MACBETH

The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of witches and then moves to a military camp,
where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and Banquo, have
defeated two separate invading armies—one from Ireland, led by the rebel MacDonwald, and one
from Norway. Following their pitched battle with these enemy forces, Macbeth and Banquo
encounter the witches as they cross a swamp. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made
thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy
that Macbeth’s companion, Banquo, will generate a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo will
never be king himself.

The witches vanish, and Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies skeptically until some of
King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth
that he has indeed been named thane of Cawdor. The previous thane betrayed Scotland by
ghting for the Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death. Macbeth is intrigued by
the possibility that the rest of the witches’ prophecy—that he will be crowned king—might be true,
but he is uncertain what to expect. He visits King Duncan, and they plan to dine together at
Inverness, Macbeth’s castle, that night. Macbeth writes ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling
her all that has happened.

Lady Macbeth su ers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship for him and
wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. When the Lady arrives at Inverness, she repeals
all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to kill the king that very night. He and Lady
Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out; the next morning
they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will remember
nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of
supernatural portals, including a vision of a bloody dagger. When Duncan’s death is discovered
the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains—ostensibly out of rage at their crime—and
easily assumes the kingship. Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain ee to England and Ireland,
respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan desires their death as well.

Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a group
of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo on his way to a royal
feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes into the night. Macbeth becomes furious: as long
as Fleance is alive, he fears that his power remains insecure. At the feast that night, Banquo’s
ghost visits Macbeth. When he sees the ghost, Macbeth raves with fear, startling his guests, who
include most of the great Scottish nobility. Lady Macbeth tries to neutralize the damage, but
Macbeth’s kingship incites increasing resistance for his nobles and subjects.

Frightened, Macbeth goes to visit the witches in their cavern. There, they show him a sequence of
demons and spirits who present him with further prophecies: he must beware of Macdu , a
Scottish nobleman who opposed Macbeth’s accession to the throne; he is incapable of being
harmed by any man born of woman; and he will be safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane
Castle. Macbeth is relieved and feels secure, because he knows that all men are born of women
and that forests cannot move. When he learns that Macdu has ed to England to join Malcolm,
Macbeth orders that Macdu ’s castle be con scated and, most cruelly, that Lady Macdu and her
children be murdered.

When news of his family’s execution reaches Macdu in England, he is stricken with grief and
vows revenge. Prince Malcolm, Duncan’s son, has succeeded in raising an army in England, and
Macdu joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge Macbeth’s forces. The invasion has the
support of the Scottish nobles, who are appalled and frightened by Macbeth’s murderous
behavior. Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, becomes tormented with accesses of sleepwalking in which
she laments what she believes to be bloodstains on her hands. Before Macbeth’s opponents
arrive, Macbeth receives news that she has killed herself, causing him to sink into a deep and
pessimistic despair. Nevertheless, he awaits the English and forti es Dunsinane, to which he
seems to have withdrawn in order to defend himself, certain that the witches’ prophecies
guarantee his invincibility. He is struck numb with fear, however, when he learns that the English
army is advancing on Dunsinane shielded with branches cut from Birnam Wood. Birnam Wood is
indeed coming to Dunsinane, ful lling half of the witches’ prophecy.
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 In the battle, Macbeth ghts violently, but the English forces gradually overwhelm his army and
castle. On the battle eld, Macbeth encounters the vengeful Macdu , who declares that he was
not “of woman born” but was instead “untimely ripped” from his mother’s womb. Though he
realizes that he is doomed, Macbeth continues to ght until Macdu kills and beheads him.
Malcolm, now the King of Scotland, declares his benevolent intentions for the country and invites
all to see him crowned at Scone.

Characters

Macbeth: he is a brave soldier and a powerful and ambitious man, but he is not a virtuous one,
not to mention his self-doubt. He is easily tempted into murder to ful ll his ambitions to
the throne, he embarks on further atrocities with increasing ease. He ultimately proves
himself better suited to the battle eld, since he doesn’t have the skills to rule without
tyranny. We can classify as irrevocably evil, but he’s weak compared to Shakespeare’s
great villains.

Lady Macbeth: Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female
characters, since right in the beginning of the play, she plans a murder, proving to
be stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband, as well as, a
deeply ambitious woman who lusts for power and position. Her husband implies
that she is a masculine soul inhabiting a female body, which seems to link
masculinity to ambition and violence -crafty women (witches) use female methods
as is manipulation. However, besides her primary strength of will, she soon slides
into madness, when the guilt begins to weigh, and kills herself (Ophelia).

