The protagonist of a literary work is the main character.
As such Macbeth of Shakespeare's play is a protagonist, albeit not a good man. Still,
he is the character who drives the plot of the drama. The antagonists are any character
whom Macbeth opposes or with whom he comes into conflict. Thus, Macbeth conflicts with
Duncan, Banquo, Lennox, Macduff, Ross, Mentieth, Simward, and all noble Scotsmen. Of
course, Malcolm III must be included in this list, and even the three sisters whom
Macbeth encounters in Act I since they make predictions that work against Macbeth. For
instance, they tell Macbeth in the first act that he will be Thane of Cawdor, but they
also tell Banquo that his sons will be king. Later, in Act III Banquo asks Macbeth if
the witches can fulfill their prophesies for him, which prove to be antagonistic, why
cannot his prophesies be also fulfilled:
As the weird women promised and I
fear
Thou play'dst most foully for't: yet it was
said
It [being king] should not stand in thy
posterity
But that myself should be root and
father
Of many kings,. If there came truth from
them--
Why, by the verities on thee made
good,
May they not be my oracles as
well
And set me up in hope? But, hush, no more.
(3.1.1-10)
This statement, of
course, is Banquo's undoing as he, thus, becomes antagonistic to Macbeth in wishing his
sons to be king. In another example, when Malcolm speaks of returning Scotland to its
people, he also intends to dethrone Macbeth. This action again sets the witches as
antagonists since they have predicted that no man born of woman will kill Macbeth;
however Macolm is not "born of [any]women"; he has been surgically removed from his
mother's womb. Worried about Malcomb, Macbeth attempts to destroy
him.
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