Admirable elements attach to their characters.
No such aspects are apparent in treacherous, mercurial, self-absorbed Macbeth. Still, play and character continue to challenge actors and fascinate audiences. He ain't all bad, it suggests, because he ain't all the way in control. Bare-boned in structure and barely more than half the length of Hamlet, the play wastes no time on character detailing. In the second of 28 scenes, Macbeth's king, Duncan, accords him the name of hero for battlefield valor against a traitor.