Lady Macbeth, meanwhile, becomes plagued with fits of sleepwalking in which she bemoans what she believes to be bloodstains on her hands. The invasion has the support of the Scottish nobles, who are appalled and frightened by Macbeth’s tyrannical and murderous behavior. Prince Malcolm, Duncan’s son, has succeeded in raising an army in England, and Macduff joins him as he rides to Scotland to challenge Macbeth’s forces. When news of his family’s execution reaches Macduff in England, he is stricken with grief and vows revenge. When he learns that Macduff has fled to England to join Malcolm, Macbeth orders that Macduff’s castle be seized and, most cruelly, that Lady Macduff and her children be murdered. Macbeth is relieved and feels secure, because he knows that all men are born of women and that forests cannot move. There, they show him a sequence of demons and spirits who present him with further prophecies: he must beware of Macduff, a Scottish nobleman who opposed Macbeth’s accession to the throne he is incapable of being harmed by any man born of woman and he will be safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Castle. Frightened, Macbeth goes to visit the witches in their cavern. Lady Macbeth tries to neutralize the damage, but Macbeth’s kingship incites increasing resistance from his nobles and subjects. When he sees the ghost, Macbeth raves fearfully, startling his guests, who include most of the great Scottish nobility.
At the feast that night, Banquo’s ghost visits Macbeth. Macbeth becomes furious: as long as Fleance is alive, he fears that his power remains insecure. They ambush Banquo on his way to a royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes into the night. Duncan’s sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland, respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan desires their demise as well.įearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. When Duncan’s death is discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains-ostensibly out of rage at their crime-and easily assumes the kingship. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural portents, including a vision of a bloody dagger. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out the next morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will remember nothing. When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to kill the king that very night.
She desires the kingship for him and wants him to murder Duncan in order to obtain it. Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. Macbeth writes ahead to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her all that has happened. He visits with King Duncan, and they plan to dine together at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle, that night. Macbeth is intrigued by the possibility that the remainder of the witches’ prophecy-that he will be crowned king-might be true, but he is uncertain what to expect. The previous thane betrayed Scotland by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death.
The witches vanish, and Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies skeptically until some of King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has indeed been named thane of Cawdor. They also prophesy that Macbeth’s companion, Banquo, will beget a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo will never be king himself. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. Following their pitched battle with these enemy forces, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches as they cross a moor. The play begins with the brief appearance of a trio of witches and then moves to a military camp, where the Scottish King Duncan hears the news that his generals, Macbeth and Banquo, have defeated two separate invading armies-one from Ireland, led by the rebel Macdonwald, and one from Norway.
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