Macbeth Characters

MAJOR CHARACTERS
CHARACTER & FAMILY RELATION TRAITS THEMES
Macbeth  Courageous warrior  Ambition vs Moral conscience
Lady Macbeth’s husband  Ambitious  Kingship vs Tyranny
Duncan’s kinsman  Lusts for power and wealth  Appearance vs reality
Thane of Glamis  Weak – he cannot kill Duncan without being  Violence
Thane of Cawdor pushed by Lady Macbeth  Guilt
Becomes King of Scotland  Jealous of Banquo  Supernatural
 Impatient – he does not wait for prophecy to  Deception and manipulation
come true.
 Has moral conscience at first
Lady Macbeth  Impatient and ambitious  Ambition
Macbeth’s wife  Lusts for power  Appearance vs reality
Conspirator  Scheming/ conniving  Guilt
 Clever  Supernatural
 Manipulative  Deception and manipulation
 Brave  Gender issues
Banquo  Loyal to the king  Supernatural
Macbeth’s friend  Brave  Ambition
Thane  Somewhat Skeptical  Deception
 Impatient
Macduff  Fiercely loyal to Scotland  Loyalty
Thane of Fife  Patriotic  Violence
Defeats Macbeth in the battle  Sacrifices his life to save people  Deception
 Puts the country before his family
 Stands for justice
Malcolm  Patient  Loyal
Duncan’s heir  Brave and intelligent  Patience
Flees following King’s murder  Loyal to Scotland  Kingship vs Tyranny
 Cautious about whom to trust  Deception
MINOR CHARACTERS
The Three Witches  Catalysts for the play’s action  Supernatural
Give Macbeth unclear  Aim to destroy Macbeth  Evil
prophecies
Show Macbeth incomplete
visions
King Duncan  Generous (reward people who do good)  Kingship
King of Scotland  Murdered by Macbeth  Deception
Father to Malcolm and  Respectable
Donaldbain  Inspires loyalty
Macbeth’s cousin
Fleance  has affectionate relationship with his father  violence
Banquo’s son  escapes murderers  loyalty
Donalbain  he does not say or do much  deception
Duncan’s second son  flees to Ireland
Lady Macduff  a loving wife  loyal
Macduff’s wife  worries a lot  gender issues
 loyal to her husband
Macduff’s son  smart mouthed son  loyal
 fails to escape the murder
The porter  provides comic relief after the murder of the  Appearance vs reality
Guards the gate of Macbeth’s king
castle  Shakespeare makes use of a porter at the
gate of hell to create humour. Inverness
represents hell and Macbeth the devil.
Other Thanes  Ross and Angus deliver news to Macbeth  Loyalty
Ross  Ross is loyal to Malcolm
Angus  Lennox delivers news but a bit suspicious
Menteith  Menteith and Caithness are also loyal to
Lennox Scots
Caithness  They suspect Macbeth of foul play.
Murderers  Follow Macbeth’s instructions  Violence
Killers hired by Macbeth  Agree with Macbeth that Banquois their  Loyalty
enemy
Siward and Young Siward  Backup for Malcolm  Generous
King and prince of England
Captain  Badly injured
Soldier in Duncan’s army  Very talkative
 Tells of Macbeth’s bravery
Seyton  Tells Macbeth of Queen’s death
Macbeth’s servant
Doctor  He does not like serving usurping
Not a psychiatrist Murderers
Hecate  Wishes for Macbeth’s downfall  Evil
Goddess of witchcraft  Supernatural
 Ambition

“There is no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.” –