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Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on William Shakespeare's Macbeth. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
Actually understand Macbeth. Read every line of Shakespeare’s original text alongside a modern English translation.
Macbeth has become manic, cruel, and haughty—many of his men desert to Malcolm's side. In Birnam Wood, Malcolm and his generals devise a strategy to hide their numbers—they cut branches to hold up in front of them. As Macbeth prepares for the siege, Lady Macbeth dies, perhaps of suicide.
Read the full play summary, an in-depth character analysis of Macbeth, and explanations of important quotes from Macbeth. From a general summary to chapter summaries to explanations of famous quotes, the SparkNotes Macbeth Study Guide has everything you need to ace quizzes, tests, and essays.
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.
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.
Shakespeare’s Macbeth delves into the world of darkness, chaos, and conflict that arises when one’s lust for power usurps the moral order. Titular-character Macbeth decides to murder the beloved King Duncan when three witches prophesize that he will one day take the throne.
Macbeth is a Scottish general who has managed to lead his army to defeat invaders. Near the beginning of the play, a chorus of witches prophesize that Macbeth will eventually be made king of Scotland. Intrigued by the prophecy, Macbeth writes to his wife to tell her about it.
Analysis. As a storm rages, three witches appear, speaking in rhyming, paradoxical couplets: "when the battle's lost and won" (1.1.4); "fair is foul, and foul is fair" (1.1.10). They agree to meet again on the heath (plain) when the battle now raging ends. There they'll meet Macbeth .
Macbeth is one of the well-known tragedies of William Shakespeare that was performed with the full title of The Tragedy of Macbeth. It is one of the plays written during the reign of James I to please him as he was the patron of Shakespeare’s acting troupe. The play was first performed in 1606. It was first published in the First Folio in 1623.
