Banquo as a foil to Macbeth - Explain.

William Shakespeare, the hero in the field of art of characterization, in his greatest tragedy, "Macbeth", portrays the character of Banquo to suggest a sharp contrast with Macbeth. In the Battle of Fife, both are the generals of King Duncan's army. Both are called "our captains".

            The structure of their mind is very different and is markedly prominent in their different reactions to the predictions of the witches.The witches prophecized them both. Macbeth is greeted as "Thane of Cawdor", "Thane of Glamis" and "King hereafter" and Banquo would beget kings, though he would be unable to be a king. Macbeth was tempted by the prophecies but Banquo took them with indifference. Macbeth insisted on kniwing more: "Stay you, imperfect speakers, tell me more."

             When the witches vanished from the heath, Banquo remained unmoved: "The earth has bubbles as water has." But Macbeth missed them and spoke about them: "Into the air, and what seemed corporal melted as breath into the wind. Would they had stayed!" When Macbeth found that the first two prophecies of the witches were fulfilled, he couldnot tear his mind away from the witches.The tgought of murder occurred to him:
       "I am Thane of Cawdor:
        If good, why do I yield to that suggestion
        Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair......"

          But Banquo is doubtful about the truth of the ppredictions: "What! Can the devil speak true?"
 He is very much realistic,so he dismissed the witches as "instruments of darkness". He put himself on his guard against any possibility of being allured:
        "And often time, to win us to our harm,/ The instruments of darkness tell us truths,/ Win us with honest truffles, to betray us/ In deepest consequences."

             Though Banquo was tempted by the prophecies at first, he was oppressed by 'cursed thoughts' and he dreamt of the weird sisters, he tried to resist the temptation. But Macbeth is elated at the immediate fulfilment of two of the prophecies.

            The difference between the characters of Macbeth and Banquo is very clearly portrayed here. Banquo is honest and frank. He frankly admitted to Macbeth of his dreams of the witches, but Macbeth deliberately concealed his heart from him and spoke the falsehood: "I think not of them." Thus, Banquo is open-hearted and free, while Macbeth is a mean, hypocrite. Shakespeare's fantastic art of characterization is vehemently evident here.