William Shakespeare[a] (c.

23 April 1564[b] – 23 April 1616)[c] was an English

playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the
English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called
England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" or simply "the Bard". His extant
works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long
narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays
have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often
than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most
influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied
and reinterpreted.
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The Tragedy of Macbeth, often shortened to Macbeth (/məkˈbɛθ/), is a tragedy by
William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606.[a] It
dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political
ambitions and power. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a
prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy.[1] Scholars believe Macbeth, of
all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of King James I, contains the
most allusions to James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company.[2]
=================
The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of witches and then moves to a
military camp, where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his generals,
Macbeth and Banquo, have defeated two separate invading armies—one from Ireland,
led by the rebel Macdonwald, and one from Norway. Following their pitched battle
with these enemy forces, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches as they cross a
moor. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish
nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that
Macbeth’s companion, Banquo, will beget a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo
will never be king himself.

The witches vanish, and Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies skeptically until
some of King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in
battle and to tell Macbeth that he has indeed been named thane of Cawdor. The
previous thane betrayed Scotland by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan has
condemned him to death. Macbeth is intrigued by the possibility that the remainder
of the witches’ prophecy—that he will be crowned king—might be true, but he is
uncertain what to expect. He visits with King Duncan, and they plan to dine
together at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle, that night. Macbeth writes ahead to his
wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her all that has happened.

Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship
for him and wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. When Macbeth arrives
at Inverness, she overrides all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to
kill the king that very night. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two
chamberlains drunk so they will black out; the next morning they will blame the
murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will remember nothing.
While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of
supernatural portents, including a vision of a bloody dagger. When Duncan’s death
is discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains—ostensibly out of
rage at their crime—and easily assumes the kingship. Duncan’s sons Malcolm and
Donalbain flee to England and Ireland, respectively, fearing that whoever killed
Duncan desires their demise as well.

Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth
hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo
on his way to a royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes into the
night. Macbeth becomes furious: as long as Fleance is alive, he fears that his
power remains insecure. At the feast that night, Banquo’s ghost visits Macbeth.
When he sees the ghost, Macbeth raves fearfully, startling his guests, who include
most of the great Scottish nobility. Lady Macbeth tries to neutralize the damage,
but Macbeth’s kingship incites increasing resistance from his nobles and subjects.

Frightened, Macbeth goes to visit the witches in their cavern. There, they show him
a sequence of demons and spirits who present him with further prophecies: he must
beware of Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who opposed Macbeth’s accession to the
throne; he is incapable of being harmed by any man born of woman; and he will be
safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle. Macbeth is relieved and feels
secure, because he knows that all men are born of women and that forests cannot
move. When he learns that Macduff has fled to England to join Malcolm, Macbeth
orders that Macduff’s castle be seized and, most cruelly, that Lady Macduff and her
children be murdered.

When news of his family’s execution reaches Macduff in England, he is stricken with
grief and vows revenge. Prince Malcolm, Duncan’s son, has succeeded in raising an
army in England, and Macduff joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge
Macbeth’s forces. The invasion has the support of the Scottish nobles, who are
appalled and frightened by Macbeth’s tyrannical and murderous behavior. Lady
Macbeth, meanwhile, becomes plagued with fits of sleepwalking in which she bemoans
what she believes to be bloodstains on her hands. Before Macbeth’s opponents
arrive, Macbeth receives news that she has killed herself, causing him to sink into
a deep and pessimistic despair. Nevertheless, he awaits the English and fortifies
Dunsinane, to which he seems to have withdrawn in order to defend himself, certain
that the witches’ prophecies guarantee his invincibility. He is struck numb with
fear, however, when he learns that the English army is advancing on Dunsinane
shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood. Birnam Wood is indeed coming to
Dunsinane, fulfilling half of the witches’ prophecy.

In the battle, Macbeth hews violently, but the English forces gradually overwhelm
his army and castle. On the battlefield, Macbeth encounters the vengeful Macduff,
who declares that he was not “of woman born” but was instead “untimely ripped” from
his mother’s womb (what we now call birth by cesarean section). Though he realizes
that he is doomed, Macbeth continues to fight until Macduff kills and beheads him.
Malcolm, now the King of Scotland, declares his benevolent intentions for the
country and invites all to see him crowned at Scone.
==============================
Macbeth
Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is led to wicked thoughts
by the prophecies of the three witches, especially after their prophecy that he
will be made thane of Cawdor comes true. 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, and once he commits his first crime and is crowned King of
Scotland, he embarks on further atrocities with increasing ease. Ultimately,
Macbeth proves himself better suited to the battlefield than to political intrigue,
because he lacks the skills necessary to rule without being a tyrant. His response
to every problem is violence and murder. Unlike Shakespeare’s great villains, such
as Iago in Othello and Richard III in Richard III, Macbeth is never comfortable in
his role as a criminal. He is unable to bear the psychological consequences of his
atrocities.

