Macbeth
Act 3 continued…
ACT 4
English 12
Act 3, Scene 5
• The witches meet with Hecate, the
goddess of witchcraft.
• Hecate scolds them for meddling
with Macbeth without consulting
her.
• She declares that she will take over
as supervisor of the mischief.
ACT 3, Scene 5
• Hecate says that when
Macbeth comes the next
day, they must fill him
with a false sense of
security and “draw him
on to his confusion”
• Hecate vanishes, and the
witches go to prepare
their charms.
ACT 3, Scene 6
• Somewhere in Scotland, Lennox walks
with another lord, discussing what has
happened to the kingdom.
• Banquo’s murder has been officially
blamed on Fleance, who has fled.
• Nevertheless, both men suspect
Macbeth, whom they call a “tyrant,” in
the murders of Duncan and Banquo.
ACT 3, Scene 6
• The lord tells Lennox that Macduff has
gone to England, where he will join
Malcolm in pleading with England’s
King Edward for aid.
• News of these plots has prompted
Macbeth to prepare for war.
• Lennox and the lord express their hope
that Malcolm and Macduff will be
successful
ACT 4, Scene 1
• The three witches
suddenly appear onstage.
They circle the cauldron,
chanting spells and
adding bizarre ingredients
to their stew—“eye of
newt and toe of frog, /
Wool of bat and tongue
of dog” (IV.i.14–15).
ACT 4, Scene 2
• In fulfillment of the witch’s
prediction, Macbeth enters.
• He asks the witches to reveal the
truth of their prophecies to him.
• To answer his questions, they
summon horrible apparitions, each
of which offers a prediction to
soothe Macbeth’s fears
ACT 4, Scene I
A floating head Then a bloody
warns him to
child appears
beware Macduff
Next, a crowned
child holding a
tree
A procession of Banquo’s ghost
eight crowned
walks at the end
THE
kings walks by, of the line
APPARITIONS
the last carrying
a mirror
ACT 4, Scene 1
• Macbeth demands to know the
meaning of this final vision, but the
witches perform a mad dance and then
vanish.
• Lennox enters and tells Macbeth that
Macduff has fled to England
• Macbeth resolves to send murderers to
capture Macduff’s castle and to kill
Macduff’s wife and children.
ACT 4, Scene 2
• At Macduff’s castle,
Lady Macduff accosts
Ross, demanding to
know why her
husband has fled
• Ross insists that she
trust her husband’s
judgment and then
leaves.
ACT 4, Scene 2
• Lady Macduff tells her son that his father is
dead, but the little boy knows he is not
• A messenger warns Lady Macduff that she
is in danger and urges her to flee.
• Lady Macduff protests, arguing that she has
done no wrong
• A group of murderers enters. When one of
them denounces Macduff, Macduff’s son
calls the murderer a liar, and the murderer
stabs him.
ACT 4, Scene 2
• Lady Macduff turns and runs, and
the pack of killers chases after her.
…..
• End scene
ACT 4, Scene 3
• Outside King Edward’s palace, Malcolm
speaks with Macduff, telling him that he
does not trust him since he has left his
family in Scotland and may be secretly
working for Macbeth.
• To see if Macduff is trustworthy, Malcolm
mentions his vices. He says he wonders
whether he is fit to be king because he is
lustful, greedy, and violent.
ACT 4, Scene 3
• At first, Macduff politely disagrees.
• Eventually Macduff cannot keep himself
from crying out, “O Scotland, Scotland!”
(IV.iii.101).
• Macduff’s loyalty to Scotland makes him
say that Malcolm is not fit to govern
Scotland.
• Macduff has passed Malcolm’s test of
loyalty and he embraces Macduff as an ally
.
ACT 4, Scene 3
• A doctor arrives.
• When the doctor
leaves, Malcolm
explains to Macduff
that King Edward
has a miraculous
power to cure
disease.
ACT 4, Scene 3
• Ross enters. He has just arrived
from Scotland, and tells Macduff
that his wife and children are well.
• He urges Malcolm to return to his
country.
• Malcolm says that he will return
with ten thousand soldiers lent him
by the English king.
ACT 4, Scene 3
• Then, breaking down, Ross confesses
to Macduff that Macbeth has murdered
his wife and children
• Macduff is crushed with grief.
• Malcolm urges him to turn his grief to
anger, and Macduff assures him that he
will inflict revenge upon Macbeth.