MACBETH
By William Shakespeare
SETTING
•
Set in the Middle Ages: 11 th Century Scotland
• Only Shakespeare play to be set in Scotland
•
Most of the action takes place at Macbeth’s castle, Inverness
CHARACTERS
•
Macbeth: Scottish general. Ambitious and easily influenced.
•
Lady Macbeth: Macbeth’s wife. Power-hungry, has a lot of control over her husband
•
The Three Witches: three women who plot against Macbeth through charms, spells, and
prophecies; predictions drive Macbeth to commit many evil acts
•
Hecate: goddess of witchcraft
•
Banquo: brave Scottish general who is murdered by Macbeth; ambitious, but does not act
on it
•
Fleance: Banquo’s son who Macbeth attempts to have killed
•
King Duncan: reigning king of Scotland who is murdered by Macbeth; kind, wise, and fair
ruler
•
Malcolm: Duncan’s son and rightful heir to the throne
•
Donalbain: Duncan’s younger son; flees to England with his brother
CHARACTERS
• Macduff: Scottish nobleman who rejects Macbeth’s rule; leads
army against Macbeth, wants revenge for the death of his wife
and son
• Lady Macduff: Macduff’s wife and mother of his young son;
murdered by Macbeth’s henchmen
• Macduff’s son: young boy who is also murdered by Macbeth’s
henchmen
• Murderers: group of men hired by Macbeth to kill people
THEMES
• Ambition: how are Macbeth’s ambition and Banquo’s ambition
different?
• Gender: distribution of power between Macbeth, Lady Macbeth,
and the Three Witches
• Leadership: Macbeth’s reign of terror vs. Duncan, the good king
• Misleading appearances: “Fair is foul, and foul is fair.” Lady
Macbeth at first appears to be a good woman; Banquo appears
to be Macbeth’s friend and ally
MOTIFS
• What is a motif? A recurring subject, theme, or idea
• Hallucinations as reminders of guilt: Lady Macbeth’s
“bloodstained” hands, the floating dagger, Banquo’s
ghost
• Violence: war, murders, suicide
• Prophecies: events and outcomes are predicted ahead
of time throughout the play
LITERARY TERMS
• Metaphor: a figure of speech that sets up a parallel
between two things; compares two things without using
“like” or “as”
• Example: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
that struts about and frets his hour upon the stage
and then is heard no more.” (Act IV, Scene IV)
LITERARY TERMS
• Irony: literary technique that highlights a difference
between appearance and reality, or what is said and
what is meant
• “Foul is fair and fair is foul.”
• The prophecies of the Three Witches are at first
believed to be good fortune for Macbeth, but his
actions and reactions to those prophecies result in
his downfall
LITERARY TERMS
• Symbolism: when an object, item, word, or
symbol has a deeper meaning or represents
something else
• Lady Macbeth: blood = guilt
LITERARY TERMS
• Soliloquy: device often used in drama when a
character speaks to oneself, relating thoughts
and feelings, thereby also sharing them with the
audience
• Used throughout the play