Summary and Analysis of Act 1
Act 1, scene 1
On a heath in Scotland, three witches, the Weird Sisters, wait to meet Macbeth amid
thunder and lightning. Their conversation is filled with paradoxes; they say that they will
meet Macbeth "when the battle's lost and won," when "fair is foul and foul is fair."
Act 1, scene 2
As the play opens, the Scottish army is at war with the Norwegian army. Duncan, king of
Scotland, meets a soldier returning from battle. The soldier informs them of Macbeth and
Banquo's bravery in battle, and describes Macbeth's attack on the castle of the traitorous
Macdonwald, in which Macbeth triumphed and planted the severed head of Macdonwald
on the battlements of the castle. The Thanes (lords) of Ross and Angus enter with the
news that the Thane of Cawdor has sided with Norway. Duncan decides to strip the
traitor Thane of his title and give the title of Thane of Cawdor to Macbeth.
Act 1, scene 3
The Weird Sisters meet on the heath and wait for Macbeth. He arrives with Banquo,
confirming the witches' paradoxical prophecy by stating "So foul and fair a day I have not
seen." The witches hail him as "Thane of Glamis" (his present title), "Thane of Cawdor"
(which title Macbeth does not know he has been granted yet), and "king hereafter." Their
greeting startles and seems to frighten Macbeth. Banquo questions the witches as to who
they are, and they greet him as "lesser than Macbeth and greater," "not so happy, yet
much happier," and a man who "shall get kings, though [he] be none." When Macbeth
questions them further, the witches vanish like bubbles into the air. Almost as soon as
they disappear, Ross and Angus appear, bearing the news that the king has granted
Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth and Banquo step aside to discuss this
news; Banquo is of the opinion that the title of Thane of Cawdor might "enkindle"
Macbeth to seek the crown as well. Macbeth questions why good news like this causes
his "seated heart [to] knock at [his] ribs / Against the use of nature," and his thoughts turn
immediately and with terror to murdering the king in order to fulfill the witches' second
prophesy. When Ross and Angus notice Macbeth's distraught state, Banquo dismisses it
as Macbeth's unfamiliarity with his new title.
Act 1, scene 4
Duncan demands to know if the ex-Thane of Cawdor has been executed, and his son
Malcolm assures him that he has. While Duncan muses about the fact that he mistakenly
placed his "absolute trust" in the traitor Thane, Macbeth enters. Duncan thanks Macbeth
and Banquo for their loyalty and bravery, and announces his decision to make his son
Malcolm the heir to the throne of Scotland (something he should not have done, since his
position was elected, not inherited). Duncan then states that he plans to visit Macbeth at
his home in Inverness. Macbeth leaves to prepare his home for the royal visit, pondering
the stumbling block that the king has just placed in front of his ambitions with the
announcement of his heir. The king follows with Banquo.
Act 1, scene 5
At Inverness, Lady Macbeth reads a letter from Macbeth telling of his meeting with the
witches. She fears that his nature is not ruthless enough, is "too full o' th' milk of human
kindness," to murder Duncan and assure the completion of the witches' prophesy. He has
ambition enough, she claims, but lacks the gumption to act on it. She then implores him
to hurry home so that she can "pour [her] spirits in [his] ear," in other words, goad him on
to the murder he must commit. When a messenger arrives with the news that Duncan is
coming, Lady Macbeth calls on the heavenly powers to "unsex me here" and fill her with
cruelty, taking from her all natural womanly compassion. When Macbeth arrives, she
greets him as Glamis and Cawdor and urges him to "look like th'innocent flower, / but be
the serpent under Œt," and states that she will make all the preparations for the king's
visit and subsequent murder.
Act 1, scene 6
Duncan arrives at Inverness with Banquo and exchanges pleasantries with Lady Macbeth.
He asks her where Macbeth is, and she offers to bring him to where Macbeth waits.
Act 1, scene 7
Alone, Macbeth agonizes over whether or not to kill Duncan, stating that he knows the
king's murder is a terrible sin. He struggles not so much with the horrifying idea of
regicide as with the actual fact and process of murdering a man a relative, no less who
trusts and loves him. He would like the king's murder to be over and done with already.
He hates the fact that he has "only / Vaulting ambition" without the motivation or
ruthlessness to ensure the attainment of his ambitions. Lady Macbeth enters, and Macbeth
tells her that he "will proceed no further in this business." Taunting him for his fears and
ambivalence, she tells him he will only be a man when he commits this murder. She
states that she herself would go so far as to take her own nursing baby and dash its brains
out if she had to in order to attain her goals. She counsels him to "screw [his] courage to
the sticking place" and details the way they will murder the king. They will wait until he
is asleep, she says, then they will get his bodyguards drunk. Then they will murder
Duncan and lay the blame on the two drunken bodyguards. Macbeth, astonished at her
cruelty, warns her to "bring forth male children only," since she is too tough and
bloodthirsty to bear girls. He resigns to follow through with her plans.
Act 1 Analysis
In Act 2, the Porter extemporizes about the sin of equivocation, and in many ways,
equivocation can be said to be the most important theme in this play. Starting from the
Weird Sisters' first words at the beginning of the play, readers quickly ascertain that
things are not what they seem. The word "equivocation" has two different meanings, both
of which are applicable to this play. The first, according to the Oxford English
Dictionary, is:
The using (a word) in more than one sense; ambiguity or uncertainty of meaning in
words; also . . . misapprehension arising from the ambiguity of terms (vol.3, p. 266).
This definition is the one that modern readers are most familiar with, and this kind of
verbal ambiguity is a major theme in the play. However, this is not the definition of
"equivocation" that the Porter intends. The second definition in the Oxford English
Dictionary is:
The use of words or expressions that are susceptible of a double signification, with a view
to mislead; esp. the expression of a virtual falsehood in the form of a proposition which
(in order to satisfy the speaker's conscience) is verbally true.
This is the equivocation of which the Porter speaks. This kind of equivocation is similar
to lying; it is intentionally designed to mislead people for one reason or another.
This intentional ambiguity of terms is what we see in the prophesies of the Weird Sisters;
their speech is full of paradox and confusion, starting with their first assertion that "fair is
foul and foul is fair" (I.i 12). The witches' prophesies are intentionally ambiguous, and
the alliteration and rhymed couplets with which they speak their omens contributes to the
effect of instability and confusion in their words. It takes one or two readings sometimes
to figure out what the witches mean; it is not surprising, therefore, that these "imperfect
speakers" can easily bedazzle and confuse Macbeth throughout the course of the play.
Just as their words are confusing, the witches' entire role in the play is ambiguous. They
speak of the future, yet they seem unable to affect the course of the future. Banquo fears
that the witches' words will "enkindle [Macbeth] unto the crown," that they will awaken
in Macbeth an ambition that is already latent in him (I.iii 132). And in fact this seems to
be the case; as soon as the witches mention the crown, Macbeth's thoughts turn to murder
(I.iii 152). The witches' power over Macbeth is confined to suggestion and prophecy;
they are the final push needed to drive him to his pre-determined goal. Are the witches
therefore merely mouthpieces of fate? There is a connection between these oracular
women and the Fates of Greek myth, and in fact the word "Weird" comes from an Old
English word "wyrd," which means "fate." In Macbeth's case, their prophecies serve only
to suggest the future, not to affect it. In Banquo's case, however, the witches seem to be
able to affect the future as well as predict it, because unlike Macbeth, Banquo does not
act on the witches' prediction that he will father kings. Despite his inaction, the witches'
prophesy comes true. Their role in the story, therefore, is difficult to determine. Can they
affect the future as well as predict it? Are they agents of fate or a motivating force? Why
do they suddenly disappear from the play in the third act? These questions are never
answered.
