Macbeth Characters

?

Macbeth

  • He is a well-known warrior who is favoured by the King, however once he meets the Witches he decides that he wants to be King and will do absolutely anything to get there
  • After murdering the King, he struggles with his conscience as he does have morals. The only problem is that his ambition is his fatal flaw and will eventually kill him
  • He is easily influenced by Lady Macbeth who emasculates him to make him kill the King. However, he later becomes independent
  • He is very reluctant to kill King Duncan and has an inner battle about it due to Macbeth being honoured by the King. He even says that he will not continue with the plan in confidence. 
  • His guilty conscience after murdering the King makes him imagine things (e.g. "Macbeth doth sleep no more" and when he sees Banquo's ghost)
  • At the beginning of the play, he is praised with noble characteristics and words (e.g. "valiant", "brave", "worthy"), but later loses these (e.g. "hell-hound", "butcher", "abhorred tyrant")
  • Even at the end he still has his ambition as he fights "bear-like" even though he knows he will lose
  • He is cynical by the end and believes that life means nothing and he doesn't feel guilty anymore
1 of 7

Lady Macbeth

  • She defies everything stereotypical about an 11th Century woman as she takes control of Macbeth and influences him to kill Duncan
  • However, there is a role reversal throughout the play: she begins confident and dominant, but later becomes guilty and ends up killing herself. Macbeth leads himself.
  • She is just as ambitious as Macbeth, but appears more ruthless (although she never actually kills anyone with her bare hands like Macbeth)
  • She is very cunning (e.g. she faints with the news of Duncan's murder, covers up Macbeth's weird behaviour when he sees Banquo's ghost and plans to frame Duncan's servants of the murder)
  • She shows vulnerability when she says that she can't kill Duncan as he looks like her sleeping father; this suggests to the audience that she is putting on a facade
  • Later, she begins sleepwalking and constantly washing her hands ("a little water will clear us of this deed") and carries a candle with her ("Nor heaven peep through the blanket of darkness")
  • Her relationship with Macbeth declines throughout the novel as Macbeth's humanity slips away, it begins loving and passionate and Lady Macbeth ends anxious and alone because she can't cope with her husband's dominance and evil at the end
2 of 7

Duncan

  • He is the King of Scotland at the beginning of the play 
  • He is kind and generous and is trusting of Macbeth who has served him faithfully for years
  • Nobody can say anything bad about him, not even Macbeth ("his virtues Will plead like angels")
  • However, his flaw is that he is too trusting and doesn't see the evil in people. He doesn't suspect that Macbeth would plan to kill him
  • Macbeth says that one reason why he shouldn't kill Duncan is because he has many "virtues" and is a good king
  • He puts Scotland's need ahead of his own, which contrasts with Macbeth as King who is a tyrant, feared and hated
  • Duncan is a lot less aggressive than the warriors, like Macbeth, and sends his best soldiers to fight with him even though he isn't a soldier
  • He isn't afraid to be emotional and shows "drops of sorrow" when he's happy and talks about his "gentle senses"
3 of 7

Banquo

  • He is a thane, like Macbeth, and is with Macbeth when the Witches tell their prophecies
  • He is praised for courage, and unlike Macbeth, does what is right, doesn't let people influence him
  • He is ambitious and hopes that the prophecies come true, but doesn't act on the predictions.  He isn't corrupted by ambition like Macbeth and remains honourabole. He is Macbeth's foil.
  • To him, his conscience is more important than power and glory
  • He behaves rationally when he meets the Witches and doesn't trust them. Macbeth is "rapt"
  • He does have a dream about the Witches, which suggests that he still thinks about the predictions, but pushes them aside and doesn't let them overcome him
  • He realises that they are the "instruments of darkness" and is more cautious
  • Banquo suspects that it was Macbeth that killed Duncan, but doesn't act on these suspicions and reminds himself that he will be the "father Of many kings", which shows that ambitious thoughts can distract even the most honourable people
  • Macbeth believes that Banquo is a threat and say that there is noone but Banquo "Whose being I do fear"
  • When Macbeth's killers kill Banquo, Banquo shouts "O, treachery!" which shows that he didn't think that Macbeth would betray him
4 of 7

The Macduffs

  • Macduff is a noble and is honest and has integrity. He discovers Duncan's murder
  • He doesn't go to Macbeth's coronation, suggesting that he is suspicious of Macbeth
  • He has a strong sense of loyalty to his country and doesn't like the way that Macbeth rules so goes to England to get Malcolm, the rightful King, to raise an army against him
  • Macduff is brave and, in the end, kills Macbeth
  • He makes a mistake by leaving his wife and children alone in Scotland as Macbeth murders them
  • When he finds out that his family are dead he is overcome with grief and is in disbelief ("all my pretty chickens")
  • He kills Macbeth to avenge his family and to put the rightful heir on the throne. He thinks that his family will haunt him until he kills Macbeth
  • Lady Macduff thinks that Macduff lacks "the natural touch" i.e. he shows a lack of fatherly love
  • She shows courage by comforting her son and her love and affection for her children are clear. They speak in prose which makes the scene feel natural and homely. This makes the murders more shocking and horrible
5 of 7

The Witches

  • They look like ugly women with beards suggesting that they're unnatural and evil
  • They can see the future and all of their predictions eventually come true. They seem to act out of malice and don't gain anything from this, but just seem to enjoy it
  • Speak in short lines that rhyme and in parallelism. This makes everything that they say seem gruesome and evil
  • Banquo isn't sure whether they are real or not ("Are ye fantastical") and he is suspicious that their appearance is misleading
  • "Fair is foul and foul is fair" suggests that nothing is as it seems in the play
  • Usually accompanied by thunder and lightning which creates a dark and frightening atmosphere around them
  • They make prophecies but don't explain how it will happen. They take advantage of Macbeth's weakness and use it to control him
  • They confuse Macbeth by speaking in paradoxes. They aren't clear about the future and keep control of Macbeth
  • Hecate, the queen of Witches, becomes angry at Macbeth and punishes him by making predictions giving him a false sense of security. These predictions lead to his death.
6 of 7

Malcolm and Donaldbain

  • They are fair and honest like their father, but are aware of the danger from those closest to them and they end up fleeing to England and Ireland
  • Malcolm learns to only trust people who have proved their loyalty and tests Macduff by pretending to be a tyrant. He knows that people who seem good can be evil
  • Both men don't react to their father's murder straightaway which shows that they are sensible and unwilling to act without waiting for the right time
  • They are annoyed that Macbeth makes speeches which should be made by Duncan's sons ("Why do we hold our tongues")
  • Malcolm becomes a confident leader and earns the trust of the Scottish thanes. The thanes follow him because he is the rightful king
  • Malcolm returns to Scotland with an army and disguises the soldiers with branches (from Birnam Wood), which shows his cleverness. He leads his army to victory proving that he is a strong leader
  • He rewards everyone that fought with him and this shows his generosity, especially to those who are loyal to him
7 of 7

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar English resources:

See all English resources »See all Macbeth resources »