The Three Witches: the mischief they cause stems from their supernatural powers, but mainly it
is the result of their understanding of the weaknesses of their speci c
interlocutors. They clearly take a perverse delight in using their knowledge of
the future to toy with and destroy human beings. Also, their rhymed speech
makes them seem slightly ridiculous, with comical words and malevolent
nursery rhymes (4.1.10–11). The audience is left to ask whether the witches
are independent agents toying with human lives, or agents of fate, whose
prophecies are only reports of the inevitable. Shakespeare keeps the witches
well outside the limits of human comprehension, making them embody an
unreasoning, instinctive evil.

Banquo: from the beginning of the play Banquo is overshadowed by Macbeth’s accomplishments
and ambition. However, Banquo is not entirely without ambition of his own, although he
doesn’t translate his thoughts to actions (many times violence) like Macbeth. He asks for
a prophecy from the Witches, too, and is pleased to learn that his children will rule
Scotland. Similar to Macbeth, Banquo seems unable to understand the cost of the
Witches’ prophecy will be his life.

King Duncan: the model of a virtuous, benevolent, and farsighted ruler. His death symbolizes the
destruction of an order in Scotland that can be restored only when Duncan’s line
(Malcolm), once more occupies the throne.

Macdu : a nobleman hostile to Macbeth’s kingship from the start - he immediately distrusts
Macbeth’s claim that Duncan was killed by his servants, and refuses to go to his
coronation. His mission consists in placing the rightful king, Malcolm, on the throne, but
he also desires vengeance for the murder of his wife and son.

Malcom: he rstly appears weak and uncertain of his own power, but he eventually becomes a
serious challenge to Macbeth, since he was able to achieve the restoration of the throne,
which signals Scotland’s return to order following Macbeth’s reign of terror.

Summary
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 Act I, Scene I - IV

• In scene i, when thunder and lightning crash above a Scottish moor, three witches make plans
to meet Hamlet after the battle. As quickly as they arrived, they disappear.
• In scene ii, at a military camp near his palace at Forres, King Duncan asks a captain for news on
the battle. The captain says that Macbeth and Banquo fought with great courage and violence.
Once the captain leaves to have his wounds taken care of, the thane of Ross enters telling the
king that the traitor thane of Cawdor has been defeated. King Duncan orders the traitor’s death
and declares that Macbeth receives his title.
• In scene iii, on an heath near the battle eld, the witches appear again. Macbeth and Banquo,
who were on their way to the king’s court, come upon the witches (getting scared). In horror,
Banquo asks them if they are mortals, since they didn’t look like “inhabitants o’ th’ earth”
(1.3.39). The witches hail Macbeth as thane of Glamis (his original title) and as thane of Cawdor,
which leaves him confuse. They add that he will one day become the king. Intrigued, Macbeth
asks for more information, but the witches turn their attentions to Banquo, speaking in riddles -
“lesser than Macbeth, and greater,” and “not so happy, yet much happier”; they tell him that he
will never be king but that his children will sit upon the throne (1.3.63–65). Macbeth implores
them once again to tell him more about his fate but they vanish. In disbelief, Macbeth and
Banquo discuss the strange encounter. However, they are interrupted by Ross and Angus, who
have come to escort them to the king. Ross tells Macbeth the king has made him thane of
Cawdor which leaves him perplex. Amazed, Macbeth asks Banquo if he expects his children will
be kings, to what Banquo answers that devils often tell half-truths in order to “win us to our
harm” (1.3.121). After wondering what he will have to do to have the reign in his hands, Macbeth
whispers to Banquo that, at a later time, he would like to speak to him privately about what
happened.
• In scene iv, while Duncan hears reports of Cawdor’s execution from his son, Macbeth and
Banquo enter. The king thanks the generals for their heroism and the heroes thank him for
loyalty. Duncan then announces Malcom as the throne heir. Macbeth declares joy before this
information, but notes to himself that Malcom is now between him and the crown. Finally, the
king and Macbeth makes plans for dinner at Macbeth’s palace, who goes ahead and informs his
wife about it.

The rst three scenes establish a dark mood that permeates the entire play. The action quickly
shifts to a battle eld that is dominated by a sense of the grisliness and cruelty of war (1.2.22). The
bloody murders that ll the play are foreshadowed by the bloody victory that the Scots win over
their enemies.

Our initial impression of Macbeth, based on the captain’s report of his valor in battle, is
immediately replaced by Macbeth’s obvious xation upon the witches’ prophecy. He’s a noble
and courageous warrior but his reaction to the witches’ prophecies emphasizes his great desire
for power and prestige. He immediately realizes that the ful llment of the prophecy may require
conspiracy and murder on his part. He allows himself to consider taking such actions, although he
is by no means resolved to do so. His reaction to the prophecy displays a fundamental confusion
and inactivity: on one hand he is excited that he will become king but at the same time, the it
causes him inner turmoil.

Lady Macbeth and the three witches are extremely wicked, but they are also stronger and more
imposing than the men around them (Portia). The sinister witches cast the mood for the entire play
with their rhyming incantations and grotesque gures of speech.

