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Macbeth

Macbeth

 

 

Macbeth

PLOT SUMMARY FOR MACBETH  -  Revised Spring 11

ACT 1

Act I, scene i- The three witches (weird/wyrd sisters) are introduced on a barren Scottish heath, which establishes an ominous, foreboding mood.  These Weird Sisters establish the basic idea for the play: “Fair is foul and foul is fair.” They also hint they have something planned for Macbeth, a general in the Scottish army in about the year 1040.  (Shakespeare wrote the play itself in about 1606.)

Act I, scene ii - A battle is raging between the forces of Scotland, under King Duncan, and the forces of Norway, under King Sweno.  Duncan asks a wounded sergeant how the battle is going.  The wounded, bloody sergeant tells Duncan the fighting is a toss-up -- both sides are fighting as hard as they can.  It is too early to determine the outcome.  He says Macbeth is awesome on the battlefield, and he also praises Banquo.  Macbeth and Banquo are two of King Duncan’s generals (thanes).  The wounded sergeant says when Norway began a fresh assault, the Scottish forces were able to hold them off, largely because of the leadership of Macbeth and Banquo.  Ross, a Scottish nobleman (thane) is “Mr. News Guy” and enters and tells Duncan Scotland has defeated Norway.  Duncan is thrilled with this news, but Ross also has some bad news for Duncan.  Duncan’s friend, the Thane of Cawdor, has been a traitor to Scotland and has helped Norway.  Duncan orders the man executed and says he will give the title of Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth as a reward for Macbeth’s bravery in battle.

Act I, scene iii- The witches return.  The first witch is angry with the wife of a sea captain because she won’t share her chestnuts with her.  She punishes the wife by having the husband’s ship, the Tiger, meet a terrible fate at sea.  This part of the play establishes the weird sisters are constantly up to no good.  It also shows they aren’t all-powerful and can only manipulate their surroundings and not dictate actual events. Meanwhile, Macbeth and Banquo walk across the countryside en route to Duncan to tell him of the victory.  The witches materialize out of thin air and greet Macbeth and Banquo.  They greet Macbeth as (1) the Thane of Glamis, (2) the Thane of Cawdor, and (3) the one who shall be king someday.  Macbeth already is the Thane of Glamis (a title he has inherited from him father), but he is downright startled when they address him as Thane of Cawdor and future king.  At this point in the play, Macbeth’s fatal flaw is partially revealed -- he is greedy for power and is too ambitious.  The witches then address Banquo, telling him that although he never will be a king, he will be the forefather of a line of kings.  (Remember, Banquo is an ancestor of James, who, during Shakespeare’s time, was king of both Scotland and England.)  The witches then vanish, and Macbeth and Banquo continue their way to meet with Duncan.  Ross rushes out to meet them and congratulate them on their victory and tells Macbeth about his being named the new Thane of Cawdor, which makes Macbeth even more convinced he will become king someday soon.  In an aside, Macbeth thinks he may have to do something foul in order to become king.

Act 1, scene iv – This scene opens with Duncan and his eldest son, Malcolm, discussing how the Thane of Cawdor died better than how he lived.  Cawdor confessed to treason and repented. Duncan wistfully states that “There’s no art to find the mind’s construction in the face.”  He trusted Cawdor and never would have guessed by looking at him that Cawdor was a traitor.  Then Duncan and Malcolm greet Macbeth and Banquo and praise them on their victory.  Duncan announces he wants Malcolm to follow him as king of Scotland by naming him Prince of Cumberland.  Macbeth is upset by this revelation because it doesn’t go along with what the witches have told him.  In an aside, he says this “is a step on which I must fall down, or else o’erleap, for in my way it lies.”

Act 1, scene v - Macbeth’s wife, Lady Macbeth, reads a letter from him in which he tells her of his encounter with the weird sisters.  She makes up her mind on the spot that she and Macbeth should do whatever is necessary -- even commit murder -- to get the royal crown for Macbeth.  A messenger enters and tells her Duncan will spend the night at Macbeth’s castle.  She realizes this will be the perfect opportunity to assassinate Duncan, but she worries that despite Macbeth’s ambition, he is too “full ‘o th’ milk of human kindness” to do what is necessary to make sure the prediction comes true. She also calls on evil spirits to “unsex” her and take away any sign of feminine weakness. Shortly afterwards, Macbeth arrives, and she expresses desire to kill Duncan. Macbeth says they’ll talk about it later.  Lady Macbeth tells her husband his face is “as a book where men may read strange matters,” and he needs to put on a false face.

Act I, scene vi - Duncan and Banquo arrive at the Macbeths’ castle.  Duncan remarks on the lovely evening and how good the air is there and the good bird, the martlet, is there, which is ironic considering things should be stinking around this place.  He is in the best of spirits and is glad to be spending the evening with his friends.  Duncan does not suspect any evil might befall him at the home of Macbeth, who fought so bravely for him in the war with Sweno and who is his cousin as well as his friend.  Lady Macbeth greets him warmly.

Act I, scene vii - In another soliloquy, Macbeth has a change of heart and talks himself out of killing Duncan.  He says Duncan is a guest in his house -- he should be protecting him, not planning to kill him.  He also notes Duncan is his kinsman and has been a great king, loved by the people.  He adds that Duncan is so wonderful that “his virtues will plead like angels.” However, Lady Macbeth will not allow this reversal. She uses a horrible example of how far she would go to carry out the plan, which shows how evil she is at this point.  She suggests Macbeth isn’t a real man if he backs out, and he needs to “screw his courage to the sticking place.” She questions his manhood if he doesn’t “stick” with the plan.  Besides, Lady Macbeth has already worked out the details of the murder.  Duncan is to be killed in his sleep.  Two chamberlains -- servants who stay in the king’s bedroom at night and attend him -- will be made drunk.  Their daggers will be used to kill Duncan.  Then the daggers will be returned to the chamberlains’ hands with Duncan’s blood smeared on them.  The circumstances will look as if they got drunk and killed the king. Macbeth tells her she is so full of “undaunted mettle” she should only have men children.  She, again, tells Macbeth he needs to put on a mask when she says, “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.”

                ACT II

Act II, scene i – On the starless night of the murder, Banquo, with his son Fleance at his side, talks with Macbeth on the evening in which the murder is to take place.  It is established through the dialogue Duncan already has gone to bed.  Macbeth asks Banquo if he becomes king, will Banquo honor and support him.  Banquo replies as long as he doesn’t have to lose his honor, he will.  In a soliloquy, Macbeth says he sees a dagger floating in the air.  Both the handle and the blade are covered with specks of blood.  In all probability, Macbeth is imagining this dagger because of the guilt he feels over what he is about to do.  Lady Macbeth rings a bell, indicating it is time for him to do his bloody deed.

Act II, scene ii – Onstage alone, Lady Macbeth claims she would have done it herself, but when Duncan slept, he looked too much like her father. This is a revealing statement regarding Lady Macbeth. Macbeth enters and has murdered Duncan offstage using the chamberlains’ daggers as planned. Rather than returning the daggers to the chamberlains’ hands, Macbeth has forgotten himself and walked out of the king’s bedroom with them.  Macbeth rambles about the chamberlains praying and that he, Macbeth, has couldn’t answer the prayers and that he has murdered sleep.  When Lady Macbeth notices he has the bloody daggers, she fusses at him to take them back, but he says he cannot look again at what he has done.  Lady Macbeth returns to the king’s chamber, places the bloody daggers in the chamberlains’ hands, and smears Duncan’s blood all over them in their drunken sleep.  When Macbeth and Lady Macbeth hear a knocking at the door, they scurry for their bedroom and change into nightclothes after washing Duncan’s blood from their hands.  However, Macbeth thinks he will never be able to wash this blood from his hands, although Lady Macbeth thinks otherwise.

