Macbeth – William Shakespeare (Summary)
The most popular play “Macbeth” is one of the four greatest
tragedies of William Shakespeare. It
is set in the medieval period of Scotland and also partly based on a true
account of history. The play “Macbeth”
describes the bloody rise of Macbeth to power and his tragic downfall. After
the victorious battle, both Macbeth and Banquo, while on their way to home they
encountered three witches upon a heath. These three witches greeted Macbeth and
inform him that he is going to be honoured with the title Thane of Cowder and also inform him that he is going to become the King of Scotland. As a part of the same
prophecy, the witches predict that the future Scottish Kings will be descended
not from Macbeth but from his fellow army general Banquo. With this unexpected
prophecy of three witches Macbeth is stung by ambition for political power.
Later he falls in utter confusion when the King Duncan nominates his son
Malcolm as his heir.
Being disappointed with the sudden
announcement of king Duncan’s heir, Macbeth sent a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth,
explaining all happenings in detail. He
allows himself to be persuaded and directed by his wife. Taking into account of
all the details of his letter she realizes that regicide (the murder of the king) is the quickest way to achieve
her husband’s ambitious destiny. A
perfect opportunity presents itself when King Duncan pays a royal visit to
Macbeth’s castle in honour of Macbeth’s victorious deeds and his unshakable
loyalty towards the king. Lady Macbeth persuades her husband to kill Duncan in
his sleep. At first Macbeth is loath to commit a treacherous crime of killing a
person while he is sleeping in his castle as a guest. He knows that he will invite judgment in
heavens if not on earth. Once again Lady Macbeth prevails upon her husband to
prepare him to kill King Duncan. She
drugs the guards of the king’s bedchamber to fall in deep sleep to carry out
the deed successfully. At a given signal, Macbeth enters the king’s chamber and
murders him while he sleeps. Lady Macbeth fills the confidence in her husband
while Macbeth is haunted by the sin of treacherous killing. Suddenly, a loud
knocking at the castle door alarms both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth.
The drunken porter of Macbeth’s castle finally
responds to the knocking. He opens the door to Macduff, a loyal follower of the
king, who was asked to awake Duncan in preparation for the return journey.
Macbeth indicates the chamber in which the king is sleeping. Macduff discovers
that the king is brutally killed in his room. When the murder is revealed,
Macbeth swiftly kills all guards who are still sleeping in front of the king’s
bedchamber to erase the prime witness. On the following King Duncan’s
assassination the emergency assembly of lords of Scotland is called, in which
all lords including Macbeth swear to avenge the murder. After the suspicious
death of King Duncan the two sons of the king flee the country. Donalbain flees
to Ireland and Malcolm flees to England to seek shelter as well as raise army
to avenge their father’s death.
In the absence of the righteous heirs to
the throne of Scotland, Macbeth is duly proclaimed the new King of Scotland,
but recalling the witches’ second prophecy, he arranges the murder of his
fellow soldier Banquo and his son Fleance, both of whom represent a threat to
his kingship. The hired murderers kill Banquo but mistakenly allow Fleance to
scape. At a celebratory banquet that night, Macbeth is thrown into a state of
horror when the ghost of the murdered Banquo appears at the dining table.
Again, his wife, Lady Macbeth tries to strengthen the Macbeth, but the anexity
is clearly beginning to show.
The following day, Macbeth visits the
same witches. This time the witches not only confirm that the sons of Banquo
will rule Scotland. They also add a new prophecy that Macbeth will be
invincible in battle until the time when the Birnam woods move toward his
stronghold at Dunsinane and until he meets an enemy who is not born to woman in
natural way. Dismissing both of predictions as nonsense, Macbeth prepares for
invasion.
When Macbeth is told that Macduff has
deserted him, he begins the final stage of his tragic descent. His first move
is the destruction of Macduff’s wife and children. In England, Macduff receives
the news at the very moment that he swears his loyalty to the young Malcolm.
Malcolm persuades Macduff that the murder of his family should act as the spur
to revenge.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, Lady Macbeth has
been taken ill. She walks in her sleep and seems to recall, in fragmentary
memories, the details of the murder. In a series of alternating scenes, the
action of the play moves rapidly between the advancing army of Malcolm and the
defensive preparations of Macbeth, When Malcolm’s army troops disguise with
branches, of which Macbeth sees that it appears to be a wood moving towards his
stronghold, Dunsinane. And when he finally meets Macduff in single combat,
Macduff reveals that he has come into this world by cesarean section; he was
not, precisely speaking, ‘born of woman’. On hearing this news, Macbeth rejects
one final time the Witches’ prophecy. With a loud cry, he launches himself at
Macduff and is slain. In the final scene, Malcolm is crowned as the new king of
Scotland, to the acclamation of all.
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