Synopsis

Macbeth Synopsis

ACT I

Macbeth, a general, is the favourite of King Duncan and extremely valuable to him in military terms. Travelling home after a victorious battle, Macbeth and his fellow general Banquo encounter a group of witches who predict that Macbeth, now Thane of Glamis, will become Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland. Banquo is told that his descendants will be kings. The witches vanish as messengers from the king announce that Macbeth is indeed the new Thane of Cawdor.

In Macbeth's castle, Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her husband, telling her of the witches' prophesies. She is fired up with ambition and determines to assist him to the throne in any way she can. When it is announced that King Duncan will stay in the castle that night, she urges Macbeth to kill him. He carries out the assassination but is then wracked with guilt. Lady Macbeth, disgusted by his cowardice, returns his dagger to the scene of the crime and the body is later discovered by Macduff.

ACT II

Macbeth is now king but doesn't wear the crown easily. He is bothered by the prediction that Banquo, not he, will found the royal line and so tells his wife that Banquo and his son Fleance will be murdered as they come to the royal banquet. Lady Macbeth comes to terms with this plan.

Mercenaries kill Banquo but his son escapes. In the meantime, Macbeth and his wife are greeting their guests but the festivities are interrupted by reports that Banquo is dead and Fleance still alive. The ghost of Banquo appears, terrifying Macbeth who speaks to the spectre and frightens away his guests.

ACT III

The witches gather. Macbeth appears, asking them for more information about his fate and they explain it by conjuring up three apparitions. The first tells him to beware of Macduff; the second that he cannot be killed by a man "born of woman"; the third that he will reign until Birnam Wood marches against him. He sees a vision of Banquo and his descendants, all future kings of Scotland, and realises that the original prophesy will come true.

Macbeth and his wife, who have no children, plot to wipe out the families of Macduff and Banquo to prevent them from ascending the throne.

ACT IV

In a desolate spot near the English border, Scottish exiles gather. Macduff, who is mourning the violent deaths of his wife and children, and Malcolm, the son of the murdered King Duncan, have raised an army against Macbeth. Malcolm orders each soldier to cut a branch from a tree in Birnam Wood to disguise themselves as they advance on Macbeth's troops.

In the castle, Lady Macbeth is tormented by guilt and has taken to sleepwalking at night. A lady-in-waiting calls a doctor to observe her but they are horrified to hear her confessing to the murders she and Macbeth have committed.

Macbeth is feeling a false sense of security because of the prophesies of the apparitions. He flies into a rage when he hears that Malcolm is marching against him with English troops but is indifferent to news of his wife's death. He rallies his soldiers and prepares for battle.

On the battlefield, Macbeth defies the avenging army of Macduff and Malcolm but Birnam Wood is on the move, as the enemy are carrying branches as camouflage. Macbeth is killed by Macduff, who was not "born of woman" but "untimely ripp'd from his mother's womb". Malcolm is the new king and the people celebrate.