Act II, scene iii - The knocking at the door is by Macduff and Lennox, two noblemen (thanes like Macbeth and Banquo).  The king had told them to awaken him at the crack of dawn.  They’re having trouble getting in because a drunken porter can’t find his way to the door very quickly.  The porter is having a fantasy he is the doorkeeper for hell; and he imagines the types of people, such as cheats and liars, who will be knocking on hell’s door after they die.  Macbeth’s castle is too cold to be hell; although, unknown to the porter, a very hellish event has happened in that very castle during the night.  The porter tells Malcolm what happens when people drink, and he uses paradoxes to do so.  This episode gives the audience comic relief, which is much needed following the heavy incidents of the evening.  This scene, through Lennox’s dialogue, reveals nature has gone crazy during the night.  Stormy winds had blown down chimneys, there were death cries in the air, and the earth shook with tremors.  Compare this with how peaceful nature had been when Duncan arrived only twelve hours or so earlier.  Here, Shakespeare implies the crime Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have committed has been so horrible and such and affront to nature, all of nature is in rebellion.  The Great Chain of Being has been disrupted. Macduff discovers Duncan’s murdered body lying in the bed.  The entire castle becomes a scene of mass confusion and chaos.  Macbeth then goes into Duncan’s bedroom and kills the two chamberlains, supposedly because he was so angry with them for killing Duncan.  We know, though, he didn’t want to take the chance they might remember something from the night before.  Lady Macbeth faints, or at least pretends to faint, to divert attention away from her husband.  Duncan’s two sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, decide to flee Scotland for two reasons (1) whoever killed their father may also have plans to kill them, and (2) some might accuse them of having had their father killed so Malcolm could gain the throne more quickly.  Malcolm goes to England and Donalbain to Ireland.  Before the play ends, we will again meet with Malcolm, but this is the last time we see Donalbain.

Act II, scene iv - Ross, Macduff, and an old man engage in a conversation.  Through this dialogue, it is revealed many strange occurrences continue to happen in nature.  It is dark during the day (eclipse), animals continue to act contrary to their natural behavior, and King Duncan’s horses have been so disturbed that they have attacked each other.  Again, we see evidence of a disturbance in the Great Chain of Being.  This scene also reveals Macduff is getting suspicious about who is truly responsible for Duncan’s death.  We learn Duncan’s body has been buried at Colmekill, the traditional burial place of Scottish kings and that Macbeth will soon be crowned at Scone, the traditional place where Scottish kings are crowned; however, Macduff does not plan to attend the coronation. Uh oh.

                ACT III

Act III, scene i - Banquo notes Macbeth now has everything he wanted. It is, in fact, Banquo who becomes the next person Macbeth feels he must eliminate. Macbeth recalls the weird sisters saying Banquo would be the father of a line of kings, and Macbeth does not want to risk any of them removing him from the throne.  He also hates the fact he has gone to such lengths to gain the throne, only to have someone else’s heirs benefit from it.  To have the opportunity to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance, Macbeth throws a large dinner party in Banquo’s honor.  Banquo is at Macbeth’s palace at Forres early in the morning.  He says he and his son have some business to take care of, but they will return in time for the dinner that evening.  Macbeth gets two murderers to agree to jump Banquo and his son as they return for the dinner.  Macbeth manipulates them into thinking Banquo is the source of all their problems and his also.  He also explains why he can’t take care of it himself.

Act III, scene ii - This scene reveals Macbeth has not told Lady Macbeth what he plans for Banquo and Fleance.  He tells her, “Be innocent of the knowledge. . .till thou applaud the deed.”  This scene is a turning point in characterizing Macbeth and his wife.  The roles are reversing.

Act III, scene iii - The two murderers are joined by a third murderer.  Supposedly the third murderer is there because Macbeth doesn’t trust the other two.  Banquo and Fleance arrive.  Banquo is murdered; his throat is cut and he receives many other stab wounds before his body is rolled into a ditch.  Fleance escapes, thus keeping alive the weird sisters’ prophesy.

Act III, scene iv - The dinner party has begun.  Banquo, of course, is not present, a point of which Macbeth and Lady Macbeth make a big deal, especially since the dinner is in Banquo’s honor.  Twice during the dinner, Macbeth sees the gory ghost of Banquo seated at his stool at the table.  Each time he goes into a rage.  However, because only Macbeth can see the ghost, the others think he is going crazy.  After his second outburst, his wife dismisses the dinner guests.  Obviously, this second case of a guilty conscience on Macbeth’s part resembles the bloody dagger he saw before killing Duncan.  This scene also reveals Macbeth has had trouble sleeping.  Nonetheless, Macbeth has finally succeeded in killing his conscience.  “Come, we’ll to sleep,” he tells his wife.  Macbeth will see no more apparitions such as ghosts and daggers -- his conscience now is dead.  He tells his wife he will go see the three witches again to get more information.

Act III, scene v - Hecate, the goddess of witchcraft and the “boss” of the three weird sisters, scolds the witches for not letting her in on their mischief regarding Macbeth.  She insists on being in on anything else they plan.  She says, “How did you dare to trade and traffic with Macbeth...and I, the mistress of your charms. . .was never called to bear my part?”

Act III, scene vi - This scene between Lennox and another nobleman reveals just how terrible things have become in Scotland.  No one feels safe -- many who had been well off, such as Macduff, now live in disgrace -- more problems as a result of messing with the Great Chain of Being.  As is typical in tragedy, the downfall of the tragic hero brings about the downfall of many others -- in this case, an entire nation.  This scene also reveals Macduff has gone to England to meet up with Malcolm who fled following his father’s murder.  They hope to persuade England’s king, Edward the Confessor, to help them raise an army so they can overthrow Macbeth.

                ACT IV

Act IV, scene i - The three weird sisters prepare for their second meeting with Macbeth, who now seeks them out so he can make his next move.  When the witches see him coming, they say, “Something wicked this way comes.”  The witches provide Macbeth with three visions:  (1) an armed head (representing Macduff) tells Macbeth to beware of Macduff;  (2) a bloody child (representing someone but it’s a secret at this point) tells Macbeth he need fear no man born of woman; and (3) a child wearing the royal crown (a symbol of Malcolm) tells Macbeth he cannot be defeated until Birnam Wood comes to high Dunsinane hill.  Macbeth then demands to know if Banquo’s issue (offspring) will ever be kings.  The witches show Macbeth a line of eight kings, one of whom holds a mirror which reflects still more kings.  Macbeth knows the answer to his question and isn’t happy about it.  He finds out from Lennox Macduff has fled to England. This news enrages him; he decides he will kill everyone in Macduff’s family.

Act IV, scene ii - Lady Macduff talks with Ross.  She cannot understand why Macduff has left for England without even saying goodbye to her.  Ross tries to convince her that her husband is doing what is best.  Then Lady Macduff matches wits with her son as they talk about his father, but the son knows his mother is only kidding.  A messenger enters warning her to leave at once, for she and her family are in grave danger.  She is bewildered.  “I have done no harm,” she says.  The murderers arrive and kill everyone in the Macduff household.

Act IV, scene iii - For the first time, a portion of the play occurs outside Scotland.  Macduff joins Malcolm in England outside the palace of the English king.  Malcolm trusts no one, so he tests Macduff by telling him that he, Malcolm, would be a terrible king for Scotland.  He says he would lust after every Scottish woman, take things from the wealthy, and be guilty of every crime imaginable.  Macduff becomes depressed, feeling there is indeed no hope for the country he loves so much.  He has passed Malcolm’s test, and Malcolm takes Macduff into his confidence.  He says England’s King Edward has agreed to have Siward, the leader of the English forces, take 10,000 men against Macbeth.  A doctor enters the scene (sound recording omits this scene), saying the king has been delayed because some ill people want him to cure them. (Historically, some people believed Edward capable of working miracles.)  Ross arrives in England and meets with Macduff and Malcolm.  He reluctantly tells Macduff Macbeth has killed Macduff’s entire family and household.  The stage is set for Macbeth’s enemies to try to overthrow him.

                ACT V

Act V, scene i - A doctor and a gentlewoman are attending Lady Macbeth who obviously has lost her mind, probably because of guilt.  She walks in her sleep and constantly tries to rub imaginary spots of blood from her hands.  The doctor knows he cannot help her and says, “More needs she the divine than the physician.”  In other words, she needs the help of a priest, not a medical doctor.

Act V, scene ii - The English forces, 10,000 strong, gather near Birnam Wood which is close to Dunsinane hill.  They are preparing to march on Macbeth.

Act V, scene iii - A servant tells Macbeth 10,000 enemy troops are near at hand.  However, Macbeth, remembering what he learned the last time he saw the witches, feels a sense of confidence, which will prove to be false confidence.  Although actual combat is not immediate, Macbeth puts on his armor.  He tells the doctor to cure Lady Macbeth, but the doctor says she is “not so sick” as “she is troubled with thick-coming fancies that keep her from her rest.”  He adds, “Therein the patient must minister to [herself].”

Act V, scene iv - Malcolm tells the English forces to cut branches from the trees in Birnam Wood and hold them close to disguise themselves and to march slowly toward Dunsinane Hill.  Uh oh, Macbeth!

Act V, scene v - In the castle Macbeth receives word of his wife’s death.  Macbeth makes his most famous soliloquy in the play when he contemplates the meaninglessness of life.  When a messenger informs him Birnam Wood is moving toward Dunsinane, Macbeth begins to suspect the witches have been yanking him, and he goes out to join the battle.