Read an in-depth analysis of Macbeth.

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 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 to an even greater degree
than her husband. Her conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually
commits suicide. Interestingly, she and Macbeth are presented as being deeply in
love, and many of Lady Macbeth’s speeches imply that her influence over her husband
is primarily sexual. Their joint alienation from the world, occasioned by their
partnership in crime, seems to strengthen the attachment that they feel to each
another.

Read an in-depth analysis of Lady Macbeth.

The Three Witches

Three “black and midnight hags” who plot mischief against Macbeth using charms,
spells, and prophecies. Their predictions prompt him to murder Duncan, to order the
deaths of Banquo and his son, and to blindly believe in his own immortality. The
play leaves the witches’ true identity unclear—aside from the fact that they are
servants of Hecate, we know little about their place in the cosmos. In some ways,
they resemble the mythological Fates, who impersonally weave the threads of human
destiny. They clearly take a perverse delight in using their knowledge of the
future to toy with and destroy human beings.

Read an in-depth analysis of The Three Witches

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. In a sense, Banquo’s character
stands as a rebuke to Macbeth, since he represents the path Macbeth chose not to
take: a path in which ambition need not lead to betrayal and murder. Appropriately,
then, it is Banquo’s ghost—and not Duncan’s—that haunts Macbeth. In addition to
embodying Macbeth’s guilt for killing Banquo, the ghost also reminds Macbeth that
he did not emulate Banquo’s reaction to the witches’ prophecy.

Read an in-depth analysis of Banquo.

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
Duncan’s line, in the person of Malcolm, once more occupies the throne.

Read an in-depth analysis of King-Duncan.

Macduff
A Scottish nobleman hostile to Macbeth’s kingship from the start. He eventually
becomes a leader of the crusade to unseat Macbeth. The crusade’s mission is to
place the rightful king, Malcolm, on the throne, but Macduff also desires vengeance
for Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s wife and young son.

Read an in-depth analysis of Macduff.

Malcolm
The son of Duncan, whose restoration to the throne signals Scotland’s return to
order following Macbeth’s reign of terror. Malcolm becomes a serious challenge to
Macbeth with Macduff’s aid (and the support of England). Prior to this, he appears
weak and uncertain of his own power, as when he and Donalbain flee Scotland after
their father’s murder.

Read an in-depth analysis of Malcolm.

Hecate
The goddess of witchcraft, who helps the three witches work their mischief on
Macbeth.
Read an in-depth analysis of Hecate.

Fleance
Banquo’s son, who survives Macbeth’s attempt to murder him. At the end of the play,
Fleance’s whereabouts are unknown. Presumably, he may come to rule Scotland,
fulfilling the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s sons will sit on the Scottish
throne.

Read an in-depth analysis of Fleance.

The Murderers
A group of ruffians conscripted by Macbeth to murder Banquo, Fleance (whom they
fail to kill), and Macduff’s wife and children.

Read an in-depth analysis of the murderers.

Porter
The drunken doorman of Macbeth’s castle.

Lady Macduff
Macduff’s wife. The scene in her castle provides our only glimpse of a domestic
realm other than that of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. She and her home serve as
contrasts to Lady Macbeth and the hellish world of Inverness.

Read an in-depth analysis of Lady Macduff.

Macduff’s Son
The young son of Macduff and Lady Macduff. Clever and resilient, he asks his mother
questions about his absent father until three murderers arrive at the castle and
kill the family.

Read an in-depth analysis of Macduff's son.

The Three Apparitions

A trio of ghosts summoned by the three witches in order to warn Macbeth of his
impending doom. The First Apparition tells him to be weary of Macduff, the Second
Apparition explains that “none of woman born” will kill Macbeth, and the Third
Apparition reveals that he will not be defeated until the Great Birnam Wood arrives
to fight at Dunsinane. Macbeth takes these messages to mean that he is virtually
invincible.

Read an in-depth analysis of the Three Apparitions.

Donalbain
One of King Duncan’s two sons and Malcolm’s younger brother. After Macbeth kills
King Duncan, Donalbain flees to safety in Ireland.

Siward
The Earl of Northumberland and the leader of the English army. Known for his
strength and honor, Siward fearlessly heads into battle alongside Macduff and
Malcolm in order to defeat Macbeth. His desire to remove Macbeth from the throne
grows even greater when he learns that he killed his son during the fighting.

Young Siward
Siward’s son who joins him on the battlefield at Dunsinane. He encounters Macbeth
during the fight, and despite his attempts to bring his enemy down, Macbeth
ultimately kills him.

