Macbett—Banco

Macbett—Banco is a political alliance that curdles into lethal rivalry. Macbett offers Banco a place in the new order they plan to build together, but Banco’s doubts about that promise and his knowledge of their shared crime undermine the partnership. When Banco’s private reflections reveal both remorse and ambitions of his own, Macbett hears them as a threat to his rule and kills him; Banco’s later appearance turns their broken bargain into a public accusation.

From Comradeship to Political Alliance

In their first exchange here, Macbett speaks warmly of Lady Duncan, describing her as more perceptive and intellectually serious than he had assumed. Banco accepts his account and, noticing the dagger at Macbett’s belt, compliments it. Macbett says Lady Duncan gave it to him, then welcomes the chance to speak with Banco after their previous efforts to find one another. The dagger, an intimate gift from a third party, is also a concrete object carried into a conversation that soon becomes a discussion of shared political action.

Macbett presents himself as Banco’s advocate with Duncan. Lady Duncan, he says, is troubled by Duncan’s thoughtlessness and wants to make amends; at Macbett’s suggestion, she has appealed to the Archduke on Banco’s behalf. Macbett says they have both intervened. Banco asks why the efforts should continue when they have failed. Macbett answers that they will use stronger arguments and try again, while his repeated description of Duncan as stubborn turns the failure of petition into a hint that persuasion may give way to force.

That turn becomes explicit when the two men discuss self-rule. Macbett says Duncan must be driven out, and Banco endorses overthrowing him. Macbett proposes dividing the kingdom: he will take the throne, while Banco becomes his chamberlain. Banco recasts the office as second-in-command, but Macbett corrects him—third, actually—because the conspiracy has another member, Lady Duncan. The plan binds the two men through a shared objective while already setting limits on Banco’s rank. Macbett offers him authority, but not equality.

Promise, Prophecy, and Unequal Ambition

The weakness in their arrangement emerges when Banco reflects alone on the witches’ predictions. He understands Macbett’s rise as the next fulfillment: after Baron Candor and Baron Glamiss, Macbett is to become king. Banco also recognizes that Duncan’s death was necessary to that succession, since Duncan could not constitutionally transfer the throne by abdication. Banco admits that he participated in Duncan’s murder, but resents the result: Macbett has gained wealth, fame, power, and Lady Duncan, while Banco expects only the chamberlain’s position.

Banco’s distrust is grounded in Macbett’s record as well as in his own resentment. Macbett has promised to make him chamberlain, but Banco doubts he will keep his word, recalling that Macbett had also promised loyalty to Duncan before killing him. Banco cannot dismiss his own responsibility: he struck Duncan because of a grudge, regrets the deed, and says he cannot get it out of his mind. Unlike Macbett, he has no comparable success or fame to suppress his remorse. Their shared crime therefore does not bind them through solidarity; it becomes a measure by which each judges the other.

The prophecy of Banco’s future descendants sharpens the imbalance. Banco takes some consolation from the prediction that he will father a line of rulers, though he has no children and is not married. He considers marrying the Lady in Waiting, imagines using the witches’ warnings to anticipate danger, and plans eventually to curtail Macbett’s power from within the court. His hope of becoming Macbett’s hidden adviser, and perhaps ruling during his own lifetime, remains a private intention rather than an action already taken. Macbett, however, does not hear it as speculation. Having hidden nearby to overhear Banco, he interprets the plan as treachery and becomes alarmed that the prophecy was shared with Banco but withheld from him.

The Alliance Ends in Murder

Macbett concludes that Banco’s descendants threaten his own hold on the throne. He frames the killing as a way to destroy that future at its source, then calls Banco back to him. Banco comes onstage in response, and Macbett accuses him of repaying intended favors with disloyalty before stabbing him in the heart. The scene turns their earlier promise of office into its opposite: the chamberlain Macbett had offered is replaced by a sudden, fatal attack.

As Banco falls, Macbett asks where the predicted kings are now and declares that they will perish with their father, cut off before their line can begin. The words make the purpose of the murder explicit. Macbett is not merely eliminating a present rival; he is trying to defeat a prophecy about succession by destroying the person through whom it is supposed to come true. His attempt to seize control of destiny repeats the coercive logic that brought him to power: Duncan was removed by force, and now Banco is killed to preserve the throne Macbett took.

Banco’s Return and the Broken Bargain

At Macbett’s feast, Banco appears in the doorway and advances onto the stage. His return reverses the concealment that preceded his death: before, Macbett hid to listen to Banco; now Banco’s presence interrupts Macbett’s public display of authority. Banco dares Macbett to acknowledge him and then, with the guests frightened and drawing back, says that all he can do is curse his killer.

Macbett insists that Banco cannot make him feel remorse. He justifies the killing by claiming that Banco would have killed him first, as Banco had killed Duncan, and reminds him of the chamberlainship he had intended to grant. Banco’s reply exposes the imbalance behind this defense: Macbett has taken Duncan’s place, yet Duncan was the ruler who made Macbett Baron twice over. Their final exchange brings the initial bargain into judgment. Macbett invokes a favor he never fulfilled as proof of generosity; Banco answers by recalling the loyalty and advancement Macbett received from the king he betrayed. The alliance ends not in a settled contest between two claimants, but in an accusation that follows Macbett into the ceremony of his rule.