Macbeth abbreviated

Synopsis


The strange tale of the Macbeths, Macbeth and his wife Lady Macbeth, takes place we’re told in Scotland around 1040 AD during the reign of King Duncan, a time of violence, assassinations, and witches. The play was first performed in 1603 to honor again we’re told James VI of Scotland, who had just become England’s James I. James I replaced Elizabeth I, a Shakespeare benefactor. The play opens when three witches, also known as the Weird sisters, tell Macbeth and Banquo, two military heroes, that Macbeth, the thane of Glamis, will also become the thane of Cawdor and will be king, while Banquo will not be king, but his children will be. (Fantasy, Act 1, Scene 3)

Also early in the play, a military captain reports to King Duncan that Macbeth and Banquo had been magnificent in battle, but that the thane of Cawdor had been disloyal. King Duncan has the thane of Cawdor executed and transfers his title to Macbeth, placing him in line to be king. When Macbeth and Banquo learn that Macbeth has been named thane of Cawdor, they come to believe the witches’ prophesies. Separately, however, King Duncan names his older son, Malcolm, the Prince of Cumberland, making him the direct heir to the Scottish throne. In a letter to his wife, Macbeth tells her of the witches’ prophesies, but he also lets her know and wants her to think about how he is ever going to be king, even though he is now the thane of Cawdor, now that Malcolm has the inside track, now being the Prince of Cumberland.

King Duncan travels to Inverness Castle for an overnight stay with the Macbeths. (Introspection, Act 1, Scene 5) He is joined by his sons (Malcolm and Donalbain), by Banquo, by the young Scottish nobleman Macduff and others. Ruthlessly ambitious for her husband, Lady Macbeth convinces her husband that if he is ever to be king he must use this moment to murder King Duncan. (Introspection, Act 1, Scene 7) So the plan is set. (Wife to Husband, Act 1, Scene 7) Lady Macbeth spends the evening with the king’s guards, telling stories and making sure they have plenty of wine. The guards fall asleep. Adding to Macbeth insecurity over this plan mostly concocted by his wife, Macbeth encounters Banquo who gives him a diamond as a gift for his wife from the king. Spooked as he is, Macbeth famously says to himself “is this a dagger I see before me.” (Fear, Act 2, Scene 1) Macbeth murders the king, but is so shaken by his actions that he returns to his wife with the bloody daggers in his hands, and says “I have done the deed. Didst thou not hear a noise?” He could not kill the guards, saying “They did wake each other” and “I could not say ‘Amen’ when they did say ‘God bless us.’” She says “Consider it not so deeply.”

Later, Macbeth greets Macduff; Macduff on his way to waken the king; Macbeth showing him to the king’s room. Macbeth then quietly slips away, picks up the bloody daggers, slips into the guards’ room, kills them, and leaves the bloody daggers on their pillows, intending the daggers to be evidence against the guards. Macduff soon rushes out into the castle crying “Murder and Treason!” Macbeth promptly enters stage central, telling Macduff and others that “I did kill them,” (meaning the guards) saying he did so after seeing Duncan “his silver skin laced with golden blood” and “there the murderers, their daggers unmannerly breeched with gore.” Suspicious of events and fearing for their safety, the late king’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain decide it’s in their best interest to flee, Malcolm to England, Donalbain to Ireland. But in the doing they both become suspects in the king’s murder. Separately, Macduff announces that Macbeth is to be crowned king at Scone, Malcolm having fled, while he, also dismayed by events, lets all know that he plans to stay behind at his castle at Fife.

Meanwhile, Macbeth, now king, fears that Banquo knows too much, representing a threat. (Introspection, Act 3, Scene 1) Macbeth hires two murderers to kill him and his son, Fleance, his only child, during a roadside ambush. Banquo is murdered, but Fleance escapes, which worries King Macbeth, thinking as he does of the witches’ prophecies. (Fear, Act 3, Scene 2) Meanwhile, Macbeth and his wife make plans for a state dinner; Macbeth continually preoccupied with fear. The banquet begins with all the nobles present, but soon the ghost of Banquo visits, but appears only to Macbeth. Macbeth shouts out at the ghost, seriously disrupting the dinner party. Lady Macbeth defends her husband, saying he just needs sleep.

