Summary The English and rebel Scottish armies, under the leadership of Malcolm, meet at Birnam Wood. With military foresight, Malcolm orders each soldier to cut a branch and carry it in front of him as camouflage “to shadow the numbers of our host” — that is, to conceal the actual […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 4Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 3
Summary Macbeth dismisses reports of invasion by trusting to the prophecies of the apparitions, which seemed to promise him invincibility in battle. When a servant enters to announce the approach of a huge army, Macbeth appears momentarily to lose courage and then angrily spurns his servant and orders his armor […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 3Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 2
Summary Four lords of Scotland — Lennox, Menteth, Angus, and Caithness — resolve to join Malcolm and the English forces, who have by now marched into Scotland and are encamped at Birnam Wood, not far from Macbeth’s stronghold at Dunsinane. Analysis This short scene develops the drama of the preparation […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 2Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 1
Summary Lady Macbeth has gone mad. Like her husband, she cannot find any rest, but she is suffering more clearly from a psychological disorder that causes her, as she sleepwalks, to recall fragments of the events of the murders of Duncan, Banquo, and Lady Macduff. These incriminating words are overheard […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act V: Scene 1Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 3
Summary In England, Duncan’s son Malcolm tests the loyalty of his newest recruit, Macduff. By demeaning his own nobility and professing himself to be a greater tyrant than Macbeth, Malcolm hopes to goad Macduff into an open display of his loyalties. This attempt at reverse psychology has its desired effect. […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 3Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 2
Summary In Macduff’s castle in Fife, Lady Macduff comforts and is comforted by her young son, who displays a courage beyond his years when confronted with the possibility that his father has turned traitor. Although warned by the Thane of Ross to escape before it is too late, Lady Macduff […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 2Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 1
Summary Macbeth returns to the Weird Sisters and boldly demands to be shown a series of apparitions that tell his future. The first apparition is the disembodied head of a warrior who seems to warn Macbeth of a bloody revenge at the hands of Macduff. The second is a blood-covered […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act IV: Scene 1Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 6
Summary Meeting with a rebel lord, Lennox reveals his doubts concerning Macbeth. His argument is that those who might be immediately suspected of murdering their kinsmen are less likely to have done so than Macbeth, who had killed the guards of Duncan’s chamber so hastily. Although Lennox is prepared to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 6Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 5
Summary Hecate, the classical goddess of the lower world who represents the spirit of ancient witchcraft, calls the weird sisters to her to complain that her own part in Macbeth’s downfall has been overlooked and that she now wishes personally to make his downfall complete. The scene is unnecessary to […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 5Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 4
Summary At Forres, Macbeth and his wife welcome the thanes of Scotland to the banquet. Immediately prior to the feast, one of the murderers appears at a side door and reveals to Macbeth the truth about the mission: their success in the killing of Banquo and their failure to murder […]
Read more Summary and Analysis Act III: Scene 4