Plot Summary

• Act 1 Scene 1 - Thunder and lightning

  • The first thing that the audience see and hear is thunder and lightning. 
  • This immediately shows that conflict is coming and sets the frightening, negative tone of the play
• Act 1 Scene 1 - Three witches on battlefield

  • The play opens with the three witches meeting. They are planning to meet with Macbeth when the fighting is finished. 
  • Shakespeare begins with the witches to show the audience that the play has supernatural themes from the start.
• Act 1 Scene 1 - 'Fair is foul and foul is fair'

  The witches talk about the changes happening in nature: ‘Fair is foul and foul is fair’.

  • This shows that turmoil (disruption) has already started in the natural world
• Act 1 Scene 2 - Macdonald's death

  • There is a meeting at King Duncan’s headquarters. A bleeding captain has brought the king news of the battle.
  • Macbeth has fought well and killed Macdonald (sometimes spelt Macdonwald), who had betrayed King Duncan: ‘unseam’d him from nave to th’ chops / And fix’d his head upon our battlements’.
  • King Duncan calls Macbeth ‘O valiant cousin, worthy gentleman’.
• Act 1 Scene 2 - Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor

  • Ross, another Thane, arrives with news of Macbeth’s fight against Norway and another traitor, the Thane of Cawdor. He fought like the husband of the Roman goddess of war and won.
  • King Duncan sentences the Thane of Cawdor to death for his betrayal. He rewards Macbeth with his title: ‘with his former title greet Macbeth’; ‘What he hath lost, noble Macbeth hath won’.
  • King Duncan sends Ross to tell Macbeth about his new title, Thane of Cawdor
• Act 1 Scene 3 - Witches reappear

  • This scene begins with thunder again as the witches return to the stage. 
  • The first witch tells a story about how a sailor's wife refused to give her chestnuts. She plans to torture her husband. This shows the powers that the witches have and how wicked they are.
  • They cast a charm when they hear Macbeth and Banquo coming.
• Act 1 Scene 3 - The witches' three prophecies

  • The witches greet Macbeth:
  • The first witch calls him ‘Thane of Glamis’, which he is. 
  • The second calls him ‘Thane of Cawdor’, which the audience knows is true, but which hasn't been revealed to Macbeth (first prophecy). 
  • The third says he will be king (second prophecy): ‘All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.’
  • Banquo is told that even though he is ‘lesser’ – lower in status than Macbeth – he will be ‘greater’, because he ‘shalt get kings’ (third prophecy). This means that his children will be kings
• Act 1 Scene 3 - Macbeth learns he is Thane of Cawdor

  • Macbeth orders the witches to explain, but they vanish. This shows the audience that Macbeth cannot control them.
  • This moment may represent that Macbeth also has no power and control over his own fate.
  • Ross and Angus arrive. Ross tells Macbeth that he has been given the title, Thane of Cawdor.
• Act 1 Scene 3 - Macbeth's aside

  • Macbeth has a private debate with himself. 
  • He is torn. On the one hand, what the witches have said is good because he is now Thane of Cawdor. But he is afraid that something would have to happen to King Duncan for him to become king
• Act 1 Scene 3 - Macbeth’s decision

  • He decides that, if fate has decided he will be king, he can become king without doing anything: ‘If chance will have me king, why chance may crown me / Without my stir.’
  • Macbeth decides he will ride to see the king
• Act 1 Scene 4 - Malcolm declared heir

  • The scene begins with King Duncan and his son, Malcolm, talking about the previous Thane of Cawdor’s execution.
  • Macbeth arrives. King Duncan praises him and Macbeth says it was his duty to kill the traitor.
  • King Duncan announces that his eldest son, Malcolm, is the heir (next in line) to the throne. This means that he will be king when King Duncan dies.
• Act 1 Scene 4 - Macbeth’s 2nd aside

  • In an aside, Macbeth says that Malcolm is now an obstacle for him. 
  • He admits that he wants the crown, even though it is disloyal to want it: ‘Stars, hide your fires, / Let not light see my black and deep desires’.
• Act 1 Scene 5 - Macbeth’s letter

  • The scene begins with Lady Macbeth reading a letter aloud from her husband. The letter tells her what the witches said to him. 
  • Lady Macbeth is worried that Macbeth is too good and soft-hearted to take action to get the crown. She wants to manipulate (influence someone to do something) him into taking action and getting the crown.
• Act 1 Scene 5 - Lady Macbeth's masculine request

