Macbeth tells of the dangers of the lust for power and the betrayal of friends. Amidst thunder and lightning, three witches greet the Scottish general Macbeth and his friend Banquo with prophecies. They proclaim that he shall be "King hereafter" and that Banquo shall father a new line of kings. Immediately, Macbeth begins to harbour ambitions of becoming the king of Scotland. He writes to his wife about the prophecy and when King Duncan decides to stay at Macbeths' castle at Inverness, Lady Macbeth makes a plan to murder him. Macbeth kills his king, but it leaves him totally shaken. Lady Macbeth has to take charge now. In order to secure their throne, they will have to kill and murder again and again and again...

Since 1606, there have been a string of deaths and misfortunes associated with "Macbeth".  In 1667, the dark and gruesome tragedy was rewritten as a frivolous light-hearted musical, complete with dancing and a flying ballet. This version, with three singing witches, was revived in 1703 during a puritan backlash against the theatre. During its run the worst storm in England's history occured: a half thousand seamen died, Bristol was destroyed and London severely damaged. The hurricane expressed God's wrath, the puritans said.

The original text was restored by Kemble at Drury Lane in 1794. At one performance, an actor playing the role of Macbeth sustained a near-fatal stab wound. Passionate fights were enacted with real weapons, and it is known that an actor playing the role of Macduff came away without thumbs, hacked off by the fiery Macbeth.  In 1849, there was a riot in which more than 30 people died at the Astor Place Opera House, where "The Unmentionable" was playing.

In the 1937 production at the Old Vic in London, the director got nearly killed in a car crash. Vera Lindsay, playing Lady Macbeth, was also badly bruised. The star of the production, the famous actor Laurence Olivier, lost his voice and almost died when a weight from the stage lights came tumbling down. After this incident, the the founder of the theatre, Lilian Bayliss, had a heart attack and died on the opening night. Later a member of  the audience was hit by a fragment of Olivier's sword, and died also of a heart attack.

A wartime production with John Gielgud as Macbeth may hold the record. The Third Witch fell ill and died of a heart attack during the final rehearsal and the actor playing King Duncan died of angina. A witch was dancing round the cauldron, but could not maintain the tempo of the music. She collapsed and died on stage. And the set designer committed suicide.

In 1947, the promising young actor Harold Norman played Macbeth. In the final scene, Norman feel - but instead of dying on stage as rehearsed, he crawled into the wings. 'I've been stabbed,' he whispered to the stage director. He was taken to a hospital and died a month later. Later it emerged that, in the dressing-room he shared with another actor, Norman had begun quoting from "The Unmentionable", refusing to stop even when warned.

Charlton Heston has played Macbeth several times. In 1953 he took the role in an open-air production at Fort St Catherine, Bermuda. During rehearsals he had a motorbike crash, during the first performance he had to ride a horse bareback in the first scene. Heston suddenly rushed off stage, pointing at his thights, writhing in pain and yelling: "Get them off me!" - Whoever had laundered the thights had dipped them in kerosene and the sweat of the horses and the heat caused serious burns on Heston's legs and groin. Later, Macbeth's castle came down burning as planned, but the wind blew flames and smoke into the audience, causing a stampede. Fortunately, nobody died in or during this production.

In 1954, the Old Vic went on the road again with "that Scottish play". The company manager broke both legs in a car accident, an electrician sustained severe burns, there was an attempted suicide and two of the actresses had abortions. A year later, Olivier played Macbeth again, with Vivien Leigh as his Lady. A film version was prepared, but the producers got cold feet, deciding that stars like Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh could not guarantee a good box-office... after Vivien Leigh had been in Gone With the Wind and Olivier's film versions of Henry V, Hamlet and Richard III all had been hits.

In 1961, during the Shakespeare Festival at Stratford, Connecticut, an actor on a bike was knocked over by a car. Het was joined in hospital by one of the witches, who fell from a stage lift. In the last month of the season, Franklin Clover was playing Macbeth in the White House before JFK. He got injured and developed a cyst under his arm, was operated but continued playing. A young colleague was found dying of stab wounds, the murderer was never found. The company manager got himself murdered too, in his Boston apartment. 

In 1970, an actor of the Liverpool Repertory Theatre playing Macbeth was hit in the eye by a sword, his Lady caught flu, wich spread, so five understudies were needed... Etcetera, etcetera...