The ambiguity of the Weird Sisters reflects a greater theme of doubling, mirrors, and
schism between inner and outer worlds that permeates the work as a whole. Throughout
the play, characters, scenes, and ideas are doubled; for example, as Duncan muses about
the treachery of one Thane of Cawdor in I.iv, Macbeth enters:
There's no art
To find the mind's construction in the face.
He was a gentleman on whom I built
An absolute trust.
Enter Macbeth, Banquo, Ross, and Angus.
O worthiest cousin,
The sin of my ingratitude even now
Was heavy on me (I.4 13-18).
Macbeth, who will soon betray Duncan's trust even more than the earlier Thane, echoes
the treacherous first Thane of Cawdor. As in all Shakespeare plays, mirroring among
characters serves to heighten their differences, and Macbeth is no exception. Thus
Macbeth, the young, valiant, cruel traitor/king has a foil in Duncan, the old, venerable,
peaceable and trusting king. Lady Macbeth, who casts off her femininity in her very first
scene and claims to feel no qualms about killing her own children, is doubled in Lady
Macduff, who is a model of a good mother and wife. Banquo's failure to act on the
witches' prophesy is mirrored in Macbeth's drive to realize all that the witches foresee.
Much of the play is concerned with the relation between inner and outer worlds.
Beginning with the equivocal prophecies of the Weird Sisters, appearances seldom align
with reality. Lady Macbeth, for example, tells her husband to "look like th'innocent
flower, / But be the serpent under't" (I.v 76-77). Macbeth appears to be a loyal Thane, but
secretly plans revenge. Lady Macbeth looks like a gentlewoman, but has been "unsexed"
and swears herself to bloody deeds. Macbeth is also a play about the inner world of
human psychology, as will be illustrated in later acts through nightmares and guilt-ridden
hallucinations. This contrast between "being" and "seeming" is the fundamental
definition of equivocation.
One of the most ambiguous aspects of the play is the character of Macbeth himself. He is
unlike any of Shakespeare's other characters. He knows the act of killing Duncan is
morally wrong, and yet he swears he will do it. Yet unlike other Shakespearean vice-
protagonists like Iago and Richard III, Macbeth is not entirely committed to the evil he
wreaks. In I.v he agonizes over the idea of killing someone who loves him as much as
Duncan does. He knows what is right and what is wrong, and yet he sees as his biggest
flaw not a lack of moral values but a lack of motivation to carry out his diabolical
schemes. In this he is like Hamlet, who soliloquizes numerous times about his inaction.
However, unlike Hamlet, Macbeth does not have a good reason to kill, nor is the man he
kills evil. Claudius is an objectively bad man and a murderer himself; the audience
sympathizes with Hamlet and his desire to see Claudius dead. But Duncan is a good man,
a trusting, sagacious and kind ruler who does nothing to deserve death. Macbeth is a
character devoted to evil, and yet his soliloquies are so full of eloquent speech and pathos
that audiences cannot help but sympathize with him. Thus at the heart of the play lies a
tangle of uncertainty.
If Macbeth is indecisive, Lady Macbeth is just the opposite a character with such a single
vision and drive for advancement that she cannot help but bring about her own demise.
And yet her very ruthlessness is another form of ambiguity, for in swearing to help
Macbeth realize the Weird Sisters' prophecy, she must cast off her femininity. In a speech
at the beginning of scene five, she calls on the spirits of the air to take away her
womanhood:
Come you spirits
That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,
And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full
Of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood.
Stop up th'access and passage to remorse,
That no compunctious visitings of nature
Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between
Th'effect and it. Come to my woman's breasts
And take my milk for gall, you murd'ring ministers (I.v 47-55).
Lady Macbeth sees "remorse" and "peace" as feminine virtues, and in order to void
herself of such compassion she must be "unsexed." That she sees femininity as soft and
kind is evident in the fact that she calls the waffling Macbeth womanish, telling him that
only when he has murdered Duncan will he be a man. And whereas she wants to turn her
mother's milk into "gall," she complains that Macbeth is "too full o' th' milk of human
kindness" (I.v 17). Later she reinforces the rejection of her femininity by claiming that
she would go so far as to cast off all of the motherly sentiments that go along with it:
I have given suck, and know
How tender Œtis to love the babe that milks me.
I would, while it was smiling in my face,
Have plucked my nipple from his boneless gums
And dashed its brains out, had I so sworn as you
Have done to this (I.vii 61-67).
However, this does not mean that in rejecting her femininity she becomes a man. Instead
she becomes a woman devoid of the sexual characteristics and sentimentality that make
her a woman. She becomes entirely unnatural and inhuman. Like the supernatural Weird
Sisters with their beards, Lady Macbeth becomes something that does not fit into the
natural world.
In fact, the corruption of nature is a theme that surfaces again and again in this act. When
Duncan greets Macbeth, for example, he states that he "[has] begun to plant thee and will
labor / to make thee full of growing" (I.iv 31-32). Macbeth is a plant here that Duncan
nurtures. Yet by planning to kill Duncan, Macbeth cuts off the source of nurture,
effectively severing himself from the "root" that feeds him and perverting nature. In fact,
the thought of murdering Duncan causes Macbeth's heart to "Knock at [his] ribs / Against
the use of nature" (I.iii 149-51). Just as the Weird Sisters pervert the normal course of
nature by telling the future, Macbeth upsets the course of nature by planning this murder.
In reflection of the disruption of nature, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's speech in the
scenes wherein they discuss the murder becomes heavy, graceless and almost syncopated.
Lady Macbeth, for example, says: <
What thou wouldst highly,
That wouldst thou holily; wouldst not play false
And yet wouldst wrongly win. Thou'd'st have, great Glamis,
That which cries "Thus thou must do," if thou have it,
And that which rather thou dost fear to do,
Than wishest should be undone (I.v 20-27).
The repetition of the phrase "thou wouldst," in all its permutations, turns this speech in on
itself in a way that confounds the flow of speech. This speech is clotted with accents,
tangling meter and scansion, and the alliteration is almost tongue-twisting, slowing the
rhythm of the words. Just as Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have corrupted nature, the
language Shakespeare uses in these scenes disrupts the flow of his normally smoothly
iambic meter.
Part of the theme of corruption of nature is the compression of time that occurs
throughout the act. When Lady Macbeth reads the letter he has sent her, she claims that
"[his] letters have transported me beyond / This ignorant present, and I feel now / The
future in the instant" (I.vi 64-66). By telling the future to Macbeth and Banquo, the Weird
Sisters upset the natural course of time and bring the future to the present. Thus when
Macbeth vacillates over whether or not to kill Duncan, he wants to leap into the future:
"If it were done when Œtis done, then Œtwere well / It were done quickly" (I.vii 1-2). He
wants the murder to be over and done with already, done so quickly that it is already
over. Just as equivocation twists the meaning of words, Macbeth's murderous desires
twist the meaning of time.
