Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in the early 1600s. The play tells the story of Macbeth, a Scottish general who becomes obsessed with power after receiving a prophecy that he will become the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the king of Scotland.
The play begins with Macbeth and his comrade Banquo, who are returning from battle when they are met by three witches who predict that Macbeth will become the Thane of Cawdor and eventually the king of Scotland. The witches also tell Banquo that he will not be king, but that his descendants will be.
Macbeth is later named the Thane of Cawdor by King Duncan, and becomes consumed with the idea of becoming the king himself. He is encouraged by his wife, Lady Macbeth, to take action and kill Duncan in order to seize the throne. Macbeth follows through with the plan, and Duncan is murdered in his sleep.
After the murder, Macbeth becomes consumed with guilt and fear, and is plagued by hallucinations and insomnia. He becomes paranoid and begins to mistrust those around him, including his closest friends and allies.
As Macbeth's rule becomes increasingly tyrannical, the people of Scotland turn against him, and Macbeth is eventually confronted by a group of rebels led by Macduff, a nobleman who has been exiled by Macbeth. In the final battle, Macbeth is defeated and killed, and Macduff is hailed as the new king of Scotland.
Throughout the play, Macbeth is driven by his ambition and desire for power, but ultimately his downfall is caused by his own guilt and his inability to cope with the consequences of his actions. The play serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked ambition and the corrupting influence of power.
Macbeth: Key Facts
Lady Macbeth returns and assures Macbeth that "a little water clears us of this deed" II ii 65. But later on we discover that his ghost starts haunting Macbeth and he starts acting abnormally. He regrets this almost immediately, but his wife reassures him. She sleepwalks, confessing to her crimes in her sleep, and constantly makes motions like she is attempting to wash blood from her hands. It is this conflict that makes him a truly tragic figure, and it is his tragedy that continues to resonate with audiences centuries after the play was first written. At a celebratory banquet Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo and disconcerts the courtiers with his strange manner.
Macbeth Summary: Overview Of Shakespeare's Macbeth Plot
Conflict: Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth to resort to murder to make the prophecy come true. Both Macbeth and his wife have changed: Macbeth, formerly hesitant, is now completely firm and decisive, and Lady Macbeth, formerly impatient and bloodthirsty, now thinks it would be fine to leave matters well enough alone. At the start of Act 3, the audience learns that Banquo is suspicious of whether Macbeth may have achieved power through nefarious means. This initial conflict over whether or not he can kill his king, which exists both between Macbeth and himself and between Macbeth and his wife, is resolved when Macbeth acts, murdering Duncan and then seizing power after the more obvious heirs flee in fear of being accused of the crime. Duncan announces his plans to celebrate at Macbeth's castle, and Macbeth departs before everyone else in order to make the necessary preparations.
Macbeth has become manic, cruel, and haughty—many of his men desert to Malcolm's side. He does get the other title, and dreams of becoming King of Scotland. The Scots successfully defend their country and their beloved king, Duncan. His paranoia leads to his downfall as he loses the trust of those around him and is ultimately killed in battle. Macbeth by William Shakespeare Summary This play portrays a tragic downfall of a brave warrior, Macbeth. Macduff comes running back to report that Duncan has been murdered.
He feels haunted and cursed. He fears his friend Banquo because of the second part of the prophecy, so he arranges two murders to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. At first he appears as a brave and courageous Army General who has won the battle through his bravery but later we come to know about his real self when he receives the prophecies from the three witches. Macduff goes off to see the king, and Lennox remarks on the fierce storm that raged the night before. Macbeth is a Scottish nobleman who supports the king -- King Duncan -- and fights hard for him in battle.
Macbeth says that the chamberlains must have done it. Laughing, Banquo demands his own fortune of them, and the witches tell Banquo he will be both greater and lesser than Macbeth because his sons shall be kings. Macbeth, though ambitious, does have a conscience because he knows the precise reasons why he should not kill Duncan. The two get Duncan's two chamberlains drunk so that the next morning they can easily blame the chamberlains for the murder. The following scene then shifts again, this time to a location near the battlefield, where the witches have gathered once more.
Well, in a nutshell, an honorable man falls from grace and is punished for it. Macbeth learns that Lady Macbeth is dead, and he is defeated in combat against Macduff shortly after. The next act finds Macbeth in a cave with the witches. He tells Macbeth of his new title as thane of Cawdor. The king is informed that the thane of Cawdor led a traitorous army against Scotland and the king orders his execution and Macbeth should be awarded his title. Meanwhile, Macbeth's thanes begin to turn against him.
Lady Macbeth unwaveringly wishes for her husband to murder the king so he can usurp the throne, to the point that she answers his objections by casting doubts on his manhood. Lady Macbeth's willingness to cast aside her femininity for cruelty is a reversal of the expected order of things. Lady Macbeth enters and berates her husband when he tells her he no longer wants to go through with the murder. First, Macbeth knows that Duncan is a good king and he has done nothing to deserve an untimely death. A positive outcome becomes impossible for Macbeth as he gradually loses his authority, power, and eventually his wife. In the next act, Macbeth talks to Banquo about the witches' prophecy. When he hears Lady Macbeth ring the bell to signal the completion of her preparations, Macbeth sets out to complete his part in the murderous plan.
At the start of the play, Lady Macbeth was very much in charge and rather remorseless. They decide to take help from King Edward of England and plan to attack Scotland with 10,000 soldiers. A captain reports having seen Macbeth and Banquo fight bravely against the rebels and, in particular, Macbeth killed the traitorous MacDonwald. Meanwhile, in England, Macduff and Malcolm prepare to invade Scotland. In England, Malcolm and Macduff join forces against Macbeth, and Macduff receives news from Scotland that Macbeth has had his wife and children killed. The generals want to hear more but the weird sisters disappear.
This time, the Witches not only confirm that the sons of Banquo will rule in Scotland, but they also add a new prophecy: Macbeth will be invincible in battle until the time when the forest of Birnam moves towards his stronghold at Dunsinane and until he meets an enemy "not born of woman. Lady Macbeth waits outside the door of Duncan's chambers while Macbeth carries out the murder, reflecting on how she would have killed Duncan herself if he hadn't looked like her father. Lady Macbeth has to tell them that her husband is merely afflicted with a familiar and harmless malady. Macbeth does this and becomes king. His tragic flaw leads him to ruin, and his death is a warning to others who might be tempted to follow in his footsteps. It is explored by the character of Lady Macbeth and the three witches in this play. Lady Macbeth appears to be very evil.
