1. By William Shakespeare
Macbeth
By William Shakespeare

2. setting Set in the Middle Ages: 11th Century Scotland
Only Shakespeare play to be set in Scotland
Most of the action takes place at Macbeth’s castle, Inverness

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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)

8. 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

9. Lady Macbeth: blood = guilt
Literary terms
Symbolism: when an object, item, word, or symbol has a deeper meaning or represents something else
Lady Macbeth: blood = guilt

10. Used throughout the play
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