Thus beginning with the Weird Sisters in the very first scene, equivocation in all its
permutations, from the doublespeak of the witches to the unnatural murder, is threaded
throughout the fabric of this act. As the play continues, the breach between the world of
reality and that of illusion that is the core of equivocation grows ever wider.
Summary and Analysis of Act 2
Act 2, scene 1
Banquo, who has also come to Inverness with Duncan and Fleance, wrestles with the
witches' prophesy; unlike Macbeth, he restrains the desire to act on it that tempts him in
his dreams. Macbeth enters and, when Banquo questions him, pretends to have forgotten
the witches' prophesy. When Banquo and Fleance leave Macbeth alone, Macbeth
imagines that he sees a bloody dagger pointing toward Duncan's chamber. Frightened by
this "dagger of the mind," he prays that the earth will "hear not [his] steps" as he
completes his bloody plan. The bell rings a signal from Lady Macbeth and he exits into
Duncan's room.
Act 2, scene 2
Lady Macbeth waits for Macbeth to return from killing Duncan. Hearing the hoot of an
owl an omen of death she assumes that he has done it, and waits fitfully for him to
appear. She hears a noise within and worries that the bodyguards have awakened before
Macbeth had a chance to plant the evidence on them. Macbeth enters, still carrying the
bloody daggers with which he killed Duncan. He is shaken because as he entered
Duncan's chamber he heard the bodyguards praying and could not say "Amen" when they
finished their prayers. He takes this as a bad sign. Lady Macbeth counsels him not to
think "after these ways; so, it will make us mad." Unheeding, Macbeth goes on to tell her
that he also thought he heard a voice that said, "sleep no more! / Macbeth does murder
sleep . . . . Glamis [Macbeth] hath murdered sleep, and therefore Cawdor [also Macbeth] /
Shall sleep no more." Lady Macbeth warns him not to think of such "brainsickly things"
but to wash the blood from his hand. Seeing the daggers he carries, she chastises him for
bringing them in and tells him to plant them on the bodyguards according to the plan.
When Macbeth, still horrified by the crime he has just committed, will not do it, Lady
Macbeth herself takes the daggers and brings them into the guards' chamber.
While she is gone, Macbeth hears a knocking and imagines that he sees hands plucking at
his eyes. He mourns the fact that not even an entire ocean could wash the blood from his
hand. Lady Macbeth enters here and, hearing this, states that her hands are just as stained
as his, but she is not a coward like him. She claims that "a little water clears us of this
deed" that washing the blood from their hands will wash the guilt from them as well.
She, too, hears knocking, and tells Macbeth to retire with her to their chamber and put on
their nightgowns; they cannot be out in the hall and in their clothes when the others enter.
Act 2, scene 3
In a "comic relief" scene, the Porter (doorman) hears knocking at the gate and imagines
that he is the porter at the door to Hell. He imagines admitting a farmer who has
committed suicide after a bad harvest, an "equivocator" who has committed a sin by
swearing to half-truths, and an English tailor who stole cloth to make fashionable clothes
and visited brothels. Since it is "too cold for hell" at the gate, he stops there instead of
continuing with a longer catalogue of sinners and opens the door. Outside are Macduff
and Lennox, who scold him for taking so long to answer the door. The Porter claims that
he was tired after drinking until late, and delivers a small sermon on the ills of drink.
Macbeth enters, and Macduff asks him if the king is awake yet. On hearing that the king
is still asleep, Macduff leaves to wake him. While he is gone, Lennox tells Macbeth that
the night was full of strange events in the weather chimneys were blown down, birds
screeched all night, the earth shook, and ghostly voices were heard prophesying bad
fortune. A stunned Macduff returns with the news that the king is dead. He tells them to
go see for themselves and calls to the servants to ring the alarm bell and wake the other
guests.
Lady Macbeth and Banquo enter and Macduff informs them of the king's death. Macbeth
and Lennox return and Macbeth laments the king's death, claiming that he witches he was
dead instead of the king. Malcolm and Donalbain appear and ask who murdered their
father. Lennox tells them that the bodyguards must have done it because they still had the
king's blood on their faces and hands and the daggers on their pillows. Macbeth tells
them that he has already killed the bodyguards in a grief-stricken rage. When Malcolm
and Donalbain question this act, Lady Macbeth pretends to faint in order to distract them.
Aside, Malcolm and Donalbain confer and decide that their lives are threatened and they
should flee. As Lady Macbeth is being helped to leave, Banquo counsels the others to get
together to analyze what just happened and figure out what to do next. Leaving Malcolm
and Donalbain alone, they leave to meet in the hall. Malcolm decides that he will flee to
England, and Donalbain says that he will go to Ireland.
Act 2, scene 4
Ross and an old man discuss the unnatural events that have taken place recently: days are
as dark as nights, owls hunt falcons, and Duncan's horses have gone mad and eaten each
other. Macduff enters, and Ross asks him who killed the king. Macduff tells him that the
bodyguards did it, but that Malcolm and Donalbain's hasty flight from Inverness has cast
suspicion on them as well. Ross comments that Macbeth will surely be named the next
king, and Macduff says that he has already been named and has gone to Scone to be
crowned. Ross leaves for Scone to see the coronation, and Macduff heads home to Fife.
Act 2 Analysis
Macbeth's famous soliloquy at the beginning of this act introduces an important theme:
visions and hallucinations caused by guilt. The "dagger of the mind" that Macbeth sees is
not "ghostly" or supernatural so much as a manifestation of the inner struggle Macbeth
feels as he contemplates murdering Duncan. It "[marshals him] the way [he] was going,"
leading him toward the bloody deed he will do (II.i 50-54). The same can be said for the
ghostly voice Macbeth thinks he hears as he kills Duncan as well as the ghostly vision of
Banquo at the feast in Act 3. In fact, almost all the supernatural elements in this play
could be (and often are) read as psychological rather than ghostly occurrences. If this is
the case, then, one must question the role of the witches. Are they, too, products of
Macbeth's fevered mind rather than real presences? The fact that they do no more that
give voice to the ambitions Macbeth already harbors would seem to confirm this idea, but
then there is the fact that Banquo also sees these witches and hears their prophesy in act
one. Their role continues to be ambiguous throughout the course of the play.
The "dagger of the mind" is only one of many psychological manifestations in the play.
While waiting for the opportunity to kill Duncan, Macbeth finds that he is unable to pray.
A psychological literary analyst would read this as a physical inability to speak caused by
Macbeth's paralyzing doubt about the correctness of the murder. The inner world of the
psyche invades the physical world. The same can be said for the voice that Macbeth hears
saying "Macbeth shall sleep no more" (II.ii 56). Freud analyzed his patients' dreams and
interpreted them in order to provide an insight into the waking world. Macbeth cannot
sleep; he is kept from the rest he needs by the guilt he feels over Duncan's murder. If he
has consigned Duncan to eternal rest, he lives in eternal anxiety and torment over his
bloody deeds.
