Book Summary of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare Main Characters: Macbeth: Scottish general Lady Macbeth: Macbeths wife Three

ree Witches: Prophets who speak to Macbeth on m ltiple occasion !an" o: #riend of Macbeth$ then enemy of Macbeth% &ing ' ncan: &ing of Scotland Malcolm: ' ncans son Macd ff: (nemy of Macbeth Scotland is at war in the opening scene$ and two of Scotlands generals$ Macbeth and !an" o$ are ret rning from a s ccessf l battle% They are intercepted by three hags who tell the generals abo t a prophesy% The witches claim that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and then &ing of Scotland% They also claim that tho gh !an" o will ne)er become a king himself$ he will father a long line of kings% !oth generals are initially skeptical of these claims$ ntil a few moments later when Macbeth is appointed Thane of Cawdor after the c rrent Thane betrayed Scotland% Macbeth begins to belie)e in the predictions made by the three witches$ and he writes to his wife$ Lady Macbeth% *pon Macbeths ret rn$ his wife is waiting to greet her h sband and disc ss their possible fate% Together they decide that the one s re way to attain kingship is to kill ' ncan$ the c rrent &ing of Scotland% +t first Macbeth is ns re abo t the plan$ b t Lady Macbeth manages to con)ince him otherwise% ,ne night$ Macbeth stabs ' ncan in his sleep and blames the g ards o tside his chambers% Macd ff$ a nobleman$ disco)ers the body% -mmediately$ the effects of the m rder begin to bother both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth% Macbeth sees ghostly images$ and Lady Macbeth has sleepless nights filled with night terrors% Macbeth is named king after ' ncans death$ and he and Lady Macbeth contin e to plot% .emembering the rest of the prophecy$ Macbeth plans to m rder !an" o and his son to ens re that !an" os line of kings ne)er e/ists% *ltimately$ !an" o is killed$ b t !an" os son escapes% +fter !an" os m rder$ the toll of their actions sinks in deeper for Macbeth and Lady Macbeth% Macbeth contin es to see ghostly images$ and Lady Macbeth contin es to regret her decisions% Paranoia sends Macbeth back to the witches for reass rance that his kingship is sec re% The witches tell him three things: he sho ld beware Macd ff$ he will be nharmed by any man born of woman$ and he sho ld only worry when !irnam Wood comes to ' nsinane Castle% Macbeth is slightly relie)ed b t does order that Macd ffs castle be sei0ed and his family be m rdered% Macd ff hears of his familys demise and begins a cr sade against Macbeth% While an army sweeps in from (ngland to battle Macbeth$ Lady Macbeth s cc mbs to her own g ilt and commits s icide% Macbeth is o)ercome with grief b t prepares for battle ne)ertheless% 1e is horrified to disco)er that the army approaching him is carrying branches of trees from !irnam Wood and that the witchs warnings are coming tr e% 1e fights strongly ntil he is face to face with the )engef l Macd ff who proclaims that he was not born of woman b t taken from his mothers womb early% Macd ff then proceeds to m rder and behead Macbeth$ and ' ncans son Malcolm is named &ing of Scotland%