In Act III, scene 1, II. 1-10 of Macbeth manifests Banquo's newly tainted soul that progresses Shakespeare's thesis of a society that will cause its own wickedness through choice.
Banquo is gaining desire for power for his children and begins to be drawn into evil. To show that even good men may fall to devilish developments, Banquo's thoughts of evil are composed in order to progress the fate foretold by the witches. Through this passage, the audience becomes fearful of the goodness of man, and they begin to understand the sickness of sins present.
Beginning as he bathed in wonder of Macbeth's completed fortune, Banquo's speech structures itself into greed and then to awakened interest in evil-doing. The word “all” institutes the sense that Banquo sees Macbeth as the man who has everything: this, in turn, instils his greed and recognition of Macbeth's power in the words “as upon thee, Macbeth, their speeches shine”. In the words “may they not be my oracles as well”, it seems that Banquo may even undertake dark actions to achieve kingship for his children. It seems also, that the free verse delivers Banquo from complete evil taint...as it seems that Shakespeare designs his most powerful and devilish characters to speak in more poetic voice. Through these smooth word inserts and free verse poetic designs, the thoughts of both the audience and Banquo are designed naturally, but thoughtfully.
By showing once again the down fall of a man to evil, Shakespeare reasserts his claim that man will choose his own fate. Banquo still has yet to choose, but his ideas are becoming ever more covered by darkness as the passage pursues the future.
Abigail,
ReplyDeleteI clearly see that you have addressed each aspect of the blog: summary/ analysis/ microcosmic discussion. Excellent effort to use quotes within your analysis as support.
Your examples seem to be more fitting for a discussion of diction (zeroing in on the word "all"), characterization (interpreting Banquo's possible greed/ curiosity), or style (free verse for certain characters). To discuss this passage in terms of structure, think about organization. Banquo is talking to himself here. He seems somewhat wary of Macbeth and the power/ fate that he may be gaining and even says "I don't doubt that you did bad things to get what you wanted Macbeth". Then two seconds later, guess who walks in? Macbeth. Banquo, whether through friendship or fear, hides his distrust of Macbeth and says instead, "Yessir, I'll do whatever you want me to do." Hypocrit or playing it safe? So, why would Shakespeare organize this soliloquy (speech to self) to fall right before an interaction with Macbeth? How does it propel the plot forward? What does it have to do with the themes that you mention above? All just food for thought. Great work thus far.