Macbeth's troubled sleep is a metaphor for his troubled existence as well as the troubled
state of the country. In Shakespeare's plays, the king was a symbol of the country he
ruled (in his history plays, characters are often referred to by the names of their lands
rather than their surnames). Therefore, if the king is troubled as Macbeth obviously is
there are disturbances in the country. This kind of relationship between Macbeth himself
and the country at large is seen in the conversation between Ross and an old man in scene
four. The old man reports that "by the clock Œtis day, / And yet dark night strangles the
traveling lamp" (II.iv 8-9). This image of the darkness strangling the light of day is a
meteorological manifestation of the murder of Duncan; the light of nature is suffocated
just as Duncan's life was extinguished. Victorian writer John Ruskin called this kind of
mirroring of a character's psychological state in the weather and atmosphere the "pathetic
fallacy." And the pathetic fallacy abounds in this play. The old man describes Duncan's
two noble horses eating each other and an owl eating a falcon; these occurrences echo the
slaughter of one noble man by another. The unnatural murder of Duncan plunges the
country into physical as well as mental turmoil.
The image of an owl hunting a falcon is part of a greater framework of symbolism
centered around birds in this play. For example, when Duncan approaches Inverness in
act one, he comments on the martlets he sees nesting on the castle walls. He takes this as
a good sign martlets are lucky birds. Lady Macbeth mentions earlier in this scene that
there are ravens croaking on the battlements, and takes this as a harbinger of Duncan's
death (I.v 45-46). Duncan, the trusting optimist, sees lucky birds, whereas Lady Macbeth
sees fateful ones. Perhaps both are right in any event, "fair" certainly becomes "foul" for
Duncan as the luck of the martlets he sees becomes the death foreseen by Lady Macbeth
in the ravens. In act two, characters discuss or see birds in almost every scene. While
Lady Macbeth is waiting for Macbeth to finish killing Duncan, for example, she hears an
owl hooting and calls the owl a "fatal bellman," a bird whose call is like a bell tolling for
Duncan's death (II.ii 5). The owl could also be "fatal" in terms of acting as an instrument
of Fate, just as Macbeth is in some ways an instrument of Fate through the intervention of
the Weird Sisters (keeping in mind that "wyrd" means "fate").
If both Macbeth and the owl are instruments of fate, it is safe to say that the owl is a
metaphor for Macbeth himself. Just like an owl, which sleeps during the day and hunts at
night, Macbeth "hunts" Duncan in the middle of the night, and then finds that he suffers
from insomnia. The old man describes an owl hunting and killing a falcon; falcons
"royal" birds in that the nobility uses them to hunt with, so in this situation the falcon
represents Duncan and the owl represents Macbeth. Is the owl Macbeth's familiar? The
Weird Sisters each seem to have an animal familiar a cat, a hedgehog, and another
animal named "Harpier" so perhaps Macbeth himself has acquired a familiar through his
association with these witches.
Throughout the play, dreams, fantasy, and imagination enter the "real world." The
witches' words become truth. The "dagger of the mind" points the way to a murder done
with a real dagger. And in the Porter scene (II.iii), a porter imagining that he guards the
gate to Hell turns out to guard the gate to a real hell in which the king is actually
murdered in his sleep. When he lets the thanes in, he mentions that he and his friends
were out "carousing till the second cock" (II.iii 24). This statement calls to mind the cock
that crowed in the Bible after Peter denied knowing Christ effectively turning on and
from him by denying his association. In this story, Macbeth traitorously turns on Duncan
and kills him, accompanied by the crowing of the cock. A metaphor becomes reality.
Summary and Analysis of Act 3
Act 3, scene 1
At Macbeth's court, Banquo voices his suspicions that Macbeth has killed Duncan in
order to fulfill the witches' prophesies. He muses that perhaps this means that the witches'
vision for his future will come true as well, then pushes this thought from his mind.
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth enter to the sound trumpets, along with Lennox and Ross.
Macbeth announces that he will hold a banquet that evening, and that Banquo will be the
chief guest. Banquo states that he must ride this afternoon, but he will be back in time for
supper. Macbeth tells him that Malcolm and Donalbain will not confess to killing their
father, and asks if Fleance will accompany Banquo on his trip (he will), then wishes
Banquo a safe ride.
Left alone, Macbeth summons the two murderers he has hired. While he waits for them,
he gives voice to his greatest worry of the moment that the witches' prophesy for Banquo
will come true, and that Banquo's children will inherit the throne instead of his own. He
will put an end to that thought by killing Banquo and Fleance. The murderers enter.
These men are not "murderers" by trade but poor men who are willing to do anything to
make some money. Macbeth has evidently sent them letters stating that although they
think Macbeth is the cause of their present poverty, the real cause is Banquo, and that he
will reward them richly if they would kill Banquo for him. The Murderers respond that
they are so "weary with disasters [and] tugged with fortune" that they are "reckless what /
[they] do to spite the world." Macbeth tells them that Banquo is his own enemy as well as
theirs, but that loyal friends of Banquo's prevent him from killing him himself. Macbeth
tells them the particulars of the murder: they must attack him as he is coming back from
his ride, at a distance from the palace in order to avert suspicion. They must also kill
Fleance, and perform these murders at exactly the right time.
Act 3, scene 2
Alone, Lady Macbeth expresses her unhappiness: there seems to be no end to her desire
for power, and she feels unsafe and doubtful. Macbeth enters, looking upset, and she
again counsels him not to spend his time alone worrying about what they have done.
Macbeth states that their job is not done, and that he spends every waking moment in fear
and each night embroiled in nightmares. He says that he envies Duncan, who sleeps
peacefully in his grave. Lady Macbeth warns him to act cheerful in front of their dinner
guests, and Macbeth says that he will, and asks her to pay special attention to Banquo
tonight, both in speech and looks. Lady Macbeth tries to comfort him by reminding him
that although Banquo and Fleance live, they are not immortal, and he should not fear
them. Macbeth responds elusively, telling her that "a deed of dreadful note" will be done
tonight; he will not tell her more.
Act 3, scene 3
The two murderers are joined by a third, who says that he has also been hired by
Macbeth. Horses are heard approaching, and Banquo and Fleance enter. The murderers
attack Banquo, but Fleance flees. The murderers leave to report back to Macbeth.
Act 3, scene 4
At the banquet, Macbeth is just welcoming his guests when one of the murderers comes
to the door. He informs Macbeth that Banquo is dead but Fleance has escaped. Shaken,
Macbeth thanks him for what he has done and arranges another meeting the next day. The
murderer leaves and Macbeth returns to the feast. Standing next to the table, he
announces that the banquet would be perfect if only Banquo were there. At this point,
unseen by any, Banquo's ghost appears and sits in Macbeth's seat. The guests urge
Macbeth to sit and eat with them, but Macbeth says that the table is full. When Lennox
points to Macbeth's empty seat, Macbeth is shocked to see Banquo sitting there. He
addresses the ghost, saying, "Thou canst not say I did it. Never shake / Thy gory locks at
me." The guests, confused by his behavior, think that he is ill, but Lady Macbeth
reassures them, saying that he has had "fits" like this since youth, and that he will soon be
well. She draws Macbeth aside and tries to talk some sense into him, telling him that this
is just a hallucination brought on by his guilt, like the dagger he saw before he killed
Duncan. Ignoring her, Macbeth charges the ghost to speak, and it disappears. Disgusted,
Lady Macbeth scolds him for being "unmanned in folly." Turning back to his guests,
Macbeth tells them that he has "a strange infirmity" that they should ignore.
