Banquo is pretty sure that it is an awful idea to trust witches because they are "instruments of darkness," but Macbeth is thinking, "Heck yes! I get to be king! Woot!!" and clearly believes that the witches have prophetic knowledge of his positive future. Who is right?
17 Comments
Becky Fesenmaier
2/5/2016 08:04:35 am
I agree with Banquo because the witches don't seem like the most trustworthy people. Witches usually don't just bring good along with them and I don't know why they would now. If I were Macbeth I would be excited but also super nervous about the whole thing because I feel like something bad would be to follow all of it like Banquo says.
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Rachel Franzen
3/26/2016 10:01:28 am
I agree with Becky on this one. I also remember something that Ethan or Dan said about how people back then were hanging and killing witches, so why would Macbeth even want to trust them in the first place? Banquo was right about how they should not trust the three witches. If I got prophecies like this from creepy witch sisters, I would probably be excited to hear that news, but I would most likely wait it out instead of going out of my way to kill the king.
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Becky Wilson
2/5/2016 08:06:19 am
I really think that Macbeth should not trust the witches.. I mean, they are witches. I'm not sure why someone would trust them in the first place. A lot of bad things could come from the witches telling him that the could be king, and Macbeth knows that. Only lady Macbeth firmly believes that it is a good idea. And, how can you be sure that a future is set in stone?
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Bailey Manor
2/5/2016 08:13:15 am
I agree with you, but I can see where Macbeth is coming from. If I were told that I would one day be the ruler of a land, I would be extremely excited and not take much into consideration. By being married to Lady Macbeth, who is firmly set on him becoming king, he is going to have to make several difficult choices in the near future. He should not let his wife commit murder just so he can become a powerful king. She doesn't want him to become king for him, but for her.
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Jacob Rielly
2/5/2016 08:17:25 am
I agree, it is a bad idea to listen to the witches. Macbeth will change who he is by listening to his wife, and I think that by becoming a different person his future will also change.
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Becky Fesenmaier
2/20/2016 06:44:03 pm
I completely agree Becky. If some sketchy looking random person came up to one of us on the street and tell us all about our future, etc. we would all probably just laugh it off because it literally would sound crazy. But I think Macbeth is too greedy to just let something like this go even if it is some really sketchy, manly looking ladies telling him.
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Jenn Hayes
2/5/2016 08:09:45 am
Yes, I think they should trust the witches! They got the power! Even though they are "instruments of darkness" it is MacBeth's choice to be on "their side." Although I agree that Banquo has a point that these witches are not trustworthy but if you want something done (like becoming king) than you have to make some sacrifices. These witches have a lot of power. They can even tell the future! So why not be on their good side because they obviously aren't going away anytime soon.
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Jordan Walkky
2/5/2016 08:18:43 am
I agree with you, Jenn! The power the witches have is too great to ignore. Sure, whether they are trustworthy or not can be questioned, but Macbeth should take the risk. This risk could possibility lead to a big reward. Who knows, the witches might later be thankful for Macbeth's trust and help him later on.
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Jacob Rielly
2/5/2016 08:10:51 am
I think Banquo is the wiser of the two. I think that their futures are told based on who they are at the time. Therefore, by ignoring the witches their prophesies will play out as told just because they are being themselves. Knowing their future however, will make them fantasize over their potential and want it right away. Macbeth shows this currently as he is planning to kill the king. Banquo, on the other hand, is taking the prophesy as a thumbs up, and that if he continues to live his life the prophesy will play itself out. Banquo is wise enough to know that developing a greedy mind will not lead to good things. In my translation of Shakespeare, Banquo says, "You just got to keep on keepin on Macbeth."
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Rachel Coyne
2/5/2016 08:10:57 am
I think that taking the witches advice is a bit risky as they are witches so who knows what they are capable of. Even though they were correct about the first two things that happen to Macbeth, the third probably cannot happen without Macbeth taking some dramatic action, so he probably should not listen to them in order to prevent himself from murdering people or getting into other trouble.
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Jordan Walkky
2/5/2016 08:11:42 am
I think that Macbeth is right about the witches. The witches knowledge of Macbeth's future seems to be accurate. Whether or not he chooses to take that knowledge further is what can be argued as right or wrong. I think it would wrong to not take the witches advice and to ignore them completely. If you were given knowledge of what your future would be would you just ignore it? That knowledge would be valuable, especially if it was a future where you get to be a king. If Macbeth listened to the witches, he could prevent himself from doing an evil deed if he so chooses to. If not, he can use the knowledge to his advantage and plan early on his murder. Either way, ignoring the witches would not be wise.
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Isaac
2/5/2016 08:13:45 am
Macbeth clearly wants to be king, and clearly trusts the the witches have a prophetic ability. If he wants to claim the throne, listening to the witches is the easiest way to get it. The witches don't seem to be trying to trick Macbeth either, as they said that he will suffer on the throne. They didn't try to convince him of anything, they were just stating the he will be king.
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Jacqueline Dieckman
2/5/2016 08:24:46 am
Macbeth would be king with or without the witches telling him so they only told him because they knew humans are greedy. Macbeth had no thoughts of killing the king before the witches told him he would be king. Banquo is right about not trusting them because the witches just want to make trouble and they will only tell you enough about your future for you want to try and mess with it. Knowing the future is not good for anyone because if you try to take your fate into your own hands, it never ends up the way you picture it.
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Rachel Coyne
2/25/2016 08:51:47 am
I think that is is okay for Macbeth to listen to the witches because although they are crazy, they are right about everything that happens. The problem with Macbeth listening to them, however, is that he is only hearing what he wants to hear and is not taking their words as warning and instead is hearing only how he can become king and getting confused by their words about the forest moving. He does not think into a deeper meaning of the words, he only hears exactly what they are saying and does not take caution when listening to them.
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Esther Gland
3/8/2016 12:10:32 pm
Well... I mean technically they're both right. The witches are definitely evil, but that doesn't mean they aren't accurate in their predictions. I do think Macbeth screwed up when he tried to make the prophecy come true by himself. If he had just been happy that he was going to get to be king someday and left it at that, things would have gone better. However, the witches were aware of Macbeth's personality and were most likely betting that he would murder people to get what he was promised. So with that being said, Banqo was the guy to listen to of the two.
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Becky Wilson
3/15/2016 12:54:32 pm
I definitely agree. It's not like the witches weren't telling the truth... It all came true! They just kind of beat around the bush and didn't tell him how badly it could go at first--like, they didn't say, "Hey so also if you listen to us, you may actually kill a bunch of people towards the end and your wife is going to kill herself." I feel like Macbeth would have listened to Banquo then.
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Jack Hannack
3/23/2016 09:25:26 am
I believe Banquo and Macbeth are both right. The witches are "instruments of darkness." Darkness represents evil and the witches are definitely evil. The death of many people can be traced to them. These people include King Duncan, the chamberlains, and the Macduffs. If the witches had not told Macbeth he would become King he probably would not have killed Duncan or murdered the Macduff family. Macbeth is also technically correct because he does end up becoming King and everything else the witches say turns out to be true.
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