A five-act tragedy, written by William Shakespeare in 1606, set in medieval Scotland, mainly taking place in and around Macbeth's castle, Dunsinane
Protagonist Macbeth
At first presented as a noble warrior and thane who is loyal to his king
Ambition, prophecies of three malevolent witches and encouragement of his equally ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, sees him assassinate his king, Duncan, and ascend the throne himself
Macbeth as King of Scotland
1. Becomes increasingly paranoid that his act of regicide will be discovered, and that he himself will be murdered
2. Attempts to murder any person he sees as a threat (first his friend and comrade Banquo; later a thane called Macduff)
Overwhelming guilt
Consumes both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth
Macbeth's experiences
Sees hallucinations - including of his murdered friend Banquo
Seeks the dangerous advice of the witches for a second time
Lady Macbeth loses her mind completely and commits suicide
Play conclusion
1. Macduff (who managed to escape Macbeth's assassination attempt) kills Macbeth in a duel, thus avenging both his family, whom Macbeth cruelly murdered, and his former king
2. Order is thus restored in the Kingdom of Scotland, with Duncan's son, and rightful heir to the throne, Malcolm, becoming king
Act I
Three mischievous witches introduced in the very first scene
Macbeth reported as a brave and noble warrior who killed a traitor in battle, showing his loyalty to King Duncan
Macbeth and Banquo hear three prophecies from the three witches: that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor, that Macbeth will become King, and that Banquo's descendants will become kings
The Thane of Cawdor is executed for treason, and Macbeth becomes the new Thane of Cawdor
Macbeth sends a letter to Lady Macbeth outlining the witches' prophecies
King Duncan comes to visit the Macbeths at their castle, Dunsinane
Macbeth deliberates on murdering Duncan, and finally accepts Lady Macbeth's arguments and decides to go ahead with the assassination
Act II
Macbeth's first hallucination
A bloody dagger
Macbeth's actions after seeing Banquo and Fleance
1. Sees the bloody dagger
2. Returns to Lady Macbeth with murder weapons (two daggers covered in blood)
3. Duncan's murder takes place off-stage
Lady Macbeth's actions
Calls Macbeth a coward
Returns the daggers to Duncan's chambers to frame the dead king's guards
Macduff discovers that Duncan has been murdered
Macbeth's claim
He killed Duncan's guards in an act of revenge
Duncan's sons' actions
1. Malcolm flees to England
2. Donalbain flees to Ireland
Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland
Act III
Banquo begins to suspect Macbeth of the murder of Duncan
Macbeth hires assassins to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance
The murderers kill Banquo, but Fleance manages to escape. The assassins return to Dunsinane to tell Macbeth
The Macbeths host a banquet at their castle, but Macbeth hallucinates a vision of the murdered Banquo sitting at his place at the table
As an increasingly deranged Macbeth starts shouting at Banquo’s ghost, Lady Macbeth asks all the guests to leave
We learn that Macduff has gone to England to plot against Macbeth with Malcolm
Act IV
Macbeth returns to the witches for reassurance
1. Witches offer him three new prophecies:
2. Beware Macduff
3. No man of woman born can kill him
4. He won't be defeated unless Birnam Wood starts marching on his castle
Macbeth is told that Macduff has fled for England
Macbeth sees Macduff's flight as reason enough to be suspicious
Macbeth orders the murder of Macduff and his whole family
Lady Macduff is advised to flee her castle with her children but refuses, saying that she has done nothing wrong
Murderers come to Macduff's castle and brutally murder his wife and children
In England, Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty and is satisfied with Macduff's responses
Macduff is told about the murder of his family and vows revenge
Act V
1. Lady Macbeth loses her mind due to overwhelming guilt and hallucinates in her sleep
2. Lady Macbeth kills herself (this happens off-stage)
Act V
1. Malcolm, Macduff and an army of Scottish thanes advance to Birnam Wood
2. They use its branches for camouflage
Macbeth is told of the death of his wife, and that Birnam Wood is advancing on Dunsinane
Macbeth contemplates the pointlessness of life but remains convinced he is invincible because of the witches' second prophecy
Act V
1. Macduff enters the castle and challenges Macbeth to a duel
2. Macduff admits that he was born by Caesarean section, and is thus not "of woman born"
3. Macduff kills Macbeth
Malcolm is crowned the new King of Scotland
Themes
Your exam question could be on any topic. However, having a really good grasp of the following themes, and crucially, why Shakespeare is exploring these themes, will enable you to produce a “conceptualised response” in your exam:
Ambition and Power
The Supernatural
Appearance versus Reality
Corruption of Nature
Producing a conceptualised essay answer will give you access to the very highest marks on the mark scheme.
Macbeth
A play about ambition and its consequences
A warning against those who seek to undermine or overthrow the rule of a rightful king
Tragedy
A play in which the main character is typically a person of importance and the action culminates in a disaster affecting this person
Tragic hero
The protagonist of a tragedy
Must have a tragic flaw, or hamartia
Hamartia
The tragic flaw of a tragic hero, often hubris (overconfidence in one's own ambitions)
Macbeth
The play's tragic hero
His hamartia is ambition
Punishment of tragic heroes in Ancient Greek tragedies
1. Tragic hero punished by the gods for their actions resulting from their hamartia
2. Often led to the protagonist's death
Macbeth's ambition
Leads him to abandon his morals and commit regicide, the murder of his best friend, and the murder of women and children
Macbeth is condemned to death at the hands of Macduff, and to Hell for all eternity
Lady Macbeth
Presented as ambitious
Her punishment is suicide
Divine Right of Kings
Kings derived their authority from God, and therefore could not be challenged