  • An attendant comes in. The attendant tells Lady Macbeth that the king is coming to stay with them that night.
  • After the servant leaves, Lady Macbeth talks to the spirits. She asks them to make her less womanly so that she can be cruel and do what she needs to do for Macbeth to become king.
• Act 1 Scene 6 - King Duncan arrives


  • King Duncan arrives and Lady Macbeth comes out to greet him.
  • King Duncan uses praising language to address her: ‘honour’d hostess’; ‘fair and noble hostess’; 'by your leave, hostess'. 
  • This creates dramatic irony (when the audience knows something the characters don’t) for the audience because they know that Lady Macbeth is pretending and that she plans for him to die in her home.
• Act 1 Scene 6 - Context

  • This is also important in the context of the time. If someone was a guest in your home, it was your duty to protect them. 
  • By calling her ‘hostess’ three times in this short scene, Shakespeare reminds the audience that she's being doubly evil. Not only is she plotting to kill the king, but she's also breaking the trust put in her as a hostess.
• Act 1 Scene 7 - Macbeth's soliloquy

  • Macbeth has a soliloquy (speech to himself) at the start of this scene where he thinks through what would happen if he murdered King Duncan.
  • He thinks that if he could kill King Duncan and that could be the end of the matter, it would be fine. But he knows that there will be consequences if he does kill the king.
  • He is struggling to take action. He realises the only thing making him want to kill King Duncan is ambition.
• Act 1 Scene 7 - Macbeth’s decision

  • Lady Macbeth comes onto the stage and Macbeth tells her that they will not go further with their plans: ‘We will proceed no further in this business’.
• Act 1 Scene 7 - Lady Macbeth’s persuasion

  • This scene shows Lady Macbeth really manipulating Macbeth into murdering King Duncan. She uses several techniques to persuade Macbeth:
  • She becomes aggressive in her language.
  • She tells him he's a coward for not doing what he needs to do.
  • She tries to show him the positive outcomes if he does it (he'll be more than just a man).
  • She makes him feel guilty for breaking a promise to his wife.
• Act 1 Scene 7 - Macbeth agrees

  • Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth that she plans to get King Duncan’s men drunk. She wants to do this so that they can do whatever they like to the unprotected king and then blame the servants.
  • Macbeth agrees to go through with the plan and they return to the celebrations.
• What is the very first thing that the audience see and hear in Macbeth?

  Thunder and lighnting
• Who does Macbeth kill at the beginning of the play to please King Duncan?

  Macdonald
• Banquo is told that he ‘shalt get kings’. What does this mean?

  His children will be kings
• Who does King Duncan name as the heir to the throne?

  His son, Malcom
• How does Lady Macbeth find out about what the witches told Macbeth?

  A letter
• Why is Lady Macbeth's treatment of King Duncan especially evil?

  She is plotting to kill a king / It was a hostess’ job to protect their guest
• How does Lady Macbeth manipulate Macbeth into killing the king?

  She hints that he is a coward, challenges his masculinity
• Act 2 Scene 1

  • Banquo and his son, Fleance, are outside Macbeth’s castle. 
  • Macbeth enters. Banquo tells him that he dreamt of the three witches. Macbeth says that he doesn’t ever think about them. 
  • Macbeth is left alone and speaks his soliloquy (speech to himself). He can see an apparition (ghostly image) of a dagger in front of him: ‘Is this a dagger which I see before me, / The handle toward my hand?’ He isn’t sure if it is a sign from fate or a sign that he’s confused.
• Analysis - the 'dagger'

  • At this moment, Macbeth imagines he can see a dagger floating in front of him. This is the dagger he will use to kill King Duncan.
  • He imagines that he can see Duncan’s blood on the dagger.
  • This represents the guilt that Macbeth feels. This dagger will also pierce his mind and his character. Once he commits the murder, his actions cannot be undone and he will live with the image for the rest of his life.
  • This first hallucination could signal the final moment of Macbeth as the loyal friend, and the first moment of him as a ruthless murderer.
• Act 2, Scene 2

  • Lady Macbeth has drugged the guards and feels bold after drinking the same alcohol.
  • Macbeth comes in holding two bloody daggers and tells Lady Macbeth that he has killed King Duncan: ‘I have done the deed’.
  • Macbeth seems disturbed. He looks at the blood on his hands and says ‘This is a sorry sight’.
  • He thought he heard a voice say ‘Sleep no more: / Macbeth does murder sleep’. Sleep is a symbol of peace. Macbeth says that he will never feel peaceful again. Lady Macbeth suggests that it is weakness to talk like this - that it is ‘brain-sickly’.
• Act 2, Scene 2 (continued)

