MACBETH CHARACTER LIST

MACBETH PLAY BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Introduction William Shakespeare 

William Shakespeare (26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's greatest dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard").His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems, and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. They also continue to be studied and reinterpreted

MACBETH CHARACTER LIST

Macbeth

Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis and quickly the Thane of Cawdor, A Scottish noble and an initially valiant military man, Macbeth, after a supernatural prophecy and the urging of his wife, Lady Macbeth, commits regicide, usurping the kingship of Scotland. He thereafter lives in anxiety and fear, unable to rest or to trust his nobles. He leads a reign of terror until defeated by his former ally Macduff. The throne is then restored to the rightful heir, the murdered King Duncan's son, Malcolm.

In the play, Macbeth is a Scottish general who has been fighting for King Duncan. Three witches tell Macbeth that he will become King of Scotland. Macbeth is spurred by his ambition and his wife, and he murders King Duncan then accedes to the throne. He is wracked with guilt and paranoia.

Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, is a brave Scottish general in King Duncan's army.

Macbeth is the Thane? of Glamis and married to Lady Macbeth. He is a brave and successful captain in King Duncan’s army. He meets three witches who tell him that he will one day be king. Persuaded by his wife, he murders King Duncan and is appointed king. During his reign, he begins to fear the loyalty of those around him including Banquo and Macduff. He tries to keep the throne by murdering more people but is tormented by ghosts and dreams. He is defeated by Malcolm’s army and killed by Macduff.

Facts we learn about Macbeth at the start of the play:

He is the Thane of Glamis.

He is a captain in King Duncan’s army.

He killed the rebel Macdonald in battle and helped King Duncan to achieve victory.

He is married to Lady Macbeth and they live in a castle in Inverness.

Lady Macbeth

Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth (c.1603–1607). The wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes queen of Scotland. She dies off-stage in the last act, an apparent suicide.

Lady Macbeth is a powerful presence in the play, most notably in the first two acts. Following the murder of King Duncan, however, her role in the plot diminishes. She becomes an uninvolved spectator to Macbeth's plotting and a nervous hostess at a banquet dominated by her husband's hallucinations. Her sleepwalking scene in the fifth act is a turning point in the play, and her line "Out, damned spot!" has become a phrase familiar to many speakers of the English language. The report of her death late in the fifth act provides the inspiration for Macbeth's "Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" speech.

Lady Macbeth is even more ambitious and ruthless than her husband. As soon as an opportunity to gain power presents itself, she has a plan in mind. She uses her influence to persuade Macbeth that they are taking the right course of action and even takes part in the crime herself.

For a while she is able to suppress her actions but eventually she becomes unable to deal with the guilt of what she has done. She becomes unable to sleep, and mentally unstable, eventually dying in tragic circumstances.

Banquo in Macbeth

Banquo is another general in King Duncan's army and Macbeth's best friend. While both men have ambitious thoughts, Banquo is more cautious and does not resort to murder to get what he wants.

Banquo is aware that the Witches' predictions may be tricking Macbeth into evil actions and is the first to suspect Macbeth of murder. He dies while protecting his son, Fleance, and comes back as a ghost to haunt Macbeth.

Banquo is Macbeth’s brave and noble best friend, as well as his second victim. Banquo enters the play with Macbeth after both have fought valiantly for Duncan’s side in a recent battle. Duncan acknowledges Banquo as “no less deserved” of praise than Macbeth, but from the beginning of the play Banquo is overshadowed by Macbeth’s accomplishments and ambition. However, Banquo is not entirely without ambition of his own.

He asks for a prophecy from the Witches, too, and is pleased to learn that his children will rule Scotland. Similar to Macbeth, Banquo seems unable to understand the cost of the Witches’ prophecy will be his life. In Act III, murderers kill Banquo at Macbeth’s command, and try to kill his young son, Fleance, who manages to get away. Soon after his death, Banquo appears in the form of a ghost at the banquet the Macbeths give at their castle. At play’s end, Banquo’s greatest import remains offstage: his son, Fleance, who could come back to revenge his father’s death and take the throne of Scotland, fulfilling the Witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s sons will one day be king.

