1. The Tragedy of Macbeth by William Shakespeare
English 12
Ms. Wymes

2. Settings
The action of the play takes place in northern Scotland and England.
In Scotland, the play is set at or near the following locations:
King Duncan’s castle at Forres,
Macbeth’s castle at Inverness,
Macduff’s castle at Fife,
Birnam Wood, or
Dunsinane Hill in the countryside.
A scene is also set at a castle in England.

3. Character List
1. Macbeth: protagonist; ambitious army general in Scotland; viewed as a hero at the onset of the play for his success in battle
2. Lady Macbeth: Wife of Macbeth; very persuasive and aggressive in her marriage
3. King Duncan: King of Scotland
4. Malcolm: Oldest son of King Duncan; Prince of Cumberland
5. Donalbain: Youngest son of King Duncan

4. Character List (Continued)
6. Banquo: Army general; good, loyal friend of Macbeth
7. Three Witches: Hags who can predict the future for Macbeth; also called the weird sisters; Weird is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word wyrd, meaning fate. The three witches are also a reference to the three goddesses of fate (Hesiod).
8. Hecate (Witch 4): Mistress of the witches’ charms and queen of Hades; referred to as the Queen of the witches

5. Character List (Continued)
9. Macduff: Scottish nobleman and Lord of Fife; known for his wisdom and integrity
10. Lady Macduff: Wife of Macduff
11. Son of Macduff
12. Lennox, Ross, Menteith, Angus, Caithness: Scottish noblemen
13. Fleance: Son of Banquo
14. Siward: Earl of Northumberland; general of the English forces
15. Young Siward: Son of Siward

6. Character List (Final List)!
16. Seyton: Officer attending Macbeth
17. Soldier
18. Porter
19. Doctor
20. Old Man
21. Three Apparitions: Three ghosts of great significance for Macbeth; symbolic

7. The Real Macbeth
Macbeth was an 11th Century Scot who took the throne in 1040 after killing King Duncan I, his cousin, in a battle.
The real Macbeth was believed to be a wise monarch who reigned over Scotland for seventeen prosperous years.
In 1057, King Duncan’s oldest son, Malcolm, ended Macbeth’s reign by killing him in battle and assuming the role as King Malcolm III.

8. Shakespeare’s Inspiration
Shakespeare got his idea for Macbeth from Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles, which tells a different tale using similar characters and references to husband-wife relationships, murder, deceit, and mutiny.
Shakespeare was also influenced by the Roman dramatist Seneca (4-65 A.D.), who wrote horrific plays about revenge and murder. Shakespeare appears to be inspired by some of the same themes as Seneca.

9. Witchcraft in Shakespeare’s Day
Many people believed in the power of witches in Shakespeare’s day, especially King James I. In 1591, when he was King of Scotland, King James was almost murdered by a group of witches and sorcerers. Their trial and testimony convinced King James that they were sources of evil (witches).
King James became the King of England in Shakespeare knew very well of King James’s superstition, and he also knew that a play about witchcraft would cause a stir and make a quick buck. Therefore, he wrote Macbeth, a play full of elements of evil!

10. Fascinating Fact
The words blood and night (or forms of them, such as bloody and tonight) occur more than 40 times each in Macbeth.
Other commonly occurring words that help maintain the mood of the play are terrible, horrible, black, devil, and evil. 

11. References
Cummings, Michael J. “Macbeth Study Guide.” (27 Sept. 2006).