MACBETH - SUMMARY

"Macbeth" is one of the most important Shakespeare's tragedies. The story is set in Scotland during the Middle Ages. Most of the story develops in woods and castles, with a cloudy and dark weather which creates a strange atmosphere that preannounce the end of the tragedy.

The play opens during a rebellion against the Scottish king, King Duncan. He is in his castle with his youngest son, Donalbain, waiting for news from the battlefield. While the king is worried for his eldest son's health (who is fighting in the battle), three witches appear in a field and decide to set a trap for Macbeth, a Scottish thane and cousin of the king. Some hours later Malcolm, the other king's son, goes back to the castle from the battle and tells his father about their victory. The rebels' chief has been captured and the king orders to execute him. All the soldiers agree saying Macbeth was the hero of the battle and the king decides to give him the title of the thane who had rebelled, Thane of Cawdor.

In the meanwhile Macbeth is riding back to the castle with his friend Banquo, another thane. When they are in a wood three
witches appear to them and make three predictions: Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and then King of Scotland and Banquo's children will become kings. Macbeth and Banquo would like to ask more but the witches vanish into thin air. The two
friends start joking about what has happened but suddenly Lord Ross (another thane) reaches them and tells Macbeth what the king has decided. Macbeth is shocked by this news and starts thinking the witches were right and understands he wants effectively become king. Back to the castle King Duncan congratulates Macbeth and names his heir: his son Malcolm.

Macbeth is really disappointed by this news and immediately writes to his wife telling her what has happened and that the
king would spend the following night at their castle. Lady Macbeth knows his husband is too honest and loyal to become king and so she decides to lead him. She pushes Macbeth to kill the king and helps him in making the king's servants look guilty. Macbeth kills the king with a dagger and then his wife puts it in the servants' room. The new Thane of Cawdor is very shocked by what he has done and in the following morning other thanes (Macduff and Lennox) arrive at the castle. The find the king dead and everyone consider the king's son the real murder, so that they are compelled to flee away.

In this way Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland and moves to the royal castle. There he decides to kill Banquo and his son Fleance because of the prophecy made to Banquo and because he knows too much. When the queen learns about what has happened she considers it a mistake but the new king is determined to defend his throne. In the evening all the thanes are gathered in castle for a banquet in honour of the new king. When the king reaches the table he sees Banquo's ghost and starts screaming. All the presents are a little frightened by the king's strange behaviour and they all go away.

The following morning Macbeth decides to go to the witches to know what will happen. Three ghosts appear and tell him to be
afraid of Macduff, that no one born of a woman will succeed in killing him and he will be defeated only when the wood near the castle will start moving. In the castle Macbeth accuses Macduff (who had gone to England - where Malcolm lived) of having killed Banquo and orders to slaughter his family. 

In the following weeks everyone is afraid for Scotland. The queen goes around the castle in the middle of the night, crying
for what she has done. In the meanwhile Macduff persuades Malcolm to go back to Scotland with the aid of England.

The day of the battle the queen kills herself but Macbeth doesn't care about it and doesn't even cry: he's too focused on the battle. Malcolm orders to his soldiers to carry branches of trees in front of them to hide themselves. From the castle the king sees the wood coming towards him.

In the battlefield Macbeth fights like a lion but at last he meets Macduff. He wants to kill Macbeth to avenge his family's assassination. Macbeth is sure no one can kill him because of the witches' prediction but Macduff tells him he was born when his mother was already dead. Macbeth understands the witches had trifled with him and at last he is defeated and killed. Malcolm becomes the new king and everybody hails him as King of Scotland.