🔴 Macbeth: Summary Flashcards
When was Macbeth written?
1606
What genre is Macbeth?
A classic Shakespearean tragedy
What is a tragedy?
Typically depicts a tragic character and a fatal flaw which ultimately results in conflict and a final restoration of the status quo
Where does Macbeth take place?
Medieval Scotland
What happens in Act 1 of Macbeth?
- 3 Witches gives 3 prophecies to Macbeth & Banquo
- Thane of Cawdor is executed for treason - Macbeth becomes new thane of Cawdor
- Macbeth sends a letter to Lady Macbeth outlining the witches’ prophecies
- King Duncan comes to visit the Macbeths at their castle
What are the prophecies given to Macbeth & Banquo?
- Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor
- Macbeth will become king hereafter
- Though Banquo will never be king, his descendants will become kings
What happens in Act 2 of Macbeth?
- Macbeth sees a bloody dagger after seeing Banquo & Fleance in the courtyard
- Macbeth kills king Duncan
- Macbeth returns to LM with the 2 daggers covered in blood
- LM calls Macbeth a coward & returns daggers to Duncan’s chambers
- Macduff discovers Duncan has been murdered
- Duncan’s sons flee Scotland
- Macbeth is crowned king of Scotland
Where does Malcom flee to after hearing about king Duncan’s death?
England
Where does Donalbain flee to after hearing about king Duncan’s death?
Ireland
What did Macbeth claim when he killed the guards?
That he killed them in an act of revenge
What is Regicide?
The action of killing a king
What happens in Act 3 of Macbeth?
- Banquo begins to suspect Macbeth for Duncan’s murder
- Macbeth hires assassins to kill Banquo and his son
- Murderers kill Banquo but Fleance escapes
- Macbeths host a banquet @their castle but Macbeth hallucinates
- Macbeth starts shouting at Banquo’s ghost
- LM controls the situation
What does Macbeth’s hallucination of Banquo’s ghost show about him?
Banquo is a manifestation of Macbeth’s guilt
What is Banquo’s son called?
Fleance
How does LM control the situation in Act 3?
She says that Macbeth has been having episodes of hallucination since he was young
What happens in Act 4 of Macbeth?
- Macbeth turns to witches for help in an act of desperation
- They give him 3 apparitions
- Malcolm & Macduff concoct a plan to bring Macbeth down
- Macbeth orders murderers to kill MacDuff’s family
What are the 3 apparitions given to Macbeth?
- Beware Macduff
- No man born of a woman can harm Macbeth
- Macbeth will be safe until Birnam wood moves to Dunsinane hill
What’s the difference between an apparition and prophecy?
Apparition - The receiver of that projected vision becomes a part of the action ( a vision )
Prophecy - A prediction or foretelling of future events, often delivered a figure with supernatural insights
What happens in Act 5 of Macbeth?
- LM hallucinates in her sleep. She commits suicide
- Scenes quicken
- Malcom & army cut down branches of trees to camouflage themselves - seems like Birnam wood is moving
- Macbeth kills young Siward (a young boy - minor character)
- Servant tells Macbeth his wife is dead
- Macduff beheads Macbeth
- Malcom becomes the rightful king
What does LM do while she hallucinates in her sleep?
She talks to herself & tries to get rid of a ‘spot’ on her hand
What does the imaginary ‘spot’ on LM’s hand symbolise?
Her guilt
What was Macbeth’s reaction to hearing LM has died?
Her says that she should have died later as now she is inconveniencing him
How did Macduff kill Macbeth?
He was ‘untimely ripped’ out of his mothers womb
What does the minor character’s young Siward’s death show about Macbeth?
Macbeth had become so ruthless that he would kill anyone or anything to retain his power