 

"If you take any play as popular as Macbeth, you'll find a catalogue of disasters attached to its history," Michael Bogdanov of the English Shakespeare Company stated. He had been on the road six months with a production of Macbeth without any calamities. Sceptics have pointed out that a play involving so many battles, duels and murders, taking place mostly at night (meaning dim lighting), is bound to cause accidents. Playing "that Play" is emotionally and physically exhausting, and you have to get up and down steps and rostrums, and even with blunted swords, cuts and bruises are only to be expected...

The believers, on the other hand, have proved that Shakespeare went too far in his desire for authenticity, by using genuine black magic recipes. The foul ingredients of the witches' brew in Act I, Scene 3 - scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,... - were not solely the product of Shakespeare's imagination. In his book Supernatural on Stage, actor-director Richard Huggett claims that there is overwhelming evidence that the three witches in Macbeth do use genuine black magic incantations, whereby Shakespeare invoked a fatal and irrevocable curse on the play.

King James himself had previously published a book on witches and how to detect them. In an effort to please the King, for the opening scene of Act IV, Shakespeare reproduced a sacred black-magic ritual. A group of witches danced around a black cauldron, throwing ingredients into it and shouting out strange phrases. Some say that it is also possible the practitioners of this sort of rituals were not very amused by Shakespeare's public exposure of their witchcraft, and so they decided to cast their own spell on the play...

Maybe you can keep this in mind while you listen to the Witches Song from "that Scottish Play", Double Double Toile and Trouble, Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble. And rembember... Quoting from "The Unmentionable" is absolutely not done, but music from it is similarly avoided at all costs by actors, who fear it will have devastating consequences!

Macbeth discovers his destiny as king when three witches tell him of it, and he quickly formulates a plan to kill Duncan, the current king and also Macbeth's cousin, in his sleep. He has only one impetus to kill Duncan, and that is “vaulting ambition” (I, vii, 54), which outweighs his logic and his sense of right. He does, though, acknowledge the treacherousness of his plan and explains what he finds wrong with killing Duncan, who is his cousin, his king, and his houseguest:

First, as I am his kinsman and his subject
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself.” (I, vii, 13-16)

Macbeth, who “shalt be king hereafter” (I, iii, 50), knows what he is doing is wrong, but he only thinks of his own aspirations. The three witches tell Macbeth that he is the Thane of Glamis, he will be the Thane of Cawdor, and he will be king. Soon after, he finds out that he has, in fact, been appointed as the Thane of Cawdor. “Two truths are told, / As happy prologues to the swelling act of the imperial theme.” (I, iii, 128-130), he says after he discovers his new position, but he doesn't realize that, as happy as the prologues may be, the final outcome is entirely unhappy for him.

The play ends with the death of Macbeth at the hands of Macduff. Macduff firmly believes in Scotland and wants what he thinks is best for it, and what he thinks is best is for Macbeth to be dethroned and replaced by Duncan's son, Malcolm. His loyalty sends him to England to seek out Malcolm and military aid so that he may dethrone Macbeth

“Thriftless ambition, that will ravin up/ Thine own life's means!” (II, iv, 28-29)

Some characters in Macbeth have relations between blood and honor. The Bloody Captain and Young Siward are described as honorable from their connections with blood. When the Bloody Captain reports to Duncan during the opening battle between the Scottish and rebels, the king tells the captain that his wounds “smack of honor” (I. ii. 48). The soldier has proven himself in battle by facing injury and is now considered an honorable fighter. The king greeted the captain by calling him a “valiant cousin, worthy gentleman” (I. ii. 26). Duncan believes that the captain is a good man based on the fact that he has been wounded and is bloody. At the end of the play, Young Siward is depicted as a man due to the placement of his wounds. Young Siward's father asks “Had he his hurts before? /” to which Ross responded that they were “on the front” (V. viii. 53-54). The placement of Siward's blood signified that he was truly a man because he died fighting, not fleeing. Men were considered to be brave in combat and not to have mercy for anyone.

