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•Kind Duncan receives news of the victories of Macbeth and Banquo against the armies of Ireland and
Norway
•Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches, who prophesize Macbeth will be made Thane of Cawdor
and eventually King of Scotland
•The Witches also prophesize that Banquo’s sons will be kings, however he will never receive the title
•Macbeth and Banquo are skeptical but soon after Ross arrives bringing Macbeth news of the traitor
thane of Cawdor, Macbeth’s new title
• At this point, Macbeth begins to wonder if he could ever become King and he writes to his wife
•Lady Macbeth wants her husband to obtain the throne and convinces him to commit regicide or the
murder of a King
•Macbeth and Lady Macbeth devise a plan to kill King Duncan in his sleep which includes;
–Lady Macbeth drugging the guards (they will think they’re responsible for the murder)
–Macbeth must stab Kind Duncan (also must overcome fear of regicide, guilt, and hallucinations)
–Lady Macbeth plants the bloody daggers with the unconscious guards
–Macbeth kills the guards the following morning out of “an act of rage”
–Finally, Macbeth and Lady Macbeth must convincingly pretend to be shocked and grieving
•Malcolm flees to England and Donalbain to Ireland, fearing they would be killed next
Plot Summary Continued…
•As King, Macbeth is not content for he is constantly fearful his power will come to an end
•Macbeth organizes the murder of his friend Banquo, and Banquo’s son Fleance
•Banquo is killed however Fleance escapes further preventing Macbeth from resting
•At the banquet, Macbeth envisions the blood bolstered ghost of Banquo, causing a dramatic scene and
essentially making everyone question Macbeth’s sanity as King
•Macbeth visits the witches who show him four apparitions;
•First, an armed head- warns Macbeth of Macduff (this Macbeth already knew)
•Second, a bloody child- No mortal will ever harm Macbeth
•Third, a child with a crown and tree- Macbeth will never be defeated until Birnam wood walk to
Dunsinane Hill
•Fourth, 8 Kings all resembling Banquo and his bloody ghost (Macbeth becomes outraged at this
sight)
•Macbeth is slightly relieved but he learns that Macduff has fled to England to join Malcolm
•Macbeth orders Macduff’s castle seized and his family murdered
•Lady Macbeth grows sick with guilt and eventually commits suicide
•At this news Macbeth becomes very pessimistic yet continues to fight
•Eventually, the English forces arrive, disguised in the branches of Birnam wood, and Macduff, who
was not born of woman, beheads Macbeth
•Malcolm becomes the new, and rightful, King of Scotland
Main Character Descriptions
• Macbeth- Thane of Cawdor and Glamis, eventually King,
easily tempted into murder to fulfill his vaulting ambition,
violent, ambitious, lacks ruling skills.
• Lady Macbeth- strong and ruthless, ambitious, has a
lust for power, conscious to the point she commits
suicide, manipulative.
• Banquo- brave, noble, his children will inherit the throne
(according to witch’s prophecies), murdered by Macbeth
• Three Witches- prophecies prompt Macbeth to murder
Duncan, comical, supernatural, could be independent
agents toying with human lives or agents of fate
• King Duncan- King of Scotland, murdered by Macbeth
Major Conflict
• Protagonist: Macbeth
• Antagonist: Macbeth
• The internal conflict with Macbeth was his
vaulting ambition to become and remain king,
which was his tragic flaw. His internal conflicts
led to the external conflicts, which was war.
Macduff and the witches were outside conflicting
forces, resulting in the decisions that Macbeth
had made. Lady Macbeth helped her husband
realize his goal by pushing him into committing
the murder of King Duncan.
Conflict Resolution