Scotl

andi satwarandt heS cotti

shKi ngDuncanhear sthenewst hathis
general
s,Macbet handBanquo,havedef eat edtheenemy.Ont hei
rway
homef r
om bat t
leMacbet handBanquomeett hreewi t
cheswhof or
etel
lthat
Macbet hwi l
lbemadeT haneofCawdorandevent uall
yKingofS cotl
and.
Theyals
of oretel
lthatMacbet h’sfr
iend,Banquo,wi llf
atheral i
neofS cotti
sh
ki
ngs,al
thoughBanquowi l
lneverbeki nghims el
f.Thewi t
chesdi sappear,and
Macbet handBanquodonotbel ieveintheirpropheciesunt i
lsomeofKi ng
Duncan’ smencomet ot el
lMacbet hthathehasbeennamedT haneof
Cawdor .Macbet hnow s t
artst
ot hinkthattheot herprophecy— t hathewi l
l
becrownedki ng— mi ghtbet r
uet oo,buthei snotqui t
es ur
e.HeandKi ng
Duncanpl ant odinet ogetherthatni ghtatInverness
,Macbet h’scastl
e.
Macbet hwr i
tesal et
tertohiswife,L adyMacbet h,t
ell
ingheral lt
hathas
happened.

LadyMacbet hwantsMacbethtobecomeki ngandshewantshimtomurder

Duncant ogetther
e.HeandL adyMacbet hplantogetDuncan’st
woguar ds
drunkandblamet hemurderonthem.Whi l
eDuncanisasl
eep,Macbeth
st
abshim.WhenDuncan’ sdeathisdi
scoveredthenextmorni
ng,Macbeth
ki
ll
stheguardstoo— becauseheissoangryatthei
rcri
me(orsohesays)—
andi smadeking.
Afr
aidofthewitches’prophecythatBanquo’ schi l
drenwill
becomeki ngs,
Macbet hpaysmur der
erstokil
lBanquoandhi ssonF l
eance.Theykil
lBanquo
butFleanceescapes.Atdinnerthatnight
,Banquo’ sghostappears.When
Macbet hseestheghost,heisabsolut
elyt
er r
if
ied.Butbecaus enobodyel s
e
cans eetheghost,Macbeth’sdinnerguestsdon’ tknow whatishappening
tohim.

Fr
ight
ened,Macbet hgoest ovi s
itt
hewi t
chesinthei
rcave.Ther
et heyshow
hi
mf ur
therprophecies:hemus tbewar eofMacduf f
;hecannotbehur tby
anymanbor nofwoman;andhewi l
lbesafeunti
lBi
rnam Woodcomest o
Dunsi
naneCas t
le.Macbet hisreli
evednow becaus eheknowsthatal l
men
ar
ebor nofwomenandt hatforest
scannotmove.Whenhel earnsthat
Macduf fhasfl
edt oEngland,Macbet hordershi
swifeandherchil
drent obe
murdered.

Whent hisnewsreachesMacduf f
,hevowsr evenge.Pri
nceMal col
m,
Duncan’ sson,hasanar myinEngl and,andMacduf fjoinshi
m.L ady
Macbet h,meanwhi le,hasstart
eds l
eepwal ki
ngandthinksshecans t
il
lsee
bl
oodstainsonherhands ,ands hekil
l
sherself
.Macbethwai tsforMalcolm’s
army,cer t
ainthatthewi t
ches’propheciesmakehi minvinci
ble–nobody
canhurthi m.Heisstrucknumbwi t
hfear,however,whenhel earnst
hatt he
armyismovi ngtowar dthecas tl
eholdingboughscutf r
om Birnam Woodi n
f
rontofthem -Birnam Woodi si
ndeedcomi ngtoDunsinane.

I
nt hebat
tl
e,Macbet hmeetsMacduff
,whodeclaresthathewasnot“of
womanbor n”butwasins
tead“unti
melyri
pped”fr
om hismother’
swomb–
t
hismeansthathewascutf r
om hi
smother’
sbel
lybycaes ar
eans ect
ion.
Thoughhereali
zest
hatheisdoomed,Macbethcontinuestofi
ghtuntil
Macduffki
l
lsandbeheadshim.Malcol
m now becomesKingofS cotl
and.