Act V, scene vi - In front of the castle the army prepares for battle.

Act V, scene vii - In an allusion to the bear-baiting pits of Shakespeare’s time Macbeth says, “They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, but bearlike I must fight the course.”  Yet he still feels a sense of false confidence based on what the witches said.  Macbeth fights and kills young Siward, but most of Macbeth’s troops have abandoned him.

Act V, scene viii - Macbeth and Macduff meet.  When Macbeth assures his opponent his sword is powerless against him, Macduff retorts he was not “of woman born” but was “from his mother’s womb/Untimely ripped.”  Macbeth freaks for a moment, but is no real coward.  He fights to the finish, but Macduff kills Macbeth and carries his head in on his sword.   We learn Lady Macbeth has committed suicide.  The nobles, led by Macduff, hail Malcolm as king of Scotland.  The Great Chain of Being is restored.

 

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Macbeth Summary

How It All Goes Down
On a dark and stormy night in Scotland, Macbeth, a noble army general, returns home after defending the Scottish King, Duncan, in battle. (Macbeth, by the way, was totally awesome on the battlefield – he's good at disemboweling his enemies and he's proved himself to be a loyal, standup guy.) Along the way, Macbeth and his good pal, Banquo, run into three bearded witches (a.k.a. the "weird sisters"), who speak in rhymes and prophesy that Macbeth will be named Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. There's good news for Banquo, too – he'll be father to a long line of future kings of Scotland, even though he won't get to be a king himself. 

Suddenly, the witches vanish into the "foul" and murky air. Whoa, think Macbeth and Banquo. Did that just happen or have we been nibbling on the "insane root"? (Banquo really does say "insane root.") The next thing we know, a guy named Ross shows up to say that, since the old Thane of Cawdor turned out to be a traitor and will soon have his head lopped off and displayed on a pike, Macbeth gets to take his place as Thane of Cawdor. OK. That takes care of the first prophesy. We wonder what will happen next… 

Macbeth reveals to us that the witch's prophecy has made him think, briefly, about "murder" but he's disgusted with the idea and feels super guilty about his "horrible imaginings." He says he's willing to leave things to "chance" – if "chance" wants him to be king, then he doesn't have to lift a finger (against the current king) to make it happen. 

But later, when King Duncan announces that his son Malcolm will be heir to the throne, Macbeth begins to think about murder once again. He writes a letter to his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, who immediately begins to scheme about how to kill Duncan. (The first thing she needs to do is berate Macbeth and make him believe that he's not a "man" if he doesn't kill Duncan.) The King just so happens to be scheduled to visit the Macbeth's at their castle so that seems like a good time to take him out. Later, Macbeth hesitates about murdering the King – after all, it's Macbeth's job to defend the guy, especially when he's a guest in Macbeth's home. But, Lady Macbeth isn't having any of his excuses. She tells Macbeth to stop being a wimp and to act like a "man." Besides, it'll be a piece of cake to drug the king's guards and then frame them for the murder. 

That night at Macbeth's castle, Macbeth sees an imaginary floating dagger pointing him in the direction of the guestroom where the king's snoozing away. After he does the deed, Macbeth trips out a little bit – he hears strange voices and his wife has to tell him to snap out of it and calm down. (Lady Macbeth, by the way, says she would have killed the king herself but the guy looked too much like her father.)

When Macduff (yeah, we know, there are more "Macsomebodies" in this play than an episode of Grey's Anatomy) finds the king's dead body, Macbeth kills the guards and accuses them of murdering the king. (How convenient. Now nobody will ever hear their side of the story.) When King Duncan's kids, Donalbain and Malcolm, find out what's happened, they high tail it out of Scotland so they can't be murdered too. Macbeth, then, is named king and things are gravy…until Macbeth starts to worry about the witch's prophesy that Banquo's heirs will be kings. Macbeth's not about to let someone bump him off the throne so, he hires some hit-men to take care of Banquo and his son. Fleance, (Banquo's son) however, manages to escape after poor Banquo is murdered by Macbeth's henchman. 

For Macbeth, things continue to go downhill, as when Banquo's ghost haunts him at the dinner table in front of a bunch of important guests. (That’s never fun.) Macbeth then decides to pop in on the Weird sisters for another prophesy. The witches reveal the following: 1) Macbeth should watch his back when it comes to Macduff (the guy who discovered the king's dead body); 2) "None of woman born shall harm Macbeth," which our boy takes to mean "nobody shall harm Macbeth" since everybody has a mom; 3) Macbeth has nothing to worry about until Birnam Wood (a forest) moves to Dunsinane. The sisters also show how has Macbeth a vision of eight kings, confirming their earlier prophesy that Banquo's heirs will rule Scotland. Rats! Banquo's heirs just won't go away. Macbeth resolves to do whatever it takes to secure his power, starting with killing off Macduff's family (since he can't get his hands on Macduff, who has run away to England).

By now, nobody likes Macbeth and they think he's a tyrant. They also suspect he's had a little something to do with the recent murders of Duncan and Banquo. Meanwhile, Macduff and Malcolm pay a visit to the English King, Edward the Confessor, who, unlike Macbeth, is an awesome guy and a great king. (Shakespeare's English audience totally dug this flattering portrayal of King Edward, by the way.) When Ross shows up in England with news that Macbeth has had Macduff's wife and kids murdered, Macduff and Malcolm get down to the serious business of plotting to overthrow Macbeth with the help of English soldiers, who will do their best to help save Scotland from the tyrannous Macbeth. 

Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth isn't doing so hot. She sleepwalks, can't wash the imaginary blood from her hands, and degenerates until she finally croaks. Macbeth famously responds to news of his wife's apparent suicide by saying that it would have been better if she had died at a more convenient time, since he's a tad busy preparing for battle. He also goes on to say that life is "full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." (William Faulkner liked this line so much he used it for the title of one of his greatest works, The Sound and the Fury.) 

Oh well, at least Macbeth is safe because the witches have said "none of woman born shall harm" him, right? Not so fast. Macduff and Malcolm have recently shown up with a big army that's looking to put Macbeth's head on a pike. Then, Malcolm orders the troops to cut the branches from the trees in Birnam Wood for camouflage. Remember what the weird sisters said about Birnam Wood moving to Dunsinane? You know where this is headed, right? Macduff corners Macbeth in the castle, calls him a "hell-hound," and tells Macbeth that he, Macduff, was "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb. So much for Macbeth not being killed by any man "of woman born." (Apparently, being delivered via cesarean section doesn't count as being "born" in this play.) Macbeth says something like "Oh, no!" (he doesn't have much to say at this point) just before Macduff slays him and carries his severed head to Malcolm, who will soon be crowned king.
Macbeth Act I, Scene i Summary

  • Three witches (a.k.a. the "weird sisters") meet on a foggy heath (an open plain) in Scotland, amidst thunder and lightening. (It's all very dramatic and mysterious.)
  • They discuss when they'll meet again, and decide to hook up "When the hurly-burly's done, when the battle's lost and won." The implication is that they've been up to something really naughty.
  • Note: Even though the play's speech headings and stage directions refer to these three lovely ladies as "witches," the term "witch" only shows up once in the play. The sisters are, however, called "weird" six times, which seems significant because the term "weird" comes from the Old English term "wyrd," meaning "fate," aligning the three sisters with the three fates of classical mythology. (You know, the ones who controlled man's destiny.) In the opening scene, though, Shakespeare doesn't name them at all – they're referred to as "we three," which only adds to their mystery.
  • They agree to get together again before sunset, and let the audience in on their plan to meet Macbeth. It seems whatever they've been plotting has included him, as this is the first mention of our title character.
  • The witches then call out to Graymalkin and Paddock, who are the witches' "familiars," or spirits (usually animals like cats) that serve the witches.
  • All three witches then repeat a chorus that sets the tone for the play: "Fair is foul and foul is fair," whereupon they set back to their supernatural business, hovering through the fog and filthy air.