Macduff

At the beginning of the play, Macduff is a loyal and brave noble fighting on Duncan's side. He immediately distrusts Macbeth's claim that Duncan was killed by Macduff, the Thane of Fife, is Macbeth's deadly enemy.

He discovers Duncan's body and becomes Malcolm's chief supporter, following him to England to support him in raising an army against Macbeth. When he learns of the murders of his wife and family, Macduff feels guilty about leaving them and driven by a need for revenge.

According to the Witches' prediction, Macduff is the only one who can stop Macbeth. The two men meet face-to-face on the battlefield and Macduff kills Macbeth.

The Three Witches

The Three Witches, also known as the Weird Sisters or Wayward Sisters, are characters in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth (c. 1603–1607). They hold a striking resemblance to the three Fates of classical mythology, and are, perhaps, intended as a twisted version of the white-robed incarnations of destiny.

 

The witches serve two main functions within the play. As witches, they immediately bring a supernatural element to the play, which furthers the theme of "fair is foul, and foul is fair." Additionally, they serve as the instruments of fate by delivering their prophecies to Macbeth, who is then motivated to pursue his ambition.

King Duncan 

King Duncan is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Macbeth. He is the father of two youthful sons (Malcolm and Donalbain), and the victim of a well-plotted regicide in a power grab by his trusted captain Macbeth. The origin of the character lies in a narrative of the historical Donnchad mac Crinain, King of Scots, in Raphael Holinshed's 1587 The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, a history of Britain familiar to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Unlike Holinshed's incompetent King Duncan (who is credited in the narrative with a "feeble and slothful administration"), Shakespeare's King Duncan is crafted as a sensitive, insightful, and generous father-figure whose murder grieves Scotland and is accounted the cause of turmoil in the natural world.

King Duncan is a father-figure who is generous and kind. Duncan is also firm ("No more that Thane of Cawdor shall deceive / Our bosom interest. Go pronounce his present death / And with his former title greet Macbeth."), insightful ("There's no art / To find the mind's construction in the face."), and sensitive ("This castle hath a pleasant seat. The air / Nimbly and sweetly recommends itself / Unto our gentle senses."). However, the role is full of irony; he is completely deceived in the intents of Macbeth and therefore may come across as naive. Although a modern reader may view Duncan as an incompetent monarch in this respect, Duncan represents moral order within the play and his murder signals the onset of chaos.

The King of Scotland, and the father of Malcolm and Donalbain. Macbeth murders him to get the crown. Duncan is the model of a good, virtuous king who puts the welfare of the country above his own and seeks, like a gardener, to nurture and grow the kingdom that is his responsibility. Duncan is the living embodiment of the political and social order that Macbeth destroys.

Malcolm - The son of Duncan, whose restoration to the throne signals Scotland’s return to order following Macbeth’s reign of terror. Malcolm becomes a serious challenge to Macbeth with Macduff’s aid (and the support of England). Prior to this, he appears weak and uncertain of his own power, as when he and Donalbain flee Scotland after their father’s murder.

Hecate - The goddess of witchcraft, who helps the three witches work their mischief on Macbeth.

Fleance - Banquo’s son, who survives Macbeth’s attempt to murder him. At the end of the play, Fleance’s whereabouts are unknown. Presumably, he may come to rule Scotland, fulfilling the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s sons will sit on the Scottish throne.

Lennox - A Scottish nobleman.

Ross - A Scottish nobleman.

The Murderers -  A group of ruffians conscripted by Macbeth to murder Banquo, Fleance (whom they fail to kill), and Macduff’s wife and children.

Porter - The drunken doorman of Macbeth’s castle.

 

Lady Macduff -  Macduff’s wife. The scene in her castle provides our only glimpse of a domestic realm other than that of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. She and her home serve as contrasts to Lady Macbeth and the hellish world of Inverness.

Donalbain -  Duncan’s son and Malcolm’s younger brother.