Macbeth - LITERATURE NOTES
ABOUT THE AUTHOR (William Shakespeare)
SUMMARY
This play is about the title character Macbeth, who is a renown soldier in King Duncan’s army. On his journey to King Duncan’s camp he encounters three witches. they refer to him by three titles: Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King. He is quizzical about this turn of events until he is referred to as the second title at camp. At this point, he starts to ponder on the possibilities of becoming King. Encouraged by his wife, he launches a campaign to gain the throne by first disposing of, King Duncan. The story proceeds with the death of anyone who stands in his way to the throne. He is defeated by the end of the book by Macduff.
SETTING
CHARACTERS
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Macduff
Banquo
Three Witches
King Duncan
SUMMARY
Act 1
Scene 1:
This is a short scene in which the audience is introduced to the three witches. They reveal their plans to meet Macbeth on the heath.
Scene 2:
King Duncan listens to an account of Macbeth’s bravery on the battlefield, then orders that he be given the title Thane of Cawdor. He obtains this title because the previous thane was a traitor.
Scene 3:
The witches speak at length about the terrible deeds that they have done. Macbeth and Banquo then, seemingly, stumble upon the witches on their way to Duncan's camp. At this point, the witches predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. They also predict that Banquo will produce a line of kings. Macbeth is shocked, upon entering the king's camp, that he has been given the title of Thane of Cawdor. He then begins to contemplate th possibilities of becoming King.
Scene 4:
This is a very short scene in which King Duncan names the successor to the Scottish throne, as well as his plans to stay at Macbeth's castle.
Scene 5:
Lady Macbeth reads the letter from her husband and her ambition to obtain the throne is revealed. She acknowledges that her husband might not be motivated enough to what needs to be done, so she accepts that she might have to persuade him. When Macbeth arrives and she advises him that he must become sneaky in his dealings with the king.
Scene 6:
King Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle and is greeted by Lady Macbeth. She is very gracious to him and leads them into the castle.
Scene 7:
Macbeth thinks about the possible consequences of killing King Duncan in his first soliloquy. This soliloquy reveals that he is torn between doing right and wrong; he still has a conscience. Lady Macbeth, simultaneously, embarks on a mission to convince her husband to kill the king in order to obtain the throne. She achieves this by attacking Macbeth’s masculinity. The scene ends with Macbeth’s resolution to do as his wife demands.
Act 2
Scene 1
Banquo and Macbeth discuss their experiences, and reactions, to the witches. Banquo says that he will passively wait and see if the witch's predictions come true, while Macbeth admits that he might possibly take action to help the realization of the predictions. After Banquo leaves, Macbeth hallucinates a dagger that leads him to Duncan's room, where Lady Macbeth had already drugged the servants.
Scene 2
After killing Duncan, Macbeth joins Lady Macbeth. He is visibly shaken, as a result of the murder that he committed, while Lady Macbeth is calm and steady. She returns the daggers to the King's room where she smears blood on the servants.
Scene 3
The tragedy of the king's murder is initially given comic relief in the form of the drunk porter. Shortly after a humorous conversation between the porter and Macduff, Duncan's body is discovered. The scene becomes chaotic at this point, but the audience learns that Macbeth killed the two servants, and that Malcolm and Donalbain, Duncan's sons, have fled to England and Ireland for their safety.
Scene 4
Ross and an old man discuss the disturbances that accompany the King's death. Their conversation reveals that the king's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, are being accused of their father's murder because they ran away so quickly after the discovery of Duncan's body. Ross then reveals to the old man that Macbeth was named as the new king of Scotland.
Act 3
Scene 1
Banquo thinks about the role that Macbeth possibly played in Duncan's murder. Macbeth, sensing Banquo's suspicion, encourages him to attend the banquet, but subsequently plans his murder, as well as Fleance's, after he departs.
Scene 2
Lady Macbeth displays a hint of a conscience in this scene by indicating her desire to put their evil actions in the past. Macbeth tells her to watch Banquo, but excludes her from his plans to maintain the throne.
Scene 3
Three murderers, hired by Macbeth, attack Banquo and Fleance. Banquo is killed but Fleance escapes.
Scene 4
The banquet begins and Macbeth insists on sitting among his thanes. However, the ghost of Banquo enters and sits in Macbeth's chair. The appearance of the ghost upsets Macbeth (he appears to be talking to the air when he speaks to the ghost), and despite Lady Macbeth's attempt at maintaining order, the banquet ends in disorder.
Scene 5
Hecate, the ruler of the witches, discuss Macbeth's entrapment with the witches. Hecate encourages the witches to use illusions to fool Macbeth into feeling secure about his position as king because this will lead to his downfall.
Check back later for additional notes in this section...
THEMES
Power and authority
Supernatural
Ambition
Death
Contributor: Leisa Samuels‐Thomas
Lamb, S (ed.). Shakespeare's Macbeth (Cliff's Complete). New York, NY: Hungry Minds.
https://librivox.org/the-tragedy-of-macbeth-by-william-shakespeare/
- Born in 1564 and died 52 years later, in 1616.
- Married Anne Hathaway in 1582.
- Unfortunately, any understanding of Shakespeare’s childhood is speculative because children did not often appear in the records that scholars used to attempt to reconstruct Shakespeare’s life.
SUMMARY
This play is about the title character Macbeth, who is a renown soldier in King Duncan’s army. On his journey to King Duncan’s camp he encounters three witches. they refer to him by three titles: Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor and King. He is quizzical about this turn of events until he is referred to as the second title at camp. At this point, he starts to ponder on the possibilities of becoming King. Encouraged by his wife, he launches a campaign to gain the throne by first disposing of, King Duncan. The story proceeds with the death of anyone who stands in his way to the throne. He is defeated by the end of the book by Macduff.