The next morning Macbeth decides to revisit the witches. The witches’ apparitions (the witches’ masters) tell him he should “beware of Macduff,” but that he has nothing to fear from “any man of woman born” or until “Birnam Wood goes to Dunsinane.” Macbeth listens intently. Hecate, the apparitions’ supervisor lectures the ladies, telling them their contact with Macbeth has been inappropriate. Seriously, this is how it seems to go. (Fantasy, Act 3, Scene 5) Macbeth learns from Lennox, another Scottish nobleman that Macduff has fled to England, leaving his wife and children unattended and vulnerable at their castle at Fife there in Scotland. Murderers (hired by Macbeth) enter and kill Macduff’s family.

Later, Macduff meets with Malcolm in England, but Malcolm, the should-be heir to Scotland’s crown, is suspect of Macduff’s motives, fearing he is Macbeth’s agent, Macbeth having tried to trick him in the past. (Chivalry, Act 4, Scene 3) Malcolm puts Macduff to a loyalty test; Macduff passing the test, Malcolm suggests he lead their effort against King Macbeth. (Inspiration, Act 4, Scene 3) The king of England has offered Malcolm access to ten thousand English forces with Siward as their commander, Siward being Malcolm’s uncle. Macduff learns that his wife and children have been murdered at Fife. Macduff, Malcolm, Siward and the English forces all agree to a joint effort to defeat Macbeth at Dunsinane Castle.

Meanwhile, at Dunsinane, Lady Macbeth takes to walking and talking in her sleep. She appears to those around her as being seriously ill. (Despair, Act 5, Scene 1) Macduff, Malcolm, Siward and the English forces assemble in Birnam Wood, outside Dunsinane. Macbeth is warned by a servant of an impending assault by the English forces, but Macbeth dismisses the warnings on the basis of the apparitions’ admonitions. (Introspection, Act 5, Scene 5) The Doctor warns Macbeth that Lady Macbeth is not well. He instructs the Doctor to cure her. Later Macbeth learns that his wife has died. Sensing his own time is short, Macbeth gamely moves on.

Using tree branches from Birnam Wood as camouflage and shields, soldiers attack Macbeth’s castle at Dunsinane. Macbeth kills Siward’s son. Macbeth learns that Macduff’s mother died just before he was born. (Chivalry, Act 5, Scene 8) Macduff slays Macbeth. Macduff proclaims Malcolm the new king of Scotland.


Principal Characters


Macbeth.
Macbeth is a Scottish nobleman who through success on the battlefield and for other unknown reasons endears himself to King Duncan. However, an insecure Macbeth is undone through an over-the-top ambitious wife. Macbeth kills King Duncan; kills the king’s guards; is elevated to king; has Banquo assassinated; has Macduff’s family killed and then proceeds to live a tormented life. He dies at his castle at Dunsinane, at the hands of Macduff, his nemesis.

Lady Macbeth.
Lady Macbeth is the ambitious and confident wife who encourages her husband to kill King Duncan. She protects and shields her husband beautifully, but in the doing loses her mind and dies late in the play, having lived out a depressing life, as did her husband.

Banquo.
Like Macbeth, Banquo is a Scottish nobleman with battlefield successes. But critically, Macbeth receives the better promotion from the king. The witches tell Macbeth that he will be king and that Banquo will be the father of kings. Soon after being named king, Macbeth has Banquo killed, fearing Banquo knows too much, Banquo’s ghost coming back to haunt him.

Malcolm.
Malcolm is the older of King Duncan’s two sons and is the natural heir to the Scottish throne. Malcolm and his brother, Donalbain, flee Scotland right after the murder of their father, afraid that they will be charged with his murder. Malcolm secures support from the English king. His uncle Siward is the commander of England’s troops. Lining up with Macduff, Malcolm and Siward defeat Macbeth, Malcolm being named king by Macduff following Macbeth’s death.

Weird Sisters.
The Weird Sisters, known as the three witches, are fortune tellers, telling Macbeth and Banquo early in the play that Macbeth will be king and that Banquo will be the father of kings. Later, their leaders tell Macbeth that he must beware of Macduff, but that he has nothing to fear from any man born of a woman or until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. The play wouldn’t be the powerful play it is without them.

Macduff.
Macduff is another Scottish nobleman, closely allied to King Duncan. When the king is murdered, Macduff suspects Macbeth, and he retreats to his castle in Scotland. King Macbeth, justifiably fearing Macduff, has Macduff’s wife and children killed, after Macduff has left Scotland for England. Macduff joins forces with Malcolm and Siward, ending up the survivor in a one-on-one duel with Macbeth at Dunsinane.

 A portrait of William Shakespeare