What are some common characteristics between Abigail Williams from "The Crucible" and Lady Macbeth from "Macbeth"?

Both characters are very intriguing in terms of points of comparison.  I would initially point out that both of them are able to manipulate others' quite well.  Lady Macbeth is able to pinpoint how to get Macbeth to do what she wants him to do in terms of committing murder.  In this light, she is very effective in wrangling his will.  Abigail is also similar in how she is able to convince the people of Salem of the supposed authenticity of her accusations and beliefs.  Along these lines, the reader sees how each of them are able to demonstrate this to the men they supposedly love.  Lady Macbeth is able to convince her husband of what has to be done under the guise of the sanctity of marriage.  Part of what makes her counsel so persuasive is that it is his wife that is giving him this advice.  When we see Abigail with John, we fully understand how persuasive she can be, using any and all possible allure, such as sexual innuendo and need, to ensure that she will not be denied.  I think another point of comparison is that neither stick around to see the full implications of their desires.  Abigail runs away and Lady Macbeth, already withdrawn and haunted by guilt, ends up committing suicide before the end of the play.  In both, we see what they have started or helped to start not necessarily finished by either.

What are the similarities between Macbeth and Abigail Williams?

Both characters are driven by ambition.  Macbeth's ambition is to be king.  Abigail's ambition is to be the center of focus in Salem and to keep Proctor for himself.  For both, there are extrinsic benefits to their ambitious drive.  Macbeth covets power and control.  Abigail covets being socially powerful enough to manipulate people in Salem and to imprison Elizabeth.  Finally, a similarity between both is that they are fundamentally cruel in their ambitious drive for power.  Both of them do not spare anything in destroying those that they perceive to being in the way of their drive.

In another sense, a similarity between both Macbeth and Abigail is that they are both driven by forces deep within them.  Extrinsic benefits aside, there are internal forces at their base.  Macbeth's is Lady Macbeth.  Where he lacks the full authenticity to do what he needs to do, Lady Macbeth goads, cajoles, and envisions him doing what he lacks the ability to do.  Abigail is driven by the demons of her own upbringing.  Seeing her parents killed and not being able to experience anything in terms of redemptive emotions or nurturing have helped to create a being that can only see people as means to an end.  Abigail is also driven by her misplaced desire for Proctor, whom she covets sexually and also as a type of father figure.  These forces are at play with her desire to power and are as subterranean as Macbeth's wife exerting a powerful force on him.

What are the similarities and differences between Abigail Williams and Macbeth?

Abigail Williams is a teenage girl living in Salem, Massachusetts during the late 1600s, while Macbeth is an older Scottish soldier living during the Middle Ages who gets promoted to Thane of Cawdor and eventually becomes king. Abigail is an oppressed girl, who is initially overlooked by the members of Salem's community because of her age and gender. In contrast, Macbeth is revered by King Duncan and the Scottish lords for his exploits on the battlefield. Abigail's accusations are driven by revenge as she attempts to get rid of Elizabeth in order to have John Proctor to herself. Macbeth's violent nature is a result of his ambition and hopes to secure his authority.

Despite their many differences, Abigail and Macbeth share several similarities. Both characters are portrayed as selfish, callous, and violent. Abigail doesn't think twice about ruining the lives of innocent citizens, and Macbeth murders several characters throughout the play in order to attain and secure his title as king. Both characters participate in the dark arts and are involved in sorcery of some sort. Abigail drinks blood in hopes of cursing Elizabeth, and Macbeth consults the three witches about his future. Also, both characters' actions turn their communities into hostile, dangerous environments.