Banquo: I dreamt last night...

[JB]

Banquo:
All's well.
I dreamt last night of the three weird sisters.
To you they have showed some truth.

Macbeth:
I think not of them.

What is the difference between what Banquo and Macbeth here? What do
you think each of them are thinking when they say these words?

[Fiona Sit]

The difference between Banquo and Macbeth is that Banquo is honest but
Macbeth is lying. Banquo admits that he is thinking of the witches
since parts of their prophecies have come true. The audiences can see
that Banquo is becoming more superstitious. However, Macbeth shows
that he is calm and confident. He is denying the fact that he is
thinking of the witches. Macbeth does not want Banquo to think that he
believes in the prophecies. This also gives an impression that Macbeth
has no intention killing Duncan.

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

Macbeth does not want Banquo to know that he really want the
prophecies to happen. This means that he do not want Banquo to suspect
him when the king is dead.

[Regina Lo]

Banquo is telling the truth about his dream of the meeting with the
three witches. Differently, Macbeth is hiding his own thoughts about
the witches’ prophecy and ambition to become king as he doesn’t want
Banquo to think he is the one who killed Duncan.

[Vivian Law]

Here shows that Banquo is being honest, whereas Macbeth lies because
he does not want Banquo to think that he wants the prophecies to come
true and does not what Banquo to suspect him for murdering King Duncan.

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

* Banquo is suspecting that Macbeth is trying to be the king by
murdering Duncan as the prophecies by the three witches seem to come
true.
* Macbeth, on the other hand, chooses not to admit it by explaining to
Banquo that the witches' prophecies is never in his mind. <--- The
purpose of having this response is to cover his cruel intention later
in the scene. He is more likely to tell Banquo's that prophecy is more
a coincidence than the truth.

[Queenie Ho]

Banquo tells Macbeth that he is annoyed by the dream of the three
weird sisters and wondering about their prophecies are true or not.
But Macbeth claims that he never think about them. Banquo is fair and
true that he admits that he has dreamed about the witches which have
inspired him. Macbeth, who has decided to act on his own, choose to
hide his beliefs in supernatural, his ambitions and desires to be the
king. He lies to Banquo, his best friend, because he doesn't want
anyone to interrupt his plan.It shows that his ambitions are greater
as the play goes on.

[Alfredfredfredfred :D]

Um...
basically the same idea with all the students above...
Banquo admits that he starts to believe in the 3 witches. Macbeth, who
believed from the start, says that he doesn't and does not want to
mention about it. This makes Banquo think that Macbeth does not
believe in the 3 witches and will not kill the king because of this
reason. Macbeth has to do this since Banquo has also heard the 3
witches say about their destiny and does not want Banquo to destroy
Macbeths desire to be king.

On Nov 9, 11:24 am, JB <jacoboea...@gmail.com> wrote:

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

The response that Banquo and Macbeth have towards the witches'
prophecy was ironic, as the seeds of ambition towards power of being
King was obviously planted deeper in Macbeth's mind than in Banquo's.
Banquo was saying what he thought when he delivers his speech.
However, Macbeth was clearly lying to Banquo on not thinking about the
witches, which shows that Macbeth was thinking about preventing
himself to be suspected by Banquo. On the other hand, Macbeth's lie
may also be realized by Banquo as they've seen each other react on the
prophecy, this may trigger Banquo's consciousness of suspecting
Macbeth even more, even if Macbeth hides his thoughts of murdering
King Duncan.

[Sebastian Lee]

Banquo is telling the truth but macbeth is lying. When banquo heard
the witches' prophecies, he did not believe in his sons' will be king.
Therefore, he finds it comfortable to say that he dreams of the
witches. However, Macbeth believes in the prophecies and part of it
has already come true. Macbeth wants to be king, not only he needs to
kill the king but also from the prophecies, Banquo's sons will be king
so he must kill his sons. Therefore, he lies to Banquo for not
letting his to suspect him for killing the king.

On Nov 11, 12:00 am, "[3 Trust] YEUNG Ho Kwan Michael [Michael YEUNG]"

[Sebastian Lee]

Banquo is telling the truth but macbeth is lying. When banquo heard
the witches' prophecies, he did not believe in his sons' will be king.
Therefore, he finds it comfortable to say that he dreams of the
witches. However, Macbeth believes in the prophecies and part of it
has already come true. Macbeth wants to be king, not only he needs to
kill the king but also from the prophecies, Banquo's sons will be king
so he must kill his sons. Therefore, he lies to Banquo for not
letting his to suspect him for killing the king.



On Nov 11, 12:00 am, "[3 Trust] YEUNG Ho Kwan Michael [Michael YEUNG]"
<ss13311...@vsa.edu.hk> wrote:

[Sebastian Lee]

Banquo is telling the truth but macbeth is lying. When banquo heard
the witches' prophecies, he did not believe in his sons' will be king.
Therefore, he finds it comfortable to say that he dreams of the
witches. However, Macbeth believes in the prophecies and part of it
has already come true. Macbeth wants to be king, not only he needs to
kill the king but also from the prophecies, Banquo's sons will be king
so he must kill his sons. Therefore, he lies to Banquo for not
letting his to suspect him for killing the king.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "[3 Trust] YEUNG Ho Kwan Michael [Michael YEUNG]"
<ss13311...@vsa.edu.hk>

[Nathan Sin]

I agree, but I do not think that Macbeth does not want Banquo to
believe the witches because of Banquo's freewill. Macbeth does not
think about the witches simply because his mind is being controlled by
Lady Macbeth. Macbeth only wants to fulfill her desires, which is to
have power and money. Banquo continues to think about the witches
because he does not have any internal or external influence that
disturbs his decision upon believing or not, and secondly also because
not 1 of the witches' prophecies came true on him. This "prophecy did
not come true" continues to disturb Banquo because he does not know
why Macbeth's came true, but not his.

[Jake Eagle]

All good comments for sure! Clearly, Banquo is being honest to Macbeth - who he clearly still thinks of as a friend (otherwise why would he have mentioned the secret that they share - the witches). On the other hand, as you've all noted, Macbeth lies to Banquo signifying that their relationship is, in his eyes, no longer built on trust.

Remember, Macbeth is a warrior. A fighter. He has won honour for his country through the defeat of the Norwegian army. But he struggles with the psychological scheming and duplicity that his wife seems to want from him. Lying to his 'friend' Banquo is obviously a big step in his moral corruption.

Remember, this could be described as Dramatic irony since the audience knows that Macbeth cannot stop thinking about his future (the audience has heard Macbeth's internal thoughts through his soliloquies). Banquo does not know this - he can only guess what Macbeth is thinking.