ABOUT THE AUTHOR

William Shakespeare (c. 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright,
poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language
and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and
the "Bard of Avon" (or simply "the Bard"). His extant works, including collaborations,
consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems and a few other
verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every
major living language and are performed more often than those of any other
playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English
language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.
Shakespeare was born and raised in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire. At the age
of 18, he married Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three children: Susanna, and
twins Hamnet and Judith. Sometime between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful
career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner ("sharer") of a playing
company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men after the
ascension of King James VI of Scotland to the English throne. At age 49 (around
1613), he appears to have retired to Stratford, where he died three years later. Few
records of
Shakespeare's private life survive; this has stimulated considerable speculation
about such matters as his physical appearance, his sexuality, his religious
beliefs and even certain fringe theories as to whether the works attributed to him
were written by others.

Shakespeare produced most of his known works between 1589 and 1613. His early
plays were primarily comedies and histories and are regarded as some of the best
works produced in these genres. He then wrote mainly tragedies until 1608, among
them Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, all considered to be among the finest
works in English. In the last phase of his life, he wrote tragicomedies (also known
as romances) such as The Winter's Tale and The Tempest, and collaborated with
other playwrights.
Many of Shakespeare's plays were published in editions of varying quality and
accuracy during his lifetime. However, in 1623, John Heminges and Henry Condell,
two fellow actors and friends of Shakespeare's, published a more definitive text
known as the First Folio, a posthumous collected edition of Shakespeare's dramatic
works that includes 36 of his plays. Its Preface was a prescient poem by Ben
Jonson, a former rival of Shakespeare, who hailed Shakespeare with the now
famous epithet: "not of an age, but for all time"
ABOUT THE PLAY
The Tragedy of Macbeth, often shortened to Macbeth (/məkˈbɛθ/), is
a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed
in 1606.[a] It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political
ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during
the reign of James I, Macbeth most clearly reflects his relationship with King James,
patron of Shakespeare's acting company.[1] It was first published in the Folio of
1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy.[2]

A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of

witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and
spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish
throne for himself. He is then racked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more
and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes
a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth
and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness and death.
Shakespeare's source for the story is the account of Macbeth, King of
Scotland, Macduff, and Duncan in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of
England, Scotland, and Ireland familiar to Shakespeare and his contemporaries,
although the events in the play differ extensively from the history of the real Macbeth.
The events of
the tragedy have been associated with the execution of Henry Garnet for complicity
in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605.[3]
In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed and will not
mention its title aloud, referring to it instead as "The Scottish Play". The play has
attracted some of the most renowned actors to the roles of Macbeth and Lady
Macbeth and has been adapted to film, television, opera, novels, comics, and other
media.
Shakespeare borrowed the story from several tales in Holinshed's Chronicles, a
popular history of the British Isles well known to Shakespeare and his
contemporaries. In Chronicles, a man named Donwald finds several of his family put
to death by his king, Duff, for dealing with witches. After being pressured by his wife,
he and four of his servants kill the king in his own house. In Chronicles, Macbeth is
portrayed as struggling to support the kingdom in the face of King Duncan's
ineptitude. He and Banquo meet the three witches, who make exactly the same
prophecies as in Shakespeare's version. Macbeth and Banquo then together plot the
murder of Duncan, at Lady Macbeth's urging. Macbeth has a long, ten-year reign
before eventually being overthrown by Macduff and Malcolm. The parallels between
the two versions are clear. However, some scholars think that George
Buchanan's Rerum Scoticarum Historia matches Shakespeare's version more
closely. Buchanan's work was available in Latin in Shakespeare's day.
MAJOR CHARACTERS IN THE PLAY
 Duncan – king of Scotland

 Malcolm – Duncan's elder son

 Donalbain – Duncan's younger son

 Macbeth – a general in the army of King Duncan; originally Thane of Glamis,

then Thane of Cawdor, and later king of Scotland
 Lady Macbeth – Macbeth's wife, and later queen of Scotland

 Banquo – Macbeth's friend and a general in th.’e army of King Duncan

 Fleance – Banquo's son

 Macduff – Thane of Fife

 Lady Macduff – Macduff's wife

 Macduff's son

 Ross, Lennox, Angus, Menteith, Caithness – Scottish thanes

 Siward – general of the English forces

 Hecate – queen of the witches
Act I

Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches for the first time.

