CHARACTERS DESCRIPTION - SHAKESPEARE’S MACBETH
●MACBETH: he is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis. Macbeth is a brave
soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a virtuous one. He is easily tempted into
murder to fulfill his ambitions to the throne. His response to every problem is
violence and murder. Macbeth is never comfortable in his role as a criminal. He is
unable to bear the psychological consequences of his atrocities.
●LADY MACBETH: Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power
and position. Early in the play she seems to be the stronger, cunning and more
ruthless of the two, as she urges her husband to kill Duncan and seize the crown.
After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls victim to guilt and
madness. Her conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually commits
suicide.
●BANQUO: the brave, noble general whose children, according to the witches’
prophecy, will inherit the Scottish throne. Like Macbeth, Banquo thinks ambitious
thoughts, but he does not translate those thoughts into action. He represents the
path Macbeth chose not to take, in which ambition need not lead to betrayal and
murder. It is Banquo’s ghost (and not Duncan’s) that haunts Macbeth.
●KING DUNCAN: The good King of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the
crown, murders. Duncan is the model of a virtuous, benevolent, and farsighted ruler.
His death symbolizes the destruction of an order in Scotland that can be restored
only when Malcolm, his son, occupies the throne.
●MACDUFF: a Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth’s kingship from the start. He
eventually becomes a leader of the crusade to unseat Macbeth. Macduff also desires
vengeance for Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s wife and young son.
●MALCOLM: the son of Duncan. Malcolm becomes a serious challenge to Macbeth
with Macduff’s aid. Prior to this, he appears weak and uncertain of his own power,
as when he and Donalbain flee Scotland after their father’s murder.
●FLEANCE: Banquo’s son, who survives Macbeth’s attempt to murder him.
●LENNOX: a Scottish nobleman.
●ROSS: a Scottish nobleman.
●THE MURDERERS: a group of ruffians conscripted by Macbeth to murder Banquo,
Fleance, and Macduff’s wife and children.
●LADY MACDUFF: Macduff’s wife. She will be killed together with his son.
●DONALBAIN: Duncan’s son and Malcolm’s younger brother.
●PORTER: the drunken doorman of Macbeth’s castle.
