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DUNCAN, King of Scotland
Duncan is a good king who his people like. By no fault of his own he is unable to discern those who threaten his reign.
Duncan: King of Scotland at the opening of Macbeth, Duncan is murdered in 2.1. Duncan is Macbeth's first victim en route to obtaining the crown for himself.

Macbeth
The horrific and detestable acts perpetrated by Macbeth mirror the crimes of Shakespeare's great villains -- Aaron the Moor, Iago, Richard III, Edmund -- all at the ready to slaughter women and children, usurp divinely appointed kings, and butcher their closest friends to satisfy ambitious cravings. Yet, despite his villainous deeds, Macbeth is not among the list of Shakespeare's most base evildoers. What sets Macbeth apart is his penchant for self-reflection. Although ultimately he cannot resist his dark desires, his struggle to regain his goodness is constant, and the part of his character that is capable of much love and compassion, although ever fading, is always present. There is no moral dilemma with Shakespeare's true villains. They relish every moment of their immorality. Thus, rather than a villain, Macbeth is considered to be one of Shakespeare's tragic heroes. He is by no means the epitome of the Aristotelian tragic hero, as is Hamlet, but he is a tragic hero nonetheless, because we, the audience, can see ourselves in him.
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1606), the protagonist is lured to murder the king, Duncan, by the desire for power, an appetite whetted by witch’s prophecies and his wife’s encouragement. But when he reaches the kingship, he finds himself insecure. He attempts to remove threats that decrease his security, including his companion Banquo and his son Fleance, prophesied to be king. His lords grow angry and revolt successfully, after witches lure Macbeth into a false sense of security by further foretelling. In Macbeth, we see that, despite appearances of paradox, man’s goals of comfort...