Compare the reactions of Macbeth and Banquo to the witches in Macbeth.J. Wilson believes that Banquo is more interested in the witches than is...

In Act 1 Scene 3 of Macbeth, Banquo
does appear to be more interested in the witches and their intentions than he is in the
prophecies themselves.  Banquo has never seen the witches before, so he is not familiar
with them, and therefore, he does not trust their apparent intentions.  He believes that
they are really trying to trick him and Macbeth, so he remains wary.  Macbeth, on the
other hand, does not seem to question the witches' intentions and thus he is lured by
the prophecies.  In the face of Banquo, Macbeth pretends that he does not much care
about their words, but he takes the prophecies to heart and begins to dream about what
it would be like for the prophecies to come true.  So, Banquo does seem to be more
interested in the witches--he is not driven by greed or ambition, so his good nature
allows him to be more critical of the potential harm that the witches' words might
bring.