Character Analysis: Supporting Characters

While Macbeth and Lady Macbeth dominate the play, the supporting characters serve essential dramatic, thematic, and structural functions. Understanding their roles — and how they relate to the protagonists — is key to a sophisticated GCSE response.

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Character Relationship Map

                    THE WITCHES
                   /           \
              prophecy        prophecy
                /               \
           MACBETH ----foil---- BANQUO
              |                    |
         murders               ancestor of
              |                    |
           DUNCAN              (future kings)
              |
         succeeded by
              |
           MALCOLM
              |
         supported by
              |
           MACDUFF
              |
         family murdered by
              |
           MACBETH

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Banquo — The Foil

Banquo is the most important foil to Macbeth. A foil is a character who highlights another character's qualities through contrast.

How Banquo contrasts with Macbeth

Aspect	Macbeth	Banquo
Reaction to prophecy	Immediately thinks of murder	Cautious and suspicious
Moral choice	Gives in to temptation	Resists temptation
Relationship with evil	Actively seeks the Witches	Warns against "instruments of darkness"
Loyalty to Duncan	Betrays and murders him	Remains loyal
Legacy	Dies without heirs on the throne	His line will produce kings

Key Banquo quotes

"And oftentimes, to win us to our harm, / The instruments of darkness tell us truths, / Win us with honest trifles, to betray 's / In deepest consequence" (1.3)

This is one of the wisest lines in the play — Banquo recognises that the Witches may use partial truths to lead them to destruction. Macbeth ignores this warning.

"Thou hast it now: King, Cawdor, Glamis, all, / As the weird women promised; and I fear / Thou played'st most foully for 't" (3.1)

Banquo suspects Macbeth murdered Duncan but does not act on his suspicion — possibly because the prophecy that his own descendants will be kings gives him reason to stay quiet. This makes Banquo morally ambiguous, not simply virtuous.

Banquo's dramatic function

• Foil — highlights Macbeth's moral weakness through contrast
• Flattery of James I — James believed he descended from Banquo; Shakespeare portrays him favourably
• Ghost — Banquo's ghost at the banquet symbolises Macbeth's guilt and the impossibility of escaping it
• Prophecy — the escape of Fleance ensures that Banquo's line will survive, fulfilling the Witches' prediction

Examiner's tip: A sophisticated response will note that Banquo is not a simple hero. His silence after suspecting Macbeth (3.1) suggests complicity or self-interest — he may hope to benefit from the prophecy. Shakespeare presents a world where almost no one is purely good.

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Macduff — The Instrument of Justice

Macduff serves as the agent of retribution — the character who ultimately destroys Macbeth and restores the rightful order.

Macduff's key moments

Act.Scene	Action	Significance
2.3	Discovers Duncan's body	Associated with truth and justice
2.4	Does not attend Macbeth's coronation	Early sign of resistance
4.3	Passes Malcolm's loyalty test	Proves his integrity
4.3	Learns of his family's murder	Personal motivation for revenge
5.8	Kills Macbeth	Restores the natural order

Key Macduff quotes

"O horror, horror, horror! / Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee!" (2.3)

His response to Duncan's murder is one of genuine, overwhelming grief — contrasting with Macbeth's calculated performance.

"He has no children. All my pretty ones? / Did you say all? O hell-kite! All? / What, all my pretty chickens and their dam / At one fell swoop?" (4.3)

This is one of the most emotionally powerful moments in the play. The animal metaphor — "chickens" and "dam" — makes the family's vulnerability heartbreakingly vivid. "At one fell swoop" has entered common English usage from this speech.

"Macduff was from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped" (5.8)

Macduff was born by caesarean section, making him technically not "of woman born" — he is the loophole that destroys Macbeth's false sense of security.

Macduff's dramatic function

• Instrument of justice — he kills the tyrant and restores order
• Emotional heart — his grief humanises the play's violence
• Contrast to Macbeth — puts family and country above personal ambition
• Fulfilment of prophecy — the "none of woman born" loophole

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Duncan — The Good King

Duncan represents the ideal of good kingship — the standard against which Macbeth's tyranny is measured.

Duncan's qualities

Quality	Evidence
Generous	Rewards loyalty with titles and praise
Trusting	"He was a gentleman on whom I built / An absolute trust" (1.4) — about the previous Cawdor, showing his fatal flaw
Gracious	"This castle hath a pleasant seat" (1.6) — sees beauty even in danger
Just	Punishes traitors, rewards heroes

Duncan's dramatic function

• Ideal king — represents the Divine Right of Kings and good governance
• Victim — his murder is the act that disrupts the natural order
• Dramatic irony — his trust in Macbeth makes the betrayal more horrifying
• Contrast — his generosity contrasts with Macbeth's tyranny