Macbeth Revision

Macbeth Revision

1. Act 5

   • Scene 1
     • Gentlewoman and Doctor observe Lady Macbeth sleepwalking and trying to wash blood off her hands
   • Scene 2
     • Thanes march with a troop of soldiers. They talk about Macbeth as a "tyrant".
   • Scene 3
     • Macbeth is talking to himself about his confidence in his castle, but he also speaks to himself about how he has lived long enough; contrasting thoughts.
     • "Till Birnam Wood move to Dunsinane, I cannot taint with fear"- Macbeth
     • "I have lived long enough. My way of life is fall'n into the sere"- Macbeth
   • Scene 4
     • Soldiers hold up branches from Birnam Wood to disguise their numbers as they march towards the castle - prophecy begins to come true.
   • Scene 5
     • Macbeth is not worried about the soldiers until he is informed about the forest moving, and begins to panic. Seyton reports the death of Lady Macbeth, but Macbeth treats it as a nuisance and does not despair.
     • "Our castle's strength will laugh a siege to scorn"- Macbeth
     • "She should have died hereafter"- Macbeth
     • "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing"- Macbeth
   • Scene 6
     • The soldiers begin their attack on the castle
   • Scene 7
     • Macbeth duels and kills Young Siward. Macduff vows to get revenge on Macbeth for killing his family.
     • "They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly, but bear-like I must fight the course"- Macbeth
     • "Swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn, brandished by man that's of a woman born"- Macbeth
   • Scene 8
     • Macduff finds and challenges Macbeth; he reveals that he was not born of woman. Macbeth no longer wants to fight him but will not yield, so they duel and Macbeth is slain.
     • "My soul is too much charged with blood of thine already"- Macbeth
     • "I'll not fight with thee"- Macbeth
   • Scene 9
     • Macduff enters with Macbeth's head. Malcom accepts the kingship.

2. Act 1

   • Macbeth is introduced as a noble soldier, we are told about how he killed a traitor. Macbeth is given the title "Thane of Cawdor". Macbeth and Banquo meet the witches, and their prophecies are revealed. Banquo is suspicious of them, but Macbeth is accepting. Duncan visits Macbeth's castle because of his bravery in war, and Lady Macbeth convinces Macbeth to murder him. Macbeth has doubts about the plan, but is pressured to do it anyway.
   • "For brave Macbeth - well he deserves that name"- Captain
   • "Unseamed him from the nave to th' chaps"- Captain
   • "O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman"- Duncan
   • "So foul and fair a day I have not seen"- Macbeth
   • "To be king stands not within the prospect of belief"- Macbeth
   • "If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me without my stir"- Macbeth
   • "Who should against his murderer shut the door, not bear the knife myself"- Macbeth
   • "I have no spur to prick the sides of my intent, but only vaulting ambition which o'erleaps itself and falls on th'other"- Macbeth
   • "We will proceed no further in this business"- Macbeth
   • "False face must hide what the false heart doth know"- Macbeth
   • “Stars hide your fires; let not light see my dark and deep desires”- Macbeth

3. Act 2

   • Banquo tells Macbeth about how he dreamt of the witches' prophecies. Macbeth goes to kill Duncan, and has a hallucination of a dagger. Macbeth feels guilty about the murder but Lady Macbeth tells him that it will go away. The Porter lets Macduff into the castle, and they discover Duncan's body. Macbeth kills the guards to cover up his crime and Malcolm and Donaldbain decide to flee to England and Ireland. Macbeth is taken to be crowned as King.
   • "Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?"- Macbeth
   • "Art thou a dagger of the mind, a false creation, proceeding from the heat-oppressed brain?"- Macbeth
   • "Hear it not Duncan, for it is a knell that summons thee to heaven or to hell"- Macbeth
   • "I have done the deed"- Macbeth
   • "I could not say 'Amen' when they did say 'God bless us'"- Macbeth
   • "Sleep no more: Macbeth does murder sleep"- Macbeth
   • "Will all great Neptune's ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?"- Macbeth

4. Act 3

   • Banquo speaks about how he is suspicious of Macbeth, and how he would like for his sons to be kings but will not act on it. Macbeth hires two murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance, he convinces them that Banquo is their enemy. Macbeth expresses his insecurities to Lady Macbeth about his kingship. He doesn't tell Lady Macbeth his plans to kill Banquo. Banquo is murdered but Fleance escapes. Macbeth holds a feast, but during it he sees an apparition of Banquo's ghost. The witches meet Hecate and plan to summon more apparitions for Macbeth. Lennox speaks about the plans to raise an army against Macbeth from England.
   • "To be thus is nothing, but to be safely thus. Our fears in Banquo stick deep"- Macbeth
   • "We've scorched the snake, not killed it"- Macbeth
   • "Duncan is in his grave. After life's fitful fever he sleeps well"- Macbeth
   • "I am in blood stepped so far that, should I wade no more, returning were so tedious as go o'er"- Macbeth
   • "Better be with the dead whom we, to gain our peace, have sent to peace"- Macbeth

5. Act 4

   • Macbeth visits the witches again and they tell him three more prophecies - beware Macduff, no one born of woman can harm him, and that he cannot be beaten until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. These give him confidence and he decides to kill Macduff's family. Macduff is in England, being tested for his loyalty by Malcolm when he hears about his family.
   • "for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth"- Second Apparition
   • "Angels are bright still, though the brightest fell"- Malcolm
   • "“From this moment, the very firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand”- Macbeth
   • "Something wicked this way comes"- Second Witch