Tools of Characterization

Actions

One of the central divisions in Macbeth is between those who talk about acting, and those who act. Banquo's aside shows him to be more of a thinker than actor, and Macbeth's growth towards being a full-blown tyrant can be mapped by how often he talks and thinks about what he's about to do. It takes many scenes of thought and talk for Macbeth to kill Duncan, but later, he decides to off Macduff's whole family in one fell swoop because Macduff's name is mentioned. For Macbeth, thought often inhibits action, and if action is a sign of manliness and power, it's something he can always use a little more of.

Family Life

Domestic life is revealing in this play. Lady Macbeth tends to control her husband's actions at the play's beginning. She not only chastises him for not acting like a "man," she also goads him into murdering King Duncan when he waffles (1.7.3). Lady Macbeth also has a striking relationship to motherhood. She calls on spirits to "unsex" her (1.5.1) and claims that even though she knows what it's like to breastfeed, she wouldn't hesitate to tear a child from her breast and bash its brains in if she had promised her husband she would do it (1.7.4). Lady Macduff, on the other hand, is portrayed as a loving and doting mother. Even after her husband deserts the family she banters good-naturedly with her young son (4.2.3).

Physical Appearances

Although the play goes out of its way to show that appearances can be deceptive (check out "Versions of Reality" for more on this), there are a few key moments where characters' physical appearances help define them. The weird sisters are notable because they're bearded (1.3.1) which is a marker of their ambiguous nature and gender. They're not only mysterious but they also invert traditional gender roles assigned to women (meek, silent, obedient, kind) by casting spells and steering Macbeth toward destruction. At various moments in the play, a man's battle wounds are markers of honor and valor. King Duncan insists that the bloody Captain's gashes "speak" volumes about his heroic deeds (1.2.4) and Young Siward is deemed a "man" when his corpse is discovered to have wounds on the front of his body, a sign that he was not killed while running away (5.11.4).