characters

• What are the two main characters in Shakespeare's play?

  Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
• What is crucial for understanding the characters in Macbeth?

  Comparing less prominent characters to main characters
• What is Macbeth's tragic flaw?

  • His ambition
• How is Macbeth initially presented in the play?

  As brave, noble, ambitious, and conscientious
• What tension exists within Macbeth's character?

  Between his heroism and ambition
• How does Macbeth's character change throughout the play?

  He becomes less sympathetic and more cruel
• What does Macbeth do that shows his cruelty?

  He murders Banquo and Macduff's family
• What does Macbeth's paranoia lead him to do?

  Suspect innocent people as threats
• What symbolizes Macbeth's guilt?

  His hallucinations
• How does Macbeth's masculinity evolve in the play?

  He becomes the dominant force in their relationship
• What nihilistic view does Macbeth adopt by the end of the play?

  He questions the pointlessness of life
• What ultimately happens to Macbeth at the end of the play?

  He dies a warrior's death
• What are the key characteristics of Lady Macbeth at the play's outset?

  • Ambitious
  • Ruthless
  • Duplicitous
  • Controlling
• How does Lady Macbeth subvert typical female attributes of her time?

  She is not dutiful, compassionate, or nurturing
• How does Lady Macbeth's character change throughout the play?

  She loses control and succumbs to guilt
• What symbolizes Lady Macbeth's guilt?

  Her hallucinations of blood
• What does Lady Macbeth do as a result of her guilt?

  She commits suicide
• How does Banquo serve as a foil to Macbeth?

  • Represents typical Jacobean behaviors
  • Suspicious of the witches
  • Honest and loyal
  • Devoutly Christian
• What does Banquo think of Macbeth after meeting the witches?

  He finds Macbeth's behavior strange
• What are Macduff's key attributes in the play?

  • Noble
  • Loyal
  • Brave
• How does Macduff respond to the news of his family's murder?

  He gives a moving speech about manhood
• What role does Macduff play in the kingdom of Scotland?

  He restores order and rightful kingship
• What are the characteristics of the Witches in the play?

  • Grotesque and unnatural
  • Duplicitous and malevolent
  • Disruptive to nature
• How do the Witches influence the characters in the play?

  They represent external evil and fate
• What does Malcolm symbolize in the play?

  • Order and the status quo
  • The rightful king
• How does Malcolm contrast with Macbeth?

  He is not a tyrant and unites the thanes
• What happens to the kingdom when Malcolm is not on the throne?

  It is thrown into disorder
• What does Shakespeare suggest about Lady Macbeth's capability for power?

  She is less capable than Macbeth
• How does Shakespeare portray Lady Macbeth in relation to the Witches?

  As an unnatural influence like the Witches