Other characters feel immense guilt in relation to the symbol of blood. Lady Macbeth sees blood as an indicator of unbelievable guilt. While sleepwalking, Lady Macbeth attempts to wash a spot of Duncan's blood out of her dress:

Out, damned spot, out, I say? One. Two.
Why then, "tis time to do "t. Hell is murky. Fie, my
lord, fie, a soldier and afeard? What need we fear
who knows it, when none can call our power to
account? Yet who would have thought the old man
to have had so much blood in him? (V. i. 37-42)

In reality, there is no blood in Lady Macbeth's dress, but she feels the presence of guilt caused by Duncan's murder. She did not expect to feel so much guilt from taking part in the murder. Lady Macbeth asks if her “hands ne'er be clean...” (V. i. 45). No matter what she does, she can not remove the guilty thoughts from her mind. Lady Macbeth says that the “perfumes of Arabia” would not “sweeten” her hand (V. i. 54). Nothing can cover up what Lady Macbeth did with her own hands. Lady Macbeth realizes that she will never be rid of the guilt that plagues her and soon commits suicide.

Blood relates to Macbeth as a symbol of evil and perceived invincibility. This is illustrated in Macbeth's final battle with Macduff. Macduff tells Macbeth that his “voice is in [his] sword, thou bloodier villain / Than terms can give thee out” (V. viii. 7-8). This is a proclamation that Macbeth's deeds are so horrible that words cannot describe them. During the battle, Macbeth tells his adversary that:

As easy mayst thou the intrenchant air
With thy keen sword impress as make me bleed.
Let fall thy blade on vulnerable crests;
I bear a charmed life, which must not yield
To one of woman born. (V. viii. 12-16)

The king believes that it does not matter how much blood Macduff makes him spill because he cannot die to one of woman born. The blood that Macduff spills does not have any effect on his life. Macbeth soon proves to be wrong as Macduff was “Untimely ripped” from his mother's womb (V. viii. 20). Macduff was not literally born from his mother, meaning that he was the one that could kill Macbeth.

Shakespeare's Macbeth uses the symbol of blood to relate different meanings. The characters in Macbeth each have distinctive connections to blood, and are associated with blood in different ways. Blood can be a symbol of evil and represent guilt which can never be washed away. Blood could also represent the honor or glory one attains when wounded or killed in battle. The symbols relay the characteristics of all the people in the play. Each character has a different representation of blood that corresponds to him.

The ambition of becoming king, when the weird sisters tell him his fortune is stronger than his conscience and ability from knowing right from wrong. The first thought in his mind when the weird sisters tell him his great fortune of becoming king, is to kill king Duncan to take his place. “Whose horrid image doth unfix my hair and make my seated heart knock at my ribs, against the use of nature?”(I, iii, 145-148) The sisters never tell him he has to brutally murder the king in order to become king, but it is Macbeth's first thought in his mind. He debates with himself over the idea of killing the king, and then chooses to listen to his wife, who wants him to be king as much as he does. “ Wouldst thou have that which thou esteem'st the ornament of life and live a coward in thin own esteem…(I, vii, 44-46) He chooses to listen to her put him down and call him a coward, when he has just come back from a war where he has killed hundreds of people. Macbeth has killed many people, but he is the one who does not defend him and let's him become persuaded by Lady Macbeth. His ambition of becoming king drove him to stab king Duncan. Macbeth wants to be king more than anything in the world, more then sleep or emotion and gives it all up to become king. To be an ambitious man is a good thing, but when ambition leads to ignorance of other people it does not only damage the people you are hurting but as well as yourself.

Knowing too much about the future can always distort a person. Macbeth knew too much about his future, but did not understand how to interpret the prophecies. He interprets the predictions the wrong way and slowly takes another step into his grave. Macbeth makes a huge error when he discovers that a man who isn't born by woman cannot kill him. “Be bloody, bold and resolute; laugh to scorn the power of man, for none woman born shall harm Macbeth.”(IV,i 85-87). Every man is born from a woman but he does not take caesarean section into consideration. Thinking that he is indestructible he also thinks that Banqou's sons will not become king. “ Macbeth shall live, the lease of nature pay his breath to time and mortal custom.” (IV, iii, 107-109). Of course no one under any circumstances can be invincible. The thought of being unstoppable goes to Macbeth's head and begins to mock everyone. “Here is ten thousand”…”Geese, villains?” (V, iii, 13-14). He is not taking the warning seriously from the servant about the army against him, waiting to over throw him. In Macbeth's situation knowing too much makes him single minded, which destroys him in the end.

