Duncan is the model of a virtuous, benevolent, and farsighted ruler. 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.Ħ King Duncan The good King of Scotland whom Macbeth, in his ambition for the crown, murders. Appropriately, then, it is Banquo’s ghost-and not Duncan’s-that haunts Macbeth. 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. Like Macbeth, Banquo thinks ambitious thoughts, but he does not translate those thoughts into action. They clearly take a perverse delight in using their knowledge of the future to toy with and destroy human beings.ĥ Banquo The brave, noble general whose children, according to the witches’ prophecy, will inherit the Scottish throne. In some ways they resemble the mythological Fates, who impersonally weave the threads of human destiny. 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. Their predictions prompt him to murder Duncan, to order the deaths of Banquo and his son, and to blindly believe in his own immortality. Their joint alienation from the world, occasioned by their partnership in crime, seems to strengthen the attachment that they feel to each another.Ĥ The Three Witches Three “black and midnight hags” who plot mischief against Macbeth using charms, spells, and prophecies. 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. Her conscience affects her to such an extent that she eventually commits suicide. After the bloodshed begins, however, Lady Macbeth falls victim to guilt and madness to an even greater degree than her husband. 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. He is unable to bear the psychological consequences of his atrocities.ģ Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth - Macbeth’s wife, a deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position. 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. His response to every problem is violence and murder. 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. He is easily tempted into murder to fulfil 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. Macbeth is a brave soldier and a powerful man, but he is not a virtuous one. Presentation on theme: "Macbeth Characters."- Presentation transcript:Ģ Macbeth 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.
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