Just as the party begins again and Macbeth is offering a toast to Banquo, the ghost
reappears, and Macbeth again yells at it. Lady Macbeth again tries to smooth things over
with the guests. The ghost exits again and Lady Macbeth scolds Macbeth him. This time
Macbeth responds in kind, telling her that he is shocked that she can look on sights such
as this and not be afraid. Ross asks what sights Macbeth means, and Lady Macbeth tells
the guests that they should leave, because Macbeth's "illness" is getting worse.
The guests leave, and Macbeth, frightened, says that he takes this appearance as an omen.
He decides that he will go back to the Weird Sisters the next day and ask to hear more.
Act 3, scene 5
On the heath, the witches meet Hecate, queen of witches, who chastises them for
meddling in Macbeth's affairs without involving her or showing him any fancy magic
spectacles. She tells them that Macbeth will visit them tomorrow, and that they must put
on a more dramatic show for him.
Act 3, scene 6
Lennox and another lord discuss politics. Lennox comments sarcastically on the recent
deaths of Duncan and Banquo, saying that it seems almost impossible for Malcolm and
Donalbain to be inhuman enough to kill their father, and that Macbeth's slaying of the
bodyguards was pretty convenient, since they would probably have denied killing
Duncan. Lennox proposes that if Malcolm, Donalbain, and Fleance were in Macbeth's
prison, they would probably be dead now too. He also reveals that since Macduff did not
attend Macbeth's feast, he has been denounced. The lord with whom Lennox speaks
comments that Macduff has joined Malcolm at the English court, and that the two of
them have asked Siward to lead an army against Macbeth. Lennox and the lord send their
prayers to Macduff and Malcolm.
Act 3 Analysis
In Macbeth's address to the murderers we see a recurrence of the "be a man" theme.
When Macbeth asks them if they have the courage to kill Banquo, and they answer "we
are men, my liege" (III.i 102). This answer does not satisfy Macbeth, who berates them as
less-than-acceptable examples of humanity. Macbeth uses much the same tactic his wife
used to push him to kill Duncan. Their dwelling on the issue begs the reader to question
what it means to "be a man" in this play; both Macbeth and his Lady have a clear idea of
what a man should act like. In act one, Lady Macbeth outlines the traits that she considers
important for a man: he must dare to use whatever means necessary to achieve his
aspirations (I.vii 55-60). She claims that she herself is less "full o' th' milk of human
kindness" than Macbeth, more capable of casting away any shred of compassion,
motherly tenderness and affection, loyalty, or guilt (I.v 45-60). But Lady Macbeth is not
the only character that values ruthlessness and a lack of compassion as masculine. Even
Kindly Duncan himself evaluates heroic action on a rather gory scale. When the captain
describes Macbeth's victory in battle he says that his sword "smoked with bloody
execution . . . [and] carved out his passage [through enemy soldiers]." With this bloody
sword Macbeth cut Macdonwald open from his navel to his chin, cut off his head, and
fixed it on top of the castle walls. Duncan's response to this account is "O valiant cousin,
worthy gentleman!" (I.ii 20-26). A "real man," then, in the world of this play, is one who
is capable of copious bloodshed without remorse. Macbeth, therefore, is caught between
a rock and a hard place; on the one hand he has his wife urging him to be a better man, on
the other, his men turn from him as his capacity for bloodshed grows.
Macbeth warns the murderers that he "require[s] a clearness . . . [in order] to leave no
rubs nor botches in the work" of killing Banquo; therefore the men must also kill Fleance
(III.ii 152-154). He does not want a stain to mar his work. The theme of stains and
washing runs throughout the play, from Macbeth's fear that not even "all great Neptune's
ocean [could] wash this blood / Clean from [his] hand" and his wife's flippant response "a
little water clears us of this deed" (II.ii 77-87) to these instructions to the murderers to
Lady Macbeth's famous "out, damned spot" speech. The Macbeths are obsessed with the
idea that some stain will link them to the murders, and that the stain and smell of blood
will follow them. Even when Macbeth orders others to kill Banquo far from his presence,
Banquo's blood still follows him back to Dunsinane; when the murderer shows up to
report his success, Macbeth observes "There's / blood upon thy face" (III.iv 13-14). The
blood itself is a sign of culpability, as is clearly evident in Lady Macbeth's punning
comment that she will "gild" the bodyguards with Duncan's blood to seal their guilt.
Banquo's murder itself makes use of a common theme in Shakespeare's plays, the
contrast between light and dark. While the murderers wait for Banquo and Fleance to
approach, one of them observes that the sun is setting. This is no coincidence. Banquo is
a bright and good contrast to the dark night that accompanies Macbeth's rise to power, a
man who does not allow his ambitions to eclipse his conscience. At the moment that he
dies, therefore, for the last light of sun to disappear is appropriate. Banquo and Fleance
approach the murderers with a torch, and the light from this is the first thing the
murderers see: when they come on stage, the second murderer says "a light, a light!"
(III.iii 20). After the murderers attack and Fleance escapes, the third murderer asks, "who
did strike out the light?" (III.iii 27). At the same moment the good and kind Banquo dies,
the light is extinguished. This interplay between light and dark recurs throughout the
course of the play.
Another aspect of Banquo's murder has sparked discussion among scholars for years:
who is the third murderer? There have been many proposed answers to this question.
Some people think that it is Lady Macbeth, who expressed curiosity about what Macbeth
was planning in scene 2. Some people think it is Macbeth himself, because he did not
trust the murderers. It could also be one of the thanes or a servant. The three murderers
could even be the three witches in disguise. In any event, the presence of the murderer
means two things. If Macbeth knows about him, it reinforces the fact that he does not
trust anyone; even when he has given careful instructions and worked hard to incense the
two men he hired, he still feels the need to send a third man to complete the job. And
ironically, even with this extra assurance, his plans are not completed, since Fleance
escapes. Fate will not allow Macbeth to kill of the line of men who will become kings. At
the same time, introducing a third murderer rounds out the number of murderers, so that
they balance the three witches. There is a power in the number three; in fairy tales
characters always get three wishes. In this play, Macbeth meets three witches, hires three
murderers, commits three separate murders, and sees three apparitions. The number three
threads throughout the play, adding to its mysterious and magic atmosphere
One of the most compelling scenes in this play is the banquet scene haunted by Banquo's
ghost. And one of the reasons for this scene's power lies in its blurring the boundaries
between reality and the supernatural. Banquo's ghost appears twice at exactly the moment
Macbeth mentions him. First, Macbeth announces to the guests that the feast is
incomplete in Banquo's absence; as he says this, Banquo appears, sitting at Macbeth's
seat (III.iv 46-55). He reappears as Macbeth makes a toast to Banquo in front of his
guests (III.iv 107-108). It seems that each time Macbeth thinks of Banquo, he has a vision
of him. In this way, he seems more like the manifestation of an idea, a figment of the
imagination, than a ghost; Lady Macbeth says as much when she pulls Macbeth aside,
saying "this is the very painting of your fear. / This is the air-drawn dagger which you
said / Led you to Duncan" (III.iv 74-76). Just as the spirit of Banquo invades the party,
mixing the supernatural with the real world, his presence in the scene mixes the realm of
ideas with the physical world in the same way as the "dagger of the mind" in act two. Just
like the dagger, Banquo's ghost is the realization of Macbeth's guilt, a metaphor come to
life.
