This resource provides a detailed look into each of the characters of Shakespeare's play "Macbeth", as well as some key debates of some characters and a brief explanation of how each one contributes to the play.
Characters included:
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
The Witches + Hecate
Duncan
Malcolm...
MACBETH
• Protagonist and tragic hero. A brilliant man who up until the start of the play has been
increasingly successful and heroic throughout his life. He has good, strong friendships
and a great reputation. The Captain fuels his reputation at the beginning of the play
(Act 1.2) before we even meet Macbeth personally in 1.3: ‘brave Macbeth… well he
deserves that name’.
• With a tragedy, it is the audience’s job to try and figure out the tragic hero’s fatal flaw
(hamartia). Macbeth has several possible tragic flaws: greed, ambition, susceptibility
to temptation, mental weakness, lack of Christian faith, and enjoyment of violence
among others.
• A Scottish war general - a captain in King Duncan’s army.
• Thane (lord) of Glamis at the beginning of the play, then promoted thane of Cawdor
after the traitor is destroyed, and finally King after Duncan is murdered. He climbs up
the social hierarchy.
• A ‘brave’ soldier with a ‘noble’ reputation - in favour with King Duncan after defeating
the traitor who opposed him at the beginning of the play.
• Powerful in war, but unstable in political situations - Shakespeare is making the
point that a good leader in war is not the same as a good king or ruler, who has the
interests of the people at heart.
• A dynamic character who changes throughout the play - rather than analysing him as
if he is the same the whole way through, try to analyse him in his various stages of
downfall.
• Destructively ambitious, but also full of guilt after committing murder.
• Conflicted internal psychology - revealed through soliloquies and asides. He is at times
torn between good and evil - he is hesitant to kill Duncan, but after the first murder,
he is encouraged to commit increasingly bloodthirsty and evil acts, showing how bad
actions lead one down a path of evil and encourage darkness to take hold.
• Abandoned by God / the forces of goodness when he starts to commit terrible acts.
• Susceptible to evil forces, such as Lady Macbeth’s ruthless ambition and the Witches’
manipulation - it is arguable that he is not entirely evil at the beginning, but that he
allows evil to take hold of his mind by making a series of decisions based on greed and
lust for power.
• Very much in love with Lady Macbeth, which enables him to be manipulated by her,
although they have an unconventional relationship because they don’t have children
- he has a ‘barren sceptre’ and ‘fruitless crown’, he will be left without an heir to the
throne. It is possible to interpret the two characters as an allegory of Adam and Eve
(see Lady Macbeth for more info on this interpretation).
• Starting with the murder of Banquo, he takes less direction from the evil forces and is
more actively evil, deciding to commit evil acts by himself without the input of Lady
Macbeth and without any direct comment from the Witches.
• Some say that he redeems himself towards the end of the play, when he decides to
confront his fate and fight MacDuff, even though he knows he will lose. Though bad,
he is certainly a brave character and he does accept responsibility for his actions and
choices. A tragic hero cannot be entirely villainous, we admire them in some ways yet
are repelled by them in others; they must be a mixture of good and bad conflicting
qualities.
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