Macbeth Characters

3 apparitions an armed head (beware Macduff), a bloody child (no one born of a woman can harm you), and a child holding a tree (you will reign until Birnam Wood (forest) moves to Dunsinane)
Angus, Menteith, and Caithness Scottish nobles who are opposed to Macbeth as King of Scotland and join Malcolm and Macduff in the war against Macbeth
Banquo also receives a prophecy from the witches but does not change his actions because of it; Macbeth murders him and his ghost returns to haunt Macbeth
Banquo’s prophecy you will not be king but your sons will
Donalbain one of Duncan’s sons who is thought to have murdered Duncan; flees to Ireland
Duncan the King of Scotland who Macbeth murders in order to become king himself
Fleance Banquo’s son, who escapes the murderers and is never seen in the play again
Hecate goddess of witches who is associated with the moon, tells them to give Macbeth false security and scorns them for intervening in his affairs
Lady Macbeth Macbeth’s wife. The true mastermind behind Duncan’s murder; she accuses her husband of not being a man
Lady Macduff Macduff’s wife who will not forgive him for leaving the castle and his family vulnerable
Lennox a Scottish noble who questions Macbeth’s rule
Macbeth protagonist who receives a prophecy from the witches that tells him that he will be Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and king
Macdonwald Scottish traitor; Macbeth unseams him from the nave to the chops early in the play
Macduff suspicious of Macbeth; leaves his family to go to England, eventually slays Macbeth because he is not technically born of a woman
Macduff’s son is killed when Macduff’s castle is attacked, warns his mother to run
Malcolm one of Duncan’s sons who is thought to have murdered Duncan, flees to England
Ross a messenger throughout the play who tries to convince Lady Macduff that Macduff didn’t leave because he wanted to leave his family; tells Macduff his wife and children have been slaughtered.
Seyton Macbeth’s servant; notice Shakespeare’s play on words, Seyton sounds like Satan.
Siward English nobleman who leads the English army against Macbeth
the 3 weird sisters give Macbeth the prophecy and are examples of the theme “appearances can be misleading — Fair is foul and foul is fair.”
the witches’ prophecy says Macbeth will be the thane of Cawdor, Thane of Glamis, and King
Three murderers 1st two are hired by Macbeth to kill Fleance and Banquo; 3rd murderer sent to ensure the 1st two do their job and then to kill them
Young Siward Siward’s son who is slain by Macbeth
Doctor overhear Lady Macbeth reenacting the evil deeds she and her husband committed
Porter the keeper of Macbeth’s castle gates who drunkenly imagines that he is the keeper of Hell’s gates
Gentlewoman attends Lady Macbeth; has witnessed her sleepwalking episodes and heard of her evil deeds
Thane of Cawdor ordered executed by King Duncan for being a traitor and siding with the king of Sweden. “Nothing in his life became him like the leaving it.”
August 29, 2019