Summary and Analysis of Act 4
Act 4, scene 1
The witches circle their cauldron, throwing into it the elements of their magic spell while
chanting "double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." Hecate
appears, and they all sing together, then Hecate leaves again. Macbeth enters, demanding
answers. The witches complete their magic spell and summon forth a series of
apparitions. The first is an Armed Head (a head wearing a helmet), that warns Macbeth to
beware the Thane of Fife (Macduff). The second apparition is a bloody child, who tells
him that "none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth." Hearing this, Macbeth is
bolstered, and states that he no longer needs to fear Macduff then. The third apparition is
a child wearing a crown, with a tree in its hand, who says that "Macbeth shall never
vanquished be until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill [Macbeth's castle] /
Shall come against him." This cheers Macbeth even more, since he knows that nothing
can move a forest. Macbeth now asks his last question: will Banquo's children ever rule
Scotland?
The cauldron sinks, and a strange sound is heard. The witches now show Macbeth the
"show of kings": a procession of eight kings, the eighth of whom holds a mirror in his
hand, followed by Banquo. As Banquo points at this line of kings, Macbeth realizes that
they are indeed his family line, and that the witches' words were true. The witches dance
and disappear, and Lennox enters, with the news that Macduff has fled to England.
Macbeth resolves that from now on he will act immediately on his ambitions, and the first
step he will take will be to seize Fife and kill Macduff's wife and children.
Act 4, scene 2
At Fife, Ross visits Lady Macduff, who is frightened for her own safety now that her
husband has fled. He reassures her by telling her that her husband did what he had to do,
and takes his leave, telling her that he will return soon. After he leaves, Lady Macduff
engages her son in a conversation about his missing father. The little boy shows wisdom
beyond his years in his side of the discussion. A messenger interrupts them with a
warning to flee the house immediately. But before Lady Macduff can go anywhere,
Macbeth's hired murderers attack the house and kill everyone in it.
Act 4, scene 3
Macduff has arrived at the English court and meets with Malcolm. Malcolm,
remembering his father's mistaken trust in Macbeth, tests Macduff by confessing that he
is a greedy, lustful and sinful man, who makes Macbeth look like an angel in comparison.
Macduff despairs and says that he will leave Scotland forever if this is the case, since
there seems to be no man fit to rule it. Hearing this, Malcolm is convinced of Macduff's
goodness and reveals that he was merely testing him; he has none of these faults to which
he has just confessed. In fact, he claims, the first lie he has ever told was this false
confession to Macduff. He then announces that Siward has assembled an army of ten
thousand men and is prepared to march on Scotland.
A messenger appears and tells the men that the king of England is approaching, attended
by a crowd of sick and despairing people who wish the king to cure them. The king,
according to Malcolm, has a gift for healing people with the laying on of hands.
Ross enters, just come from Scotland, and reports that the country is in a shambles. When
Macduff asks how his wife is, Ross replies "Ay, well," meaning that they are now beyond
Macbeth's grasp. Pressed further, he relates the story of her death. Macduff is stunned
speechless, and Malcolm urges him to cure his grief by acting, and getting revenge on
Macbeth. Macduff replies "he has no children," meaning perhaps that Malcolm does not
know what it feels like to lose a child, or that Macbeth could never have killed another
man's children if he had children of his own. He is overcome with guilt that he was gone
from his house when it happened. Again Malcolm urges him to put his grief to good use
and seek revenge, and all three men leave to prepare for battle.
Act 4 Analysis
As the act opens, the witches continue the theme of doubling and equivocation that
threads throughout the play. As they throw ingredients into their cauldron, they chant
"double, double, toil and trouble," a reminder that their speech is full of double meanings,
paradox, and equivocation (IV.i 10). The apparitions that the witches summon give a
double message to Macbeth, knowing full well that he will only understand one half of
their words. Famously, the apparitions warn him to fear no man born of woman, and that
he will only fall when Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. Although Macbeth himself has
acknowledged that "stones have been known to move and trees to speak" (III.iv 154), he
takes the apparitions' words at face value, forgetting to look for ways that their
predictions could come true.
The doubling theme continues in an amplified manner when the witches summon the
"show of kings." Each king who appears looks "too like the spirit of Banquo," frightening
Macbeth in their similarity (IV.i 127-139), as if he is witness to a freakish line of clones,
each perfectly resembling the ghost of the man he killed. This is doubling to the extreme.
As the eight kings appear, Macbeth notes that some carry "twofold balls and treble
scepters," as if even the signs of their power have been doubled. And at the end of this
show, the eighth king holds a mirror in his hand. This king, the eighth-generation
descendant of Banquo, is James I himself, carrying a mirror perhaps to signal as much to
the James I who watches from the audience. This mirror carries the effect of doubling
into the audience as well; suddenly the play's James is doubled in the real James, creating
confusion as to whether the world of the play or the world of the audience is reality. Once
again, therefore, the boundary between imagination and reality, between fiction and fact,
is blurred through the supernatural doubling in the play.
James I is not the only character who is doubled in this play. Throughout the play,
characters balance and complement each other in a carefully constructed harmony.
Shakespeare's plays often contain this kind of doubling of characters. For example,
Banquo is a mirror image of Macbeth in reverse, a man who also received a prophesy
from the Weird Sisters but who refused to act on it. Like Macbeth, he has troubled
dreams, but his are the result of a conscience that grapples with his ambitions and
restrains them, whereas Macbeth's are caused by his active fulfillment of his ambitions.
As we see in her rejection of femininity, Lady Macbeth is also a foil for Macbeth, whose
"milk of human kindness" has been transformed into bile. In fact, almost every character
in the play could be seen as a double for Macbeth. Malcolm, for example, is a good,
trusting king to mirror Macbeth's paranoid tyranny. King Edward the Confessor is
mentioned in this act as a man who can cure disease "at his touch;" this mirrors Macbeth,
who is a blight on his own kingdom. Macduff is also an obvious double for Macbeth for
many reasons. Both men are valiant soldiers, but unlike Macbeth, Macduff is
conscientious and thoughtful. Whereas Macbeth is bullied by his masculine wife,
Macduff deserts his very feminine wife. The parallels between characters continue all the
way down to the three murderers, who mirror the three witches.
Another form of doubling that occurs throughout the play is the theme of costumes,
masks, and disguises. When they plan Duncan's murder, Lady Macbeth counsels
Macbeth to "look like th'innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't," to "beguile the
time" by disguising his motives behind a mask of loyalty (I.vi 74-76). After the murder,
Lady Macbeth paints the bodyguards' faces with a mask of blood to implicate them.
