Study Notes

Background: The Scottish King Duncan had two sons: Malcolm and Donalbain. His reign was not a peaceful one, as there was a secret plot to overthrow him and, led by the treacherous Thane of Cawdor and the King of Norway.

Realising that he had been betrayed, Duncan called upon loyal Macbeth and his close friend, Banquo to defend him. Both were professional soldiers who fought valiantly on the side of King Duncan. Indeed, most men felt that without Macbeth in particular, Duncan's cause would have been lost. So under Macbeth's leadership, Duncan's army was victorious.

Evil Characters
Macbeth
Lady Macbeth
Witches

Good Characters
King Duncan
Malcolm
Macduff
Banquo

  Macbeth Home    Study Notes   Shakespeare Classroom    Email

Play:   Macbeth and Banquo return from a battle and unexpectedly meet the Three Weird Sisters (witches) who make four predictions (Macbeth would be Thane of Glamis and Cawdor and eventually King; and that Banquo's sons would be kings). Cawdor is executed for rebelling against the king and so Macbeth gets the traitor's title. Stimulated by the prophecy and spurred on by Lady Macbeth, Macbeth murders Duncan, whose sons Malcolm and Donalbain escape. Macbeth becomes king, contrives the murder of Banquo but the Three Sisters tell him to beware Macduff, but a naturally-born man can't harm him and not to worry until Birnam Wood reaches Dunsinane Castle.

In the play, we see a great and strong man, Macbeth, destroyed by submitting to forces of evil over which he has no control. He has risen from the ranks and the sense of unfulfilled ambition has never quite left him. We watch Macbeth move from being a loyal subject to becoming a traitor and a cruel tyrant. The Scottish usurper has a conscience and more importantly, a soul which he spends the play destroying. The tragedy is that in his vain attempts to survive as king, he commits spiritual suicide. We see his wife, who appears to be Evil itself, eventually crack under the pangs of her conscience and, guilt-ridden, she becomes mad.

· The play has everything a modern audience would wish for: witches, treachery, murder and enough blood to satisfy the most ghoulish of audiences.
· Themes of faithlessness, deception and ambition are certainly current. The major theme of the play if 'Fair is foul and foul is fair…' - that appearances are deceiving.
· Historical background to the play According to the historian, Holinshed, Duncan was young and feeble; Macbeth fought loyally in three campaigns; Macbeth had a genuine grievance against Duncan as he had blocked Macbeth's legal path to the throne; Macbeth seized power and ruled well for 10 years before killing Duncan and then Banquo; Banquo helped to kill Duncan; Lady Macbeth did not go sleep-walking or commit suicide; Macbeth did not hire murderers.
· 'Macbeth' could be seen as a struggle between Good and Evil for the soul of Man