Macbeth Act Summaries
Act 1: The play takes place in Scotland. Duncan, the
king of Scotland, is at war with the king of Norway,
and as the play opens, he learns of Macbeth's
bravery in battle against a Scot who sided with
Norway. At the same time, he hears of the treachery
of the Thane of Cawdor, who was arrested. Duncan
decides to give the title of Thane of Cawdor to
Macbeth.
Macbeth and Banquo, traveling home from the
battle, meet three witches, who predict that Macbeth
will be Thane of Cawdor and king of Scotland, and
that Banquo will be the father of kings. The witches
disappear, and Macbeth and Banquo meet up with
two nobles who inform them of Macbeth's new title.
Hearing this, Macbeth begins to contemplate
murdering Duncan in order to realize the witches'
second prophecy.
Macbeth and Banquo meet up with Duncan, who tells
them he is going to pay Macbeth a visit at his home
at Inverness. Macbeth rides ahead to prepare his
household. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth receives a
letter from Macbeth informing her of the witches'
prophesy and Macbeth's subsequent new title. A
servant appears and tells her of Duncan's approach.
Energized, she invokes supernatural powers to strip
her of her feminine softness and prepare her to
murder Duncan. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness,
Lady Macbeth tells him that she will take care of all
the details of Duncan's murder.
Duncan arrives at Inverness, and Lady Macbeth
greets him. Macbeth fails to appear, and Lady
Macbeth goes to find him. He is in his room,
contemplating the weighty and evil step of killing
Duncan. Lady Macbeth taunts him, telling him he will
only be a man when he kills Duncan, and that she
herself has less softness in her character than he
does. She then tells him her plan for the murder,
and Macbeth accepts it: they will kill him while his
drunken bodyguards sleep, then plant incriminating
evidence on the bodyguards.
Act 2: Macbeth has a vision of a bloody dagger
floating before him and leading him to Duncan's
room. When he hears Lady Macbeth ring the bell to
signal the completion of her preparations, Macbeth
follows through with his part of the plan and leaves
for Duncan's room.
Lady Macbeth waits for Macbeth to finish killing
Duncan. Macbeth enters, still carrying the bloody
daggers. Lady Macbeth again chastises him for his
weak-mindedness and plants them on the
bodyguards herself. As she does so, Macbeth
imagines that he hears a voice saying "Macbeth will
sleep no more." Lady Macbeth returns and assures
Macbeth that "a little water clears us of this deed."
At the gate the porter pretends that he is guarding
the door to hell. The thanes knock at the gate, and
Macduff discovers Duncan's body when he goes in to
wake him up. Macbeth kills the two bodyguards,
supposedly in a fit of grief and rage, when they are
discovered with the bloody daggers. Duncan's sons
Malcolm and Donalbain, fearing that their lives are in
danger, flee to England and Ireland; their flight
brings them under suspicion of conspiring in
Duncan's death, and Macbeth is crowned king of
Scotland.
Act 3: Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo
and his son Fleance in an attempt to thwart the
witches' prophesy that Banquo will father kings. Lady
Macbeth does not know of his plans, and he will not
tell her. A third murderer joins the other two on the
heath, and the three men kill Banquo. Fleance,
however, escapes.
Macbeth throws a feast on the same night that
Banquo is murdered, and Banquo's ghost appears to
him, sending him into a frenzy of terror. Lady
Macbeth attempts to cover up for his odd behavior,
but the party ends up dissolving as the thanes begin
to question Macbeth's sanity. Macbeth decides that
he must revisit the witches to hear more of the
future.
Meanwhile, Macbeth's thanes begin to turn from him,
and Macduff meets Malcolm in England to prepare an
army to march on Scotland.
Act 4: The witches show Macbeth three apparitions
that tell Macbeth to fear no man born of woman, and
warn him that he will only fall when Birnam Wood
comes to Dunsinane castle. Macbeth takes this as a
prophecy that he is infallible. When he asks the
witches if their prophesy about Banquo will come
true, they show him a procession of eight kings, all
of whom look like Banquo, the last holding a mirror
to signify the reign of James I, the Stuart king for
whom Shakespeare wrote this play.
Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty by confessing to
multiple sins and ambitions. When Macduff proves
loyal to him, the two plan the strategy they will use
in attacking Macbeth. Meanwhile, Macbeth murders
Macduff's wife, whom he has deserted, along with all
his children.
Act 5: Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and reveals her
guilt to a watching doctor as she dreams that she
cannot wash the stain of blood from her hands.
Macbeth is too preoccupied with battle preparations
to pay much attention to her dreams, and is angry
when the doctor says he cannot cure her. As the
castle is attacked, Lady Macbeth dies (perhaps by
her own hand). When Macbeth hears of her death,
he comments that she should have died at a
different time, and muses on the meaninglessness of
life. However, he reassures himself by remembering
the witches' predictions that he will only fall when
two seemingly impossible things occur.
Meanwhile, the English army has reached Birnam
Wood, and in order to disguise their numbers,
Malcolm instructs each man to cut a branch from a
tree and hold it in front of him as they march on
Dunsinane. Witnessing this, Macbeth's servant
reports that he has seen something impossible
Birnam Wood seems to be moving toward the castle.
Macbeth is shaken but goes out to fight nonetheless.
During the battle outside the castle walls, Macbeth
kills Young Siward, the English general's brave son.
Macduff then challenges Macbeth. As they fight,
Macduff reveals that he was not "born of woman" but
was "untimely ripped" from his mother's womb.
Macbeth is stunned but refuses to yield to Macduff.
Macduff kills him and cuts off his head. Malcolm is
proclaimed the new king of Scotland.