Shakespeare has the witches speak in language of contradiction, for example when they say “Fair
is foul, and foul is fair” (1.1.10). Of course there are other examples, like their description of
Banquo’s future: “lesser than Macbeth, and greater” (1.3.63). Such speech increases the play’s
sense of moral confusion, implying that nothing is quite what it seems. Macbeth’s rst line in the
play is “So foul and fair a day I have not seen” (1.3.36) establishes a connection between him and
the witches.
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Act I, Scenes V - VII

• Scene v: in Macbeth’s castle (Inverness), Lady Macbeth reads a letter from her husband, in
which he tells her about his promotion to thane of Cawdor and his meeting with the witches.
She knows Macbeth is ambitious, but fears he is too full of “th’ milk of human kindness” (1.5.15)
to take the steps necessary to make himself king. Therefore, she resolves to convince her
husband to do whatever it takes to take the crown. A messenger enters and informs her that the
king is on his away to the castle, as well as her husband. (Lady Macbeth’s monologue - (1.5.38–
41)). Once Macbeth arrives the couple discusses the king’s visit. When Macbeth tells his wife
Duncan has plans to depart the next day, she declares that he won’t even see the next day.
• In scene vi, Duncan arrives to Macbeth’s castle, praising it and thanking Lady Macbeth for her
hospitality. She claims it’s her duty since he has done so much for them.
• In scene vii, Macbeth evaluates the idea of killing Duncan. He says that the deed would be easy
if he could be certain that it would not set in motion a series of terrible consequences, since
even on earth, bloody actions “return / To plague th’inventor” (1.7.9–10). He then considers the
reasons why not to kill Duncan (he’s his kingsman and subject; the king is admired by many). He
faces the fact that there is no reason to kill the king other than his own ambition, which is an
unreliable guide. When Lady Macbeth enters, Macbeth tells her he no longer wants to kill
Duncan. Outraged, the wife questions his manhood (1.7.49). She tells him the whole plan (while
Duncan is asleep, they will get the chamberlains drunk, in order to slip in and murder him) and
assures him that if they’re bold enough, they will succeed. Astonished at the brilliance and
daring of her plan, Macbeth tells his wife that her “undaunted mettle” (1.7.73) makes him hope
that she will only gives birth to boys.

Lady Macbeth has a powerful strength of will, which completely eclipses that of her husband (she
will have to manipulate him into acting). She begins the play exploring gender roles, particularly of
the value and nature of masculinity. She cries out “unsex me here” and wishes that the milk in her
breasts would be “gall” so that she could murder Duncan herself. These remarks manifest Lady
Macbeth believes that manhood is de ned by murder.

Macbeth exclaims that Lady Macbeth should “[b]ring forth men-children only” because she is so
bold and courageous (1.7.72). He then proceeds to ful ll his wife’s wishes, not only complimenting
her courage and brilliance as masculine traits, as well as thinking ahead about his legacy, taking
into consideration Lady Macbeth’s boldness and masculinity as heroic and warriorlike. However,
unlike Macbeth, she seems solely concerned with immediate power.

Act II, Scenes I - II

• Scene i: while walking in Macbeth’s castle, Fleance tells his father that it is pass midnight, to
what Banquo responds that, although he is tired, his sleep has lately inspired “cursed thoughts”
(2.1.8). Macbeth enters and Banquo is surprised that he is still up as well, informing him that the
king is asleep already and also that he had a dream about the three weird witches. When
Banquo suggest that they revealed “some truth” (2.1.19–20), Macbeth claims that he has not
thought of them at all since their encounter.
• After Banquo and Fleance leave, Macbeth has a vision of a dagger oating in the air before him.
He wonders whether what he sees is real or a “dagger of the mind, a false creation / Proceeding
from the heat-oppressed brain” (2.1.38–39). Still staring at the dagger, he notices blood on the
blade, so he decides that the vision is just a manifestation of his unease over killing Duncan.
Therefore, he decides to get the job done. A bell tolls, which means the chamberlains are asleep
(Lady Macbeth’s signal), so Macbeth paces to Duncan’s chamber.
• In scene ii, while Macbeth is leaving the hall, Lady Macbeth enters assuming her husband his
killing the king in that exact moment. However, when she hears Macbeth crying, she worries
that the chamberlains have awaken, what she nds weird since she was the one who prepared
the daggers. She claims that she would have killed him herself (2.2.12–13). Instead, Macbeth
enters, his hands covered in blood, con rming the deed is done. He says he heard the
chamberlains praying before going to sleep, but he was incapable of even saying ‘amen’. He
also claims that, while he was committing the murder, he heard a voice saying “Sleep no more, /
Macbeth does murder sleep” (2.2.33–34).
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 • At rst, Lady Macbeth tries to calm her husband down, but then becomes frustrated because
Macbeth didn’t leave the daggers next to the chamberlains (framing them for Duncan’s murder).
Since Macbeth refuses to go back, the lady goes there herself, blaming her husband for being
such a coward. As she leaves, Macbeth hears a knocking in the hall, which frightens him, so he
asks desperately: “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand?”
(2.2.58–59). Lady Macbeth comes back and the knocking sounds again twice. She then leads
her husband to their chamber to wash the blood claiming “A little water clears us of this deed”
“How easy it is then!” (2.2.65–66).

