor and later he will be the
king, Banquo is also beside listening. Also Banquo must know that the
only way that Macbeth is able to be the king is when the king is dead
without having a son to take his place. In this line Macbeth is
telling Banquo do not interrupt his destiny of being a king.

[[3 Peace] LAM Ka Wing Kevin [Kevin LAM]]

* The witches have told that Macbeth and Banquo's sons will be the
king.

* Since Macbeth's realizes that his cover of his murdering intention
is blown and thinks that there is no point continuing covering himself
up, he asks Banquo to support him or to help him kill the king and he
will personally reward him. Apparently, the reward that Macbeth is
suggesting is an enticement instigating Banquo to commit the murder.
However there is an alternative meaning of what Macbeth says and that
is the implication to Banquo of his intent of murdering the king.

* Banquo says that he agree to support him as long as it will not
affect his fame. At the point, Banquo is almost sure that the time for
Macbeth's to kill the king is approaching.

[Alfredfredfredfred :D]

AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH how do i use this......
i did the wrong thing just now@@

anyways ill repeat what i posted somewhere else which i dont know- -

I totally agree with Fiona and Gavin. However, adding to their point,
i think that Banquo's change in the stoy can be noticed. The 3 witches
told Macbeth and Banquo that MAcbeth would be THane of Cawdor and then
King, and Banquo's sons would be king also. At first, unlike Macbeth,
Banquo does not believe in the 3 witches. Later, Macbeth really became
the thane of cawdor. This creates Banquo to have more trust towards
the 3 witches. Then, the king is murdured by Macbeth. Although Banquo
knows that the murdurer may be Macbeth, there may also be a
possibility where he simply thinks that these things all happened just
because of fate and destiny.

i hope i can sucessfully post this this time:/

On Nov 9, 11:27 am, JB <jacoboea...@gmail.com> wrote:

[Queenie Ho]

Macbeth tells Banquo that if he supports him and stand on his side,
when he become the king, he will reward and honor Banquo for it. He is
hinting to Banquo that he will going to be the king, and this is his
choice for his life. Macbeth warns Banquo that he shouldn't bother his
destiny to be the king, even though the weird sisters have predictions
that Banquo's son will become the king too. This led him Banquo have
ambitious thoughts. But unlike Macbeth, he never enforced
these thoughts with actions and murdering. He told Macbeth that he was
willing to do anything to become loyal as long as Macbeth can do it
with a clear conscience. He also knows that Macbeth will become the
king and he will soon take actions (murder the king) in order to
fufill his ambitions.

[[3 Trust] YEUNG Ho Kwan Michael [Michael YEUNG]]

As Macbeth spoke to Banquo, his mind knows clearly that Banquo would
be the one who would suspect him on being the murderer of King Duncan,
as it is Banquo who has also heard the prophecy from the weird
sisters.
As Macbeth speaks, he thinks about ways of convincing Banquo to
continue on supporting him, by offering him to gain honor and power as
Macbeth becomes a king himself. At the same time, the 'seeds' which
the weird sisters have planted in Both minds of Macbeth and Banquo
tempted them to believe in their prophecy, which could be a reason why
Banquo is willing to stay in Macbeth's side, even if he declares that
his loyalty would still remain to King Duncan.

[Regina Lo]

Macbeth is trying to have Banquo on his side and gain support from him
to be king. As Banquo is the only one other than Macbeth who knows
about the witches’ prophecy, he thinks Banquo would suspect him as the
murderer when Duncan is dead. Macbeth tries to have Banquo to help him
by promising to give power when he becomes king.
Banquo replies Macbeth saying that he wouldn't stop Macbeth as long as
his conscience is clear.

[Vivian Law]

Macbeth wants to gain Banquo's support by offering him power, and
Banquo would not stop Macbeth as long as it is not against his
conscienc. Banquo listened to the three witches as well as Macbeth
did, and Macbeth is worried that Banquo will spread the rumor of
Macbeth's murder. According to the three witches' prophecies,
Banquo's son was predicted to be the king. I think that Macbeth might
also worries Banquo's son will murder him like he murders King Duncan
for the power and glory.

[Sebastian Lee]

After Duncan's death, Banquo suspects Macbeth for killing the king.
Here, Macbeth wants to use power and money to make Banquo not to
suspect him. Not only he is corrupting with Banquo, but also he
foreshadows that he is going to be king.

[Nathan Sin]

I agree with your first sentence, but I do not think it is necessarily
money and power as a temptation, but this certainly has a relationship
with 'honor' mentioned by Macbeth. Banquo mentions:

In seeking to augment it, but still keep
My bosom franchised, and allegiance clear,
I shall be counselled.

It means that Banquo wants to do it in clear conscience. If Macbeth
really kills the King, would Banquo think that it is with clear
conscience and will support Macbeth to become the king? I do not
think so. This also leads to the conflict between Macbeth and Banquo
later on in the play.

[Jake Eagle]

OK - you lot are good! This is a very interesting exchange here as both characters seem to be discussing in purposefully vague terms which could mean a number of different things. It's almost as though they are testing each other as to how far they can rely on each other.

Macbeth takes a risk by asking Banquo to, "cleave to my consent", which could be an innocent request to stay a loyal friend or could be a sinister request to support murder! Banquo seems suspicious in his reply saying that he'll follow Macbeth ("be counseled") as long as his loyalty and allegiance to the King is not compromised.

Interestingly, the scene in the film shows Macbeth and Banquo's exchange as being quite edgy - they do not seem very sure of each other's friendship anymore. I have seen productions where this discussion is much more light-hearted. It is possible to see this as a simple friendly exchange, but given all of the psychological difficulties both characters are experiencing, I find this unlikely.