In Macbeth, Seyton brings Macbeth the news of Lady Macbeth’s death.
Seyton is Macbeth’s chief servant and armourer. Near the end of Act 5, Macbeth asks him to confirm the report that the queen has died. Seyton answers, “The queen, my lord, is dead,” prompting Macbeth’s bleak “Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” soliloquy about the emptiness and transience of life.
The scene is dramatically important because Macbeth receives the news while preparing for the final assault on his castle. Lady Macbeth’s death is not shown onstage; the play has earlier established her sleepwalking, guilt, and mental collapse after Duncan’s murder and the later violence committed in Macbeth’s name.
Seyton is easy to confuse with Ross or Lennox, both prominent Scottish nobles and messengers in the play. Malcolm is Duncan’s son and the opposing claimant to the throne. Seyton’s role is small but memorable because his brief announcement immediately precedes one of Shakespeare’s best-known reflections on mortality.