Macbeth Act I, Scene ii Summary

  • Duncan (the King of Scotland), his two sons (Malcolm and Donalbain), and Lennox (a Scottish nobleman) gather together with their attendants at a military camp in Scotland. (Check out this nifty map of major locations in the play.)
  • King Duncan's forces have been busy fighting against the King of Norway and the traitor, Macdonwald.
  • A wounded Captain arrives, fresh from the field, where he fought to help Duncan's son, Malcolm, escape capture. The group asks the bleeding man for more news from the battle.
  • The Captain reports that the battle wasn't looking so good – Macdonwald's forces kept arriving from Ireland and the Western Isles – until brave Macbeth fought through the "swarm" of enemy soldiers and disemboweled the traitorous Macdonwald.
  • There's some hemming and hawing about Macbeth's great courage in the face of seemingly impossible adversity and the Captain continues his story: after Macbeth spilled Macdonwald's guts all over the ground, the battle flared up again when the "Norwegian Lord" brought new men to the field, but even this didn't daunt Macbeth and Banquo, who just redoubled their efforts.
  • Then the Captain announces he's feeling faint from all the blood he's lost so he needs to see a surgeon, ASAP.
  • The Thane of Ross arrives and announces he's just come from Fife, where the Scottish traitor, the Thane of Cawdor, has been fighting against Scotland along side the King of Norway. It turns out that Macbeth kicked serious butt here too. Sweno, Norway's king, is not allowed to bury his men until he hands over ten thousand dollars to the Scots.
  • Duncan then proclaims the traitorous Thane of Cawdor will be executed, and Macbeth, responsible for the victory, shall have his title.
  • Ross is sent to announce the news to Macbeth.

Macbeth Act I, Scene iii Summary

  • The three witches meet again on the heath and check in about what everyone's been up to. The usual witchy stuff: one was killing swine; another recently asked a sailor's wife for her chestnuts. The sailor's wife told the lady to scram so the witches are going to punish the stingy chestnut hoarder by stirring up a little trouble (a storm with some crazy winds) for her husband's ship, which is currently at sea.
  • The weird sisters are also going to torment the poor guy by depriving him of sleep and by "drain[ing] him dry as hay," which means the sailor's going to have some serious gastro-intestinal problems and/or that he's going to be unable to father children. (In the 16th and 17th centuries, it was common for people to believe in the existence of witches. It was also pretty common for people to believe that witches were in the habit of doing things like whipping up nasty storms and causing male impotence.)
  • History Snack: as we know, Shakespeare wrote Macbeth during the reign of King James I of England (a.k.a. King James VI of Scotland), who was really interested in witchcraft – he authorized the torture of witches in Scotland in 1591 and also wrote a book on the subject, Daemonologie, in 1603. What started King James's witch-hunting craze? Historians note that it began in 1589, when James's betrothed, Anne of Denmark, sailed to Scotland for the wedding ceremony, the ship encountered a major storm and was forced to take refuge in Norway. James ended up traveling to Oslo, where the wedding took place. On his voyage back to Scotland with his new bride, James's ship encountered another crazy storm, which was blamed on witches. Later, six Danish women confessed to causing the storms that upset James's wedding.
  • Witch #1, of chestnutty fame, also has a pilot's thumb, a convenient rhyme for "Macbeth doth come," heralded by "a drum."
  • Hearing Macbeth's approach, the witches dance around in a circle to "wind up" a "charm."
  • Macbeth and Banquo show up, and Macbeth delivers his first line: "So foul and fair a day I have not seen." Hmm. Where have we heard that line before?
  • Banquo notices the witches (they're kind of hard to miss) and speaks to them, noting they are unlike the earth's inhabitants, yet are on the earth.
  • The witches put their fingers to their lips, which does not deter the perceptive Banquo from noticing their beards.
  • Only when Macbeth tells them to speak do the witches call out. They hail Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and future King.
  • Macbeth doesn't respond immediately. Banquo, who apparently took over the narration for these five lines, mentions that Macbeth is "rapt," as if he's in a trance. (Get your highlighter out – this word comes up a lot in the play.)
  • Banquo asks if the witches will look into his future too. The sisters cryptically say he will be lesser and greater than Macbeth, and not too happy, but happier than Macbeth. And they say he will be father to kings, though he will not be a king himself.
  • Macbeth says he's already the Thane of Glamis but it's hard to imagine becoming Thane of Cawdor, especially because the current Thane of Cawdor is alive. He demands to know where the witches got their information
  • The witches don't respond, but simply vanish into the foggy, filthy air.
  • Banquo suggests that maybe they're tripping on some "insane root" but conversation quickly moves on to the big news about their own fates, as promised by the witches.
  • Ross and Angus, two noblemen sent by Duncan (the King), break up the party.
  • Ross passes on that the King is pleased with Macbeth's battle successes of the day, and announces that the King would like to see him, and also that Macbeth is the new Thane of Cawdor.
  • Macbeth does some private ruminating. If the sisters' first prophesy that Macbeth will be named Thane of Cawdor can't be evil if it's turned out to be true. On the other hand, the witch's prophesy could be evil, especially since it's got Macbeth thinking about something naughty.
  • This is where we get the first inkling that Macbeth might be down for a little tyrannicide (fancy word for killing a king). He says he's just had a really awful and disgusting thought about "murder." These "horrible imaginings" make his hair stand on end and his heart beat really fast – he's also feeling as though his mind has been divided.
  • While Macbeth is deep in thought, Banquo comments to Ross and Angus that Macbeth seems "rapt," in a trancelike state.
  • Macbeth concludes his dramatic musings and says that he's just going to leave things to "chance." If "chance" wants him to be king, then he doesn't have to lift a finger (against the current king) to make it happen.
  • They hasten to the King, and Macbeth and Banquo agree to talk more about everything later.

Macbeth Act I, Scene iv Summary

  • Duncan asks after whether the Thane of Cawdor has been done in. Cawdor is indeed dead. As he faced his death, he confessed as that he was a traitor (not so much a revelation) and repented.
  • Macbeth, Banquo, Ross, and Angus then meet the King. The King is grateful; Macbeth and Banquo pledge their loyalty.
  • The King announces that his son Malcolm will be named Prince of Cumberland, which is the last stop before being King of Scotland. They'll all celebrate the good news at Macbeth's place.
  • Macbeth takes his leave of the group and has an aside, noting that now Malcolm is all that stands in the way of his kingship. Macbeth tells us he's thinking naughty thoughts again and hopes nobody can tell that he's got "black and deep desires."
  • Macbeth heads home before the party – King Duncan and his peeps will meet him at Glamis Castle (a.k.a. Inverness).

Macbeth Act I, Scene v Summary

  • Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth, calling her his "dearest partner of greatness," and telling her of the witches' prophecy.
  • Lady Macbeth says she's worried her husband's not up for killing the current king in order to fulfill the witches' prophesy. Macbeth, she says, is "too full o'th' milk of human kindness" and isn't quite wicked enough to murder Duncan. (Looks like Lady Macbeth isn't going to leave anything to "chance.")
  • Lady Macbeth says she's going to browbeat her husband into action.
  • When a messenger enters and announces that King Duncan will stay the night at Inverness as a guest of the Macbeths, Lady Macbeth tells us it'll be King Duncan's last night on earth.
  • Then Lady Macbeth delivers one of the most interesting and astonishing speeches ever. She calls on spirits to "unsex" her, "make thick [her] blood," and exchange her breast "milk for gall." Translation: Lady Macbeth calls on murderous agents to stop her menstrual flow and change her breast milk for poison (undo all the physical features that make her a reproductive woman). Basically, she suggests that being a woman and a mother could prevent her from committing a violent deed.
  • When her husband (the guy who's "too full o'th' milk of human kindness") enters the castle, Lady Macbeth tells him that King Duncan's spending the night but he won't be waking up the next morning.

Macbeth Act I, Scene vi Summary

  • Duncan, his sons, Banquo, and a bevy of noblemen arrive at Glamis Castle (Inverness), complimenting the Lady Macbeth, their "honoured hostess," for her seeming hospitality.
  • Lady Macbeth is pretty charming here – she says that the Macbeth's are grateful for the "honours" bestowed on Macbeth by the king and tells the men to make themselves at home.
  • There's a whole lot of very formal "You're so gracious." "No you're the one who's so gracious" talk here before Lady Macbeth finally takes the king to see her husband.

Macbeth Act I, Scene vii Summary

  • Somewhere in the castle Macbeth sits alone, contemplating the murder of King Duncan. Now, pay attention because this part is important.
  • Macbeth says that if it were simply a matter of killing the king and then moving on without consequences, it wouldn't be a big issue. The problem with murder is what happens afterward – Macbeth would be damned to hell in the afterlife. Macbeth also muses that murdering Duncan in his own home would be a serious violation of hospitality. He's supposed to protect the king, not murder him. Plus, Duncan is a pretty good king (if not a bit "meek") and heaven is bound to frown upon murdering such a good fellow. Things likely wouldn't go Macbeth's way come judgment day. Probably not a good idea to commit murder. Macbeth realizes he has no justifiable cause to kill the king and he admits that he's merely ambitious.
  • In the midst of his doubt, Lady Macbeth enters.
  • Macbeth announces "we will proceed no further in this business," meaning the murder plot is off.
  • Lady Macbeth gives him a tongue-lashing, questions his manhood, and lays out the plan to get Duncan's guards drunk and frame them with the murder. She insists that Macbeth keep his promise to kill the King. She claims she'd tear a nursing child from her breast and "dash" its "brains out" if she had promised to do it. Therefore, if Macbeth can't keep his vow, then he isn't a man.
  • Macbeth commends her for her strength (enough for the both of them, it seems) and he finally resolves to go through with the murder.