Banquo’s knowledge of the witches’ prophecy makes him both a potential ally and a potential
threat to Macbeth’s plotting. Macbeth seems distrustful of Banquo and pretends to have hardly
thought of the witches, but Macbeth’s desire to discuss the prophecies suggest he might have
some king of conspiratorial plan. We realize that if Macbeth succeeds in the murder of Duncan, he
will be driven to still more violence before his crown is secure, and Fleance will be in immediate
and mortal danger.

In act ii, Shakespeare uses something called elision, which consists in sustaining an incredible
rapid tempo of development of the play. With this, we see the scenes leading up to the murder
and the scenes immediately following it, but the deed itself does not appear onstage. Duncan’s
bedchamber works as a sort of hidden sanctum into which the characters disappear and from
which they emerge powerfully changed. Therefore, since we’re not allowed to see the actual
murder, it makes it seems more terrible by the power of suggestion. Lady Macbeth’s visit to
Duncan’s chamber is striking. She even claims that she would have killed Duncan herself if he
didn’t remind her so much of her father. This is the rst time Lady Macbeth shows herself to be at
all vulnerable. Her comparison of Duncan to her father suggests that d she sees her king as an
authority gure to whom she must be loyal.

Macbeth’s unease about the murder is echoed by several fearful sounds and visions, being the
most striking the hallucinatory dagger. The knocking seems particularly ironic once we realize that
Macdu , who kills Macbeth at the end of the play, is its source.

Concern is really felt in these scenes, with Macbeth worried that there is blood on his hands that
cannot be washed clean. Lady Macbeth remains the voice of calculating reason, as she tells him
that the blood can be washed away with a little water. However, she will eventually realize that the
guilt that the blood symbolizes needs more than water to be cleansed away. This is going to be
manifested in the course of the play, when she starts having hallucinations.

Act II, Scenes III - IV

• In scene iii, a porter stumbles through the hallway to answer the knocks on the door. Mumbling
comically and mocking whoever is on the other side, he asks: “Who’s there, i’ th’ name of
Beelzebub?” (2.3.3). Macdu and Lennox proceed to enter, complaining that the porter was so
slow. He answers that he was up late carousing and rambling about the e ects of alcohol
(2.3.27).
• When Macbeth enters, Macdu asks him if the king is awake, to what Macbeth answers
carefully saying Duncan is still asleep. He then o ers to take Macdu to the king’s bedchamber.
While Lennox talks about the previous night's storms, Macdu comes out of the room running
and crying, shouting that the king has been killed (“O horror, horror, horror!” (2.3.59)). While
Macbeth and Lennox rush in the chamber, Lady Macbeth appears and expresses her horror that
such a deed could be done under her roof. Once Macbeth and Lennox leave the room, Malcom
and Donalbain enter the scene. They are told their father has been murderered, most likely by
his chamberlains (bloody daggers), who Macbeth claims to have killed out of rage.
• Macdu seems suspicious of this new deaths, but Macbeth assures him that his fury was so
powerful that he could not restrain himself. Lady Macbeth faints and while she is being taken
away, Banquo and Macbeth gather the lords to meet and discuss the murder. Duncan’s sons
decide that they aren’t safe there, since whoever killed their father might come for them as well,
so they decide to run away (Malcom to South England and Donalbain to Ireland).
• In scene iv, while thane Ross walks with an old man discussing the strange happenings of the
past few days (an owl killed a falcon; Duncan’s horses ate one another), Macdu emerges from
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 his castle informing them that Macbeth as been made king and is, at that moment, riding to
Scone to be crowned. He also tells them that the chamberlains seem the most likely murderers,
and that they may have been paid o by someone to kill Duncan. However, suspicion has fallen
onto Duncan’s sons, since they quickly ed the scene. Macdu goes back inside his castle and
Ross departs for Scone to assist the new king’s coronation.

The porter’s comedy comes as a jarring change of tone, after bloody imagery of the last scenes.
Unlike the other characters, he speaks in prose, which in a way makes his words and his role are
less important than those of the other characters, however, he does hit on many truths. His
description of the confusion and lust provoked by alcohol caricatures Macbeth’s moral confusion
and lust for power., and Lady Macbeth’s sexual mockery of her husband. The porter also jokes
ironically that the door of Inverness is like hell’s gate, given the cruel and bloody events that are
taking place within the castle (2.3.3).

