O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! Thou mayst revenge—O slave!
Act III, Scene 3 · Banquo
Context
Banquo shouts these words as the murderers attack him, urging his son Fleance to escape in the confusion.
Analysis
The triple repetition of "fly" fragments Banquo's speech into desperate, staccato bursts that enact his physical struggle—he can barely finish a thought before another blow lands. Yet within this chaos he pivots from command ("Fly") to future possibility ("Thou mayst revenge"), compressing a father's final instruction into a half-sentence. The dash after "revenge" marks the moment his voice is cut off, leaving the idea of vengeance hanging unfinished in the air, passed to Fleance as an incomplete legacy.
Essay Tip
Support a thesis that Banquo's dying words shift the play's revenge trajectory—by naming vengeance aloud even as he dies, he plants the seed of Macbeth's future downfall, ensuring that Fleance's escape isn't just survival but carries a mission Macbeth cannot prevent.