As king, Macbeth has complete control over everyone, being power hungry such as Macbeth and controlling, he wants to keep his name as King of Scotland and will do anything to protect his name. He would even go to the extreme as to kill innocent people. By killing innocent people he takes it one step further. A huge error that Macbeth makes is the killing of his loyal friend Banqou. He is afraid that Banqou will kill him in order for his children to receive the throne of Scotland. “In seeking to augment still keep my bosom franchised and allegiance clear I shall'd be counsell”d.” (Banqou) ( ). Banqou has no intention of murder, and in killing his dear loyal friend, he pays by losing his insanity, and his life begins to crumble and fall apart. Killing Macduff's family is sheer hatred and utter disgust. Macduff is in England so instead of killing him when he returns; he decides to take it out on Macduff's family. “ The castle of Macduff I will surprise; seize upon Fife ; give to the edge o' the sword his wife, his babes and all unfortunate souls that trace him in his line.” (IV, I, 165-167). Macbeth killing Macduff's family does not make him weaker but stronger in the sense that he now wants revenge. Macbeth's foolishness to protect him and kill anyone in his way, dug yet another step deeper into hell.

The events in Macbeth's life do not occur from fate, but from his own actions. The decision that he makes ultimately send him to hell which are the ambition to become king, the ignorance that he gives the predictions, and taking it a step further by murdering innocent people. Macbeth's poor judgment and ignorance slowly paved the dark path into hell, not fate. And there is one but one . athe number oen is onely and is always on top but can someone wver witch sides.

Told Macbeth, he was to be king, Banquo would father a line of kings, and conjured an apparition who told him no one born of a woman could harm him.

The Witches told Macbeth, he would be Thane of Cawdor. “All hail, Macbeth! Hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor” (1, 2, 49). The Witches told, also, told him would be king. “All hail, Macbeth, that shall be king hereafter” (1, 2, 50). This made Macbeth wonder. Soon after, he became Thane of Cawdor. He, then, knew that the possibilities of becoming king were fair. He informed Lady Macbeth and she took charge. “O, never shall sun that morrow see! Your face, my thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters. To beguile the time, look like the time; bear welcome in your eye, your hand, your tongue: look like th'innocent flower, but serpent under't. He that's coming must be provided for: and you shall put this night's great business into my dispatch; which shall to all our nights and days to come give solely sovereign sway and Masterdom” (1,5,58-68). Macbeth killed the king and his guards. The Witches caused this by saying he would be king but their word spoke the truth.

The Witches, also, led on that Banquo would father a line of kings. “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none” (1, 2, 67). When Macbeth became king, he remembered what the Witches told Banquo. He knew if this were true, Banquo's fortune could also be true. He decided to kill Banquo. “That every minute of his being thrusts against my near'st of life: and though I could with barefaced power sweep him from my sight and bid my will a vouch it, yet I must not, for certain friends that are both his and mine, whose loves I may not drop, but wail his fall who I myself struck down: and thence it is that I to your assistance do make love, masking the business from the common eye for sundry weighty reasons” (3, 1, 116-126). He, soon, had Banquo murdered and tried to kill Fleance but he fled the scene.

The Witches conjured apparitions to tell Macbeth that no one born to woman shall harm him. “Be bloody, bold, and resolute! Laugh to scorn the pow'r of man, for none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” (4, 1 79-81). Macbeth became cocky over a short period of time. He quit trying. “All mortal consequences have pronounced me thus: “Fear not, Macbeth: no man that's born of woman shall e'er have power upon thee” Then, fly, false thanes, and mingle with the English epicures. The mind I sway by and the heart I bear shall never sag with doubt nor shake with fear” (5, 3, 5-10). MacDuff led the soldiers up the hill, revealing that his mother had a cesarean section done. “MacDuff was from his mother's womb untimely ripped” (5, 8, 15-16). They had a sword fight leading to the death of Macbeth and the crowning of Malcolm. “Hail, King of Scotland” (5, 8, 59).

The Witches led Macbeth to believe that he would be king , Banquo would father kings, and he wouldn't be harmed by any man born to woman. The Witches are the main cause of Macbeth's attitude towards what they told him.

Macbeth's next vision is that of Banquo's ghost. He sees this vision after he has gained kingship of Scotland and just after he had murderers kill Banquo. In his vision Banquo walks into the palace and sits in Macbeth's seat at the banquet table. Macbeth becomes very disturbed and Lady Macbeth has to end the feast early to save the image of Macbeth and prevent people from thinking he is too unstable. This vision shows that Macbeth does in fact have a conscious and does feel guilty about the murders even though he does not stop committing them.

