Macbeth:

 Visited by three witches alongside Banquo, promised to become

Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland.
 A Scottish warrior who is promoted to the Thane of Cawdor for
his bravery.
 Takes fate into his own hands by killing King Duncan and framing
the guards in order to become King.
 Becomes obsessed with his newfound power, ultimately ordering
the murder of his good friend Banquo, Banquo’s son Fleance, and
Macduff’s wife and children.
 Believes himself to be invincible due to the prophecy of the three
witches who claim his reign will not end until Birnam Wood storms
Castle Forres. Furthermore, he is told he cannot by slain by any man
born of woman.
 Macduff and Malcolm’s army use the trees of Birnam Wood as cover
while storming Castle Forres. Macduff slays Macbeth after telling
him he was born via a Caesarean.
Lady Macbeth:

 Is told the three witches’ prophecy by Macbeth. Strips herself of

her femininity in order to be driven by a masculine ambition.
 She manipulates Macbeth into taking fate into his own hands,
ultimately twisting his ambition, and convincing him he must
become King.
 Is responsible for the framing of King Duncan’s guards,
intoxicating them and planting the blood-stained daggers upon
them.
 Is haunted by visions of blood staining her hands. This is a sign of
her guilt, which ultimately consumers her and drives her to
suicide.
Banquo:

 Macbeth’s closest friend at the start of the play. Fights alongside

Macbeth in the opening battle against Norway.
 When Macbeth is visited by the three witches, Banquo is also
present. Banquo is told by the witches that his descendants shall
become King.
 After Macbeth murders King Duncan and becomes King himself,
his obsession with power leads him to hire murderers to kill
Banquo and his son Fleance. Macbeth does this because he is
scared of the witches’ prophecy regarding Banquo.
 At a banquet after Banquo’s death, Banquo’s ghost appears and
sits in Macbeth’s place at the table. This strikes fear into
Macbeth, causing him to address the ghost directly and
symbolises his descent into guilt and madness.
 Macduff:
• At the beginning of the play Macduff is a loyal noble fighting for King
Duncan.
 Macduff is the one to find King Duncan’s body. He distrusts Macbeth
and refuses to believe that the guards are responsible for Duncan’s
murder.
 As a result of this, he refuses to attend Macbeth’s coronation.
 As Macbeth becomes consumed by guilt and a desire for power,
Macduff becomes an object of his paranoia. This ultimately leads to
Macbeth ordering the murder of Macduff’s family (in contemporary renditions of
Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Macduff’s child is murdered on stage).
 Macduff tracks down Malcolm who has fled to England, managing to persuade him to return
to Scotland and fight Macbeth.
 Macduff is the one to eventually kill Macbeth, ultimately avenging the murder of his family.
 King Duncan:
 A generous and trusting King who promotes Macbeth to Thane of
Cawdor, a reward for Macbeth’s bravery.
 After hearing the witch’s prophecy, even Macbeth is initially
reluctant to kill Duncan as he regards him as a good and gentle King.
 King Duncan is graciously received at Macbeth’s castle, visiting him
to celebrate their victory over Norway and Macbeth’s recent
promotion.
 He is ultimately slaughtered after Lady Macbeth manipulates
Macbeth into taking the witch’s prophecy into his own hands. His sons
Malcolm and Donalbain flee Scotland for fear of losing their own lives,
in turn giving up their claims to the throne.
 Macbeth is coronated and named King Duncan’s successor, simultaneously plunging Scotland
into chaos and tyranny.
Malcolm and Donalbain:
 Malcolm is made heir to the throne by King Duncan, his father.
 After King Duncan’s homicide, Malcolm and Donalbain flee Scotland
as they are both suspects of his murder.
 Malcolm flees to England, Donalbain flees to Ireland.
 Malcolm tests Macduff’s loyalty to Scotland by claiming that killing
Macbeth won’t change the fate of the country.
 Malcolm’s army attacks Macbeth with the help of Macduff. Macbeth
is slain and Malcolm becomes King.
 Fleance and Young Siward:
 The son of Banquo. It is implied by the witches’ prophecy he
will eventually become King, although we do not see this happen.
 Fleance manages to escape the murderers hired by Macbeth
to kill him and his father, although Banquo is slain. Macbeth hired these
murderers in an attempt to stop the witches’ prophecy being fulfilled.
 Young Siward is a warrior renowned for his bravery. He attempts to slay
Macbeth during the final battle, however, is slain himself due to the witches’ prophecy.
 His father, Siward, goes on to help defeat Macbeth.
 Three Witches:
 The witches first appear in Act 1 Scene 1 where they agree
between themselves to meet Macbeth at a later point.
 In Act 1 Scene 3, after the battle, the witches meet Macbeth
and Banquo, offering their first prophecy to the pair of war
heroes.
 In Act 3 Scene 5, the witches offer a final prophecy to
Macbeth, now king of Scotland, which suggests he is invincible.
 The witches are frequently portrayed as either supernatural beings, or incredibly disfigured
elderly female characters. This ties into themes of masculinity/femininity as the witches’ ugly
appearance detaches them from any form of femininity, making them appear masculine in
nature.
 The Prophecies:
 The first prophecy revolves around both Macbeth and Banquo.
They tell Macbeth he will become Thane of Cawdor first, and
eventually king of Scotland.
 The witches tell Banquo that he will be less than Macbeth, but
greater. They also tell him he will not be king, but his
descendants will.
 The second prophecy says that no man born of woman can
defeat Macbeth and he will not be vanquished until Birnam wood moves.

The Visions:
 The first vision is seen by Macbeth. It is a floating dagger which leads him to King Duncan’s
chambers.
 The second vision is also seen by Macbeth. It is the ghost of Banquo come back to torment
him.
 The third vision is seen by Lady Macbeth, it is blood on her hands which she claims no
amount of washing will clean.
 The final vision is once more seen by Macbeth. It is a series of four apparitions which each
relate to the witches’ second prophecy.