Macbeth: Summary

Act I: Prophecy and temptation

The play opens during a violent storm as three witches arrange to meet Macbeth. Scotland is at war, but Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, fights with exceptional courage for King Duncan. Reports from the battlefield establish him as a loyal and admired soldier. Duncan rewards him with the title Thane of Cawdor after the former holder is condemned for treason.

On their return from battle, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches. They greet Macbeth by his present title, by the new title he has not yet heard about, and as the future king. They tell Banquo that he will not be king, but that his descendants will be. When royal messengers announce that Macbeth is now Thane of Cawdor, the first prophecy is fulfilled. Macbeth begins to imagine murdering Duncan, although he is horrified by his own thought.

Duncan names his son Malcolm Prince of Cumberland, making him the recognised heir. Lady Macbeth reads her husband’s letter about the witches and fears that he is too compassionate to take the crown by force. When Duncan comes to stay at their castle, she resolves that he must die. Macbeth hesitates because Duncan is his king, relative and guest, and because he has governed well. Lady Macbeth attacks his courage and questions his love until he agrees to the murder. Their plan is to drug Duncan’s guards, kill the king while he sleeps, and blame the guards by covering them with his blood.

Act II: Duncan’s murder

Late at night, Macbeth sees an imaginary dagger leading him towards Duncan’s room. The vision reflects both his murderous intention and his unstable state of mind. He kills Duncan offstage, then returns shaken and carrying the daggers he was meant to leave with the guards. He believes he has heard a voice declare that he will sleep no more. Lady Macbeth takes the daggers back herself and smears the sleeping guards with blood. Although she appears calmer, both are deeply affected by what they have done.

Macduff arrives and discovers Duncan’s body. Macbeth kills the guards, claiming that grief and anger overwhelmed him, but his action also prevents them from defending themselves. Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, fear that they will be the next targets. Malcolm flees to England and Donalbain to Ireland. Their escape makes them appear guilty, allowing Macbeth to be crowned. Nature itself seems disturbed: darkness covers the day, violent winds shake the night, and unnatural events suggest that the murder has damaged the proper order of the kingdom.

Act III: A crown without security

Now king, Macbeth remains tormented by the witches’ prediction that Banquo’s descendants will rule. He feels that he has committed terrible crimes only to place a “fruitless crown” on his own head. Without consulting Lady Macbeth, he hires murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Banquo is murdered, but Fleance escapes, leaving the prophecy alive.

At a royal banquet, Macbeth sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in his place. No one else can see it. His terrified outbursts alarm the Scottish nobles, while Lady Macbeth tries to dismiss his behaviour as a passing illness. The banquet collapses in disorder. Macbeth decides to visit the witches again because he now seeks certainty from the same supernatural forces that first awakened his ambition. Meanwhile, suspicion grows around him, and Macduff has gone to England to support Malcolm against Macbeth’s rule.

Act IV: Deceptive assurances

The witches summon apparitions that deliver three warnings. Macbeth is told to beware Macduff; that no man “of woman born” will harm him; and that he will remain safe until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane. The last two predictions sound impossible, so Macbeth feels nearly invincible. Yet a final vision shows a line of kings descended from Banquo, confirming that Macbeth cannot found a lasting dynasty.

When Macbeth learns that Macduff has fled, he orders the murder of Macduff’s wife, children and household. This attack has no political necessity: it reveals how completely fear has turned Macbeth into a tyrant. In England, Malcolm cautiously tests Macduff’s loyalty by pretending that he would be an even worse ruler than Macbeth. Macduff’s despair for Scotland proves his honesty. Ross then brings news that Macduff’s family has been slaughtered. Macduff is devastated, but Malcolm urges him to turn grief into action. With English military support, they prepare to invade Scotland.

Act V: The fall of Macbeth

Lady Macbeth, once the more controlled partner, now sleepwalks through the castle. She repeatedly rubs her hands as though trying to wash away blood and speaks fragments that reveal her guilt over Duncan, Banquo and Lady Macduff. A doctor observes that she needs spiritual rather than physical help. Her private collapse contrasts with Macbeth’s public defiance.

Malcolm’s army advances through Birnam Wood. Each soldier cuts down a branch and carries it as camouflage, making it appear that the forest itself is moving towards Dunsinane. Macbeth’s followers desert him, but he clings to the witches’ promise that no one born of a woman can kill him. When he learns that Lady Macbeth has died, he responds with a bleak reflection on the emptiness and brevity of life. The power for which they sacrificed everything has brought neither meaning nor security.

During the battle, Macbeth fights bravely and kills young Siward. He then meets Macduff, who reveals that he was delivered by Caesarean birth and was therefore not born in the ordinary way. Macbeth finally understands that the witches have misled him through carefully ambiguous language. He refuses to surrender and is killed by Macduff. Macduff brings Macbeth’s severed head to Malcolm, who is acclaimed as king. Malcolm invites the exiled nobles home and promises to restore order after Macbeth’s violent reign.