Flashcards
Macbeth Plot Summary
Flashcards do conjunto (37)
- 1Macbeth Act IPlay opens to thunder and lightening.
The three witches decide that they will meet with Macbeth - 2Macbeth Act IMacbeth is praised for his bravery and skill on the battlefield by King Duncan's men
- 3Macbeth Act IThree witches enter and greet Macbeth and Banquo with three prophecies. Two for Macbeth and one for Banquo
- 4Macbeth Act IProphecy 1: the witches refer to Macbeth as "Thane of Glamis" and "Thane of Cawdor"
Prophecy 2: he will "be King hereafter". Macbeth is stunned - 5Macbeth Act IProphecy 3: the witches then tell Banquo that he will be less successful than Macbeth but happier. He will father a line of kings but he will not be one himself
- 6Macbeth Act IMacbeth is given the new title of Thane of Cawdor by Duncan and so the first prophecy comes true and Macbeth starts to believe the witches and dreams of becoming king
- 7Macbeth Act IKing Duncan praises Macbeth and Banquo and decides to spend the night at Macbeth's castle. He also names his son Malcolm as his heir
- 8Macbeth Act IMacbeth tells Lady Macbeth of the prophecies and she tells him that he must murder Duncan so that he can become king
- 9Macbeth Act ILady Macbeth persuades Macbeth to kill Duncan that night telling him that he will be less of a man if he doesn't. They plan to get the kings servants drunk so that they will be blamed for the murder and not remember
- 10Macbeth Act IIWhile Duncan is asleep Macbeth stabs him. He is very shaken and hallucinates about a bloody dagger. Lady Macbeth has to take charge and frames the servants by placing bloody daggers on them
- 11Macbeth Act IIMacduff arrives and discovers Duncan's body. Macbeth murders the guards to stop them saying that they didn't commit the murder
- 12Macbeth Act IIScared of what might happen to them Duncan's sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland
- 13Macbeth Act IIMalcolm and Donalbain fleeing makes them seem guilty and Macbeth assumes the throne as the new King of Scotland as he is a relation of Duncan
- 14Macbeth Act IIBanquo is suspicious of Macbeth and remembers the witches prophecies that his own children would inherit the throne
- 15Macbeth Act IIIDespite his success Macbeth remains uneasy
- 16Macbeth Act IIIMacbeth invites Banquo to a royal banquet . Knowing that Banquo suspects him Macbeth arranges to have him killed by three murderers
- 17Macbeth Act IIIBanquo is killed but his son Fleance escapes. Macbeth is furious, he is insecure as long as an heir of Banquo is alive
- 18Macbeth Act IIIMacbeth holds a banquet. Banquo's ghost arrives and sits in Macbeth's place at the table.
- 19Macbeth Act IIIMacbeth goes crazy and shouts at the empty chair where he can see the ghost. Everyone is afraid of him and Lady Macbeth is forced to say that he is often like this and that it is harmless. In the end Lady Macbeth tells the Lords to leave
- 20Macbeth Act IVMacbeth visits the three witches again and asks them to explain their prophecies. They summon horrible visions and further prophecies to put his fears to rest
- 21Macbeth Act IVAn armoured head - tells Macbeth to beware Macduff
A bloody child - tells him that no one born of a woman will be able to hurt him
A crowned child holding a tree - tells him that he will be safe until Great Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill - 22Macbeth Act IVThe prophecies put Macbeth's mind at rest, especially as he believes that the second and third prophecies are logically and physically impossible
- 23Macbeth Act IVMacbeth asks the witches if Banquo's sons will reign and they show him eight crowned kings . Macbeth realises that Banquo's descendants will become kings
- 24Macbeth Act IVMacbeth is told that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth orders that everyone at Macduff's castle be put to death, including Lady Macduff and their young son
- 25Macbeth Act VLady Macbeth becomes filled with guilt about the crimes she and Macbeth have committed
- 26Macbeth Act VLady Macbeth starts sleepwalking. She is in a trance with a candle in her hand. She tries to wash imaginary blood stains from her hands, guilty about the murders of Duncan, Lady Macduff and Banquo
- 27Macbeth Act VLady Macbeth descends into madness. Her belief that nothing can wash away the blood on her hands is a reversal of her earlier claim to Macbeth that "a little water clears us off this deed"
- 28Macbeth Act VIn England Macduff is told that his "castle is surprised; wife and babes / Savagely slaughter'd". He vows revenge
- 29Macbeth Act VPrince Malcolm, Duncan's son, has put together an army and Macduff joins him to challenge Macbeth
- 30Macbeth Act VWhile camping in Birnam Woods the soldiers use tree branches as camouflage (witches prophecy)
- 31Macbeth Act VBefore Macbeth's opponents arrive he gets the news that Lady Macbeth is dead (Malcolm later suggests that she has killed herself) and he sinks into despair and delivers his "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy (speech)
- 32Macbeth Act VHowever, Macbeth is still certain that the witches prophecies mean that he is invincible but he is scared when he hears about the soldiers branches as he sees that the prophecies are coming true
- 33Macbeth Act VA battle comes to its conclusion with Macduff confronting Macbeth
- 34Macbeth Act VMacbeth says that he is not scared of Macduff as he can't be killed by a man born of a woman but Macduff tell him that he was "from his mother's womb / Untimely ripp'd" (born by Caesarean). This fulfils the second prophecy
- 35Macbeth Act VMacbeth realises that he is doomed but continues to fight until Macduff kills him fulfilling the final prophecy
- 36Macbeth Act VMacduff carries Macbeth's head on stage. Malcolm, now King of Scotland, says that order has been restored
- 37Macbeth Act VAlthough Malcolm and not Fleance is on the throne, Banquo's prophecy from the witches ("Thou shalt get Kings") was known to be true by Shakespeare's audience - James VI of Scotland was supposedly a descentant of Banquo