Macbeth Act II, Scene i Summary

  • Banquo and his son, Fleance, are at Macbeth's inner court at Glamis.
  • Fleance notes it is after midnight, and his father gives him his sword and dagger. He says he cannot sleep because of some "cursed thoughts" have entered his mind.
  • This doesn't bode well.
  • Macbeth then enters with a servant, and Banquo notes that the new Thane of Cawdor (Macbeth) should be resting peacefully considering the good news he got today.
  • Banquo says he dreamed last night of the witches, and Macbeth claims he hasn't been thinking about them (as perhaps he was too occupied with planning the murder of the King. But he doesn't say that part). Again, they promise to talk about it later.
  • Banquo leaves, as does the servant.
  • Macbeth, left alone, has a vision of a dagger that points him toward the room where Duncan sleeps. The dagger turns bloody and Macbeth says the bloody image is a natural result of his bloody thoughts. He notes that nature seems dead in the world (a fitting setting for his unnatural act).
  • A bell rings, which is a signal from Lady Macbeth that it's time to rock and roll.

Macbeth Act II, Scene ii Summary

  • Lady Macbeth is more determined than ever for the murder plan to proceed.
  • She has drugged the King's guards and, hearing Macbeth, worries he may not have been able to go through with the act. She says she would've killed Duncan herself, if he hadn't looked so much like her father in his sleep. (Apparently, now she's all family values.)
  • Macbeth enters with bloody hands.
  • Macbeth says two people woke up while he was in the act. One cried, "Murder!" but they both went back to sleep after saying their prayers. Macbeth is disturbed that he couldn't say "Amen" when they said, "God bless us," as he could have used the blessing, given how he recently damned his soul by killing the King.
  • Lady Macbeth employs the "If you don't think about, it will go away" theorem, but Macbeth is still clearly disturbed at having killed a sleeping old man for his own selfish gain. He also worried because he thinks he heard voices saying things like "Macbeth does murder sleep!"
  • Lady Macbeth tries to get her husband to focus on the matter at hand, which is framing the King's attendants. He won't do it himself, so she takes the daggers from him, smears the attendants with Duncan's blood, and plants the weapons.
  • As Macbeth philosophizes about his guilty hands, Lady Macbeth comes back, having done her part.
  • She hears a knock at the door, and hurries Macbeth to bed so that 1) they don't look suspicious, and 2) they can do a little washing up before all the "Oh no! The king is dead" morning hullabaloo.
  • Macbeth regrets killing Duncan – he says he wishes that all the knocking at the door would "wake Duncan" from his eternal sleep.

Macbeth Act II, Scene iii Summary

  • Now that Shakespeare's given us a murder and a lot of spooky crazy talk from Macbeth, it's now time for a brief, comedic interlude. There's a ton of knocking and the Porter (the guy who's supposed to answer the door) does a lot of joking around about what it would be like to be a porter of "hellgate." Apparently, a porter in hell would be a busy guy since there are so many evil and corrupt people in the world.
  • The Porter says maybe there's an "equivocator" at the door.
  • Note: An "equivocator" is a person who speaks ambiguously or doesn't tell the whole truth. This is likely an allusion to the treatise written by the Jesuit Henry Garnet, who encouraged Catholics to speak ambiguously or, "equivocate" when they were being questioned by Protestant inquisitors (so they wouldn't be persecuted for their religious beliefs). It's also significant that Henry Garnet was tried and executed for his role in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when a group of Catholics planned to blow up the King and Parliament (they stored kegs of gunpowder in a nearby building). The plot failed but it was a deeply disturbing and shocking event that resonates in this play, especially where we've just witnessed Macbeth returning from the room where he has murdered the sleeping king.
  • Then the Porter says, no wait, this castle's way too cold to be hell but, gee, who could possibly be at the door at this hour.
  • It's Macduff and Lennox at the door – the two noblemen have come to fetch the king.
  • The Porter makes a bunch of jokes about how drinking an excessive amount of alcohol, (which he's been doing all night), makes a man frisky but it also detracts from his "performance" in the sack. It also turns his nose red, makes him have to urinate.
  • Enter Macbeth, the picture of sleepy innocence while he makes small talk with Lennox and sends Macduff to wake Duncan.
  • Lennox notes that some spooky things have been happening all night – he heard a bunch of screams, there was a little earthquake, and the fire in his chimney blew out.
  • Macbeth says yeah, it's been a pretty "rough night."
  • Macduff reenters, disheveled at finding the King murdered. He raises a fuss as he sends in Lennox and Macbeth to go look at the dead King.
  • Lady Macbeth and then Banquo hear the news after waking up to the commotion. Macbeth, Lennox, and Ross come back after looking at the King's body.
  • Macbeth takes the time to begin a way-too-eager eulogy about the King's great virtues.
  • Malcolm and Donalbain, the King's sons, are the last to wake up and hear the news that their father has been murdered, to which Malcolm replies, "O, by whom?"
  • Lennox says the drunken guards covered in the King's blood and holding their daggers are a good bet.
  • Macbeth casually announces that he killed both of the guards in a fit of pious rage, out of his love for the King. No one thinks it's weird that the guards went to sleep with the bloody daggers in hand.
  • Lady Macbeth, upon hearing that Macbeth has done this, needs to be escorted out (this was not part of her plan).
  • Donalbain and Malcolm privately decide that they probably shouldn't stay in the house where their dad was killed. Good thinking. Malcolm will go to England and Donalbain to Ireland, making it more difficult to murder them both.
  • The dead king's sons slip out, unnoticed.
  • Meanwhile, everyone else agrees to get dressed and then talk about how they're going to respond to the King's death.

Macbeth Act II, Scene iv Summary

  • Ross chats with a conveniently placed wise old man, who is disturbed by the night's strange events – both the King's murder and the weird things going on in nature.
  • Ross says the heavens are clearly troubled by the unnatural act (a king's murder) that took place on earth. "Nature" has gone haywire as a result: Ross notes that even though it's the middle of the day, it's completely dark outside. The old man watched an owl murder a hawk and Ross notes that Duncan's horses broke free in a rage, to which the old man adds that the horses ate each other. Yep, says Ross, I saw the whole thing happen.
  • Macduff, yet another Scottish nobleman, shows up. He says the dead guards "were bribed" to murder the king and that Malcolm and Donalbain look pretty suspicious, having left town so quickly and all.
  • Macduff notes that Macbeth is on his way to Scone to be crowned King, and Duncan is being put in a freshly dug grave.
  • Everyone goes their separate ways.

Macbeth Act III, Scene i Summary

  • At Macbeth's new palace in Forres, Banquo, alone on stage, delivers a soliloquy (a speech that reveals his innermost thoughts to the audience), announces that Macbeth is totally suspect – it's likely he played dirty to get the crown. (Remember, Banquo was present when the witches' prophesized that Macbeth would be king. The witches also said that Banquo's descendents would be kings as well.)
  • Short of being horrified by Macbeth's act, he takes some time to note that this must mean his part of the prophecy, regarding his royal seed, will also come true.
  • Banquo pipes down when the newly crowned Macbeth, his lovely Queen, and a posse of noblemen enter the room. (Macbeth is looking rather cozy wearing his new crown and hanging out in his new digs.)
  • Macbeth speaks very sweetly to Banquo, calling him his honored guest and requesting his presence at a fancy banquet to be held that night.
  • Banquo plays it cool and ever so casually says that he's sorry, but he has other plans. Then Macbeth ever so casually asks what Banquo will be up to, and finds out that he'll be riding off somewhere before dinner.
  • Having obtained the information he needs, Macbeth changes the subject to the fact that the "bloody" Malcolm and Donalbain are suspiciously missing, and respectively hiding out with new friends in Ireland and England. Plus, it seems that Duncan's sons are busy "not confessing" to Duncan's murder – instead, they're spreading nasty rumors about their father's death.
  • Macbeth adds a little "by the way" as Banquo leaves, asking if his son, Fleance, will be riding along with him that evening. Fleance will indeed be going, and upon hearing this, Macbeth bids them farewell.
  • Everyone except for Macbeth and some servants leave the room.
  • Macbeth then has a servant call in the men he has waiting at the gate.
  • Left to himself, Macbeth launches into a long speech about why it's necessary and good to kill his friend, Banquo. Macbeth fears Banquo's noble nature, wisdom, and valor. Plus, if the rest of the witches' prophecy comes true, Macbeth notes he will have sold his soul to the devil (by killing Duncan) for Banquo's kids to take his crown.
  • He concludes his speech by inviting fate to wrestle with him, and says he won't give up until he's won or dead. (Gosh. It seems like it's getting a whole lot easier for Macbeth to think about murder, don't you think? It is interesting to compare Macbeth's attitude towards murder here to what he was thinking at the beginning of the play.)
  • The two men at the gate are brought in, and we discover that Macbeth intends for them to murder Banquo and his son while on their ride. Macbeth gives speeches to the two murderers about how Banquo is their enemy and anything bad that has ever happened to them is surely Banquo's fault.
  • Macbeth says that no turn-the-other-cheek Christianity is necessary here.
  • The murderers respond by saying that they are only "men," and then Macbeth uses the technique he learned while being berated by his own wife: he claims they're not real men if they're not brave enough to murder a man for their own good. (Seriously. It sounds like he's channeling his wife here.)
  • The henchmen point out that such speeches are lost on them, as their lives are pretty crappy anyway. They're fine with taking a chance on eternal damnation.
  • Macbeth notes that Banquo is his enemy, too, and he'd do the kingly thing and just have him publicly killed, except that they have a lot of mutual friends, which might make things a little awkward.
  • The murderers agree to kill Banquo, after which Macbeth throws in that they'll have to kill the boy Fleance, too. He'll let them know within the hour about where to find Banquo, but right now he has to go get ready for a dinner party.