Since Lady Macbeth’s schemes have forged their result, Macbeth takes her place as the most
compelling character in the play. The unsafe and reluctant sentences with which Macbeth speaks
to Macdu and Lennox indicate his troubled mind and nervousness about the imminent discovery
of Duncan’s body. Fro example, when Lennox is talking about the terrible weather, the only thing
Macbeth says is “’Twas a rough night” (2.3.57).

Once Duncan’s body is discovered, it is as though a switch has been ipped within Macbeth. He
springs into action with a clear eye toward his purpose, seizing control of the nobles and
becoming King of Scotland. Just like Duncan’s murder scene, we are denied Macbeth’s
coronation scene, the most direct consequence.

Although Macbeth seems to gain con dence in himself with the course of the play, the other
characters start doubting him. When asked about Duncan’s death Lennox replies “Those of his
chamber, as it seemed, had done’t” (2.3.98), emphasising the “as it seems”. Banquo too doubts
Macbeth and his theory (the chamberlains as the killers): “let us meet / And question this most
bloody piece of work, / To know it further” (2.3.123–125). Macdu expresses his suspicion, as
well, and refuses to go to Macbeth’s coronation, as a display of opposition. Malcolm is the rightful
king, but he lacks Macdu ’s initiative and sense of purpose, illustrated by his willingness to ee
rather than assert his royal rights. In order to regain the throne, he will need Macdu ’s help. As a
fact, it was him who assumed the responsibility for Macbeth’s death, later on the play.

The storms that accompany the witches’ appearances and Duncan’s murder are more than mere
atmospheric disturbances; they are symbols of the connection between moral, natural, and
political developments. By killing Duncan, Macbeth unleashes a kind of primal chaos upon
Scotland, in which the old order of the benevolent king and his loyal subjects is replaced by a
darker relationship between a tyrant and his victims.

Act III, Scenes I - III

• In scene i, Banquo paces through the palace at Forbes thinking that if the witches rst prophecy
came true, then the second might also happen, providing his sons to sit on the throne. Macbeth
enters, as the king, followed by Lady Macbeth, now his queen. They invite Banquo to a feast
they are hosting that night. Banquo accepts the invitation, informing Macbeth he his going for a
ride in his horse that afternoon. Macbeth tells him that they need to eventually discuss Malcom
and Donalbain’s situation, since they ed and may be planning something against the crown.
• Banquo departs and Macbeth dismisses his court, being left alone with just one servant who
tells him some men have come to see him. Macbeth orders him to go and fetch them, beginning
a monologue once the servant leaves. He re ects that Banquo is the only man in Scotland
whom he fears. Since he’ll be a “fruitless crown” (3.1.62), meaning he won’t have an heir,
murdering Duncan may have simply cleared the way for Banquo’s sons to overthrow Macbeth’s
own family. The servant enters accompanied by the two men, who are left alone with Macbeth.
Once he starts speaking, we soon realize that the men are contracted killers meant to kill
Banquo, as well as his son Fleance.
• In scene ii, Lady Macbeth orders for her husband to be fetch. Macbeth enters and tells her he
too feels desperate saying that his mind is “full of scorpions” (3.2.37). He claims that business
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 they began by killing Duncan is not yet complete because there are still threats to the throne
that must be eliminated. So he tells his wife that he has planned “a deed of dreadful note” for
Banquo and his son, asking her to be kind to Banquo during the feast, in to lure him into a false
sense of security (3.2.45).
• In scene iii, the two murdereres, now joined by a third, linger in the woods. Banquo and his son
approach on their horses and dismount. They light a torch, and the murderers set upon them.
They kill Banquo right away, who before his last breath urges his son to escape and avenge his
death. One of the murderers extinguishes the torch, and in the darkness Fleance is able to
escape. The murderers leave with Banquo’s body to nd Macbeth and tell him what has
happened.

After his confrontation with the witches, Macbeth worried that he would have to commit a murder
to gain the Scottish crown, which left him slightly terri ed. However, he now seems to have gotten
used to the idea, since the body count has risen to alarming levels. Now that the rst part of the
prophecy came true, he feels that he must kill Banquo and his son, in order to prevent the second
part from becoming realized. But, like Fleance’s survival suggests, there can be no escape from
the witches’ prophecies.

Macbeth and his wife seem to have traded roles. When talking to the murdereres, Macbeth
adopts the same posture and method as his wife: he questions the men’s manhood, making them
angry enough for them to kill Banquo. He does again adopt this posture when talking to Lady
Macbeth saying “make [their] faces visors to [their] hearts, / Disguising what they are” (3.2.35–36).
This is a reference to something she had told him earlier in the play (“look like the innocent
ower / But be the serpent under’t” (1.5.63–64)). Despite all this fearlessness, Macbeth is still full
of guilt, especially when he mentions scorpions in his mind and declares that by killing Banquo
they “have scorched the snake, not killed it” (3.2.15).

