Macbeth Summary

Plot overview

Macbeth is a short tragedy by William Shakespeare that follows a Scottish nobleman whose ambition and fears draw him into a spiral of violence and paranoia. Compact and intense, the play is built from scenes of prophecy, persuasion, and psychological unraveling, moving swiftly from battlefields and palaces to dark counsels and haunted interiors.

The play opens with Macbeth, a celebrated warrior, returning from a victorious battle where King Duncan rewards him with the title of Thane of Cawdor. On a blasted heath three witches greet Macbeth and his friend Banquo with prophetic titles that set a dangerous idea in motion. Encouraged and manipulated by his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth’s private ambition hardens into a plan for seizing the crown. Banquo suspects foul play; Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, are forced into flight; Macduff, a nobleman of integrity, becomes increasingly mistrustful. Supernatural signs, political maneuvering, and the couple’s growing guilt drive the action forward, while Macbeth seeks reassurance from the witches and attempts to secure his position.

The play endures because it probes ambition, conscience, and power with compressed, vivid language and memorable images—the dagger, the witches’ chants, and sleepwalking—while staging moral collapse on a tightly controlled dramatic canvas. Its rhythms of speech and moral ambiguity continue to invite reinterpretation across eras and media.

Chapter summaries

1. Act 1, Scene 2: A battlefield reportA wounded captain reports Macbeth’s battlefield heroism and the Norweyan defeat; Duncan orders the execution of the Thane of Cawdor and gives his title to Macbeth.
2. Act 1, Scene 3: Witches' prophecies on the heathOn a blasted heath the three witches greet Macbeth and Banquo with prophetic titles, then messengers confirm Macbeth’s new rank.
3. Act 1, Scene 4: Forres: Duncan's AnnouncementDuncan praises Macbeth and Banquo, names Malcolm Prince of Cumberland, and Macbeth privately reveals dark ambition.
4. Act 1, Scene 5: Lady Macbeth PlotsLady Macbeth reads Macbeth’s letter, resolves to push him toward murder, and instructs him to act innocent when King Duncan arrives tonight.
5. Act 1, Scene 6: Before Macbeth's CastleKing Duncan and his courtiers arrive at Macbeth's castle and are warmly received by Lady Macbeth.
6. Act 1, Scene 7: Macbeth's Resolve TestedMacbeth hesitates about murdering King Duncan; Lady Macbeth shames and plans, and Macbeth resolves to proceed.
7. Act 2, Scene 1: The Dagger SoliloquyBanquo and Fleance leave; Macbeth hallucinates a dagger that guides him toward Duncan’s murder and exits to commit the deed.
8. Act 2, Scene 2: After the MurderMacbeth returns bloodied after killing King Duncan; Lady Macbeth steadies him, frames the guards, and they try to compose themselves as knocking is heard.
9. Act 2, Scene 3: Morning after the murderA drunken porter answers a persistent knocking; Macduff discovers King Duncan’s murder and chaos spreads as Malcolm and Donalbain flee.
10. Act 2, Scene 4: Outside Macbeth's CastleRoss and an Old Man speak about unnatural portents and the chaos after King Duncan's murder; Macduff arrives with news of the princes' flight and Macbeth's rising.
11. Act 3, Scene 1: Banquo's Suspicion and PlotBanquo worries that the witches promised his heirs the throne while Macbeth secretly hires murderers to kill Banquo and Fleance.
12. Act 3, Scene 2: Night of Dark PlansMacbeth and Lady Macbeth exchange fears and resolve to hide dark plans as Macbeth prepares a further murderous deed that night.
13. Act 3, Scene 3: Ambush in the ParkThree hired murderers ambush Banquo and Fleance; Banquo is killed but Fleance escapes.
14. Act 3, Scene 4: The Banquet and the GhostAt a royal banquet Macbeth is haunted by Banquo’s ghost, revealing his guilt and unsettling the guests.
15. Act 3, Scene 5: Hecate and the WitchesHecate reproves the witches for dealing with Macbeth without her and plots illusions to mislead him.
16. Act 3, Scene 6: Forres: A Room in the PalaceLennox and a Lord discuss the recent murders, Macduff’s flight to England, and rising plans to challenge Macbeth.
17. Act 4, Scene 1: The cauldron and apparitionsMacbeth confronts the witches; they brew a spell and show him three apparitions that warn and mislead him.
18. Act 4, Scene 2: Macduff’s Castle: Domestic DangerLady Macduff and her son face abandonment, a warning, and sudden murder after Ross departs to seek safety.
19. Act 4, Scene 3: England: Malcolm and MacduffMalcolm tests Macduff’s loyalty, they learn of Macduff’s slaughtered family, and prepare to march on Macbeth with English support.
20. Act 5, Scene 1: Lady Macbeth's SleepwalkingLady Macbeth, observed by a doctor and a gentlewoman, sleepwalks and reveals guilt through speech and gestures.
21. Act 5, Scene 2: Preparing to March on DunsinaneScottish nobles learn the English army is near and resolve to march from Birnam Wood to Dunsinane to confront Macbeth.
22. Act 5, Scene 3: Macbeth at DunsinaneMacbeth receives grim reports, refuses to yield to fear, demands armour, and asks the doctor to cure his wife's troubled mind.
23. Act 5, Scene 4: Birnam Wood ApproachesMalcolm's forces prepare to use branches from Birnam Wood as camouflage while they march on Dunsinane.
24. Act 5, Scene 5: Dunsinane: News of DeathMacbeth learns of his wife's death, reacts with nihilistic reflection, then hears that Birnam Wood seems to be moving toward Dunsinane.
25. Act 5, Scene 7: Macbeth fights Young SiwardMacbeth kills Young Siward, boasts invulnerability, then Macduff seeks him as Malcolm and Siward approach the castle.
26. Act 5, Scene 8: Macbeth's Last StandMacbeth fights Macduff, is killed, and Malcolm is hailed king as order is restored.

Characters

• MacbethProtagonist
• BanquoMajor character
• MacduffMajor character
• MalcolmMajor character
• RossMajor character
• Lady MacbethMajor character
• LennoxMajor character
• DuncanMajor character
• DonalbainMinor character
• AAngusMinor character
• FleanceMinor character
• SiwardMajor character

All 21 characters ›