Macbeth Act III, Scene ii Summary

  • Lady Macbeth asks a servant if Banquo is already gone, and finding he has left, asks the servant to get Macbeth for a little chat.
  • Macbeth comes along, and Lady Macbeth tells him to look more chipper and not dwell on dark thoughts, as "what's done is done." Macbeth points out they've merely scorched the snake, not killed it.
  • Macbeth compares dead Duncan's death as a state preferable to his; at least Duncan doesn't have to worry about loose ends.
  • Lady Macbeth would rather he not be a downer at the party, and says as much.
  • Macbeth says she should say a lot of really nice things about Banquo, who will be otherwise engaged and not attending the dinner party. ("Otherwise engaged" = dead.)
  • Lady Macbeth thinks this is a bad idea, but Macbeth points out that so long as Banquo and Fleance live, his mind is full of scorpions.
  • Lady Macbeth states that everybody dies, which may be a warning to Macbeth to cool it, or may be a self-reassurance that everyone has to go sometime, so her husband might as well murder their friend and his young son.
  • Macbeth again points out that something dreadful will be done, and in one of her less astute moments, Lady Macbeth asks what that naughty thing might possibly be.
  • Macbeth dodges the question, saying it's better for her to "be innocent" and not know his plans until they're accomplished and she can applaud him for it. (Hmm. It seems like Lady Macbeth no longer gets any say in her husband's affairs.)
  • Macbeth appeals to nature to let night's black agents do their thing, and then he exits with Lady Macbeth.

Macbeth Act III, Scene iii Summary

  • At a park near the palace, the two murderers are joined by a third. Only a bit of light remains in the sky.
  • Banquo and Fleance approach on horseback and dismount to walk the mile to the palace, as usual.
  • Banquo and Fleance have a torch, which is convenient for the murderers to see them by.
  • Banquo begins with a friendly "it looks like rain" conversation with the murderers, and then is promptly stabbed.
  • While being stabbed, he denounces the treachery and encourages Fleance to run away and eventually take revenge. In the meantime, the torch has gone out, and Fleance takes advantage of the darkness to escape.
  • Banquo squarely dead and Fleance on the run, the murderers head off to the dinner party to report the half of the job they've done.

Macbeth Act III, Scene iv Summary

  • Meanwhile, back at the dinner party, Macbeth, Lady Macbeth, Ross, Lennox, other lords, and attendants are about to share the new King's celebratory meal. Macbeth makes a big show of welcoming everyone, as does Lady Macbeth.
  • The first murderer enters as everyone is being seated. Macbeth darts off to see the first murderer, who informs him that they've slit Banquo's throat, but that Fleance has escaped.
  • Macbeth laments the loss, as now Banquo is dead, but Macbeth's fear lives on in Banquo's son, heir and threat to Macbeth's newly won throne. He says Fleance is but yet a young snake, and time will surely make him grown venomous with revenge. In the meantime, at least Banquo is dead. The murderer is sent off, and Lady Macbeth calls Macbeth back to the party.
  • And now the fun begins: Banquo's ghost shows up. Because the ghost is silent, he gets to creep around quite a bit before anyone notices. While everyone is busy not noticing, Macbeth raises a toast and calls special attention to Banquo's absence as unkindness or mischance on Banquo's part. This is particularly hilarious given the presence of…Banquo's ghost.
  • Again Macbeth is invited to sit, and in the spot they've reserved for him sits…Banquo's ghost. Naturally, Macbeth goes into a fit, and the lords all take notice, while Lady Macbeth excuses him for these "momentary" fits he has had since childhood. She urges them to keep eating, and then corners Macbeth, who is still hysterical.
  • Lady Macbeth asks if Macbeth is a man, because he's not acting like one so much as he is acting like a sissy. Lady Macbeth dismisses the vision as a painting of his own fear. Meanwhile, Macbeth is discoursing with the ghost that only he sees, and it disappears.
  • Macbeth notes it is unnatural for murdered men to not stay murdered. He is also still pretty wired. At Lady Macbeth's chiding, he apologizes to the group for his momentary fit and seems normal again until the ghost shows up once more. Again Macbeth calls out a toast to the missing Banquo (he's just asking for it now) and noting the ghost, screams out at him that if he appeared in any other form, Macbeth's nerves would not tremble.
  • After some challenging along this line, it's pretty clear the party's over, and though Macbeth tries to recover, he scolds everyone else for seeming to be so calm in the face of such a horrible sight.
  • Lady Macbeth tells the now very worried lords to leave immediately, and as they exit, Macbeth philosophizes that blood will have blood.
  • Morning is now approaching, and Macbeth points out that Macduff never showed at the party. He lets out that he has had a spy in Macduff's house. He promises to go to the witches the next day, and announces that he's in so deep a river of blood, it would be as hard to go back as to cross.
  • Lady Macbeth, wearied, insists he just lacks sleep. The scene concludes with Macbeth suggesting that his fears are just the effect of being young at the murdering/tyranny game. They go to bed, with more murder to follow.

Macbeth Act III, Scene v Summary

  • The witches again meet at an open place, this time with Hecate, the goddess of witches, who lays into the weird sisters in a lengthy, rhyming speech that sounds a bit like a nursery rhyme. She is angry at them for meddling in the affairs of Macbeth without consulting her first, as she could've done a better job. Also, she points out, Macbeth isn't devoted to them, but to his own ends.
  • Nevertheless, Hecate will take over the lead in the affair, and she charges them to all meet in the morning, when Macbeth will come to know his destiny, whatever that means. Hecate will create more illusions to add to his confusion, and instill in him a false hope that he might save the crown yet.
  • Meanwhile, some spirits sing that Hecate should "come away" with them.
  • Then there's a catchy witch song and dance and everyone exits after Hecate.
  • FYI: Some literary critics believe that Shakespeare wasn't responsible for this episode. Act III, scene iv, according to some, is far too hokey to be Shakespeare's work so it must have been added to the play some time between the time the play was first written (1606) and its publication, in the first folio (1623), which was after Shakespeare's death (1616). A fellow playwright, Thomas Middleton, may have written the snazzy songs in this scene.

Macbeth Act III, Scene vi Summary

  • The same night, elsewhere in Scotland, the nobleman Lennox discusses Scotland's plight with another lord. They find it curious that Duncan was murdered, that his run-away sons were blamed, that Banquo has now been murdered, that his run-away son (Fleance) is being blamed, and that everyone has a major case of déjà vu. Plus, the murders of Banquo and Duncan were too conveniently grieved by Macbeth, who had the most to gain from the deaths. They call Macbeth a "tyrant," and then note that Macduff has joined Malcolm in England.
  • Malcolm and Macduff are doing a pretty good job of convincing the oh-so gracious and "pious" King Edward of England, along with some English noblemen, to help them in the fight against Macbeth, the tyrant.
  • FYI: Shakespeare's giving England and King Edward the Confessor (1042-1066) some serious props here.
  • The other noblemen pray that Malcolm and Macduff might be successful and restore some order to the kingdom, even though news of the planned rebellion has reached Macbeth and he is preparing for war. The noblemen tell us that Macbeth had sent a message for Macduff to join him, and Macduff's answer was a firm "no." The deck seems to be stacked against Macbeth, at this point.