Macbeth's next vision occurs when he is with the three witches and he asks them to show him his fate. His next vision really consists of four visions in one. The first vision with the witches was that of an armed head that warned Macbeth of MacDuff. Macbeth took this warning very lightly because he already knew he needed to be wary of Macduff. The next vision was that of a bloody boy that told him that he could not be harmed of any man that is woman born.

Macbeth became very confident in this and then felt very safe; however, just to cut loose ends he still decided to kill Macduff. The third vision was that of a crowned boy with a tree that told Macbeth that his reign of power will only end when the forest reaches the castle. With this Macbeth felt completely safe because he believed no force on Earth could move the forest. The final vision merely confirmed Macbeth's long fear of Banquo's sons taking power after Macbeth is gone.

All of these vision show how Macbeth was very insecure and power hungry. He saw the knife and told himself it was to help him to sinfully get the kingship of Scotland. Then he felt guilt over killing Banquo and saw his ghost during a banquet with his lords. The last visions confirm Macbeth's insecurity as he went to the witches to learn of his final fate. Then he twisted the visions from the witches to make him think his name would last for ages.

Macbeth is the man at fault because he took control of his actions. He was in charge and no one else had any influence in his actions. Before Lady Macbeth is even introduced as a character he says, “If chance will have me king, why, chance may crown me, without my stir.”(pg. 8) Macbeth is allowing himself to become king before anyone can have a chance to influence him in anyway. Macbeth is saying he would allow himself to become king even if something were to happen to the king, Duncan. Macbeth also says, “Why hath it given me earnest of success commencing in a truth?”(pg. 8) he has already started to ponder about the idea of himself becoming king.

Macbeth defies himself as a husband, a thane, and as a kinsman. When he declares he will kill the king by saying, “False face must hide what the false heart doth know,” (pg. 18) he is defying himself as a kinsman and a thane when he kills the king. He denies himself as a wife when he says, “She should have died hereafter.” (pg.77) He denies everyone around him; therefore, relies on no one but himself. Also, Lady Macbeth couldn't have influenced Macbeth because after the killing of Duncan she says, “What's to be done?” (pg. 39) This clearly states that she had no jurisdiction over Macbeth's decisions.

Yes, Macbeth first gets the idea of becoming king from the three witches. However, all they say is, “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king hereafter.”(pg. 6) they only speak of him becoming king and not killing the in order to become king. Also, Macbeth's downfall is his death. The witches prophesy to Macbeth that “none of woman born shall harm Macbeth” (pg. 54) and that “Macbeth shall never vanquished be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against.”(pg. 54) The witches, in a way, are trying to help him by warning him. They try to warn him but Macbeth thinks their prophesy is a guarantee for safety. However, it actually is a guarantee of destruction.

Because Macbeth thought this was a guarantee of safety he thought that he was invincible when he declares, “Then live, Macduff. What need I fear of these?” (pg. 54) Now that Macbeth is invincible he starts to make commands, before he used to take commands and be influenced by others. Now he is influenced and takes commands from no one. We see him commanding others when one of the murderers says, “We shall, my lord, perform what you command us.” (pg. 37) This proves he is responsible for the killing of the nobles; therefore, he is responsible for his downfall.

Is the hero responsible of for his crimes or he is he a victim of fate? Was Macbeth to blame for his ambition and lust, or was he manipulated by supernatural forces? Today I will show you how ambition, supernatural forces and fate in Macbeth convey a message that for every action there will be consequences.

Macbeth is the story of Macbeth and his Lady's attempt to attain the throne of Scotland. Macbeth is a gifted leader and a fierce warrior, but he wants to be king, even if it requires doing something drastic. His wife, Lady Macbeth, has an even stronger lust for power that pushes her relentlessly toward both glory and tragedy.

Macbeth's murder of Duncan in Act II represents the point of no return, after which Macbeth feels he is forced to continue murdering his subjects to avoid the consequences of his crime. Our attention is held by Macbeth's anguish and wickedness, until his wife commits suicide, and he transcends into the dramatic, brutal tyranny which gets him murdered.

Shakespeare concludes his tragedy on a hopeful note, for as corruptive as the evil is in Macbeth, it is only temporary; order is restored through time.

Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn and cauldron bubble! Supernatural forces are present throughout the entirety of the play. The supernatural element is used to highlight dramatic, emotional and poetic concerns in the play Macbeth.

The dark sense that comes with enchantments, potions, apparitions and ghosts intensify the audience's experience, and also increases pressure on Macbeth. The three witches are evil characters, whose main objective is to wreak havoc.

