Lenox

Lenox was a character in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.

Fictional biography

He first appeared in Act II Scene III, set in Macbeth's castle, where he and Macduff were in conversation until Macbeth arrived. Upon his entrance, Lenox wished him a good morrow. Later, when Macduff entered the King's chambers in order to wake him but shouted "Horror! Horror!" after a moment, Lenox and Macbeth asked what was wrong. Macduff then revealed that the King had been murdered and encouraged them both to enter the chambers to see for themselves.

Lenox was next seen in Act III Scene IV at a banquet hosted by Macbeth. In an early draft of the play, he called to Macbeth and asked him to sit down after he had finished speaking with the Doctor. Macbeth said that the table was full but Lenox corrected him and pointed his seat out to him. However, Macbeth was seeing the ghostly figure of Banquo in his chair which resulted in Lenox needing to indicate his spot for a second time. When Macbeth ended the occasion prematurely due to his fear-inducing experiences, Lenox wished him a good night and better health as he left.

He was also featured in Act IV Scene I where he met with Macbeth after his encounter with the Weird Sisters. Macbeth asked if Lenox had seen the Sisters disappear to which he responded in the negative. Lenox then informed Macbeth that Macduff had fled to England, prompting Macbeth to tell him of his plan to seize Fife and put his wife and children to "the sword".

Lenox later defected and joined the English army which Malcolm and Macduff had amassed in order to remove Macbeth from the throne. He appeared in Act V Scene IV, set in Great Birnam Wood, though did not speak. Their forces were ultimately victorious with Macbeth "fight[ing] and los[ing]" due to not realising his men were outnumbered until it was too late, unpreparedness which was caused by his misinterpretations of the Weird Sisters' prophecies in Act IV. (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth)