Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Summary: Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a story of the man Macbeth and his rise to power after finding out his future from three witches. Macbeth rises to power after murder, and keeps it because of continuing assassination. However, the means he uses to get his status are also Macbeth's downfall.

Characters:

Duncan : King of Scottland

Macbeth : General of Duncan, becomes king

Banquo : Second general of Duncan, is told his sons will be kings; gets murdered

Lady Macbeth : The wife of Macbeth

Macduff : Nobleman of Scottland, Macbeth kills his family

Fleance : Banquo's son

Weird Sisters : Witches that tell Macbeth's anBanquo's future

ACT I:

The witches called the weird sisters are talking about watching an event unfold, Macbeth and Banquo are talking about the victory they just had when they walk up to the sisters
The weird sisters call Macbeth by his current title (thane of Glamis), then by a higher title (thane of Cawdor), then by king; Macbeth is at first troubled
Banquo ask his destiny after he hears Macbeth's he is told his title will not be as high as Macbeth's but he will be happier and his children will be King one day
Macbeth finds out he is given the new title of Cawdor from Duncan the current King; He starts to believe the sisters and tells his wife
Duncan comes to visit Macbeth at his caslte, Lady Macbeth talks him into kill Duncan; Macbeth tries to change his mind about killing the King but Lady Macbeth calls his manhood into question telling him if she said something like she would kill her own baby then she would do it even as she was breast feeding it; Macbeth is resolved to kill the king.

ACT II:

Lady Macbeth drugs the guards that are watching Duncan
Macbeth kills the king, and feels bad about it;Lady Macbeth notices Macbeth is so distraught he forgot the plan and still has the daggers in his hands; She calms him down , tells him to wash and goes to guards to plant the daggers on them.
The nobles arrive and find out Duncan is dead, Duncan's sons decide something is wrong with the scene and both decide to flee to save their own lives
As a result of the sons running off, the nobles think they must have had something to do with the murder and crown Macbeth

ACT III:

Macbeth is now king and he remembers the weird sisters and their prophecy; he remembers that Banquo's sons will be king but his will not;
Macbeth decides to kill Banquo and his son, Lady Macbeth is not sure about the idea but she follows her husband
Macbeth hires assassins, they kill Banquo but Florence gets away; Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are worried because the prophecy can still be fulfilled
Duncan's sons are planning to take back the crown with the help of the English king.

ACT IV:

Macbeth decides to that he must go to witches for another foretelling; The witches call three spirits that warn Macbeth; 1) Beware Macduff 2) No one born by a women shall harm him 3) Macbeth will not be harmed until Birnham wood(a forrest) is moved to Dunsinane hill
Macbeth thinks Macduff is away so the only problems he can have from him are from his family still living in the country; he has all of Macduff's family killed
Macduff and Malcolm have raised an army in England; Macduff finds out his entire family is dead.

ACT V:

Lady Macbeth is sleep walking; A doctor and another women listen to her as she talks about trying to wash her hands clean of blood
Macbeth is getting ready for war; the doctor tells him his wife must cure herself
Malcolm is marching to Dunsinane to battle; on the way he orders the soldiers to cut branches from the trees of Birnham forrest to hide how many troops they have
Macbeth finds out Lady Macbeth is dead, there isn't a reason said but she may have committed suicide because of her extreme guilt.
Macbeth and Macduff are fighting, Macbeth is not worried because he thinks no one born by a women can harm him; Macduff tells Macbeth that he was not born by his mother but 'ripped out of her womb untimebly' ; Macduff kills Macbeth
Malcolm is crowned king, he remarks that Lady Macbeth took her life with her own hands

OTHER NOTES:

Lady Macbeth starts out talking Macbeth into killing the King, but later she is the one that doesn't want to kill anyone while Macbeth says its needed
Macbeth is self fulfilling prophecy in several circumstances; killing Duncan, killing Macduff's , killing Banquo