Macbeth Act IV, Scene i Summary

  • On a dark and stormy night, the three witches are hanging out in a cave roasting marshmallows and chanting spells around a boiling cauldron, into which they cast all sorts of nasty bits, from lizard's leg to the finger of a "birth-strangled babe." Hecate enters, announcing "something wicked this way comes." Not surprisingly, Macbeth promptly follows. (So does a Ray Bradbury novel and cinematic adaptation, but not for another few centuries.)
  • Macbeth gives the witches some props for being able to control the weather and conjure crazy winds that batter churches, cause huge ocean waves to "swallow" ships, destroy crops, topple castles, and so on. (Hmm...this reminds us of Act I, scene iii, where the witches say they're going to punish a sailor's wife by whipping up a nasty little storm for her husband, who is at sea.)
  • Macbeth says he has some more questions about his future and he wants some answers from the weird sisters, pronto.
  • The witches add some more ingredients to the cauldron, and then apparitions begin to appear, each addressing Macbeth.
  • First, an armed head warns him to beware of Macduff. Second, a bloody child promises, "None of woman born shall harm Macbeth." Macbeth welcomes this good news and, assuming Macduff was born the natural way, Macbeth thinks he has nothing to fear.
  • Though he has no need to kill Macduff now, he pledges to do it anyway – you know, just in case.
  • The third apparition is a child wearing a crown with a tree in his hand. The child promises that Macbeth won't be conquered until Birnam Wood marches to Dunsinane. This seems about as unlikely as Macduff not being born of a woman.
  • Given all of this, Macbeth feels safe that he won't be conquered in the upcoming war. But again, to be on the safe side, he still asks if Banquo's children will ever rule the kingdom.
  • He is warned to ask no more questions.
  • He demands to be answered anyway.
  • Macbeth is not pleased when he's shown a line of eight kings, the last of which holds a mirror that reflects on many more such kings. One of the kings in the mirror happens to be holding two orbs.
  • Time for a History Snack: King James I of England (a.k.a. King James VI of Scotland) traced his lineage back to Banquo and, at his coronation ceremony in England (1603) James held two orbs (one representing England and one representing Scotland). Quite a coincidence, don't you think?
  • The apparitions disappear and the witches tease Macbeth for looking horrible when he saw his future destruction. The witches do yet another song and dance routine and they vanish.
  • Enter Lennox to find a perplexed Macbeth. Lennox tells Macbeth the news that Macduff has definitely run away to England, presumably to get some help for a rebellion.
  • Get your highlighter out because this next bit is important: Macbeth says that from now on, he's going to act immediately on whatever thought enters his mind: "From this moment / The very firstlings of my heart shall be / The firstlings of my hand." In other words, no more thinking and contemplating about the pros and cons of being bad – he's just to do whatever the heck he feels like doing.
  • Starting with… wiping out Macduff's entire family, especially his kids, since Macbeth doesn't ever want to see any little Macduffs running around.

Macbeth Act IV, Scene ii Summary

  • At Fife, in Macduff's castle, Lady Macduff is lamenting to Ross that her husband has run away, which, even if he wasn't a traitor, makes him look like a traitor. Also, abandoning his family with no defense is pretty lame. Ross assures her that her husband has his reasons.
  • Lady Macduff then has a funny bit of banter with her young son about how his father is dead. Before she can go to market to buy a new husband, a messenger enters advising her to flee with her children, as danger is fast approaching.
  • Thinking she has done no wrong, she sees no reason to leave, though she notes in these times one need do no harm to come to harm. A murderer enters, claiming Macduff is a traitor. Macduff's son retorts, is stabbed, and then dies, leaving the murderers to pursue his mother, Lady Macduff.

Macbeth Act IV, Scene iii Summary

  • Near King Edward's palace in England, Malcolm and Macduff discuss what to do about Scotland's plight under the tyrannous Macbeth. Malcolm suggests finding a nice shady spot where they can cry their eyes out. Macduff says he's got a better idea – he suggests that they whip out our swords and fight like "men" against the good-for-nothing Macbeth.
  • Malcolm says that's a good idea but he worries Macduff might have something to gain by turning on him, (Malcolm) and betraying him to Macbeth. Besides, Macduff doesn't seem like a loyal guy these days, having abandoned his family back in Scotland and all.
  • Macduff says he's loyal and trustworthy.
  • Still, Malcolm's a little paranoid so he decides to test Macduff by suggesting that even he, Malcolm, might make a poor king, were they to defeat Macbeth. Scotland would suffer, he says, under his own bad habits. Malcolm claims to have an impossible lust that would only get worse as he devoured all of the maidens of Scotland.
  • Macduff at first insists there are plenty of maidens in Scotland, and Malcolm would be satisfied.
  • Malcolm presses further about how bad he would be as king, and Macduff finally despairs that Scotland apparently is going to be in trouble either way.
  • Malcolm then relents because he sees Macduff is truly devoted to Scotland, not to a political alliance. Malcolm then admits that not only is he not lustful, he's never even "known" a woman.
  • Macduff and Malcolm are allied in the cause of taking Scotland back from Macbeth, and they have an army of ten thousand Englishmen at their backs, ready to fight and kill.
  • Then a doctor shows up (rather unexpectedly) and talks about how King Edward is tending to a crew of poor souls afflicted by a nasty disease called "scrofula," which the King heals with his touch. It's implied that it's helpful to have a genuine king, as he gets his power from God and can do cool stuff like cure diseases and rule with an iron fist.
  • We interrupt this program for a History Snack: Scrofula (what we now know is a form of tuberculosis that affects the lymph nodes and skin) was also called the "King's Evil" and it was thought to be cured by a little something called the "Royal Touch," a kind of laying on of hands ceremony that was performed by monarchs in France and England as far back as the middle ages. The healing ceremony was supposedly started in England by King Edward the Confessor (who's a swell king in Macbeth). In a book called The Royal Touch, historian Marc Bloch writes that King James I (who sat on the throne when Macbeth was first written and performed) wasn't exactly thrilled about performing this ceremony – he thought it was superstitious – but he did it anyway.
  • Then Ross, a Scottish nobleman, appears in England and has a chat with Malcolm and Macduff about how Scotland is in a bad way. Macduff asks after his family, and Ross initially says they are unmolested by the tyrant Macbeth. He adds that if Macduff were to return, Scotland might gather and take up arms against Macbeth. Malcolm promises when they finally arrive in Scotland, ten thousand English soldiers will come, too.
  • Ross then announces he has some bad news, actually. Macduff offers to guess at it, but before he does Ross blurts out that, contrary to what he said before, Macduff's family has been gruesomely murdered.
  • Macduff despairs and blames himself for leaving. Malcolm recommends that Macduff take his own advice and begin murdering out of revenge instead of crying. Macduff vows to slay Macbeth, committing to action instead of thought.

Macbeth Act V, Scene i Summary

  • Back in Scotland, at Macbeth's castle in Dunsinane, a doctor waits with one of Lady Macbeth's gentlewomen. The two keep watch for Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking, which the gentlewoman reported began once Macbeth left to prepare the house for battle. The gentlewoman refuses to tell the doctor what else she's seen or heard during Lady Macbeth's nightly strolls.
  • Lady Macbeth shows up walking (make that sleepwalking). She carries a candle, and the gentlewoman notes she insists on always having a light about her. They proceed to watch Lady Macbeth ramble through a tortured speech, at once trying to clean her hands of an imaginary spot (that would be blood, don't you think?) and chiding her invisible husband to be brave at what must be done. All the hand wringing and her question, "Who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?" leave little doubt as to what vexes the lady. (This is also where we get the famous line, "Out, damned spot!")
  • In her sleep, she further assures her invisible husband that Banquo, being now dead, cannot trouble them. She goes back and forth in her speech between strength and self-pity – "what's done cannot be undone." The doctor diagnoses Lady Macbeth with a heavy heart and says he can do nothing to help her.
  • Then the doctor says he's heard a lot of nasty little rumors that are floating around and says it sounds like Lady Macbeth probably needs help from the divine (a priest or God), not a doctor.

Macbeth Act V, Scene ii Summary

  • Scottish noblemen, including Lennox, Menteth, Cathness and Angus converge in the country near Dunsinane, where Macbeth keeps his castle. We learn from Menteth that on their heels is the English army, led by Malcolm, his Uncle Siward, and Macduff. They'll all meet up near Birnam Wood. (Sound familiar?) We learn that Donalbain is not with his brother and that a great many young men have taken up arms with the English army.
  • Cathness informs the group that the tyrant King is hell-bent on protecting Dunsinane, and though Macbeth is thought mad by some, and valiant by others, it's quickly becoming clear that his actions are in his own interests and not the nation's. Everyone agrees that Macbeth's a lousy king and needs to go. They all agree to fight wholeheartedly for Scotland.

