Banquo’s role in the original source for Macbeth was as Macbeth’s co-conspirator. In Shakespeare’s play, he is depicted instead as Macbeth’s rival; the role of fellow plotter passed to Lady Macbeth. Like Macbeth, Banquo is open to human yearnings and desires: He is, for example, just as keen to hear […]
Read more Character Analysis BanquoCharacter Analysis Macduff
Macduff is the archetype of the avenging hero, not simply out for revenge but with a good and holy purpose. Macduff is the character who has two of the most significant roles in the play: First, he is the discoverer of Duncan’s body. Second, the news of the callous murder […]
Read more Character Analysis MacduffCharacter Analysis Duncan
The king of Scotland should be a figurehead of order and orderliness, and Duncan is the epitome, or supreme example, of this. His language is formal and his speeches full of grace and graciousness, whether on the battlefield in Act I, Scene 2, where his talk concerns matters of honor, […]
Read more Character Analysis DuncanCharacter Analysis Lady Macbeth
Macbeth’s wife is one of the most powerful female characters in literature. Unlike her husband, she lacks all humanity, as we see well in her opening scene, where she calls upon the “Spirits that tend on mortal thoughts” to deprive her of her feminine instinct to care. Her burning ambition […]
Read more Character Analysis Lady MacbethCharacter Analysis Macbeth
Macbeth is introduced in the play as a warrior hero, whose fame on the battlefield wins him great honor from the king. Essentially, though, he is a human being whose private ambitions are made clear to the audience through his asides and soliloquies (solo speeches). These often conflict with the […]
Read more Character Analysis MacbethSummary and Analysis Act V: Scene 9
Summary In the freshly taken castle of Dunsinane, events move to their natural conclusion. With the tyrant dead and war honors duly acknowledged, Malcolm is proclaimed by all the assembled thanes to be the new king of Scotland. Analysis This joyous scene is offset by its poignancy. Malcolm’s opening line […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 9Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 8
Summary On another part of the battlefield, Macbeth and Macduff finally come face to face. Words, then sword thrusts are exchanged, and Macbeth, the bloody and tyrannical usurper of the throne of Scotland, meets his predestined end. Analysis As Macbeth ponders whether suicide, at this point, would be his better […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 8Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 7
Summary In a scene that foreshadows the final destruction of a tyrant in single combat, Macbeth is challenged by the courageous son of Siward. Immediately afterwards, Macduff is seen eagerly seeking out the man who was responsible for the murder of his family. Lastly, it is announced that Macbeth’s forces […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 7Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 6
Summary Malcolm and his troops have reached Dunsinane under the “leafy screens” of the branches, thus fulfilling the prophecy of the apparitions: Birnam wood has come to Dunsinane. Analysis The strong sense of movement and of impending threat is generated throughout Act V by the swift alternation of scenes. This, […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 6Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 5
Summary Now fully armed, Macbeth confidently turns all his scorn on the advancing armies, only to find his brave rhetoric interrupted by an offstage shriek. The queen is dead — whether by her own hand is not made clear — and Macbeth is left to contemplate a lonely future of […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 5