While her husband grows bolder, Lady Macbeth begins to despair (“Naught’s had; all’s spent,”
she says (3.2.6)). The same woman who urged her husband into slaughter, is now trying to talk
him out of committing any more murders. When Macbeth begins to use her earlier statements,
she uses one of his: “What’s done is done” (3.2.14). However, as they begin to realize, nothing is
“done” whatsoever; their sense of closure is an illusion.

Both characters seem shocked and dismayed that possessing the crown has not rid them of
trouble or brought them happiness. Each murder Macbeth commits is intended to bring him
security and contentment, but the deeper his arms sink in blood, the more violent and horri ed he
becomes.

The play now builds inevitably toward its end. Unlike Hamlet, in which the plot seems open to
multiple possibilities up to the nal scene, Macbeth’s action seems to develop inexorably. We
know that there is nothing to stop Macbeth’s murder spree except his own death, and it is for
that, that the audience now waits. We realize that, only with that, can any kind of moral order be
restored to Scotland.

Act III, Scenes IV - VI

• In scene iv, while Macbeth walks around his feast accompanied by his wife, one of the
murdereres appears at the doorway, so Macbeth goes to speak to him. The murderer informs
the king that Banquo is dead, but Fleance has escaped, which angers Macbeth, who says “the
worm that’s ed / Hath nature that in time will venom breed” (3.4.28–29).
• Macbeth returns to the feast, but when he goes to sit he sees the ghost of Banquo already sat
at the head of the royal table. Horror-struck, he speaks to the ghost. However, no one else sees
it, so Lady Macbeth makes up excuses for her husband’s behaviour and urges him to snap out
of his trance. The ghost disappears and Macbeth excuses him self (3.4.85–86). Yet, when he
goes to o er a toast, the ghost appears once again, making Macbeth burst into reckless
outburst. Still making up excuses, Lady Macbeth sends the alarm guests out the room, while
the ghost vanishes again.
• Macbeth informs his wife that he will see the witches again the next day, in order to know more
about the future and who may be plotting against him, declaring he will do anything to keep the
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 throne (“I am in blood / Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, / Returning were as
tedious as go o’er” (3.4.135–137)). The queen claims he needs sleep, and they retire to their
bed.
• In scene v, the witches meet with Hecate, goddess of witchcraft, who scolds them for meddling
in the business of Macbeth without consulting her, declaring that she declares that she will take
over as supervisor of the mischief. She tells them that when Macbeth visits them the next day,
they must summon visions and spirits whose messages will ll him with a false sense of security
and “draw him on to his confusion” (3.5.29)
• In scene vi, Lennox walks with a lord, discussing what has been happening in Scotland.
Banquo’s death has been blame on Fleance, since he ed, but Lennox and the lord believe
Macbeth to be the true culprit, not only for Banquo’s murder, but for Duncan’s too. The lord then
informs Lennox that Macdu has gone to England to help Malcom prepare for war. Both the
men hope Malcolm and Macdu will be successful, so that their actions can save Scotland from
Macbeth.

The appearance of Banquo’s silent ghost, the reappearance of the witches, and the introduction
of the goddess Hecate all symbolize the corruption of Scotland’s political and moral health. In
Macbeth’s moral landscape, loyalty, honor, and virtue serve either as weak or nonexistent
restrictions against ambition and the lust for power. In the physical landscape that surrounds him,
the normal rules of nature serve as weak constraints against the grotesqueries of the witches and
the horri c ghost of Banquo.

The banquet is simultaneously the high point of Macbeth’s reign and the beginning of his
downfall. Macbeth’s bizarre behavior puzzles and disturbs his subjects, con rming their
impression that he is mentally troubled. Despite the tentativeness and guilt she displayed in the
previous scene, Lady Macbeth here appears surefooted and stronger than her husband, but even
her attempts to explain away her husband’s “hallucination” are ine ective when paired with the
evidence of his behavior.

It is unclear whether Banquo’s ghost really sits in Macbeth’s chair or whether the spirit’s presence
is only a hallucination inspired by guilt. But since Macbeth is already accustomed with
supernatural events, there is no reason to discard the possibility that the apparition is an actual
ghost. Some of the apparitions that appear in the play ( oating dagger and unwashable blood in
Lady Macbeth’s hands) appear to be more psychological than supernatural in origin. These
recurring apparitions or hallucinations consume the royal couple as they feel the fateful force of
their deeds coming back to haunt them.

