| Macbeth | I am manipulated by the witches and my wife. |
| Banquo | I am Macbeth’s friend and co-general in Scotland’s army at the opening of the play. |
| Donalbain | I am the King’s second son who flees to Ireland when the King is murdered. |
| Fleance | I am Banquo’s son. |
| the Porter | I provide comic relief and talk of hell and lechery. |
| Duncan | I am King when the play opens. |
| Lady Macbeth | I chastise Macbeth for fearing the voices in his head. |
| Malcolm | I am the king’s eldest son, the crowned Prince of Cumberland. |
| MacDuff | I kill Macbeth. |
| Birnam Wood | (We) are the forest that “marches” to Dunsinane Hill against Macbeth. |
| Scotland | This is the country in which the majority of the action of the play takes place. |
| England | This is the country to which Malcolm, heir to the throne, flees. |
| Inverness | This is the name of Macbeth’s castle. |
| Dunsinane | This is King Duncan’s castle. |
| Fife | This is the site of Macduff’s home, where his family is slaughtered. |
| Glamis, Cawdor, King | These are the names by which the witches greet Macbeth when they first meet him. |
| Lesser than Macbeth and greater; Not so happy as Macbeth yet happier; he won’t be a king but his heirs will be | These are the prophecies the witches give Banquo. |
| a letter | This is how Lady Macbeth learns of the witches’ prophecies for her husband. |
| so they can kill him | This is why Lady Macbeth eagerly welcomes Duncan to her castle. |
| Duncan names Malcolm heir to the throne and his official successor. | This angers Macbeth and reinforces the fact that he will have to do something himself to make the witches prophecies come true. |
| Lady Macbeth | Macbeth is finally persuaded to commit the murder of Duncan by this character. |
| evil spirits | To commit the murder, Lady Macbeth asks for help from these. |
| Duncan is his cousin and his king.He is Duncan’s host.Duncan has been a great king, not a tyrant. | Macbeth gives all of these as reasons NOT to kill Duncan. |
| He looks like her father as he slept. | Lady Macbeth says that this is why she does not kill Duncan herself, even though she has the chance. |
| a dagger | Macbeth sees this just before the time when he is to go and kill Duncan. |
| voices | Macbeth reports he hears these while committing Duncan’s murder. |
| She has to take the daggers back. | This is why Lady Macbeth has to return to Duncan’s chamber after he has been killed. |
| They are afraid for their lives. | Duncan’s sons flee from Scotland after his murder for this reason. |
| MacDuff | Duncan’s body is found by this character. |
| MacDuff and Lennox | The knocking at the gate is DONE by these characters. |
| He is afraid Banquo suspects him of killing Duncan.He does not want Banquo’s sons to be kings. | Macbeth gives these as reasons for killing Banquo. |
| Banquo’s ghost is there. | This is why Macbeth cannot sit down during the banquet scene. |
| He feels guilty; it is a creation of his mind. | This is why Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo. |
| It seems motivated by anger or revenge; it does not gain him anything at all; it is cold-blooded and ordered with no thought at all. | The murder of Lady Macduff and family differs from that of Banquo and of Duncan in that it seems to be prompted by this. |
| England | Malcolm and Macduff plan to fight against Macbeth with help from forces from this country. |
| Talks about the murders.Washes her hands. | Lady Macbeth, while sleepwalking, does these things (2). |
| She kills herself. | Lady Macbeth dies in this manner. |
| Young Siward is slain. | In the engagement between Macbeth and Young Siward, this happens to Young Siward. |
| They flee him. | Most of Macbeth’s men do this as the closing conflict of the play approaches. |
| He is testing MacDuff | This is why Malcolm misrepresents his character to Macduff when Macduff first arrives in England. |
| Macbeth kills them | This happens to Duncan’s guards on the morning Duncan’s murder is discovered |
| His head is cut off by Macduff | Macbeth dies, specifically, in this manner and by this person’s hand. |
| Birnam Wood | Malcolm’s army hews down bows from this place as they approach Macbeth’s castle. |
| He was not “born.” He was taken out of the womb of his mother after her death. | This is why Macduff is able to kill Macbeth. |
| They plant the seed of desire (to be King) in his head. | This is the purpose of the initial meeting between Macbeth and the witches. |
| They are cousins. | This is how Macbeth and King Duncan are related. |
| It looks like Macduff’s head (armed). | This apparition tells Macbeth to “Beware Macduff.” |
| It looks like a bloody child (Macduff at birth). | This apparition tells Macbeth that he won’t be harmed of anyone born of a woman. |
| It looks like a child crowned, holding a tree (symbolizes Malcolm). | This apparition tells Macbeth that he will stay king until Birnam Wood marches against Dunsinane. |
| Banquo pointing to a line of kings. | This apparition shows Macbeth that Banquo’s sons will still become kings. |
| The witches | We are also called “the weird sisters” in this play. |
| 5 | Every Shakespeare play has this number of Acts. |
| Iambic pentameter | Most of Shaespeare’s plays are written in this pattern of rhyme and rhythm. |
| Ross | I am the minor lord who seems to function as a messenger throughout the play. |
Macbeth by William Shakespeare
December 8, 2019