Macbeth's first experience with the witches is when he's coming home from the battle, as the hero. The witches stop him and predict that he is going to become Thane of Cawdor, even though the old Thane still held his position. The witches also predict that Macbeth will become king.

Macbeth is an easily manipulated character, and is excited at the witches' predictions. He is not sure wether to believe them or not, until the Thane of Cawdor is put to death and Macbeth is crowned the Thane. Being crowned Thane, Macbeth thinks about the other predictions that the witches had made, and realised that he could become King.

Throughout the course of the play, many elements of the supernatural other than the witches are presented, such as apparitions and ghosts, which all play a part to make the play seem scarier.

Macbeth begins as a courageous Scottish general who does not want to commit evil deeds, though he deeply desires power and this ambition causes a transformation for the worse. He kills his King, Duncan, against his better judgment and afterwards is guilty and paranoid. This progresses toward the end of the play as he descends into a frantic, boastful madness.

Lady Macbeth is quite different to Macbeth in this respect. She pursues her goals with a larger determination, but she is less capable of surviving the consequences of her acts. As the strongest female character in Macbeth, she encourages her husband mercilessly to kill Duncan and urges him to be strong afterwards. She eventually breaks under the pressure when Macbeth kills more and more people. In each case, ambition is what drives them to more terrible killing.

Was Macbeth at blame for his murder? How much control did Macbeth have over his own actions? You could say that he wouldn't have killed the king if the witches hadn't put the thought into his head. You could also say that Macbeth wouldn't have had the courage to kill the king if it wasn't for his wife pushing him.

Macbeth is seen as a "free agent", a man who uses his ability to choose and therefore suffers the consequences of that choice. He is his own destruction: the terror of the tragedy is in his decision to perform his crime even though he is knows its implications.

I think that Shakespeare was trying to convey a message though his play. Macbeth was bombarded with pressure from supernatural forces, from his wife, and even is own ambition. He takes advantage of free will by using it for the worst. Macbeth followed selfish ambitions, and killed many people. He became so arrogant and egotistical, that he thought he was immortal, but died because of his actions.

I think that Shakespeare is trying to convey the message that you should make your choices rationally and carefully because for every action there will be consequences.

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In the first lines of the play shadows of doubt are cast into our mind about Macbeth because we hear the witches talking about meeting him. We know they want to meet Macbeth because they say, "There to meet with Macbeth", we wonder why he is meeting with the witches because they are supposed to be evil. An Elizabethan would have a stronger point of view then us as they saw witchcraft as very evil and it was punishable by death. The reason we would wonder why Macbeth was doing this is because it's a tragedy and it wouldn't be a tragedy if Macbeth was an evil character.

Any doubts a bout Macbeth go as the play unfolds because of the way people talk about him. The sergeant calls him …'brave Macbeth'… and Duncan talks of him as …'valiant cousin'… .

We would be happy at his bravery and an Elizabethan would be thinking on him very well because of the divine right of kings. The divine right of kings is a belief of the Elizabethans who believed that kings were like gods and that they were appointed by god so doing anything against a king would make god angry because it was like going against him. Duncan saying he was honourable was almost as though god had said it because of the right.

In this scene you could say it's the beginning of the end because Macbeth is promised he will be Thane of Glamis which he already is, Thane of Cawdor which we found out the scene before and most importantly king. At first Macbeth is shocked and says that it "stands not in the prospect of belief". The Elizabethans would feel relief at this because for Macbeth to even consider being king would be bad enough to anger God. As the scene unfolds Macbeth begins to get curious and goes on to say "would they had stayed" which shows he wants to know more. While we find this perfectly normal in human nature an Elizabethan audience would be angry and annoyed because they would think I was none of his business unless he didn't have to do anything to gain the titles. Near the end of the scene Shakespeare gives Macbeth his first aside in which he says he wouldn't consider murder. The Elizabethans would probably breathe a sigh of relief at this point as it appears their fears have been banished and Macbeth then seems to confirm this as he says

'If chance will have me king,
Why chance can crown me,
Without my stir'

As the play goes on Macbeth meets Duncan and it is the first meeting we see. The king congratulates and thanks him saying "o worthiest cousin," …

'Wouldst thou hadst less deserv'd
That the proportion both of thanks, and payment' …

More than all can pay' an Elizabethan audience and a modern day would both be happy Macbeth had gained the praise he deserved but an Elizabethan audience would feel it more because of Macbeth's honour and chivalry. Another key point is the naming of Malcolm as heir to the throne and Macbeth's reaction. The reason this is so important is that we see Macbeth's swift reaction from saying he wouldn't get involved without chance making him to saying …'that is a step at,

On which I must fall down or else o'erleap' an Elizabethan audience would find this awful as he is willing to destroy the whole chain and kill the heir and king while we would find the massive change startling. Another thing to note is the fact he is only considering doing something and is uncertain we know this because he says "let not light see my black and deep desires" which means he doesn't want others to know his desires and he himself doesn't want to face them.

