| 3 Witches | Fates who foretold Macbeth’s destiny |
| Macbeth | Thane of Glamis, general in Duncan’s army, becomes Thane of Cawdor for his bravery, kills King Duncan, becomes King of Scotland, killed by Macduff |
| Malcom | Elder son of King Duncan, the heir to the throne (acquires the title Prince of Cumberland), and brother to Donalbain. Flees to England following the murder of his father.In the end, he regains the throne after mustering support to overthrow Macbeth. |
| Donalbain | King Duncan’s son and Malcolm’s younger brother, flees to Ireland after the murder of his father |
| The Captain | Was wounded helping Duncan’s son Malcolm escape capture by the Irish, replies that the Scottish generals Macbeth and Banquo fought with great courage and violence. The captain then describes for Duncan how Macbeth slew the traitorous Macdonwald. |
| King Duncan | The good King of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the crown, murders. He 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 his line, in the person of Malcolm, once more occupies the throne. |
| Macdonwald | The first Thane of Cawdor and a traitor to King Duncan. Joins with the king of Norway. Macbeth unseams him from the nave to the chops. |
| Thane | Scottish feudal lord |
| 3 titles the Witches greet Macbeth by | Thane of Glamis (inherited from father)Thane of Cawdor (decreed by King Duncan)King |
| Banquo | Thane of Lochaber, Macbeth’s best friend, suspects Macbeth of treachery, a brave and noble general whose sons, 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. Killed by murderers hired by Macbeth. Appropriately, it is Banquo’s ghost that haunts Macbeth. |
| Fleance | Son of Banquo; survives the attack that kills his father; flees and his whereabouts are unknown at the end of the play |
| Lady Macbeth | Macbeth’s ambitious power-hungry wife, urges him to kill Duncan to help make the prophecy come true, aids in the planning of the murder, sleep walks and sleep talks out of guilt, commits suicide. |
| Macduff | The character who has two of the most significant roles in the play: 1st, he is the discoverer of Duncan’s body. 2nd, the news of the murder of his wife and children spurs him toward his desire to take personal revenge upon the tyrannical Macbeth. |
| Inverness | Macbeth’s castle; where Duncan is murdered by Macbeth |
| Lennox | A Scottish thane who gradually questions Macbeth’s tyrannical rule. He and Macduff come to waken Duncan in the morning to find him dead.Urges Macduff to bring Malcolm back from England as the rightful heir to the throne |
| Ross | A Scottish thaneTells Macduff that his family has been killedCousin to Macduff |
| Angus | Scottish thane, present when Macbeth learns that he is Thane of Cawdor |
| Caithness | Scottish thane; one of the rebels who fights against Macbeth |
| Menteth | Scottish thane |
| The Porter | The drunken doorman of Macbeth’s castle; jokes that he works at “hell’s gate” – Provides comic relief |
| The Old Man | Associates the murder of King Duncan with the instability of the natural world |
| The Doctors | Recognize disease and disorder, in Lady Macbeth, even though they cannot cure it. |
Macbeth Characters
September 13, 2019