MACBETH - The protagonist of the play (character around whom the plot of the story revolves). Macbeth is Thane of Glamis and a general in the army belonging to King Duncan. He is a ferocious warrior and at the beginning of the play is depicted as brave, loyal and valiant in the accounts that come back from the battlefield. However his selfish side emerges when he comes across three witches who prophesize that he will be the Thane of Cawdor and then the King of Scotland. His vanity is excited and along with his wife, Lady Macbeth, he begins to plot a way to kill Kind Duncan and anyone else that might get in his way. Macbeth is presented as a man of great physical strength, but during the play it is revealed that he does not have strength of mind and is easily manipulated by his wife.
Macbeth is a 'tragic' character, as at the core of personality is a 'fatal flaw'; ambition. It is his excessive attraction to ambition that causes him to make make mistakes and is the cause of his downfall.
LADY MACBETH - Wife to Macbeth. A very ambitious and cunning woman who manipulates Macbeth to committing regicide (murder of a king). Her biggest desire is to ensure her husband becomes king and will stop at nothing to make sure he gets it. During the play we witness her tenacity and the extent of her cruelty. She is mean to Macbeth and verbally insults his manhood to get him to take action. Lady Macbeth is what we would call the one who 'wears the trousers' in the relationship, which is highly unusual and unnatural during Shakespeare's time - which makes her character possibly more terrifying than the witches. Lady Macbeth suffers greatly from a guilty conscience towards the end of the play when she realises what she has done and pays the price.
KING DUNCAN - King of Scotland. A righteous king who at the beginning of the play is at war with another country. Has complete trust in Macbeth, which is ironic as he discovers the Thane of Cawdor committed treason by joining enemy forces during one of the battles. As a result he has this treasonous thane executed and gives Macbeth the title of 'Cawdor'. Shortly after he is assassinated by Macbeth who takes his place.
BANQUO - A general in King Duncan's army and friend to Macbeth. He is present during battle and at the time of the prophesy and receives a prophecy himself: he shall not be king but shall beget kings (father children that in turn will become kings). Banquo is loyal, brave and also very intelligent. He is the first to suspect Macbeth of being the one to kill King Duncan. However he gets brutally murdered by Macbeth to stop him from revealing the true identity of the murderer.
The prophecy of Banquo also comes true, as his son Fleance eventually becomes king after Macbeth's death.
MACDUFF - A Scottish nobleman that is truly committed to King Duncan. He expresses grief over the murder. As if this wasn't enough his wife and children are murdered by the hand of Macbeth and this causes him even more grief. Having nothing to lose he flees to England to get up an army against Macbeth's evil and ill-gotten rule.
THE THREE WITCHES - Also called the three weird sisters. These witches are also referred to as apparitions and have odd physical appearance such as manly features (beards) and they speak in riddles. The witches deliver a prophecy to Macbeth and Banquo after a bloody battle and it is this prophecy that begins a series of events that lead to the downfall of many characters.
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