Amid thunder and lightning, the Three Witches decide that their next meeting will be
with Macbeth. In the following scene, a wounded sergeant reports to King Duncan of
Scotland that his generals Banquo and Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, have just
defeated the allied forces of Norway and Ireland, who were led by the traitorous
Macdonwald and the Thane of Cawdor. Macbeth, the King's kinsman, is praised for
his bravery and fighting prowess.
In the following scene, Macbeth and Banquo discuss the weather and their victory.
As they wander onto a heath, the Three Witches enter and greet them with
prophecies. Though Banquo challenges them first, they address Macbeth, hailing
him as "Thane of Glamis", "Thane of Cawdor", and that he will "be King hereafter".
Macbeth appears to be stunned to silence. When Banquo asks of his own fortunes,
the witches respond that he will father a line of kings, though he himself will not be
one. While the two men wonder at these pronouncements, the witches vanish, and
another thane, Ross, arrives and informs Macbeth of his newly bestowed title: Thane
of Cawdor. The first prophecy is thus fulfilled, and Macbeth, previously sceptical,
immediately begins to harbour ambitions of becoming king.
King Duncan welcomes and praises Macbeth and Banquo, and Duncan declares
that he will spend the night at Macbeth's castle at Inverness; Duncan also names his
son Malcolm as his heir. Macbeth sends a message ahead to his wife, Lady
Macbeth, telling her about the witches' prophecies. Lady Macbeth suffers none of her
husband's uncertainty and wishes him to murder Duncan in order to obtain kingship.
When Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husband's objections by
challenging his manhood and successfully persuades him to kill the king that very
night. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan's two chamberlains drunk so that
they will black out; the next morning they will frame the chamberlains for the murder.
Since the chamberlains would remember nothing whatsoever, they would be blamed
for the deed.
Act II
While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of
supernatural portents, including a hallucination of a bloody dagger. He is so shaken
that Lady Macbeth has to take charge. In accordance with her plan, she frames
Duncan's sleeping servants for the murder by placing bloody daggers on them. Early
the next morning, Lennox, a Scottish nobleman, and Macduff, the loyal Thane of
Fife, arrive. A porter opens the gate and Macbeth leads them to the king's chamber,
where Macduff discovers Duncan's body. Macbeth murders the guards to prevent
them from professing their innocence, but claims he did so in a fit of anger over their
misdeeds. Duncan's sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland,
respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan desires their demise as well. The
rightful heirs' flight makes them suspects and Macbeth assumes the throne as the
new King of Scotland as a kinsman of the dead king. Banquo reveals this to the
audience, and while sceptical of the new King Macbeth, he remembers the witches'
prophecy about how his own descendants would inherit the throne; this makes him
suspicious of Macbeth.
Act III
Despite his success, Macbeth, also aware of this part of the prophecy, remains
uneasy. Macbeth invites Banquo to a royal banquet, where he discovers that Banquo
and his young son, Fleance, will be riding out that night. Fearing Banquo's
suspicions, Macbeth arranges to have him murdered, by hiring two men to kill them,
later sending a third murderer, presumably to ensure that the deed is completed. The
assassins succeed in killing Banquo, but Fleance escapes. Macbeth becomes
furious: he fears that his power remains insecure as long as an heir of Banquo
remains alive.
At the banquet, Macbeth invites his lords and Lady Macbeth to a night of drinking
and merriment. Banquo's ghost enters and sits in Macbeth's place. Macbeth raves
fearfully, startling his guests, as the ghost is visible only to him. The others panic at
the sight of Macbeth raging at an empty chair, until a desperate Lady Macbeth tells
them that her husband is merely afflicted with a familiar and harmless malady. The
ghost departs and returns once more, causing the same riotous anger and fear in
Macbeth. This time, Lady Macbeth tells the visitors to leave, and they do so. At the
end Hecate, queen of the witches, scolds the three weird sisters for helping
Macbeth, especially without consulting her. Hecate instructs the Witches to give
Macbeth false security.
Act IV

Macbeth, disturbed, visits the three witches once more and asks them to reveal the
truth of their prophecies to him. To answer his questions, they summon horrible
apparitions, each of which offers predictions and further prophecies to put Macbeth's
fears at rest. First, they conjure an armoured head, which tells him to beware of
Macduff (IV.i.72). Second, a bloody child tells him that no one born of a woman will
be able to harm him. Thirdly, a crowned child holding a tree state that Macbeth will
be safe until Great Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth is relieved and
feels secure because he knows that all men are born of women and forests cannot
possibly move.
Macbeth also asks whether Banquo's sons will ever reign in Scotland, to which the
witches conjure a procession of eight crowned kings, all similar in appearance to
Banquo, and the last carrying a mirror that reflects even more kings. Macbeth
realises that these are all Banquo's descendants having acquired kingship in
numerous countries.
After the witches perform a mad dance and leave, Lennox enters and tells Macbeth
that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth orders Macduff's castle be seized and
sends murderers to slaughter Macduff, his wife and children. Although Macduff is no
longer in the castle, everyone in Macduff's castle is put to death, including Lady
Macduff and their young son.
Act V

