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Description edit
Shakespeare's tragic play of deception, intrigue and murder. After hearing the prophecy of three witches a Scottish noble plots the murder of his king in order to obtain the throne.
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Summary edit
A tragedy written c. 1606 is William Shakespeare's shortest play. It is believed by some scholars to be a tribute to James I because of its emphasis on the supernatural (ghosts and witches), a subject that intrigued the king.
The play opens with Macbeth and Banquo meeting three witches... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)
Characters/People edit
- Macbeth: Main character of the play
- Banquo: Macbeth's best friend and parallel of James I
- Fleance: Banquo's son
- Duncan: King of Scotland
- Bernini: Add a description of this character.
- Malcolm: Duncan's oldest son, who is next in line for the throne.
- Donalbain: Duncan's younger son
- Muir
- Lady Macbeth: Macbeth's wife
- Seyward
- Birnam Wood
- James
- Three witches: The weird sisters who offer predictions to Macbeth
- MacDuff: One of Duncan's loyal subjects, a Scottish noble
- Seyton: attendant to Macbeth
- Angus: One of the thanes of Scotland
- Ross: Scottish noble
- Porter: the drunken doorman and equivocator of Macbeth's castle
- Lennox: Scottish noble
- Siward: commander of the English forces
- Hecate: goddess of witchcraft
- Menteith: One of the thanes of Scotland
- Caithness: One of the thanes of Scotland
- Young Siward: Siward's son
Quotes edit
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“To be thus, is nothing/ But to be safely thus...”
Macbeth (Act 3, Scene 1: 48-49) -
“O, I could play the woman with mine eyes and braggart with my tongue! But, gentle heavens, Cut short all intermission. Front to front, Bring thou this fiend of Scotland and myself; Within my sword's length set him. If he scape, Heaven forgive him too!”
Macduff (Act Four, Scene Three) -
“In nature is tyranny; it hath been th' untimely emptying of the happy throne and fall of many kings. "But fear not yet to take upon you what is yours. You may convey your pleasures in a spacious plenty, and yet seem cold, the time you may so hoodwink. We have willing dames enough. There cannot be that vulture in you to devour so many as will to greatness dedicate themselves, finding it so inclin'd.”
Macduff (Act Four, Scene Three) -
“Come, go we to the king. Our power is ready; Our lack is nothing but our leave. Macbeth is ripe for shaking, and the pow'rs above put on their intruments. Receive what cheer you may. The night is long that never finds the day.”
Malcolm (Act Four, Scene Three) -
“Knock, Knock! Who's there?”
Porter (Act 2, Scene 3) -
“Double, double, toil and trouble;Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”
Three Witches (Act 4, scene 1) -
“Out, damned spot! out, I say!”
Lady Macbeth (Act 5, scene 1) -
“Fair is foul, and foul is fair, hover through the fog and filthy air.”
The Weird Sisters (1*1*11-12) -
“The raven himself is hoarse/ That croaks the fatal entrance of Duncan/ Under my battlements. Come, you spirits/ That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,/ And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/ Of direst cruelty! make thick my blood;/ Stop up the access and passage to remorse,/ That no compunctious visitings of nature/ Shake my fell purpose, nor keep peace between/ The effect and it! Come to my woman's breasts,/ And take my milk for gall, you murdering ministers,/ Wherever in your sightless substances/ You wait on nature's mischief! Come, thick night,/ And pall thee in the dunnest smoke of hell,/ That my keen knife see not the wound it makes,/ Nor heaven peep through the blanket of the dark,/ To cry 'Hold, hold!'”
Lady Macbeth (1*5*39-53) -
“Life is a tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifies nothing..”
Macbeth
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Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.
Highlighted by 4 Kindle customers -
Beautiful is ugly, and ugly is beautiful. Let us float through the fog and filthy air.
Highlighted by 3 Kindle customers
Setting & Locations edit
Scotland
- Cawdor
- England
- Heaven
- Menteith
- London
- Rome
- Scotland
- Caithness
- Macbeth's castle: Fife. Also referred to as on Dunsinane Hill, surrounded by Birnam Woods in the county of Inverness in Scotland.
- Macduff's Castle
- Duncan's Castle
- Birnam Woods
- Castle of Edward the Confessor
Organizations edit
- Weird Sisters: A coven of three witches, they are prophetesses who tell Macbeth of his destiny at outset of the play using enigmatic language which maintains mystery throughout the play.
- Scottish Monarchy: The play is set in medieval Scotland, in the 11th century, prior to the unification of England and Scotland, when Scotland was ruled by its own Royal Family. Around the time the play was written (sometime in the first decade of the 1600's) England and Scotland had been united through King James I having inherited both thrones in 1603.
First Sentence edit
1st Witch: When shall we three meet again ?
Table of Contents edit
I. Introduction To "Macbeth"
II. Act 1, Scene 1
2. Scene 2
3. Scene 3
4. Scene 4
5. Scene 5
6. Scene 6
7. Scene 7
III. Act 2, Scene 1
2. Scene 2
3. Scene 3
4. Scene 4
IV. Act 3, Scene 1
2. Scene 2
3. Scene 3
4. Scene 4
5. Scene 5
6. Scene 6
V. Act 4, Scene 1
2. Scene 2
3. Scene 3
VI. Act 5, Scene 1
2. Scene 2
3. Scene 3
4. Scene 4
5. Scene 5
6. Scene 6
7. Scene 7
8. Scene 8
End of Book
Series & Lists edit
This is book 115 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2010). (authoritative list)
Preceded by Where the Wild Things Are, and followed by Twilight / New Moon / Eclipse / Breaking Dawn.
This book is in LMU Anglistik Syllabus. (authoritative list)
This is book 150 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2011). (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Golden Compass, and followed by Dear John.
This is book 2 of 200 in Newman and Jones 200 Best Horror Novels. (community list)
Preceded by Doctor Faustus, and followed by The White Devil.
This is book 148 of 195 in Shelfari Most Popular (June 2011). (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Odyssey, and followed by The Secret.
This book is in Shakespeare's Tragedies. (community list)
This is book 150 of 194 in Shelfari Most Popular (December 2010). (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Namesake, and followed by Lolita.
This book is in Folger Shakespeare Library. (edition-based publisher list)
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Date: 1623
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Edward Blount and William and Isaac Jaggard
Country: United Kingdom
Publication Date: 1623
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 224
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
- Dewey: 741.5973
Notes for Parents edit
Reading Level: Young AdultsThis play contains a considerable amount of violence.
Subjects edit
- Books › Literature & Fiction › Drama › Playwrights, A-Z › ( S ) › Shakespeare, William
- Books › Literature & Fiction › Authors, A-Z › ( S ) › Shakespeare, William
- Books › Literature & Fiction › World Literature › British › Shakespeare
- Books › Literature & Fiction › Drama › British & Irish
- Books › Literature & Fiction › Classics › Medieval
Popular Tags
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Links to Supplemental Material edit
- Sparknotes: Sparknotes guide for Macbeth.
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