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LitCharts offers comprehensive and concise summaries, analysis, and quizzes for Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Learn about the plot, themes, characters, symbols, and literary devices of this classic tragedy.
- Plot Summary
Macbeth has become manic, cruel, and haughty—many of his men...
- Summary & Analysis
PDF downloads of all 1956 LitCharts literature guides, and...
- Themes
Macbeth is a play about ambition run amok. The weird sisters...
- Quotes
PDF downloads of all 1956 LitCharts literature guides, and...
- Characters
Macbeth 's wife. Unlike her husband, she has no reservations...
- Symbols
When he murders Duncan, Macbeth thinks he hears a voice say...
- Quizzes
Test your knowledge of William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Get...
- Violence
To call Macbeth a violent play is an understatement. It...
- Plot Summary
Read Macbeth in modern English with this translation of Shakespeare's original text. Follow the plot of the Scottish Play, from the witches' prophecy to Macbeth's downfall, with scene summaries and analysis.
LitCharts provides a concise and comprehensive overview of Macbeth, William Shakespeare's tragedy about a Scottish thane who murders his way to the throne. Learn about the characters, themes, quotes, symbols, and literary devices in this classic play.
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.
- The Corrupting Power of Unchecked Ambition
- The Relationship Between Cruelty and Masculinity
- The Difference Between Kingship and Tyranny
- Ambition
- Guilt
- Children
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
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...
Explore the main themes of Macbeth, such as the corrupting power of unchecked ambition, the relationship between cruelty and masculinity, and the difference between kingship and tyranny. Learn how Shakespeare uses characters, language, and plot to explore these themes in his tragedy.
Macbeth is that he senses the murder will lead to his own destruction even before he murders Duncan, yet his ambition is so great that he still goes through with it.
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.
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