Who is Banquo?
Banquo is a Scottish general who fights alongside Macbeth at the start of the play, and the two are close friends and equals. When the witches appear, they prophesy to both men: Macbeth will be king, and Banquo, though 'lesser' and 'greater', will "get kings" without being one himself (Act 1 Scene 3). From that shared moment, the two men take completely different paths.
Banquo is thoughtful, cautious and morally alert. He is tempted by the prophecy, he is honest enough to admit that, but he refuses to let it push him into evil. This makes him Macbeth's foil, the character who faces the same test and passes it. He represents integrity, and the possibility that Macbeth had a genuine choice.
Banquo's role in the play
Banquo's role is to be the moral mirror held up to Macbeth. Both men hear the same prophecy, so Banquo's calm, watchful response throws Macbeth's murderous one into sharp relief. Where Macbeth acts at once, Banquo waits and warns that "instruments of darkness" often tell us truths only "to betray's / In deepest consequence" (1.3). He is the wisdom Macbeth ignores.
His second role is to threaten Macbeth's stolen crown. Because Banquo is prophesied to father a line of kings, Macbeth sees him as a rival whose children will inherit everything Macbeth murdered to gain. So Macbeth has him killed, though his son Fleance escapes, keeping the prophecy alive. Banquo then returns as a ghost at the banquet, visible only to Macbeth, a walking symbol of his guilt and paranoia. Even in death he undoes Macbeth's composure in front of his court.
How Banquo changes
Banquo does not have a dramatic arc in the way the Macbeths do, because his function is to stay morally steady while Macbeth falls. What does develop is his suspicion. In Act 1 he is wary but open, curious about the witches and cautious about their promises. By Act 3 that wariness has hardened into quiet certainty. In his final soliloquy he says of Macbeth, "Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all... / and I fear / Thou play'dst most foully for't" (3.1).
That growing suspicion is exactly what makes Banquo dangerous and seals his fate. He knows too much, and he is honest. The one shadow on his integrity is that, suspecting Macbeth of murder, he says nothing publicly, perhaps because he half-hopes his own prophecy will come true. But he never acts on that hope, and he dies protecting his son with the cry "Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!" (3.3). His constancy is the point: he is what Macbeth could have remained.
Key Banquo quotes
“What, can the devil speak true?”
Where: Act 1 Scene 3Banquo's immediate suspicion of the witches when part of their prophecy proves accurate. He calls them devilish, sensing danger where Macbeth senses opportunity. Use it to establish him as the cautious foil from the very first meeting.
“The instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betray's / In deepest consequence”
Where: Act 1 Scene 3Banquo's wisdom in one quote. He understands that evil tempts by telling small truths to lead us into greater harm, exactly the trap Macbeth walks into. Argue that Banquo grasps the danger Macbeth is blind to, which is the essence of the foil.
“Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none”
Where: Act 1 Scene 3The witches' prophecy to Banquo: his descendants will be kings though he will not. This is why Macbeth later fears and murders him. Key quote for the fate theme and for Banquo's threat to Macbeth's line.
“In the great hand of God I stand”
Where: Act 2 Scene 3After Duncan's murder, Banquo places himself on the side of God and justice, vowing to fight 'treasonous malice'. Use it to show his integrity and faith, and to contrast him with Macbeth, who has just aligned himself with darkness.
“and I fear / Thou play'dst most foully for't”
Where: Act 3 Scene 1Banquo now openly suspects Macbeth murdered his way to the crown. His honesty makes him a threat and marks him for death. Argue that his moral clarity is exactly what dooms him in a world ruled by a tyrant.
“Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!”
Where: Act 3 Scene 3Banquo's dying words, spent saving his son. The desperate repetition shows his love and his instinct to protect the future. Because Fleance escapes, the prophecy survives, and Macbeth's murder achieves nothing. A key structural moment.
Banquo and the play's themes
Banquo is your key character for showing the flip side of ambition. He feels the same temptation as Macbeth but chooses not to act, which proves Macbeth had a choice and makes ambition a matter of character, not fate. He is also central to the supernatural, because his cautious, suspicious response to the witches contrasts directly with Macbeth's eager one, and because his ghost embodies Macbeth's guilt.
He carries fate versus free will, since his prophecy comes true through his innocent son rather than any scheming of his own, and appearance versus reality, as the honest man in a court of liars. Use the Macbeth themes page to connect these, and always frame Banquo as the moral measuring stick for Macbeth.
Context: what Banquo represents
There is a real political reason Banquo is so noble. King James I, on the throne when Shakespeare wrote the play, believed himself to be descended from the historical Banquo. Shakespeare therefore had every reason to present Banquo as honourable and his line as royal and God-favoured. In Act 4 the witches show Macbeth a vision of eight kings descended from Banquo, a direct flattering nod to James and his ancestry.
This is why Shakespeare changed his source material. In the original chronicles Banquo helped to murder the king, but Shakespeare made him innocent, because it would not do to show the king's ancestor as a regicide. Understanding this helps you write about Banquo with real insight: his goodness is partly a piece of political flattery, and his prophesied royal line reassures the audience that the rightful order, and James's own dynasty, will ultimately triumph over tyranny. He also demonstrates the ideal Jacobean response to temptation, trusting in God rather than seizing power.
How to write about Banquo in the exam
Write about Banquo as a foil, always in relation to Macbeth. The strongest structure sets their reactions to the same prophecy side by side: Macbeth leaps to murder, Banquo waits and warns. His line about 'instruments of darkness' is perfect for showing the wisdom Macbeth lacks. That single contrast can carry a whole paragraph.
For a top-band point, bring in the context about King James descending from Banquo, and argue that Shakespeare deliberately made him virtuous to flatter the king and to reassure the audience that the rightful line will win. Note the one shadow on his character, that he suspects Macbeth but stays silent, to keep him human. Learn his lines from the Macbeth key quotes page.
Study Banquo as the foil to Macbeth, since comparing their responses to the witches is a classic exam focus. Then map him onto the play's ideas using the Macbeth themes page and lock in his quotes with the key quotes page.