Shakespeare | wrote 37 plays while living in London |
James I | Macbeth is written by Shakespeare to honor this monarch |
Elizabeth I | the monarch of England when Shakespeare began as a playwright |
Macbeth | his tragic flaw is blind ambition |
the witches | tell Macbeth that he will become Thane of Cawdor and king |
Hecate | angered by the witches for leading Macbeth astray |
Banquo | history suggests that he was Macbeth’s accomplice, but he is a victim in the play |
Macduff | his wife and children are murdered by Macbeth |
Macduff | he was not born of woman and is able to kill Macbeth |
Fleance | son of Banquo who escapes the murderers |
Malcolm | also known as “the Prince of Cumberland” |
Malcolm | he is to become king at the conclusion of the play |
Donalbain | flees to Ireland after the death of his father |
Lady Macbeth | wants to be strong and less like a woman in Act I |
Lady Macbeth | suffers from episodes of sleep walking before dying |
Lady Macduff | considers her husband to be a traitor for leaving her in her hour of need |
the porter | he answers the knocking at the gate after the king’s death |
the porter | makes reference to “the Gunpowder Plot” in his rant following the murder of Duncan |
Duncan | King of Scotland at the play’s beginning |
Duncan | Macbeth follows an imaginary daggar to this person’s bed chamber |
Ross | he is often the bearer of bad news to other characters |
Young Siward | his father is proud that his wounds were on his front meaning he did not die a coward |
1050 A.D. | approximate time that the real Macbeth lived and ruled in Scotland |
1603 A.D. | James I becomes King of England |
1500 A.D. | Modern English Period begins |
1605 A.D. | the year that the Gunpowder Plot to kill the king is thwarted |
a bloody child | the form of the apparition that states that no man born of woman shall harm Macbeth |
helmeted or armed head | the apparition that tells Macbeth to “beware Macduff” |
Macbeth characters
August 1, 2019