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• Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare that tells the story of a Scottish nobleman called Macbeth.

• At the start of the play, Banquo is Macbeth’s friend and is also a general in King Duncan’s army.

• Banquo suspects that the Witches may be tricking Macbeth and he is the first to suspect Macbeth of murder.

• The Witches have predicted that Banquo’s descendants will become kings. Macbeth starts to feel threatened and pays assassins to murder him and his son.

• Banquo dies while protecting his son, Fleance, and comes back as a ghost to haunt Macbeth.

James I was the king of England and Scotland when the play Macbeth was first performed. He believed that he was a descendant of Banquo.

It has been suggested that Shakespeare presented the character of Banquo in a positive way to please the king.

Click through the slideshow to see Banquo’s key moments

Suspicious
He suspects Macbeth might have murdered Duncan to become king himself and stops trusting his old friend.

Loyal
Macbeth knows that Banquo is loyal to King Duncan. He does not involve him in his plot to murder the king.

Sceptical
Banquo doesn’t trust the Witches’ predictions. He warns Macbeth that evil creatures sometimes tell only half the truth to tempt people. In contrast to Macbeth, Banquo is not tempted to commit an evil act, even though the Witches promised his sons would become kings.

In Shakespeare’s time, many people believed that witches were real.

King James I was fascinated by witchcraft and wrote a book on the topic, which is said to have inspired Shakespeare when he was writing Macbeth.

Banquo and Macbeth start as friends and fellow warriors, but the Witches’ predictions cause tension in their relationship.

After the murder of King Duncan, Banquo becomes suspicious of Macbeth. Banquo knows that the Witches’ predictions have given Macbeth a motive for murdering King Duncan.

Macbeth orders assassins to murder Banquo and his son, Fleance, but Fleance escapes.

When Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost, he is terrified. The ghost is a reminder of the crime he has committed.

In many ways Banquo is the opposite of Macbeth. He is caring, loyal and trustworthy.

The relationship between Banquo and his son show us that Banquo is a caring, loyal character. When they are attacked his first thought is to keep his son safe and he tells his son to run away. Banquo’s son Fleance manages to escape.

Macbeth has no children. This causes more tension when Banquo is told his descendants will become kings.

What does staging a play mean?

Staging a play is how the play is presented to the audience. The director is in charge of the staging of the play, which can include lighting, set design, costumes as well as how the actors play their roles.

Watch this short video about how to stage Banquo’s ghost and then answer the following question.

Banquo is a loyal friend to Macbeth. He begins to become suspicious of his friend after the meeting with the Witches and the death of Duncan, however, he keeps his suspicions to himself.

After his murder, Banquo’s ghost haunts Macbeth. The ghost appears at the banquet and sits in Macbeth’s seat. Only Macbeth can see the ghost, so it is possible the ghost is not real and has been imagined by Macbeth.

Although Banquo is an ambitious thane, he is unwilling to commit murder to achieve power. This shows that he is more loyal than Macbeth. Although Macbeth achieves power for a short while, Banquo’s descendants later become kings of Scotland.