Characters

Macbeth

a Scottish general and Thane of Glamis
he is led astray by a wicked prophecy that predicts him to be the future king of Scotland
a brave soldier and powerful man, yet he is not virtuous and guided by greed
easily tempted into murdering the actual king of Scotland in order to become king himself
in his quest to secure his regency, he becomes a tyrant - every problem is solved with violence and murder
although he actively decides to murder anyone who hinders him from becoming and being king, he is not comfortable doing so as he can‘t bear the psychological consequences of his crimes

the devilish wife of Macbeth
her ambition with regard to power and position helps to drive her husband toward the desperate act of murder
at the beginning, she seems to be the stronger and more uncompromising than her husband since she pushes him to kill the king
as her husband‘s cruelty and her own guilt reflect on her, she descends into madness - even more than her husband
her conscience affects her to such an extent that she commits suicide
she and her husband seem to be madly in love and a lot of her speeches imply that her influence over him is mainly sexual
as they both alienate themselves from the world through their partnership in crime, their attachment to each other grows

three agents of Fate
the witches are three old women who plot mischief against Macbeth using charms, spells and prophecies
their prophecies lead Macbeth on a quest to kill King Duncan, to answer for the deaths of Banquo, Lady Macduff and her son and to trust in his own immortality
the witches are servants of Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft
they are evocative of the mythological Fates who in turn are responsible for weaving the threads of human destiny
the witches delight in abusing their knowledge of the fate of human beings

brave and noble general
according to the witches‘ prophecy, his children will inherit the Scottish throne
hearing the prophecy, Banquo submerges in ambitious thoughts; however, he does not put those thoughts into action
Banquo is a contrasting character to Macbeth since he represents the path Macbeth did not chose to take - his ambition does not lead him to betrayal and murder
his ghost embodies Macbeth‘s guilt for killing Banquo

Banquo‘s son
escapes Macbeth‘s plot to kill him and will hence go on to be father to a line of kings
the reader does not know what happened to Fleance at the end of the play
presumably, he came to rule Scotland and hence fulfilled the witches‘ prophecy

King of Scotland
he is popular and honored by the people due to his victories against rebels and the Norwegians
Duncan is the model of a virtuous, benevolent, and farsighted ruler
his death symbolizes the destruction of an order in Scotland that can only be restored when his family rules over Scotland again
because he decides to pass the crown to his son Malcolm, he faces an early death

son of Duncan
his coming back to claim the throne signalizes Scotland‘s return to order after Macbeth‘s reign of terror
collaborates with Macduff in order to challenge Macbeth
before, he apppears weak and uncertain since he decides to flee Scotland with his brother Donalbain after their father is murdered

Thane of Scotland who discovers the murdered King Duncan
he suspects Macbeth and thus turns against him, eventually becoming the leader of the crusade to get rid of Macbeth
he flees from potential threat to England and joins Malcolm
he swears to avenge the murder of his wife and his son

Macduff‘s wife
she and her lifestyle contrast the one the Macbeth‘s live in the hellish world of Inverness

they comment on the events, all of them have some wisdom and foresight to share
the porter associates Macbeth‘s castle with hell
the Old Man compares the murder of King Duncan with the instability of the natural world
the Doctors recognize disease and disorder even though they cannot cure it

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