Banquo's Death In Macbeth

Banquo’s murder has a far more profound effect of Macbeth’s well-being than Duncan’s killing. Banquo’s murder has changed Macbeth by causing him to go mad with guilt, creating the ghost of Banquo in his mind. After he had murdered Duncan, back in Inverness, Macbeth laments after ‘finding’ out Duncan has been killed. He cries out saying “Had I but died an hour before this chance, / I had lived a blessed time; for from this instant, / There 's nothing serious in mortality. / All is but toys. Renown and grace is dead. / The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees / Is left this vault to brag of.” Macbeth (2.3.83-88). Here, Macbeth is able to let loose some guilt by mourning Duncan, allowing him to life some of the burden off of his mind. He says how “All is but toys,” showing how he views them all as toys, being played …show more content…
Furthermore, his very nerves are trembling, showing that he cannot control his fear, that his entire being is scared of Banquo, demonstrating his subconsciously rooted guilt. As the other lords cannot see the ghost, this can be inferred to be his own hallucination, formed from his guilty subconscious, revealing how severely the guilt over Banquo’s death has eroded his mental well-being. Macbeth’s mind is also shown to be in disarray, as his nature is to fight things out, shown by him listing out vicious beasts, and cannot process, nor accept that Banquo is a ghost and therefore incorporeal, thus causing him to descend into madness. He further attempts to challenge Banquo, saying “dare to the desert with thy sword,” revealing that he does not believe Banquo is dead, despite seeing his blood on the murderers, showing his growing distrust of his senses and people. This demonstrates how Banquo’s murder had utterly decimated Macbeth’s well-being, causing him to become mad. Furthermore, the ghost is described as “horrible