Attendants in Macbeth

Who is Attendants?

The attendants are the unnamed court servants and escorts who appear with Duncan and the royal party. They perform practical duties — waiting for news, accompanying the king and princes, and standing in the hall during public events — and help stage the social world of the court. In Act 1, Scene 4 they wait with Duncan’s retinue for the execution report of the former Thane of Cawdor and witness the king’s gratitude to Macbeth. In Act 1, Scene 6 they travel with the royal party to Macbeth’s castle and comment on the pleasant, welcoming air of the place as the king praises his hostess. In Act 3, Scene 4 they fill the banquet hall, listen to a murderer’s bloody report that Banquo is dead and Fleance escaped, and are among the courtly onlookers alarmed by Macbeth’s strange behavior when he addresses Banquo’s ghost. Though unnamed, they help mark shifts in public mood and register the contrast between ceremonial order and the private crimes unspooling beneath it.

Personality

Observant

They wait with Duncan for news of Cawdor’s execution in Act 1, Scene 4 and hear Malcolm report the condemned man’s confession.

Ceremonial

They accompany the royal party into Macbeth’s castle in Act 1, Scene 6 and comment on the pleasant setting as part of the formal welcome.

Witnesses

They occupy the banquet hall in Act 3, Scene 4 and hear the murderer announce Banquo’s death and Fleance’s escape.

Alarming presence

Their reactions help show the disruption when Macbeth speaks to Banquo’s invisible ghost at the banquet in Act 3, Scene 4.

Character arc

The attendants’ function remains steady across their appearances: they arrive as a composed, ceremonial presence and end as part of a disturbed court. In Act 1 they wait calmly for official news and participate in the outward politeness of the king’s company, helping to stage public authority and ceremony. They escort and accompany the royal household to Macbeth’s home, commenting on the pleasant atmosphere that masks the play’s private tensions. By Act 3 they are present at the banquet as the public face of courtly life, and their role shifts from mere formality to that of a chorus-like witness: they hear the murderer’s report and observe Macbeth’s breakdown. They do not drive events or change their behavior dramatically, but their steady presence across scenes highlights the growing gap between appearance and reality — from orderly statecraft to a court unsettled by murder and a king’s visible unraveling.

Relationships

• Duncan They serve and accompany King Duncan as part of his retinue and attend his announcements.
• Malcolm They travel with Malcolm as part of the royal company and hear him report news like Cawdor’s confession.
• Donalbain They accompany Donalbain among the king’s party and share the formal obligations of the court.
• Lennox They move and stand with Lennox within the company, present at both the arrival at Macbeth’s and the banquet.
• Ross They appear alongside Ross at the banquet and in the royal entourage, witnessing court events he also attends.
• Banquo They are present when Banquo goes riding with Fleance and later hear the murderer report Banquo’s death at the feast.

Why Attendants matters

Attendants function as the play’s background public: they embody ceremony, social order and the expectations of court life. Their steady, largely passive presence contrasts with the secretive, violent actions of the main players, making the collapse of appearances more visible. By witnessing official pronouncements, domestic hospitality, and the public consequences of private crime, they help dramatize Macbeth’s tension between outward legitimacy and inward corruption and show how murder disturbs not only individuals but the public fabric of the court.

Chapters with Attendants

• Act 1, Scene 4
• Act 1, Scene 6
• Act 3, Scene 1
• Act 3, Scene 4

More Macbeth characters

• MacbethProtagonist
• BanquoMajor character
• MacduffMajor character
• MalcolmMajor character
• RossMajor character
• Lady MacbethMajor character
• LennoxMajor character
• DuncanMajor character