Seyton
An officer who waits on Macbeth during the play’s final act. Seyton confirms
reports of the arriving army, and he delivers the news of Lady Macbeth’s suicide.

Lennox
A nobleman in the Scottish court. As a loyal follower of King Duncan, Lennox
expresses dismay regarding his murder and eventually becomes suspicious of
Macbeth’s response to it. He joins Macduff and Malcolm in the fight to remove
Macbeth from the throne once he realizes how tyrannical he truly is.

Ross
A nobleman in the Scottish court. Ross functions primarily as a messenger,
delivering news about events such as Macbeth’s bravery in Act I and the attack on
the Macduffs in Act IV.

Angus
A nobleman in the Scottish court. Angus delivers the news of Macbeth’s rise to
Thane of Cawdor alongside Ross, and, like many of the other noblemen, partners with
Macduff and Malcolm to remove Macbeth from the throne.

King Edward
The king of England. Although he never physically appears in the play, many of the
characters describe King Edward as a benevolent leader whose demeanor sharply
contrasts with Macbeth’s tyrannical rule. He offers Macduff asylum and aid in
deposing Macbeth.

Old Man
A man whom Ross encounters in Act II, Scene 4. The Old Man explains that he has
noticed many strange occurrences since King Duncan’s murder, including an owl
attacking a falcon and the king’s horses running wild. By calling attention to such
unnatural events, the Old Man inevitably highlights the perverseness of Macbeth’s
rule.

English Doctor
A doctor whom Malcolm and Macduff encounter during their time in England. The
English Doctor tells them the tale of the King of England’s healing powers.

Scottish Doctor
A doctor who tends to Lady Macbeth after she has begun sleepwalking. The Scottish
Doctor hears her admit to her role in King Duncan’s murder, but he is powerless to
take any action against her. Instead, he continues to observe her and draws
Macbeth’s ire when he admits that he cannot cure her.
====================
Macbeth is a tragedy that tells the story of a soldier whose overriding ambition
and thirst for power cause him to abandon his morals and bring about the near
destruction of the kingdom he seeks to rule. At first, the conflict is between
Macbeth and himself, as he debates whether or not he will violently seize power,
and between Macbeth and his wife, as Lady Macbeth urges her husband toward a course
of action he is hesitant to take.

Once Macbeth stops struggling against his ambition, the conflict shifts. It then
primarily exists between Macbeth and the other characters, in particular Banquo and
Macduff, who challenge his authority. Macbeth is the protagonist in the sense that
he is the main focus of the narrative and that audiences frequently have access to
his point of view. However, as he often acts against his own best interests, as
well as the best interests of the other characters and his country, he is also the
antagonist. The characters who oppose Macbeth and eventually defeat him do so in
order to restore order and justice.
The play actually opens with the consequences of someone else’s ambition. In the
first scene, audiences hear about the bloody conflict that resulted from the
rebellion led by the Thane of Cawdor. The rebellion foreshadows the consequences of
overreaching one’s role. The conflict is initiated when Macbeth encounters the
witches who prophesize that he will become first the Thane of Cawdor, and then the
King of Scotland. As soon as he learns that their first prophecy has come true, he
is awakened to the possibility of the second also being realized. As Macbeth
marvels to himself, “Two truths are told/As happy prologues to the swelling act/ Of
the imperial theme” (1.3.128-130).

In a crucial turning point in the play, Macbeth is faced with a choice: to take
decisive action to claim the crown as his own, or to simply wait and see what
happens. Every choice he makes, and every thing that happens for the rest of the
play stem from his decision here. Macbeth feels ambivalence, as he wants to be king
but also knows that he owes Duncan loyalty both “as his kinsman and as his subject”
(1.7.13).

The tension between duty and ambition sharpens when Lady Macbeth learns of the
prophecy that her husband will become king, and immediately begins strategizing
ways to bring about the fulfillment of the prophecy. Now Macbeth is torn between
loyalty to Duncan and loyalty to his wife, who does not appear to feel any shame,
doubt, or remorse about the dark act she is plotting. She is eager to “pour my
spirits in [Macbeth’s] ear/And chastise with the valor of my tongue/All that
impedes [him] from the golden round” (1.5.25-27). The audience has the sense that
Lady Macbeth may have been longing for just such an opportunity where she can put
her intelligence and strategic ability to good use.

Lady Macbeth successfully manipulates her husband into taking action, telling him,
“when you durst do it, then you were a man” (1.7.49). This initial conflict over
whether or not he can kill his king, which exists both between Macbeth and himself
and between Macbeth and his wife, is resolved when Macbeth acts, murdering Duncan
and then seizing power after the more obvious heirs flee in fear of being accused
of the crime.