When we move to Macbeth's castle we see Lady Macbeth on her own with a letter from Macbeth. The letter tells her of the witches promises that he would be Thane of Cawdor and king, it also said he was already the new thane of Cawdor and that he didn't know what to do. The reaction Shakespeare gives Lady Macbeth is very interesting. She seems to be the stronger of the two and instantly makes the decision that he will be king as promised. She also seems to know Macbeth too well and says that he is "too full o" th' milk of humane kindness' and will not want to interfere with natures way to become king. A modern day audience would find it strange how such a brave man is weaker than his “more evil” wife. An Elizabethan audience would have an issue with the fact that an honourable and brave warrior was weaker than his wife was.

The next day at Macbeth's castle Duncan arrives and we see Macbeth and Lady Macbeth deceiving Duncan as they have already decided to kill him and are acting like they are his best friends. We know this because at the end of the scene before Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are talking about killing Duncan and now they are being nice to him. A modern day audience would dislike the fact that they are openly lying to the king while an Elizabethan audience would despise them for it, wondering where Macbeth's honour had gone because now he is lying to his king.

As the play develops further we get the first soliloquy from Macbeth where he states he doesn't want to face the consequences, with that he decides not to murder Duncan. Later in the scene he decides he will kill Duncan after some persuasion from lady Macbeth even though he says "I have no spur

to prick the sides of my intent but only

vaulting ambition…". Here Shakespeare is showing that Macbeth is very indecisive about what to do. We would feel that Macbeth is a coward because he has no real reason for the murder and he is unwilling to face the consequences while an Elizabethan audience would find it terrible knowing that the murder would anger god and disrupt nature.

In this scene when the dagger appears to Macbeth we would find it strange because it is impossible a dagger couldn't really be floating in the air in front of him we would also think it was a bad excuse for murdering the king. An Elizabethan audience would be quite scared because it is unnatural and they would probably think it had something to do with the witches they would feel Macbeth was strange and was thinking with a guilty mind using the dagger as an excuse to kill Duncan.

The next day we know that Macbeth wishes he hadn't killed Duncan because he is inconsolable we know this because he says " this is a sorry night" and he says that the word "amen stuck in my throat". We would feel it served him right but at the back of our minds we would think he might not have done it if Lady Macbeth hadn't been there. An Elizabethan audience would feel he got what he deserved in that he felt sad and wouldn't have any sympathy for him at all.

As other people find out about the murder Macbeth kills the guards when he goes to see Duncan claiming he did it because he was so angry he couldn't control himself. We would find this clever yet we would still be angry at the fact he killed Duncan, an Elizabethan audience would feel even worse after this because the guards didn't do anything at all and Macbeth was being cowardly hiding from the truth.

Macbeth is starting to get paranoid after killing Duncan and we know this because he hires murderers to kill Banquo, his best friend, to make sure they kill him he makes sure they think he is there enemy and insults them. We would find this awful that he betrays his friend and lies about him to the murderers. An Elizabethan audience would find it worse because he was Macbeth's partner in war as well as his friend.

As the play unfolds Macbeth is worried that he hasn't solved the problem we know this because he says "we have scorch"d the snake, not kill'd it' we would be happy it is worrying him and he is paying for his actions and an Elizabethan audience would also be happy.

When Macbeth is having a banquet the ghost of Banquo appears his chair but only Macbeth can see him, Lady Macbeth thinks quickly and manages to reassure the guests but is worried about Macbeth, she still appears to be the stronger of the two. We would be thinking this was strange and an Elizabethan audience would be very suspicious thinking that maybe the witches had something to do with it.

After the ghost has haunted him Macbeth decides to go to see the witches and demands answers to his question they tell him twisted versions of the truth so he thinks he is invincible we would find it foolish as they never tell the truth. An Elizabethan audience would find it bad that Macbeth was going back to the witches after all that's happened because of them. They may also bear in mind the witches call him wicked and the witches are evil themselves so for them to find Macbeth wicked would be worse than a normal person saying it.