Macbeth Act V, Scene iii Summary

  • Macbeth is at his castle with the doctor and his attendants, and seems charged for battle. He is confidently bombastic – sure that he can't be defeated because of the sisters' new prophecy. He can't imagine Birnam Wood moving to march on Dunsinane, nor that any man could not be of-woman-born. Macbeth contends that with this knowledge, his heart is doubtless and fearless.
  • Just then, a messenger enters with the doubtful and fearful news that there are ten thousand somethings marching to Dunsinane.
  • Macbeth guesses that the somethings are geese. Seriously.
  • The messenger says no, good try, but actually they're men coming to kill you.
  • The messenger is much abused.
  • Macbeth then thinks on himself. He says he has lived long enough; it is clear he will not have a peaceful old age, but rather will have fight to the last (which might be very soon).
  • Macbeth confirms the news of the approaching army, as well as the lack of geese, via his servant Seyton, and then decides to don his armor to face them head on. He then asks the doctor about his Lady.
  • The doctor reports she isn't sick so much as she is plagued by ill fantasies. Macbeth suggests that the doctor cure her, sooner rather than later.
  • The doctor replies that the woman's got to fix herself.
  • Macbeth attends to the battle again, and asks whether the doctor has the means to purge the English from the countryside of Scotland. The only sensible one in the lot, the doctor, says no amount of money could convince him to stay near the madhouse of Dunsinane.

Macbeth Act V, Scene iv Summary

  • Malcolm, Siward, and Macduff meet with Menteth, Cathness and Angus, Lennox, and Ross at Birnam Wood. A plan is hatched to have soldiers cut down some branches to hide themselves under during the march to Dunsinane.
  • Many of Macbeth's men have deserted him, and it's clear that those still siding with Macbeth don't believe in the cause. Still, Macbeth is so set in his certainty of victory that he is willing to let them march right up to Dunsinane, thinking the castle (and he) is protected from harm by the witches' prophecy. At this point, it might be wise to review that prophecy.

Macbeth Act V, Scene v Summary

  • Macbeth (still at Dunsinane) insists that banners be hung outside the castle.
  • Many of his former forces are now fighting against him on the English side, making it difficult for him to meet the army in a glorious blaze. He does not despair though, as Dunsinane is so fortified that he imagines the enemy army will die of hunger and sickness before he ever even needs to leave the castle. In other words, he's going to wait this one out.
  • In the meantime, a shrieking of women tells Macbeth that his wife is dead – it's suicide. Macbeth here launches into one of Shakespeare's (and literature's) best known and oft-quoted speeches, beginning "She should have died hereafter," meaning one of two things: she would've died eventually so she might as well have died today or, she should have died later because I'm super busy defending the castle right now. (As an aside, Macbeth's statement in this scene that "Life's but a walking shadow […] a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury" is maybe the first occurrence of Existentialist thought in literature—it's also the basis of William Faulkner's famous work, The Sound and the Fury.)
  • Macbeth is quickly distracted by the news that a "grove" of trees seem to be moving towards Dunsinane, which is all around bad news, since said "grove" is likely Birnam Wood. Macbeth, realizing the prophecy was as twisted as the prophets, decides to go out and face the army, leaving his fortress. He admits he is weary of the sun anyway, and if one must go down, best to go down fighting.

Macbeth Act V, Scene vi Summary

  • Malcolm, Siward and Macduff land their army (covered with branches from Birnam Wood) outside Dunsinane. Siward will lead the battle with his son, and Malcolm and Macduff will take the rear and manage everything else.
  • The soldiers drop their "leafy screens," the alarums sound, and the battle for Scotland begins.

Macbeth Act V, Scene vii Summary

  • Macbeth appears on stage and compares himself to a bear in a bear-baiting contest (i.e. he's in a serious jam).
  • History Snack: Bear-baiting is a blood sport that involves chaining a bear to a stake and setting a pack of dogs on it. Elizabethans thought this was great fun – bear-baiting arenas were located in the same neighborhoods as the theaters (just in case anyone wanted to take in a play and then top off their day of fun with a little animal cruelty).
  • Then Young Siward enters – when he sees Macbeth, he demands to know his name.

Macbeth's response? I'm "Macbeth" and you better be scared right now.

  • They fight and Young Siward is slain.Macbeth talks some evil smack over the dead body, which goes something like this: Your swords and weapons can't touch me because you're "of woman born."

Macbeth Act V, Scene viii Summary

  • Macduff runs on stage looking for Macbeth (who is no longer on stage) and screams for the evil tyrant Macbeth to come out and show his ugly face.
  • Macduff says he's hot to kill Macbeth with his own sword because he'll likely be haunted by his wife and kids if he doesn't. He begs "fortune" to let him find Macbeth so he can stab him in the guts.

Macbeth Act V, Scene ix Summary

  • Malcolm and Siward (the father of the young man Macbeth recently killed) run across the stage looking for Macbeth. Siward says "This way, my lord" and then states some obvious facts for the audience – there's a lot of fighting going on at the castle, the thanes are fighting exceptionally well, and Malcolm's pretty close to victory.

Macbeth Act V, Scene x Summary

  • Macbeth enters the stage alone and says he refuses to "play the Roman fool" (one who would choose noble suicide in the face of defeat – see Antony and Cleopatra). Instead, he will lash out at any living thing he sees, so valueless is life.
  • Macduff enters and calls Macbeth a "hell-hound" and Macbeth talks a little trash in return: I already killed your family so you best be steppin' back now unless you want me to have your blood on my hands too.
  • Macduff is having none of it. They fight, and Macbeth continues to be cocky. He says Macduff hasn't got a chance since he, Macbeth, can't be killed by anyone "of woman born."
  • That's funny, says Macduff, because "Macduff was from his mother's womb / Untimely ripped." Note: That means he was delivered, prematurely, via cesarean section. And yes, Macduff actually refers to himself in the third person here.
  • Upon hearing this news, Macbeth curses the "juggling fiends" who knowingly gave him a sense of false security by issuing a twisted prophesy.
  • Realizing this, Macbeth says he will fight Macduff no more, yet he will not yield to Malcolm as an ordinary citizen.
  • Then he thinks about it and realizes he really has to pick one. Though he knows he is beat by the prophecy, he fights to the last. Macbeth throws up his shield but is slain by Macduff anyway.

Macbeth Act V, Scene xi Summary

  • Malcolm, Siward, Ross, the thanes and soldiers all assess what's been going down during the battle at the castle. It looks like Siward's son (Young Siward) and Macduff are missing.
  • Ross delivers the news that Young Siward was slain by Macbeth. That's OK, says Young Siward's dad, at least he died "like a man." Old Siward goes on to say that if he had a lot of sons, he'd wish all of them could die in battle.
  • Things get even better when Macduff shows up with Macbeth's severed head and says hey guys, look what I’ve got!
  • Everyone turns to Malcolm and yells "Hail, King of Scotland." (Hmm. Isn't that how the witches greeted Macbeth back at the beginning of the play?)
  • Malcolm hushes everyone and delivers the play's final speech, which goes something like this: All the Scottish thanes will be made earls, as in the English system, making them the first earls in Scottish history. Plus, everyone who had to flee the country because of Macbeth's tyranny can come back home now. But, all those who helped "the dead butcher and his fiend-like queen" are going to be in serious trouble. And, by the way, it turns out that Lady Macbeth killed herself. Don't worry, though, because King Malcolm's going to fix everything in due time. For now, it's time to party – everyone's invited to the coronation ceremony at Scone.

Macbeth Theme of Fate and Free Will

Macbeth takes seriously the question of whether or not fate (destiny) or human will (choice) determines a man's future. Shakespeare seems, ultimately, to be interested in what it is that causes a seemingly decent man (Macbeth) to commit evil acts. On the one hand, the play is set in motion by the weird sisters' prophesy that Macbeth will be king, which turns out to be true. It also often seems that outside forces (related to the weird sisters, who are in many ways associated with the three fates) control Macbeth's actions. On the other hand, the play goes out of its way to dramatize how Macbeth deliberates before taking action, which suggests that he alone controls the outcome of his own future. Alternatively, some critics suggest that Macbeth's fate may be set in stone but his choices determine the specific circumstances by which he arrives at or fulfills his destiny. In the end, the play leaves the question unanswered.

 

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Macbeth

 

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Macbeth