MacBeth-BRIEF SYNOPSIS OF THE PLAY

1. ACT I

· The warriors, Macbeth and Banquo, have been victorious in battle against the traitors Macdonwald and the Thane (Lord) of Cawdor in eleventh-century Scotland. King Duncan hears of their courage before their return home from the battlefield and in gratitude bestows the title of Cawdor on the absent Macbeth. While they are returning from battle, Macbeth and Banquo encounter three witches on a desolate heath who greet Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and "King hereafter." They prophesy that Banquo will beget kings though he will not himself be one. Macbeth, who is already Thane of Glamis, is startled when two messengers from the king greet him as the new Thane of Cawdor, thus fulfilling the witches' prophecy in part. (Duncan has condemned the disloyal Cawdor to death.) When Macbeth learns that Duncan's son Malcolm has been appointed Prince of Cumberland, automatic successor to the throne, he momentarily entertains the idea of killing the king and so begins the ultimate prediction of the witches on the heath. Lady Macbeth falls in with Macbeth's plot with greater energy than Macbeth himself, and when Duncan and his retinue pay a visit to Macbeth's castle, Lady Macbeth vows ominously that the king "must be provided for."

2. ACT II

· Banquo resists any thoughts that might hasten the witches' prophecy that his children will be kings. Elsewhere in the castle, however, Lady Macbeth is steeling her husband to kill the king. She drugs the grooms in the king's bedchamber, and Macbeth stabs the sleeping Duncan, killing him. In the morning, when the murder is discovered, Macbeth, in pretended fury and grief, kills the grooms. The king's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, seeing a similar fate for themselves, flee Scotland. Macbeth proceeds to Scone, where he is" crowned as Duncan's successor to the throne.

3. ACT III

· Banquo half-suspects Macbeth of Duncan's murder but accepts an invitation to be the chief guest at the new king's feast. He tells Macbeth that he and his son Fleance will be riding that afternoon, and Macbeth employs two murderers to kill both father and son, thus negating the second part of the witches' prophecies. The murderers waylay the pair, killing Banquo, but Fleance escapes. That night at the feast Macbeth speaks glowingly of Banquo, whom he has had killed. The ghost of Banquo enters and occupies the place of Macbeth, who is the only one who can see the ghostly apparition. Macbeth speaks to the ghost in horror, and the queen dismisses the guests before they become more suspicious. They discover that Duncan's son Malcolm has been joined by the powerful Lord Macduff in opposition to Macbeth and are busy enlisting the help of Northumberland, Old Si ward, in their cause. The three witches meet on the heath with their mistress Hecate to bring about Macbeth's fall.

4. ACT IV

· Macbeth resolves to find the witches and demand further assurances. He encounters them on their dismal heath, where they answer him with a procession of ghostly appearances: an armed head which warns him against Macduff; a child covered in blood which says that "none of woman born shall harm Macbeth"; a child holding a tree, who says Macbeth will be safe until "Birnam Wood" comes to Dunsi-nane; and eight kings followed by Banquo's ghost, which points to them with a smile as his descendants. Leaving, Macbeth encounters the nobleman Lennox, who denies having seen "the weird sisters" and tells him that Macduff has fled to England. Vengefully, Macbeth vows to kill Macduff's wife and children. A messenger arrives at Fife, Macduffs castle, to warn her, but it is too late and Lady Macduff and her children are killed by Macbeth's assassins. Malcolm is at the king's palace in England, where he tests Macduffs loyalty in the cause against Macbeth. Satisfied, he welcomes him as an ally. When Ross enters with the terrible news of the massacre of Mac-duffs wife and children, Macduff swears to kill Macbeth with his own sword.

5. ACT V

· At Dunsinane, Lady Macbeth has begun walking in her sleep. She enters in this state while her doctor and a waiting lady watch in horror. As she walks, unconscious of the others, she gives vent to her guilt and anguish over the crimes she and her husband have committed. Macbeth is deeply agitated over her disorder but is frenziedly preparing for the attack by the English invaders under Malcolm and the Earl of Northumberland, who have joined with rebellious Scottish forces. Malcolm has his soldiers cut boughs from Birnam Wood to carry as camouflage in the assault. Thus the prophecy "Till Birnam forest come to Dunsinane" begins to be fulfilled. Macbeth simultaneously learns that Lady Macbeth has died, possibly by suicide. In despair, he goes forth to battle and kills Young Si ward, son of the Earl of Northumberland. Macbeth then encounters Macduff, who destroys his last confidence by admitting that he was "from his mother's womb untimely ripp'd" —he "was not of woman born." With this part of the prophecy no longer the protection it seemed, Macbeth dies at Macduffs hands. Macduff brings the head of Macbeth to Malcolm and hails the son of the murdered Duncan as the new King of Scotland.