banquos ghost quotes

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Banquo's ghost.

Act 3 Scene 4 – Key Scene

In this scene, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth host a banquet for the Scottish thanes. A murderer tells Macbeth that he has been successful in killing Banquo, but that Fleance escaped. During the banquet, Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo sitting at his place at the table. He is horrified. Lady Macbeth reassures the guests that it is a momentary fit and tells Macbeth to stop. The ghost disappears and Macbeth is calm. However, moments later, the ghost appears again. Macbeth is so distressed that Lady Macbeth tells the thanes to leave. Macbeth decides to visit the witches the next day.

You can take a look at the scene here. Using the following steps, remember to look at it line by line and if you’re looking at the scene for the first time, don’t worry if you don’t understand everything at once.

Take a look at the scene. What stage directions are there in the text? Who speaks the most? Actors at the RSC often put the language into their own words to help them understand what they are saying. We’ve added some definitions (in black), questions (in red) and paraphrased some sections (in green) to help with this. You can click on the text that is highlighted for extra guidance.

You, Banquo’s ghost, cannot accuse me of killing you.

What do you think Ross and the thanes think about Macbeth’s unexpected behaviour?

If you make a fuss of him, you will make things worse.

This question is directed at Macbeth. How public do you think this question is? How could you stage this question and the conversation that comes afterwards, without the thanes overhearing?

Ridiculous! This is all imaginary. This is exactly like when you had a vision of a dagger before you killed Duncan.

This feeling is completely unreal in comparison to real fears.

A fairy tale.

Macbeth is responding to the ghost’s movements. What do you think the ghost is doing? Can the audience see the ghost or is it all in his imagination?

If buried bodies rise, there will be no bones left in the graves - like in the stomach of a bird of prey.

Have you completely lost sense of who you are as a man, with your silliness?

• Listen Read the scene aloud. Are there any words or lines that really stand out? What do you think are the key moments in this scene? What does it reveal about Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as characters?

Play scene in performance

Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost in the 1952 production of Macbeth.

Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost in the 1946 production of Macbeth.

Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost in the 1955 production of Macbeth.

Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost in the 1938 production of Macbeth.

Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost in the 1996 production of Macbeth.

Greg Hicks as Macbeth and Louis Hilyer as Banquo's ghost in the 2004 production of Macbeth.

Macbeth and Banquo's ghost in the 2007 production of Macbeth.

Christopher Eccleston as Macbeth and Raphael Sowole as Banquo's ghost in the 2018 production of Macbeth.

Macbeth and Banquo's ghost in the 2011 production of Macbeth.

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Macbeth Hallucinations

Hallucination 2: Banquos ghost

When Macbeth arrives to dinner he finds out that all of the seats are full, and one person points out a seat which is empty, this seat was Banquo’s. At this same time Macbeth is notified that Banquo has just died . Prithee see there! ehold! look! lo! How say you?   “Why, what care i? If thou canst nod, speak too.   If charnel houses and our graves must send   Those that we bury back, our monuments   Shall be the maws of kites.  “ This quote is reminding Macbeth that he has killed a former friend. The apparition of Banquos ghost clearly exemplifies that Macbeth is reaching insanity. It exemplifies it because Macbeth is unable to control himself from the apparition when he is at the middle of dinner. Macbeth even says to the ghost to fight against him. When Banquo’s ghost appears Macbeth says to him “ Thou canst say I did it. Never shake/Thy gory locks at me”. In this quote Macbeth is saying to Banquo that he didn’t had participation in his death besides knowing that he was the one who gave the order When all of this happends Lady Macbeth dismisses all of the persons who are at dinner. The hallucination also reminds Macbeth that he has murdered a good friend of his, but besides that it reminds him of guilt. Macbeth is now able to kill anyone that comes through his path.

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One thought on “ hallucination 2: banquos ghost ”.

Mr Magana great job with post 2 because it has the perfect combination between the communication and interpretation of the information. Evidently, for Macbeth, Banquo’s death was notable event in his life because of the friendship they had. Also, I enjoyed your analysis about how this hallucination shows Macbeth’s insanity. Obviously, the hallucinations in Macbeth had a crucial role in the development of the story and without this blog I am sure I would had never noticed their importance

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Macbeth - Act 3, scene 4

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Last updated: Fri, Jul 31, 2015

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Act 3, scene 4.

As Macbeth’s banquet begins, one of Banquo’s murderers appears at the door to tell Macbeth of Banquo’s death and Fleance’s escape. Returning to the table, Macbeth is confronted by Banquo’s ghost, invisible to all but Macbeth. While Lady Macbeth is able to dismiss as a momentary fit Macbeth’s expressions of horror at the ghost’s first appearance, the reappearance of the ghost and Macbeth’s outcries in response to it force Lady Macbeth to send all the guests away. Alone with Lady Macbeth, Macbeth resolves to meet the witches again. He foresees a future marked by further violence.

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Notes on Ghost of Banquo in Macbeth by Shakespeare

Back to: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Banquo, a general in King Duncan’s army and a friend of Macbeth serve as a contrasting character to Macbeth. In the play, he is introduced to us in the same scene alongside Macbeth and he also sees and receives a prophecy from the three witches at the same time.

But the effect on both of them is dramatically different. Macbeth’s evil is sharply demarked in comparison to the clear conscience of Banquo.

He warns Macbeth after listening to the prophecies by the three witches that “ oftentimes, to win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray us. ”

He revolts against the possibility of any such things even in his thoughts. Knowing that his coming generation will be comprised of kings doesn’t spring him into action the way it does in Macbeth. 

Banquo is a righteous father and asks for no aid to any hint of ambition which curiously comes to him after listening to the prophecy. He says to the witches that he “ neither beg nor fear your favours nor your hate. ”

We eventually sympathise with him because of the way he dies without any foreknowledge of his own death while coming to attend the banquet organised by his own murderer.

There is a suggestion in the play to his knowledge regarding misdeeds done by Macbeth when in the Act III Scene 1 he says to Macbeth that “ Thou hast it now, King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, As the weird women promised, and, I fear, Thou play’dst most foully for’t. ”

Significance of Banquo’s Ghost

In an archetypal way, after Banquo’s cold murder, his spirit seems to have transcended his mortal death. At the table, it’s only Macbeth who is able to see him. This dramatic situation reveals the paranoia running under the maintained grandeur of Macbeth.

When Macbeth comes across the witches later alone, to mislead him they show him certain apparitions and a vision of Banquo walking with a mirror next to eight other descendants.

The play is supposedly believed to be performed under the watch of King James to whom Shakespeare’s allegiance was true. King James was in the ninth generation of descendants of Banquo, the historical character hence those eight descendants in the first vision of Macbeth regarding Banquo’s Ghost

Banquo’s Ghost at the banquet table is a subversive attack on the composure of Macbeth. It disarms him of what he manages himself to be and aims at his vulnerability otherwise saved by Lady Macbeth .

It marks the solid return of Macbeth’s conscience, the beginning of his critical suffering for the evil deeds done by him. In a symbolic way, Shakespeare positions him in the very seat of Macbeth which is Macbeth’s greatest fear.

It dismantles his hardly maintained sanity. When Ghost exits finally, Macbeth cries “ why, so. Being gone, I am a man again. ” In the play, Banquo’s Ghost marks a critical juncture. 

The time which Macbeth is supposed to celebrate ironically marks his descend towards his final disintegration and defeat. Banquo’s Ghost reminds Macbeth of everything which he possibly wants to avoid from the bloody past and a future which he fearfully imagines.