Meet Macbeth

Macbeth is characterized indirectly through the descriptions provided by other characters.  Right off the bat his feats are depicted in a flood of praise.  The witches also characterize him by stating his titles.  This also leads to some foreshadowing, as they title him with things he has not earned yet and say he will become king.  Adumbrations of what is to come like this swarm the audience up to what is coming in next in the play without being obvious or blunt, creating an exposition with some subtlety.  The theme coming through this far is one of violence and with my background knowledge of the play I think it is safe to say that it will remain throughout.  The admiring tone of the characters describing Macbeth show that he is a character of honor, thus he is characterized not just by their words but their tone as well.