Macbeth does his first “evil” act of the play on his own because you see Macduff's wife and son are talking and joking until Macbeth's murderers come in and kill them. At this point he is the lowest of the low to everybody and Shakespeare would find it very hard to make him seem any better after he had done such awful things. To an Elizabethan audience this is the point were they really despise Macbeth and would not be able to see him as any better at all unless Shakespeare managed to make Macbeth do something very honourable.

Meanwhile Malcolm tests Macduff to see whether it is a trap or not. Macduff lies and when Malcolm says they are better without him he tells the truth.

Also in this scene Macduff finds out about his wife and son so Malcolm and Ross help him to convert the sadness to anger against Macbeth.

We suddenly realise how weak minded Lady Macbeth has become because a doctor sees her sleep walking and having nightmares about blood on her hands. We feel that she isn't as strong and that it serves her right and an Elizabethan audience feels she shouldn't have made Macbeth murder Duncan.

Macduff gets the soldiers cut boughs from Birnam wood to hold in front of themselves, this creates the appearance of Birnam wood moving, we now know the end is near

Now we are nearing the end of the play we see a hint of the old Macbeth because he starts off being defiant until he learns of Lady Macbeth's death. When this happens he gives a speech on how he felt for her this makes him feel worse and he loses some defiance. As he is upset a messenger comes in and says "as I did stand my watch upon the hill,

I look"d toward Birnam, and anon methought,

The wood began to move' this is the news that Macbeth dreads as he is told that this is one of the signs that he will lose. We think it is good that he is starting to act the same again now his wife is gone but still feel he shouldn't have done the bad things. An Elizabethan audience would feel a little better but not much. This is the point were Shakespeare starts to lift Macbeth in our opinions again.

In the last scene the old Macbeth is back and he is ready to put up a fight instead of running and even when Macbeth learns Macduff is the man the witches told him would beat him he still fights. This would lift Macbeth up quite a bit in the opinions of an Elizabethan audience because he is being honorable again instead of cowardly. Fighting even when he is very likely to lose would be honorable to an Elizabethan audience.

In conclusion Macbeth stars the play as a great hero but as the play unravels he lowers in the opinion of both a modern day and an Elizabethan audience until he is the lowest of the low when he kills Macduff's wife and son. Gradually Shakespeare manages to lift him up until at the end he is in the middle because of some of the honorable things he does near the end. He would find this so hard to do with an Elizabethan audience because they have much more of an issue with honour than we do and would find it absolutely awful some of the things he did.

When Macbeth turns around the witches are gone. When he got down from the cliff he is approached by a man on a horse named Ross, a wise Nobleman. Ross tells Macbeth “we have defeated the trader lord, Cawdor and we have stripped him of his title and given it to you”. Macbeth sent a letter to his wife telling his wife what happened. When Macbeth arrived home at the castle his wife suggested a daring plan to make the witches prophecy come true b y murdering the king and his sons.

The King returned from a long journey and before long he was asleep. Macbeth was not comfortable about killing the king. When Lady Macbeth rings the bell it means the coast is clear. Macbeth started to see things like a floating dagger in front of him. He tried to convince himself that the dagger was just a part of his guilty mind but it continued to hover. Thee bell rang and Macbeth killed the king as quickly as he could. Lady Macbeth waited outside anxiously thinking to herself “I've drugged the guards' drinks it can't be that hard to kill somebody sleeping”. After Macbeth finished the job he covered the guards in the king's blood to make it look like they had done the murder.

The next morning everyone was shocked that the king was dead. The King's two sons Malcolm and MacDuff were onto Macbeth. They went to gather an army to invade Scotland. Malcolm was killed on his journey.

Macbeth went to the three witches again and they told him your time as king will stop when the forest moves to the castle. One night Macbeth was woken by one of his guards and they said the forest is coming straight to the castle. When the forest came a little closer Macbeth noticed that it was the king's son's army come to take over. Macbeth gathered his army and sent them out to war to fight the much larger army.

Macbeth came face to face with MacDuff and they were both very experienced Generals. Macbeth took thee first lunge with his sword, MacDuff dodged it and retaliated but Macbeth was too quick and avoided the attack. The battle went on for half an hour. Macbeth has a swing with his sword but missed and MacDuff quickly cut his head off. MacDuff's army won the war.