Given the role that Banquo’s character plays in Macbeth, it is appropriate that he and not Duncan
should haunt Macbeth. Banquo too heard the witches prophecies, but unlike Macbeth, he took no
criminal action. His actions represent a path not taken, in which ambition wasn’t combined with
violence.

Shakespeare also portrays the historical gure of King Edward the Confessor, to whom Malcolm
and Macdu have gone to receive help combating Macbeth. Edward is presented as the
complete opposite of the evil, corrupt Macbeth.

Act IV, Scenes I - III

• In scene i, the three witches appear in a dark cavern, circling a cauldron and chanting spells
(4.1.14–15). Hecate materialises and compliments their work. The, one of the witches “By the
pricking of my thumbs / Something wicked this way comes” (4.1.61–62). Macbeth enters,
asking them to reveal the whole truth about the future. In response to this, they summon horrible
apparitions, each of which o ers a prediction to ease Macbeth’s fears. They warn him about
Macdu ; next they claim “none of woman born / shall harm Macbeth” (4.1.96–97); nally they
tell him he is safe until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane Hill. After the vision of a procession of
eight crowned kings walking by, the last (Banquo) carrying a mirror, Macbeth demands an
explanation about it but the witches vanish instead. Lennox enters and informs the king that
Macdu has ed to England. Macbeth resolves to send murderers to kill Macdu ’s wife and
children.
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 • In scene ii, Lady Macdu , feeling betrayed, demands to know why her husband has ed. Before
departing, Ross tells her to trust her husband. Lady Macdu goes and tells her son that his
father is dead, but the little boy disagrees. Suddenly, a messenger hurries in, warning Lady
Macdu that she is in danger and urging her to ee. However, Lady Macdu protests, arguing
that she has done no wrong. A group of murderers then enters. When one of them denounces
Macdu , Macdu ’s son calls him a liar, so the murderer stabs him. Lady Macdu turns and
runs, and the killers chase after her.
• In scene iii, Malcolm speaks with Macdu , telling him that he does not trust him since he has
left his family in Scotland and may be secretly working for Macbeth. To determine Macdu ’s
trustworthiness, Malcom rambles about wether or not he is t to be king, since he claims to be
lustful, greedy, and violent. At rst, Macdu politely disagrees, but eventually he cannot keep
himself from crying out, “O Scotland, Scotland!” (4.3.101), since his loyalty to the reign leads
him to agree that Malcolm is not t to govern. Malcom con rms that Macdu has passed the
test, accepting him as an ally. A doctor appears brie y and mentions that a “crew of wretched
souls” waits for King Edward so they may be cured (4.3.142). When the doctor leaves, Malcom
explains to Macdu that Edward has a miraculous power of cure.
• Ross enters, informing Macdu that his wife and children are well. He then begs Malcom to
return to his country, to what he says that he will return with ten thousand soldiers lent him by
the English king. Breaking down, Ross confesses Macbeth has killed Macdu ’s wife and
children. Malcom urges Macdu to transform his grief into anger, and Macdu assures him that
he will get revenge.

The witches are vaguely absurd gures, with their rhymes and beards and capering, but they are
also clearly sinister, possessing a great deal of power over events. It is doubtful, for instance, that
Macbeth would have killed Duncan if it wasn’t for his meeting with the witches. On the other
hand, the sisters’ prophecies may be accurate readings of the future. After all, when Birnam Wood
comes to Dunsinane at the play’s end, the soldiers have never heard of the prophecy.

The witches stand outside the limits of human comprehension. Their prophecies allow Macbeth,
whose sense of doom is rising, to tell himself that everything may yet be well. For the audience,
which lacks Macbeth’s misguided con dence, the strange apparitions act as symbols that
foreshadow the way the prophecies will be ful lled:— the armored head suggests war or rebellion;
— the bloody child represents Macdu ’s birth
by cesarean section (he is not “of woman born”);
— the crowned child is Malcolm, carrying a
tree like the soldiers will later carry out Birnam Wood’s branches;
— the procession of kings reveals the future
line of kings, all descended from Banquo.

The murder of Lady Macdu and her young son marks the moment in which Macbeth descends
into utter madness, killing neither for political gain nor to silence an enemy, but simply out of a
furious desire to do harm. Malcom and Macdu ’s conversation re ects an important theme in the
play: the nature of true kingship, which is embodied by Duncan and King Edward, as opposed to
the tyranny of Macbeth. In the end, a true king seems to be motivated by love to his kingdom
more than by pure self-interest. In a sense, both Malcolm and Macdu share this virtue—the love
they hold for Scotland unites them in opposition to Macbeth, and grants their attempt to seize
power a moral legitimacy that Macbeth lacks.

