Macbeth

In Anglo-Saxon England, a thane would have been a man who held land granted by the king or by a military nobleman, ranking between an ordinary freeman and a hereditary noble.

In relation to Scottish history, a thane was a man who was often the chief of a clan who held land from the king and ranked equal with an earl's son.

they had beards.

Yet do I fear thy nature; it is too full of the milk o' human kindness to catch the nearest way. Thou wouldst be great, art not without ambition, but without the illness should attend it; what thou wouldst highly, that wouldst thou holily.

Macduff, who did have a mother but was not born naturally. He was born by surgery, by Caesarian section, or as Shakespeare has it, was "from (his) mother's womb untimely ripp'd."

Hecate was angry at the three witches who were predicting the future of Macbeth

Banquo's ghost, which shows up at the dinner party the Macbeths are throwing. Only Macbeth can see him.

He means he's sceptical of Macbeth's rise to power and starts to doubt that Macbeth acted righteously for the position of king, despite the witches' prophecy saying he would be king. It also shows his uncertainty in the witches as he doesn't have full trust in their prophecies

the idea that actions sometimes have the opposite of the expected effect :)

He says he was overcome with rage because they had killed Duncan.

Duncan is a guest in my house and I should be protecting him, not harming him myself.

The Doctor and Gentlewoman watch Lady Macbeth sleepwalk. She incessantly rubs her hands together, trying to wash off imaginary spots of blood. The blood represents her guilt that she is unable to shake off.

Macbeth has many desires. The desire that moved him most was his desire to be king and to satisfy his wife's ambitions.

After being convinced by Lady MacBeth to kill Duncan, MacBeth goes to extra lengths to show innocence for the act he has not yet committed. When asked by Banquo, "who's there?" MacBeth answers "a friend" in which he means not a foe. He also lies to Banquo about thinking about the witches and their predictions. He says he has not thought of them when he has done so considerably. He is now acting the part of an innocent man that is really evil because he is planning on killing Duncan.

Yes, William Shakespeare [Baptized April 26, 1564-April 23, 1616] wrote 'The Tragedy of Macbeth'. He most likely wrote the play no earlier than 1603, and no later than 1606 or 1607. The choice of a tragic theme, the harmonization of the play with the interests of the prevailing monarch, the presentation of a range of personality types, and the use of compelling dialogue were hallmarks of 'Macbeth' and of the other Shakespearean tragedies.

Malcolm says on the battlefield, Macbeth's army has been delibertly missing them. It seems no one wishes for Macbeth to be king, not even his own side!

Well there is a theory that actually Macbeth was there when Banquo was killed, and Macbeth was actually the third murderer. (Kind of unlikely since the other two murderers know Macbeth and would have recognized him) Also if you don't accept this theory, Macbeth might have not killed Banquo with his own hands because by that time he was already king, and he had the finance and the oppurtunity to hire murderers.

As Macbeth himself says in Act 3 scene one from line 125, he does have the power to openly have Banquo destroyed, "yet I must not, for certain friends that are both his and mine, whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall who I myself strike down." Yet this is just an excuse, a lie because Macbeth knows that there is no good reason for Banquo and Fleance to be killed and so he could not have him openly accused of anything. Macbeth knows that Banquo and Fleance are innocent. He orders their murder out of fear that the throne will be taken away from him and that Banquo's decendants will inherit it.

ac bradley says the first half of the play is better than the second!

Lady Macbeth plays a major role in the downfall of Macbeth. She was the one that convinced Macbeth to commit the murder of Duncan, believing that power would bring them happiness. This is the first crime that we see in the play that Macbeth has commited. After the murder of Duncan, Macbeth is made king. He has lots of power and he craves to use it, but was never happy, causing his downfall. When Lady Macbeth commits suicide is another key point in Macbeth's downfall because as he has seen so much death and caused pain to so many others he becomes numb to it and no longer cares about anything, and wishes to die himself although he does not consider suicide like Lady Macbeth this is shown when he says "Why should I play the roman fool and die on my own sword?"

Lady Macbeth also plays a major part in the downfall of Macbeth as from the moment when she takes the bloody daggers off Macbeth after he kills Duncan she starts turning mad throughout the whole of the play up until the point when she commits suicide. Lady Macbeth suffers from a guilty conscience during most of the play and starts sleepwalking, imagining that she still has blood and her hands so she tries to wash it off. This is also important in Macbeth's downfall because it emotionally affects him and he himself starts going mad by having dreams and seeing the ghost of Banquo as well as contributing to the suspicion that falls on Macbeth.

Critics believe that the character of Banquo was initially a murderer, however, that identity was scrapped for one of a nobleman. However, Banquo was believed to be an ancestor of James I, so his character was changed to avoid trouble with the king. The place of Duncan's death was also changed from him being set upon and killed on the road, to death coming when he visited Macbeth's castle. King Duncan's character was changed from an inept king, whose job Macbeth already had to do, to the more benevolent Duncan, who was considered an apt king.

Your question is a non-sequitor as you do not say what modern figure. Restate your question, please.

Well, I can only find one. I am some what looking hard for them but not too in depth. Basically what I have is after Macbeth murders Duncan he is in his palace with Lady Macbeth. "[Kocking] Knock, Knock, Knock! Who's there,"

She desires the kingship for him and wants him to murder Duncan in order for Macbeth to obtain it. Not only that, but Macbeth has a weak will, and Lady Macbeth, being determined and intelligent, manages to persuade the indecisive Macbeth to commit regicide.

The reaction between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth is initially very different after they kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth is enthusiastic but Macbeth regrets his actions.

The drunken porter.