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A short summary of William Shakespeare's Macbeth. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of Macbeth.
- Act 1: Scenes 1–4
In the following scene, Lady Macbeth will emerge and drive...
- Quick Quiz
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- Character List
Macbeth is a Scottish general and the thane of Glamis who is...
- Suggested Essay Topics
Is it possible to argue that Macbeth is the play’s villain...
- What Does The Ending Mean
In his final speech, Malcolm also mentions that Lady Macbeth...
- Motifs
Macbeth is a famously violent play. Interestingly, most of...
- Important Quotes Explained
Lady Macbeth speaks these words in Act 1, scene 5, lines...
- Foreshadowing
Macbeth does not simply wait to see if the predicted events...
- Act 1: Scenes 1–4
- TEMPTATION. I have tempted the devil and he has come to me. — John Bunyan. Life's business being the terrible choice. Why comes temptation, but for man to meet.
- THE FALL. The curious crime, the fine. Felicity and flower of wickedness. — Browning. The desire of power in excess caused the angels to fall.
- THE SELF PROPAGATING POWER OF SIN. Proverbs 5:22. 2 Timothy 3:13. In the greatness of his folly he shall go astray. All that is human must retrograde if it do not advance.
- DESTINY BECOMES DOOM, OR EVIL ITS OWN PUNISHMENT. No man of woman born, Coward or brave, can shun his destiny. — Bryant's Iliad. No man has learned any thing rightly, until he learns that every day is doomsday.
- The Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition
- The Relationship Between Cruelty and Masculinity
- The Difference Between Kingship and Tyranny
- Ambition
- Guilt
- Children
The main theme of Macbeth—the destruction wrought when ambition goes unchecked by moral constraints—finds its most powerful expression in the play’s two main characters. Macbeth is a courageous Scottish general who is not naturally inclined to commit evil deeds, yet he deeply desires power and advancement. He kills Duncan against his better judgmen...
Characters in Macbeth frequently dwell on issues of gender. Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband by questioning his manhood, wishes that she herself could be “unsexed,” and does not contradict Macbeth when he says that a woman like her should give birth only to boys. In the same manner that Lady Macbeth goads her husband on to murder, Macbeth provo...
In the play, Duncan is always referred to as a “king,” while Macbeth soon becomes known as the “tyrant.” The difference between the two types of rulers seems to be expressed in a conversation that occurs in Act 4, scene 3, when Macduff meets Malcolm in England. In order to test Macduff’s loyalty to Scotland, Malcolm pretends that he would make an e...
Although he is encouraged by the Witches, Macbeth’s true downfall is his own ambition. Lady Macbeth is as ambitious as her husband, encouraging him to commit murder to achieve their goals. Both Macbeths fail to see how their ambition makes them cross moral lines and will lead to their downfall. Once Macbeth kills Duncan, his ambition to hold on to ...
Macbeth’s guilt about murdering his king, Duncan, and ordering the murder of his friend, Banquo, causes him to have guilty hallucinations. Lady Macbeth also hallucinates and eventually goes insane from guilt over her role in Duncan’s death. The fact that both characters suffer torment as a result of their actions suggests neither Macbeth nor his wi...
The loss of children is a complex and intriguing theme in the play. For both Macbeth and Banquo, children represent the idea of the continuation of a family line. Macbeth has Banquo murdered in hopes of thwarting the Witches’ prophecy that Banquo will sire a long line of kings. However, Fleance is able to escape being killed, leaving open the possi...
Macbeth is a tragedy that tells the story of a soldier whose overriding ambition and thirst for power cause him to abandon his morals and bring about the near destruction of the kingdom he seeks to rule. At first, the conflict is between Macbeth and himself, as he debates whether or not he will violently seize power, and between Macbeth and his ...
Jul 25, 2020 · Macbeth is Shakespeare’s greatest psychological portrait of self-destruction and the human capacity for evil seen from inside with an intimacy that horrifies because of our forced identification with Macbeth.
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Discussion of themes and motifs in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. eNotes critical analyses help you gain a deeper understanding of Macbeth so you can excel on your essay or test.
