By William Shakespeare Macbeth By William Shakespeare

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

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

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

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