Lady Macbeth becomes racked with guilt from the crimes she and her husband have
committed. At night, in the king's palace at Dunsinane, a doctor and a gentlewoman
discuss Lady Macbeth's strange habit of sleepwalking. Suddenly, Lady Macbeth
enters in a trance with a candle in her hand. Bemoaning the murders of Duncan,
Lady Macduff, and Banquo, she tries to wash off imaginary bloodstains from her
hands, all the while speaking of the terrible things she knows she pressed her
husband to do. She leaves, and the doctor and gentlewoman marvel at her descent
into madness.

In England, Macduff is informed by Ross that his "castle is surprised; wife and babes
/ Savagely slaughter'd" (IV.iii.204–205). When this news of his family's execution
reaches him, Macduff is stricken with grief and vows revenge. Prince Malcolm,
Duncan's son, has succeeded in raising an army in England, and Macduff joins him
as he rides to Scotland to challenge Macbeth's forces. The invasion has the support
of the Scottish nobles, who are appalled and frightened by Macbeth's tyrannical and
murderous behaviour. Malcolm leads an army, along with Macduff and
Englishmen Siward (the Elder), the Earl of Northumberland, against Dunsinane
Castle. While encamped in Birnam Wood, the soldiers are ordered to cut down and
carry tree branches to camouflage their numbers.

Before Macbeth's opponents arrive, he receives news that Lady Macbeth has killed
herself, causing him to sink into a deep and pessimistic despair and deliver his "To-
morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow" soliloquy (V.v.17–28). Though he reflects on
the brevity and meaninglessness of life, he nevertheless awaits the Rebels and
fortifies Dunsinane. He is certain that the witches' prophecies guarantee his
invincibility but is struck with fear when he learns that the Rebel army is advancing
on Dunsinane shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood, in apparent fulfillment of
one of the prophecies.

A battle culminates in Macduff's confrontation with Macbeth, who kills Young Siward
in combat. The Rebel forces overwhelm his army and castle. Macbeth boasts that he
has no reason to fear Macduff, for he cannot be killed by any man born of woman.
Macduff declares that he was "from his mother's womb / Untimely ripp'd" (V.8.15–
16), (i.e., born by Caesarean section and not a natural birth) and is not "of woman
born", fulfilling the second prophecy. Macbeth realises too late that he has
misinterpreted the witches' words. Though he realises that he is doomed, and
despite Macduff urging him to yield, he is unwilling to surrender and continues
fighting. Macduff kills and beheads him, thus fulfilling the remaining prophecy.
Macduff carries Macbeth's head onstage and Malcolm discusses how order has
been restored. His last reference to Lady Macbeth reveals "'tis thought, by self and
violent hands / Took off her life" (V.ix.71–72). Malcolm, now the King of Scotland,
declares his benevolent intentions for the country and invites all to see him crowned
at Scone.

Although Malcolm, and not Fleance, is placed on the throne at the end of the play,
the witches' prophecy concerning Banquo's descendants being kings was known to
the audience of Shakespeare's time to be true. James VI of Scotland, who was
later James I of England, was supposedly a descendant of Banquo.
CHARACTER SKETCH OF LADY MACBETH
Macbeth is a complex character in Shakespeare's tragedy, initially portrayed as a brave and
valiant warrior, but ultimately succumbing to ambition and paranoia, leading to his
downfall. His journey mirrors a descent from hero to villain, marked by guilt, fear, and a
relentless pursuit of power.

With exception to that of Hamlet, the character of Macbeth is the most complex one that

Shakespeare has ever portrayed. It is complex in the sense that Macbeth’s motives can not be

clearly analysed and labelled . Macbeth is one of the most perfect and most complex hero of

Shakespeare. In him we find the most pathetic example of great man of power, nobility,

strength and courage ruined through the existence of a trifling inherent weakness brought into

contact with the special hostile circumstances calculated to defeat him. Writing with a steel pen

and sore heart Shakespeare seems to prove through the character of Macbeth that it is

possible that such a noble person as Macbeth may “end as a traitor, as a murderer, as a bas

habitual deceiver, as a monster of unhesitating cruelty, as a despairing disbeliever in all

goodness, as the veritable fiend of Scotland whom with righteous reason all men hate. A

Heroic Character : - Macbeth is a man of indefatigable courage and formidable valour. He is

brave beyond brave man’s standard and courageous beyond the ordinary bounds of courage.

