"Give me my sword.- Who's there?" "A friend."

This quote is important because, it signifies an important plot point; Banquo and Macbeth are friends. Macbeth is not just about violence, murder, and changes in power, it is also a story of friendship. Even though Macbeth and Banquo are commanders of an army, they seem to be very close in the beginning of the story, so much so that when one of them is in trouble, the other is not far. This is why Shakespeare decided to use the word "friend" to describe the relationship between the two. At first, Banquo sounds scared and ready to defend himself, but when Macbeth responds, he feels calm again and has a conversation with him.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now?”

Image
The literary element used in this sentence is assonance. The assonance occurs in the word "Fife" and the word "wife." "The Thane of Fife" is representing Macduff. His "wife" was killed at his castle by people that were sent by Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is questioning what happened to her. The assonance is important because when Lady Macbeth brings her up, she is questioning where she is. Since Macduff’s wife has died, it is foreshadowed that Lady Macbeth might die soon too. The author places the literary element here to foreshadow Lady Macbeth's death. Without the device, the reader probably would not catch the foreshadowing.
Read more

“Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn the power of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth.”

Image
In this play, the witches are known for not being descriptive in their foresight. First, they told Macbeth that he would EVENTUALLY become king of Scotland. Now, they are telling him another important foresight that will cause him to go even crazier. This is an example of foreshadowing, because why else would the witches make an apparition to tell him. Macbeth did not catch the foreshadowing because he was too busy worrying about Macduff.  Foreshadowing plays a key role in this play, because it displays that no matter how hard the characters try, there always seems to be something coming up in the future that they are not expecting.
Read more

“Now does he feel his title hang loose about him, like a giant’s robe upon a dwarfish thief.”

Image
This quote uses the literary element of a simile. The main reason Shakespeare used a literary device to show emphasis on the quote spoken is to allow the reader and audience to agree with Angus in not liking Macbeth and his actions. The simile is comparing Macbeth's title to a small guy trying to wear a large robe and failing due to the weight and size of the robe. Thus, the reader and audience can conclude that Macbeth is a terrible leader and ruler of Scotland.
Read more