  • Lady Macbeth is angry at Macbeth for bringing the bloody daggers with him. She calls him a coward (‘Infirm of purpose!’).
  • She returns the daggers to the murder scene and smears the servants in blood so that they look guilty. 
  • When Lady Macbeth returns, her hands are now red with blood. She says she doesn’t feel guilty: ‘My hands are of your colour, but I shame / To wear a heart so white.’
  • There is a knocking outside and they go to bed.
• Act 2, Scene 3

  • The scene begins with a drunken porter – he is woken by a knocking sound. Macduff, the Thane of Fife, and Lennox, another Thane, arrive to see King Duncan. 
  • Macduff goes to find and wake King Duncan.
  • Lennox talks about the conditions of the previous night. He says they were very ‘unruly’ with storms.
  • Pathetic fallacy (when the weather reflects the mood of the play) is used to show Macbeth’s anxiety and uncertainty when he killed King Duncan. The wild weather reflects Macbeth’s unhappiness and guilt.
• Act 2, Scene 3 (continued)

  • Macduff returns in shock: ‘O horror, horror, horror’.
  • Macduff sounds the alarm for murder and treason.
  • Malcolm and Donalbain wake up. Macbeth tells them their father died.
  • Lennox tells them that the guards were covered in blood. Macbeth says that he killed them because he was angry at what they had done.
  • The thanes decide to meet up to take action. Malcolm and Donalbain flee instead – Malcolm goes to England and Donalbain goes to Ireland. They believe they are under threat because Donalbain says, ‘There’s daggers in men’s smiles’.
• Act 2, Scene 4

  • Ross speaks to an old man about all of the unnatural things that have been happening that night.
  • Macduff enters. He tells them that the king’s sons have fled. This makes them seem suspicious.
  • Ross says that it's likely that Macbeth will become king. Macduff tells him that Macbeth has already been named as King Duncan’s successor.
• Act 3, Scene 1

  • The scene begins just after Macbeth has been crowned king. 
  • Banquo speaks to himself. He is afraid that Macbeth has done something bad to get the crown: ‘I fear / Thou played’st most foully for’t’. Banquo still hopes that this means his children will be kings.
  • Macbeth enters. He calls Banquo his ‘chief guest’. This implies that he still treats Banquo like his best friend. Banquo sets out on a horse ride with Fleance.
• Act 3, Scene 1 - Macbeth's soliloquy


  • Macbeth speaks in another soliloquy (speech to himself). He says that having the crown is not enough. He must feel secure as king: ‘To be thus is nothing, / But to be safely thus’.
  • Macbeth is afraid that the wise Banquo is a threat to his crown: ‘There is none but he, / Whose being I do fear’.
  • Macbeth knows that the witches also prophecised (predicted) that Banquo’s sons would be kings, and so he feels they must be a threat.
  • Two murderers enter the stage and agree to kill Banquo and Fleance.
• Act 3, Scene 2

  • Lady Macbeth is worried that Macbeth is thinking a lot of bad thoughts about killing King Duncan. She says: ‘what’s done, is done’.
  • Macbeth tells her that this is just the beginning: ‘We have scorch’d the snake, not killed it.’ This means he still feels that his crown is at risk.
• Act 3, Scene 2 (continued)

  • This shows where Macbeth is beginning to take control of his own future, instead of letting Lady Macbeth tell him what to do. Here, she wants him to enjoy being king and move on, but Macbeth wants to secure his future by continuing to kill anyone that threatens his rule.
  • Macbeth is almost shown to be paranoid here.
• Act 3, Scene 2 (continued .2)

  • Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth that he is suffering from nightmares.
  • Macbeth hints that something bad is about to happen, but does not tell Lady Macbeth of his plan to kill Banquo. This is surprising because she seemed to be the driving force behind the murder of King Duncan.
• Act 3, Scene 2 (continued .3)

  • When Lady Macbeth asks Macbeth what he means, he says that she doesn’t need to know: ‘Be innocent of the knowledge, dearest chuck’.
  • This is a turning point – before this point, Macbeth has told his wife everything and allowed her to take control of his decisions. Now, Macbeth doesn’t even feel the need to tell his wife about his plan.