[…] [453] In »Macbeth«, which was one of the earliest of the series, he was more concerned with characterisation than with the actual plot of the drama: there is no attempt to tell the story of Shakespeare’s play, in the manner in which he afterwards portrayed the career of Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegel, the Hero, and Don Quixote, or narrated the ascent and descent of the mountain in successive stages. With the exception of a theme which may be taken to represent the witches, he is solely concerned with the contrasted characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. […]