The chief character of the play is Macbeth. He is first of all Thane of Glamis and then inherits the title thane of Cawdor from an executed traitor. Instigated by a prophecy from the Witches that he will become king, and urged on by his wife, he murders King Duncan, and has himself proclaimed king. To secure his position, he is driven to commit further criminal acts, and plunges his country into civil war. After he is killed in battle by Macduff he is described as a ‘dead butcher’.The first scene is set on the ‘moor’ that is bleak and desolate. This scene is one of desolation and devastation. The desolate countryside metaphorically separates the humans from the Witches who are used to open the play to introduce the idea of fate and destiny. From the stage directions, the ‘battlefield’ creates a scene of death, carnage and destruction in line 4, ‘when the battle’s lost and won’ and line 12 and 13, ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’ a paradox is offered. How can fair be foul? How a battle be lost and won?
