Question

How does Macbeth convince the murderers to kill Banquo? Cite specific lines to support your answer.

A. He promises them gold and rewards.
B. He appeals to their sense of justice.
C. He manipulates their fear and questions their manhood.
D. He offers them power in his kingdom.

Answer 1

Macbeth convinces the murderers to kill Banquo by manipulating their fear and questioning their manhood, using their sense of injustice and anger, as well as challenging their masculinity to spur them into action.

Step-by-step explanation:

In Shakespeare's Macbeth, Macbeth convinces the murderers to kill Banquo by manipulating their fear and questioning their manhood.

He suggests that Banquo is their enemy and the source of all their misfortunes, playing on their sense of injustice and deep-seated anger. Macbeth also challenges their manliness, insinuating that only acting against Banquo will prove them to be real men.

Specific lines that support this are when Macbeth asks the murderers, "Are you so gospell'd to pray for this good man and for his issue, whose heavy hand hath bow'd you to the grave and beggar'd yours for ever?" (Act III, Scene I) and "I am one, my liege, whom the vile blows and buffets of the world have so incensed that I am reckless what I do to spite the world." (Act III, Scene I).

This showcases Macbeth's skill in persuasion and manipulation.