He is the yielding hero of fierce bloody wars and adventures. His sword spits fire on the battle

field. Describing Macbeth’s feats in the war the captain says to Duncan : “Brave Macbeth

Disdaining fortune, with his brandished steel Which smoke with bloody execution, Like

Valour’s minion, carved out his passage.” This shows that he is a great generals of th king’s

army. His ambition :- A very important feature of Macbeth’s character is his inordinate

ambition. He is by temper too ambitious and his ambition gradually develops into a passion. In

prophesying that Macbeth would be the king of Scotland, the weird sisters rightly touched the

weakest point in Macbeth’s heart and it begins to take a definite shape when lady Macbeth

studies his wavering purpose by the valour of her tongue. Macbeth himself confesses :- “I have

no spur To prick the sides of

my intent, but only Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself, And falls on the other.” Yet his

ambition might not have been strong enough by itself to tempt him to crime, it is his weakness

of will which is more responsible for his crime. Weak Will :- Yet in spite of this vaulting

ambition, Macbeth is weak of will . He lacks determination at least in the early part of the

drama. He aspires for the crown of Scotland but wavers in determination. The very thought of

murder unnerves him and unfixes his hair and makes his seated heart knock against his ribs.

He decides to knock out Duncan in order to capture his throne but just in the scene he comes

out with the decision. “we will proceed no further in this business.” It is owing to this weakness

that Macbeth falls an easy prey to prophecies of the witches and to the criminal incitement of

his wife. Superstitious : Yet another weakness in Macbeth is that he is superstitious. He

accepts the prophecies of the witches as truth. He is a bit skeptical about them but when two

of their prophecies are fulfilled he begins to pin his faith in them. Therefore, he visits the

deserted land to get advice about his future course of action. His Tyranny : Macbeth fulfils his

ambition by murdering his king, and then to secure his throne the commits further murders –

first Banquo then Macduff’s wife and children. Naturally he begins to rule as a tyrant, and

alienates his courtiers and subjects. A Man of Conscience : The most redeeming features of

Macbeth’s character is his glowing imagination and lively conscience. Although he murders the

king, slaughters Macduff’s wife and children, butchers Banquo, yet the forces of moral and

spiritual life do not wholly die in him. “Murder was done as if it were an appealing duty and the

instant it is finished its futility is revealed to Macbeth as clearly as its vileness had been

revealed before.” He suffers terribly after the murder of Duncan. He strives from crime to crime

though his soul never ceases to bar his advance with strokes of terror or to clamour in his ears

that he is murdering his peace and casting away his ‘eternal jewels’ so when the murder is

done, Macbeth goes mad with horror. He hars fearful cries in air – “Sleep no more! Glamis

hath murdered sleep and, therefore, Cowdor shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no
more.” Thus, we can say that the forces of moral and spiritual life do not wholly die in him.

After killing Duncan, Macbeth tells his wife, “Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood

clean from my head ? This shows that moral is still alive in him.

Initial Heroism:
Macbeth begins the play as a successful and respected military leader, earning the title Thane
of Cawdor through his bravery on the battlefield.

Ambition and Prophecy:

The witches' prophecy, initially viewed with some skepticism, ignites Macbeth's ambition and
fuels his desire to become king.

Moral Corruption:
Driven by his ambition and encouraged by Lady Macbeth, Macbeth murders King Duncan, a
deed that shatters his conscience and sets him on a path of violence and tyranny.

Paranoia and Fear:

After becoming king, Macbeth is consumed by paranoia and fear of his enemies, leading him
to commit further murders to secure his throne.

Loss of Self:
Macbeth's transformation from a brave warrior to a tyrannical ruler is a dramatic portrayal of
the destructive power of unchecked ambition.