Again as he is preparing to kill Banquo, Macbeth comments that men must "make our
faces vizards to our hearts, / Disguising what they are" (III.ii 37-39). When Malcolm tests
Macduff's loyalty, he explains his hesitance by saying that "all things foul would wear the
brows of grace;" even the most horrible of demons (like Macbeth) is able to disguise
himself (IV.iii 29). And in act five, we will see Macbeth described as a man who does not
fit into the princely robes he has usurped. Just as the witch's equivocation covers up their
true meaning with beautiful words, disguises and masks hide the inner world from the
outer.
If characters double, so too do scenes and plot points. Thus there are two scenes in which
the Weird Sisters summon the future for Macbeth. There are two paradoxical prophesies
for Macbeth to mistake. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have troubled sleep. There are
two murders committed offstage and two committed onstage. There are even two scenes
of a mother and child: the scene in which Lady Macbeth describes dashing out her baby's
brains in act one, and the scene in which Lady Macduff comforts her son before he too is
killed. All this doubling in plot and scenes balances the structure of the play in a way that
is uniquely Shakespearean.
The scene in which Lady Macduff is killed continues the bird symbolism that began in
act one. When Lady Macduff complains to Ross about her husband's abandoning them,
she uses a bird metaphor to explain her feelings, saying that "the poor wren / (The most
diminutive of birds) will fight, / Her young ones in her nest, against the owl" (IV.ii 1114). Her metaphor comes to life when she and her son are attacked by Macbeth's men;
Macbeth, as earlier established, is identified with the owl, and Lady Macduff, trying to
protect her son, becomes the wren in this realization of her own words. Her son, too,
helps to continue this metaphor by telling her that he will live "as birds do," obtaining his
sustenance from whatever he can find (IV.ii 37). Once again, an owl's attack on another
kind of bird is a symbol for Macbeth's bloody acts.
Summary and Analysis of Act 5
Act 5, scene 1
Back at Dunsinane, the Scottish royal home, a gentlewoman who waits on Lady Macbeth
has summoned a doctor because Lady Macbeth has been walking in her sleep. The doctor
reports that he has watched her for two nights already and has not seen anything strange.
The gentlewoman describes how she has seen Lady Macbeth rise, dress, leave her room,
write something on a piece of paper, read it and seal it, and return to bed, all without
waking up. When the doctor asks if the Lady said anything while sleepwalking, the
gentlewoman says that what the Lady said she does not dare to repeat. They are
interrupted by the sleepwalking Lady Macbeth, who enters carrying a candle. The
gentlewoman reports that Lady Macbeth asks to have light by her all through the night.
The doctor and the gentlewoman watch as Lady Macbeth rubs her hands as if washing
them and says " yet here's a spot . . . . Out, damned spot, out I say!" As she continues to
"wash" her hands, her words betray her guilt to the watchers. She seems to be reliving the
events of the nights of Duncan and Banquo's deaths. She cannot get the stain or smell of
blood off her hand: "will these hands ne'er be clean? . . . . All the perfumes of Arabia will
not sweeten this little hand." The doctor is shocked and understands that Lady Macbeth's
words have heavy implications. The sleepwalking lady imagines she hears knocking at
the gate and returns to her chamber. The doctor concludes that Lady Macbeth needs a
priest's help, not a physician's, and takes his leave, warning that he and the gentlewoman
had better not reveal what they have seen and heard.
Act 5, scene 2
Menteith, Caithness, Angus, and Lennox march with a company of soldiers toward
Birnam Wood, where they will meet up with Malcolm and the English army. They claim
that they will "purge" the country of Macbeth's sickening influence.
Act 5, scene 3
At Dunsinane, Macbeth tires of hearing reports of nobles who have fled from him to join
the English forces. He recalls the witches' prophesy that he has nothing to fear until
Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane or until he meets up with a man not born of woman,
and since these events seem impossible, he feels unstoppable. A servant enters with the
news that then thousand men have gathered to fight against them, and Macbeth sends him
away, scolding him for cowardice. He calls for his servant Seyton to help him put on his
armor, and asks the doctor who has been treating Lady Macbeth how she is. The doctor
replies that she is not sick but troubled with visions, and that she must cure herself of
these visions (presumably by confessing the crimes she has committed). Macbeth is not
pleased with this answer. As his attendants begin to arm him, he facetiously asks the
doctor if it he could test the country's urine to find out what disease ails it, and give it a
purgative medicine to cure it. Fully armed, Macbeth begins to leave the room. As he
goes, he professes that he will not be afraid of anything until Birnam Wood comes to
Dunsinane. Aside, the doctor confesses that he would like to be as far away from
Dunsinane as possible.
Act 5, scene 4
Malcolm, Siward, Young Siward, Macduff, Mentieth, Caithness, and Angus march
toward Birnam Wood. When they approach the forest, Malcolm instructs each soldier to
cut a branch from the trees and carry it in front of him as the group marches on
Dunsinane, in order to disguise their numbers. Siward informs Malcolm that Macbeth
confidently holds Dunsinane, waiting for their approach. Malcolm comments that
Macbeth must be incredibly optimistic, since almost all of his men have deserted him.
The army marches on toward Dunsinane.
Act 5, scene 5
Macbeth confidently orders his men to hang his banners on the outer walls of the castle,
claiming that his castle will hold until the men who attack it starve of famine. If only the
other side was not reinforced with men who have deserted him, he claims, he would not
think twice about rushing out to attack the English army head-on. He is interrupted by the
sound of women screaming within, and Seyton leaves to see what the trouble is. Macbeth
comments that he had almost forgotten what fear felt and tasted like. Seyton returns and
announces that Lady Macbeth is dead. Seemingly unfazed, Macbeth comments that she
should have died later. He stops to muse on the meaning of life, which he says is "but a
walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is
heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing."
A messenger enters and reports that he has seen something unbelievable: as he looked out
toward Birnam Wood, it looked like the forest began to move toward the castle. Macbeth
is stunned and begins to fear that the witch's words may come true after all. He instructs
his men to ring the alarm.
Act 5, scene 6
Malcolm tells his soldiers that they are near enough to the castle now to throw down the
branches they carry. He announces that Siward and Young Siward will lead the first
battle, and that he and Macduff will follow behind. He tells his trumpeters to sound a
charge.
Act 5, scene 7
Macbeth waits on the battlefield to defend his castle. He feels like a bear that has been
"baited": tied to a stake for dogs to attack. Young Siward enters and demands his name.
Macbeth responds that he will be afraid to hear it: it is Macbeth. The two fight, and
Macbeth kills Young Siward, commenting, as he does, that Young Siward must have
been born "of woman." He exits. Macduff enters and shouts a challenge to Macbeth,
swearing to avenge his wife and children's deaths. He asks Fortune to let him find
Macbeth, and exits. Malcolm and Siward enter, looking for the enemy, and exit.
Act 5, scene 8
Macbeth enters, contemplating whether or not he should kill himself, and resolving that
he is too brave to do so. Macduff finds him and challenges him. Macbeth replies that he
has avoided Macduff until his point, but now he will fight. Macduff unsheathes his
sword, saying that his sword will speak for him. The men fight. As they fight, Macbeth
tells him that he leads a charmed life; he will only fall to a man who is not born of
woman. Macduff replies that the time has come for Macbeth to despair: "let the angel
whom thou still hast served / Tell thee Macduff was from his mother's womb / Untimely
ripped" (Macduff was born through the medieval equivalent of a caesarian section)!