SETTING
- The story is set in Scotland
- The atmosphere is tense due to the strain of keeping the throne
- The fact that a war is occurring throughout the play also contributes to this
CHARACTERS
Macbeth
- Macbeth is, initially, an ordinary soldier
- Evolves into a power hungry individual in his bid to become king
- The husband of Lady Macbeth
- Commits many murders to maintain his title
Lady Macbeth
- Wife of Macbeth
- She encourages him to commit murder in order to obtain the throne
- She facilitates his descent into moral depravity
- She commits suicide due to a guilty conscience
Macduff
- He is a Thane in King Duncan’s court
- He is suspicious about the manner in which Macbeth gains the throne
- Macbeth murders his wife and child
- He kills Macbeth
Banquo
- A soldier in King Duncan’s army
- A friend of Macbeth
- He tries to warn Macbeth that the witches did not have his best interest at heart
- Macbeth kills him, but his son gets away
- His spirit haunts Macbeth after he becomes king
Three Witches
- The book opens with them brewing spells, thereby introducing the supernatural element to the play
- They are the source of the killings in the play because they facilitated Macbeth’s inherent greed with their prophecies.
King Duncan
- The King of Scotland
- He is Macbeth’s cousin
- He is killed by Macbeth at the beginning of the play
SUMMARY
Act 1
Scene 1:
This is a short scene in which the audience is introduced to the three witches. They reveal their plans to meet Macbeth on the heath.
Scene 2:
King Duncan listens to an account of Macbeth’s bravery on the battlefield, then orders that he be given the title Thane of Cawdor. He obtains this title because the previous thane was a traitor.
Scene 3:
The witches speak at length about the terrible deeds that they have done. Macbeth and Banquo then, seemingly, stumble upon the witches on their way to Duncan's camp. At this point, the witches predict that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland. They also predict that Banquo will produce a line of kings. Macbeth is shocked, upon entering the king's camp, that he has been given the title of Thane of Cawdor. He then begins to contemplate th possibilities of becoming King.
Scene 4:
This is a very short scene in which King Duncan names the successor to the Scottish throne, as well as his plans to stay at Macbeth's castle.
Scene 5:
Lady Macbeth reads the letter from her husband and her ambition to obtain the throne is revealed. She acknowledges that her husband might not be motivated enough to what needs to be done, so she accepts that she might have to persuade him. When Macbeth arrives and she advises him that he must become sneaky in his dealings with the king.
Scene 6:
King Duncan arrives at Macbeth’s castle and is greeted by Lady Macbeth. She is very gracious to him and leads them into the castle.
Scene 7:
Macbeth thinks about the possible consequences of killing King Duncan in his first soliloquy. This soliloquy reveals that he is torn between doing right and wrong; he still has a conscience. Lady Macbeth, simultaneously, embarks on a mission to convince her husband to kill the king in order to obtain the throne. She achieves this by attacking Macbeth’s masculinity. The scene ends with Macbeth’s resolution to do as his wife demands.
Act 2
Scene 1
Banquo and Macbeth discuss their experiences, and reactions, to the witches. Banquo says that he will passively wait and see if the witch's predictions come true, while Macbeth admits that he might possibly take action to help the realization of the predictions. After Banquo leaves, Macbeth hallucinates a dagger that leads him to Duncan's room, where Lady Macbeth had already drugged the servants.
Scene 2
After killing Duncan, Macbeth joins Lady Macbeth. He is visibly shaken, as a result of the murder that he committed, while Lady Macbeth is calm and steady. She returns the daggers to the King's room where she smears blood on the servants.
Scene 3
The tragedy of the king's murder is initially given comic relief in the form of the drunk porter. Shortly after a humorous conversation between the porter and Macduff, Duncan's body is discovered. The scene becomes chaotic at this point, but the audience learns that Macbeth killed the two servants, and that Malcolm and Donalbain, Duncan's sons, have fled to England and Ireland for their safety.
Scene 4
Ross and an old man discuss the disturbances that accompany the King's death. Their conversation reveals that the king's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, are being accused of their father's murder because they ran away so quickly after the discovery of Duncan's body. Ross then reveals to the old man that Macbeth was named as the new king of Scotland.
Act 3
Scene 1
Banquo thinks about the role that Macbeth possibly played in Duncan's murder. Macbeth, sensing Banquo's suspicion, encourages him to attend the banquet, but subsequently plans his murder, as well as Fleance's, after he departs.
Scene 2
Lady Macbeth displays a hint of a conscience in this scene by indicating her desire to put their evil actions in the past. Macbeth tells her to watch Banquo, but excludes her from his plans to maintain the throne.
Scene 3
Three murderers, hired by Macbeth, attack Banquo and Fleance. Banquo is killed but Fleance escapes.
Scene 4
The banquet begins and Macbeth insists on sitting among his thanes. However, the ghost of Banquo enters and sits in Macbeth's chair. The appearance of the ghost upsets Macbeth (he appears to be talking to the air when he speaks to the ghost), and despite Lady Macbeth's attempt at maintaining order, the banquet ends in disorder.
Scene 5
Hecate, the ruler of the witches, discuss Macbeth's entrapment with the witches. Hecate encourages the witches to use illusions to fool Macbeth into feeling secure about his position as king because this will lead to his downfall.
Check back later for additional notes in this section...
THEMES
Power and authority
Supernatural
Ambition
Death
Contributor: Leisa Samuels‐Thomas
Lamb, S (ed.). Shakespeare's Macbeth (Cliff's Complete). New York, NY: Hungry Minds.
https://librivox.org/the-tragedy-of-macbeth-by-william-shakespeare/