Throughout Shakespeare's Macbeth, Banquo is a foil to Macbeth. Banquo's logic and restraint contrasts Macbeth's erupting ambition and recklessness. Shakespeare created two opposite characters, Banquo and Macbeth who server to foil each other. A foil is someone or something that serves to contrast another; Banquo and Macbeth foil each other. Macbeth is eager, determined, and aggressive. Banquo is reserved, calm, rational and cautious. The play opens with Macbeth and Banquo returning from a battle with …showed first 75 words of 1121 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1121 total…reacted oppositely. Their actions give us insight to their character (specific main actions). Banquo's calming and logical action reflects his nature while Macbeth's rash actions reveals his opposite character. In Macbeth, Shakespeare uses Banquo and Macbeth's personalities to contrast and balance the play. The character foils in Macbeth are an example of Shakespeare's predilection for powerfully presenting two sides of an argument (the famous, "to be or not to be" speech from Hamlet, for example).