Hearing this, Macbeth quails and says that he will not fight. Macduff replies by
commanding him to yield, and allow himself to be the laughing stock of Scotland under
Malcolm's rule. This enrages Macbeth, who swears he will never yield to swear
allegiance to Malcolm. They fight on, and exit fighting.
Malcolm, Siward, and the other Thanes enter. They have won the battle, but Malcolm
states that Macduff and Young Siward are missing. Ross reports that Young Siward is
dead, and eulogizes him by stating that "he only lived but till he was a man, / The which
no sooner had his prowess confirmed / In the unshrinking station where he fought, / But
like a man he died." Siward asks if his son's wounds were in his front (in other words, did
he fight until the end, instead of running away), and when he learns that they were, he
declares that he will mourn no more for him then, because he died a hero's death, and
Siward could not wish for a better death for any of his sons.
Macduff enters, carrying Macbeth's severed head, and shouts "Hail, King of Scotland!"
All the men return this shout and the trumpets flourish as Malcolm accepts the throne. He
then announces that he will make the thanes earls now up until then they had only been
called thanes. He will call back all the men whom Macbeth has exiled, and will attempt to
heal the scars Macbeth has made in the country. All exit, headed toward Scone to crown
Malcolm King of Scotland.
Act 5 Analysis
Scene one of this act is the most-quoted, most familiar part of this play. Until this point
Macbeth has been tormented with visions, nightmares and disturbances in his sleep while
Lady Macbeth scolds him for his weakness. Now the audience witnesses the way in
which the murders have preyed on Lady Macbeth as well. In her sleepwalking, Lady
Macbeth plays out the washing theme that runs throughout the play. After killing
Duncan, she flippantly tells Macbeth that "a little water clears us of this deed;" now it is
evident that this is not true, as the sleepwalking lady tries in vain to scrub the stain of
blood off her hands. Lady Macbeth's stained hands are reminiscent of the Biblical mark
of Cain the mark that God placed on Cain after he killed his brother Abel in the story of
Genesis. Like Cain's mark, the stain of blood follows Lady Macbeth and reveals her guilt
to the watching doctor and gentlewoman. However, Cain's mark is a sign from God that
protects Cain from others' revenge; Lady Macbeth's mark, on the other hand, does not
protect her from death, and she dies only a few scenes later.
The doctor's behavior in this scene is interesting in that it closely resembles the work of a
psychoanalyst, but precedes the "father of psychoanalysis," Freud, by centuries. Like a
Freudian psychoanalyst, the doctor observes Lady Macbeth's dreams and uses her words
to infer the cause of her distress. Like a psychoanalyst, too, the doctor decides to "set
down what comes from her" as he listens (V.i 34-35). After witnessing her distress, the
doctor declares it the result of an "infected mind" (V.i 76); this too sounds like the
diagnosis of a modern-day psychiatrist.
Lady Macbeth's language in this scene betrays her troubled mind in many ways. Her
speech in previous acts has been eloquent and smooth, for example:
All our service,
In every point twice done and then done double,
Were poor and single business to contend
Against those honors deep and broad wherewith
Your Majesty loads our house. For those of old,
And the late dignities heaped upon them,
We rest your hermits (I.vi 18-24).
In this speech, Lady Macbeth makes use of metaphor (Duncan's honor is "deep and
broad"), metonymy (he honors "our house," meaning the Macbeths themselves), and
hyperbole ("in every point twice done and then done double"). Her syntax is complex,
and the rhythm of her speech is smooth and flowing, in the iambic pentameter used by
members of the nobility in Shakespeare's plays. What a contrast it is, therefore, when she
speaks in her sleep in act five:
Out, damned spot, out, I say! One. Two. Why then, Œtis time to do't. Hell is murky. Fie,
my lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear who knows it, when none can call
our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much
blood in him? . . . . The Thane of Fife had a wife. Where is she now? What, will these
hands ne'er be clean? No more o' that, my lord, no more o' that. You mar all with this
starting (V.i 36-47).
In this speech, Lady Macbeth's language is choppy, jumping from idea to idea as her state
of mind changes. Her sentences are short and unpolished, reflecting a mind too disturbed
to speak eloquently. Although she spoke in iambic pentameter before, now she speaks in
prose she has lost that noble distance with which she spoke before.
Lady Macbeth's dissolution is swift. This sleepwalking scene is the last time we see her,
and a few scenes later, Macbeth receives news that she has died. As Macbeth's power has
grown, Lady Macbeth's has decreased. She begins as a remorseless, influential voice
capable sweet-talking Duncan and of leading Macbeth to do her bidding. In the third act
Macbeth leaves her out of his plans to kill Banquo, refusing to tell her what he intends to
do. Now in act five she has dwindled to a mumbling sleepwalker, capable of only the
rambling speech of the insane. Whereas event the relatively unimportant Lady Macduff
has a stirring death scene, Lady Macbeth dies offstage, and when her death is reported to
Macbeth his cold response is shocking in its lack of interest. Here again Macbeth stands
in relief to Macduff, whose emotional reaction to his wife's death almost "unmans" him.
As the play nears its bloody conclusion, Macbeth's "tragic flaw" comes to the forefront:
like Duncan before him, he is too trusting. He believes the witches' prophesies at face
value, never realizing that, like him, things are seldom what they seem. Thus he foolishly
fortifies his castle with the few men he has left, banking on the fact that the events the
witches predicted seem impossible. But in fact these predictions come true: the English
army brings Birnam Wood to Dunsinane, and Macduff, who has been "untimely ripped"
from his mother's womb, advances to kill Macbeth. The witches have equivocated; they
told him a double truth, concealing the complex reality within a framework that seems
simple.
It is fitting that the play ends as it began: with a victorious battle in which a valiant hero
kills a traitor and displays his severed head. The first thing we hear of Macbeth in act one
is the story of his bravery in battle, wherein he cut off Macdonwald's head and displayed
it on the castle battlements. Here at the end of the tragedy, Macbeth, himself a traitor to
Duncan and his family, is treated in exactly the same manner; after killing Macbeth,
Macduff enters with Macbeth's severed head and exclaims "behold where stands /
Th'usurper's cursed head" (V.vii 65-66). The play thus ends with the completion of a
perfect parallel.
The moral at the end of the story is that the course of fate cannot be changed. The events
that the Weird Sisters predicted/set in motion at the beginning of the play happen exactly
as they said, no matter what the characters do to change them. Macbeth tries his hardest
to force fate to work to his bidding, but to no avail; Banquo still becomes the father of
kings, and Macbeth still falls to a man not born of woman. The man who triumphs in the
end is the one who did nothing to change the fate prescribed for him. The course of time
flows on, despite the struggles of man; although Macbeth's reign of terror caused the
times to be "disjoint" (III.ii 18), by the end of the play the tide of time has smoothed over
Scotland, and Macduff comments that "the time is free" (V.viii 66). Thus Macbeth's life
proves to be in fact a "tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"
(V.v 29-31). Time will wash over his meaningless, bloody history, Banquo's family will
give rise to a line of Stuart kings, and Malcolm will regain the throne his father left him,
exactly as if Macbeth had never dared to kill Duncan at all.