Present – military camp in scotland
- Duncan – king of scotland
- Captain – Captain in Duncan’s Army
- Malcolm – king’s oldest son
- Lenox – nobleman
- Rosse – Thane of Rosse ( nobleman)
Summary
- Captain explains to Duncan and Malcolm what happened in the battle
- The battle was evenly balanced – this is supported by the metaphor “Doubtful it stood, As two spent swimmers, that do cling together”
- The leader of the opposing army was Macdonwald – not a nice guy
- Macdonwald had bought his army rather than them being loyal to him
- Fate (fortune) was originally on Macdonwald’s side but abandoned him
- Macbeth came along and killed so many people that his sword “smoked with bloody execution”
- Macbeth killed Macdonwald and cut off his head
- Duncan gives Macbeth Macdonwald’s title (Thane of Cawdor)
Quote
“Doubtful it stood, As two spent swimmers, that do cling together” – Captain page 3
This refers to the battle, it means that they were doubtful about who would win the battle, because it was very balanced.