Final Struggle:
In the end, Macbeth is stripped of his power and his life by Macduff, ultimately realizing the
disastrous consequences of his choices.
CHARACTER SKETCH OF LADY MACBETH
Lady Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most famous and frightening female
characters. When we first see her, she is already plotting Duncan’s murder, and she
is stronger, more ruthless, and more ambitious than her husband. She seems fully
aware of this and knows that she will have to push Macbeth into committing murder.
At one point, she wishes that she were not a woman so that she could do it herself.
This theme of the relationship between gender and power is key to Lady Macbeth’s
character: her husband implies that she is a masculine soul inhabiting a female body,
which seems to link masculinity to ambition and violence. Shakespeare, however,
seems to use her, and the witches, to undercut Macbeth’s idea that “undaunted
mettle should compose / Nothing but males” (1.7.73–74). These crafty women
use female methods of achieving power—that is, manipulation—to further their
supposedly male ambitions. Women, the play implies, can be as ambitious and cruel
as men, yet social constraints deny them the means to pursue these ambitions on
their own.
Lady Macbeth manipulates her husband with remarkable effectiveness, overriding all
his objections; when he hesitates to murder, she repeatedly questions his manhood
until he feels that he must commit murder to prove himself. Lady Macbeth’s
remarkable strength of will persists through the murder of the king—it is she who
steadies her husband’s nerves immediately after the crime has been perpetrated.

She is usually depicted as a strong, tough woman and, in her drive to induce
Macbeth to murder King Duncan, she appears to be that, but, having succeeded, it
does not take long for her to crumble and break down, destroyed by guilt, and she
ends up committing suicide.
Afterward, however, Lady Macbeth begins a slow slide into madness—just as
ambition affects her more strongly than Macbeth before the crime, so does guilt
plague her more strongly afterward. By the close of the play, she has been reduced
to sleepwalking through the castle, desperately trying to wash away an invisible
bloodstain. Once the sense of guilt comes home to roost, Lady Macbeth’s sensitivity
becomes a weakness, and she is unable to cope. Significantly, she (apparently) kills
herself, signaling her total inability to deal with the legacy of their crimes.
Lady Macbeth, with all her complexity and compelling attributes, has undoubtedly left
an indelible mark on both readers and audiences alike. Her character possesses a
timeless quality that continues to captivate us, even centuries after Shakespeare
penned his tragedy. But what is it about Lady Macbeth that haunts our collective
conscience?
Why does she evoke such strong emotions and intrigue? Let us delve into the legacy
of this remarkable character.
Firstly, Lady Macbeth’s unwavering ambition strikes a chord within us. Her
unrelenting pursuit of power and influence resonates with our own desires for
success in various aspects of life.
We are attracted to her determination and drive, yet simultaneously repelled by the
morally questionable means she employs to achieve her goals. As we witness her
unravel throughout the play, we are reminded of the thin line between ambition and
obsession.
Moreover, Lady Macbeth’s internal struggles and psychological transformation offer
profound insights into the human condition. She represents the struggle between
guilt and ambition, morality and desire.
We can empathize with her internal turmoil as we question our own capacity for
darkness within ourselves. Her infamous sleepwalking scene serves as a haunting
reminder that actions have consequences that reverberate deep within our souls.
Lady Macbeth’s influence over Macbeth exposes the power dynamics within
relationships, shedding light on gender roles in society both then and now. Her
assertiveness challenges societal expectations placed upon women during
Shakespearean times, while also pushing contemporary audiences to reflect on
gender norms in their own lives.

By examining her character in its historical context, we gain a deeper understanding

of how women were perceived and treated during that era. Furthermore, Lady
Macbeth’s soliloquies give voice to themes of power dynamics, gender inequality,
guilt, redemption, and ultimately serve as windows into her complex persona.
Her profound speeches, such as the unforgettable “unsex me here” monologue, not
only showcase Shakespeare’s mastery of language but also provide us with
moments of introspection and contemplation. It is through these soliloquies that we
glimpse the depths of her character and understand the motivations behind her
actions.
Lady Macbeth’s legacy endures due to the richness and complexity of her character.
She serves as a timeless reminder of the human struggle between ambition and
morality, as well as a catalyst for deeper reflections on gender roles in society.
Despite her tragic demise, there is an optimistic spin we can take from Lady
Macbeth’s story: she compels us to examine our own desires and choices,
encouraging us to find balance between our ambitions and our sense of integrity. In
this way, Lady Macbeth’s legacy becomes a cautionary tale that inspires growth and
self-reflection within ourselves.

Character attributes

Some significant character attributes of Lady Macbeth are:

 Controlling – she understands that her husband doesn’t have the savageness
required to murder the king of his own accord, so she manipulates him. She
plans out the murder, then takes control of events when Macbeth loses his
mind.

 Cruel – she is a violent, cold-blooded character who is happy to scheme the

murder. She ridicules Macbeth when he doesn’t agree to participate in her
violent plans.
 Two-faced – she welcomes King Duncan like a friend whilst at the same time
planning his murder. She also advises Macbeth to be two-faced.