Macdu and Malcolm are allies, but Macdu also serves as a teacher to Malcolm. Malcolm
believes himself to be crafty and intuitive (his test of Macdu ). However, he has a perverted idea
of manhood just like Macbeth. When Ross brings word of Lady Macdu ’s murder, Malcolm tells
Macdu : “Dispute it like a man” (4.3.221). Macdu answers, “I shall do so, / But I must also feel it
as a man” (4.3.222–223), showing that manhood comprises more than aggression and murder,
allowing oneself to be sensitive and to feel grief is also necessary.

Act V, Scenes I - VIII

• In scene i, while a doctor and a gentlewoman discuss Lady Macbeth’s habit of sleepwalking,
she enters, in a trance, holding a candle, mourning the murders of Lady Macdu and Banquo,
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 and claiming that nothing will ever wash the blood of her hands. When she leaves, the doctor
and the gentlewoman become astonished about her descent into madness.
• In scene ii, a group of Scottish lords discusses the military situation: the English army
approaches, led by Malcolm, and the Scottish army will meet them near Birnam Wood, to join
forces. Macbeth has forti ed Dunsinane Castle and is too making his military preparations in a
mad rage.
• In scene iii, Macbeth paces through the hall, accompanied by the doctor and his attendants,
con dent that he has nothing to fear from the English army or from Malcolm, since “none of
woman born” can harm him (4.1.96) and since he will rule securely “[t]ill Birnam Wood remove to
Dunsinane” (5.3.2). One of his servants con rms an army of ten thousand Englishmen
approaches the castle. Macbeth insist on wearing his armour, even though the battle will still
take some time to start. The doctor tells the king that Lady Macbeth is kept from rest by “thick-
coming fancies,” and Macbeth orders him to cure her of her delusions (5.3.40).
• In scene iv, Malcom talks with the English lord Siward about Macbeth’s plan to defend the
castle. They decide that each soldier should cut down a branch of the forest and carry it in front
of him as they march to the castle, thereby disguising their numbers.
• In scene v, while Macbeth orders banners to be hung, a women’s cry is heard. Seyton appears
and tells the king his wife has died. Shocked, Macbeth talks about the passage of time
declaring life is “a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing” (5.5.25–27).
Next, a messenger enters informing that the trees of Birnam Wood are moving towards the
castle. Remembering the prophecy, Macbeth realizes he has no more chance, but declares he
will die ghting.
• In scene vi, the battle begins, with Malcom ordering the English soldiers to draw their swords.
• In scene vii, on the eld, Macbeth strikes those around him vigorously, insolent because no man
born of woman can harm him. Macdu emerges and searches the chaos frantically for Macbeth,
whom he longs to cut down personally. Malcolm and Siward emerge and enter the castle.
• In the last scene, Macbeth nally encounters Macdu . While ghting, Macbeth insists he is
invincible because of the prophecy. However Macdu tells him that he was not of woman born,
but rather “from his mother’s womb / Untimely ripped” (5.8.15–16). Malcolm and Siward walk
together in the castle, which they have now e ectively captured. Ross tells Siward that his son
is dead. Macdu emerges with Macbeth’s head in his hand and proclaims Malcolm King of
Scotland. After cursing Macbeth and his wife, Malcolm calls all those around him his friends and
invites them all to see him crowned at Scone.

The rapid tempo of the play’s development accelerates into a breakneck frenzy as the relatively
long scenes of previous acts are replaced by a urry of short takes, each of which furthers the
action toward its violent conclusion. We see the army’s and Malcolm’s preparation for battle, the
ful llment of the witches’ prophecies, and the demises of both Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Lady
Macbeth, gives in with the weight of guilt and paranoia, sleepwalking and a deceptively believing
that her hands are stained with blood, crying out: “Out, damned spot”; “[W]ho would have
thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?” (5.1.30, 33–34). This is an ironic contrast
to what she had earlier said to her husband (“[a] little water clears us of this deed” (2.2.65)).

Like Duncan’s death and Macbeth’s ascension to the kingship, Lady Macbeth’s suicide does not
take place onstage. Macbeth seems numb in response to the news of his wife’s death, which
seems surprising, especially given the great love he appears to have borne for his wife. He acts
indi erently, realising, hopelessly, that the game of life is coming to an end (Macbeth’s speech -
5.5.18–27).

Despite the fatalism of his speech, Macbeth seems to uctuate between despair and ridiculous
bravado, making his own dissolution rougher and more complex than that of his wife. Lured into a
false sense of security by the nal prophecies of the witches, he gives way to a kind of self-
destructive arrogance, since he believes he is protected by the prophecy, although it can also
mean he is merely hanging onto the last thread of hope he has left.

Macbeth ceased to be a sympathetic hero once he made the decision to kill Duncan, but by the
end of the play he has become so morally repulsive that his death comes as a powerful relief.
Only with Malcolm’s victory and assumption of the crown can Scotland, and the play itself, be
saved from the chaos engendered by Macbeth.
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