SmartPass Audio Education Study Guide to Macbeth (Unabridged, Dramatised) recap

After winning a battle for Scotland, Macbeth hears witches predict that he will become king and that Banquo's descendants will rule after him. Encouraged by Lady Macbeth, he murders King Duncan and takes the crown. Suspicion and fear drive him to arrange Banquo's death, though Banquo's son Fleance escapes. Macbeth returns to the witches and gains confidence from deceptive assurances, then has Macduff's wife and children killed when Macduff joins Duncan's son Malcolm in England. Malcolm leads an army against him. Lady Macbeth, tormented by guilt, sleepwalks and dies. Malcolm's soldiers disguise themselves with branches from Birnam Wood, fulfilling one prophecy; Macduff, not born by ordinary childbirth, fulfills another by killing Macbeth. Malcolm becomes king and begins restoring Scotland.

Scotland defeats a rebellion and an invasion with crucial help from Macbeth and Banquo. On their way from the battlefield, three witches greet Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, Thane of Cawdor, and future king. They tell Banquo that he will father kings without becoming one himself. Soon Ross and Angus announce that Duncan has granted Macbeth the executed traitor's title of Cawdor, apparently confirming the first prediction. Macbeth begins imagining how the crown might come to him, while Banquo warns that truthful beginnings can lead toward harm.

Duncan names his son Malcolm Prince of Cumberland and heir, creating an obstacle between Macbeth and the throne. Lady Macbeth reads her husband's report of the prophecy and resolves that Duncan's visit to their castle must become an opportunity to seize power. She urges Macbeth to hide their intentions behind the appearance of hospitality. Duncan arrives and warmly praises his hosts. Macbeth recognizes the moral, political, and personal reasons not to kill a guest and king, and decides to abandon the plan. Lady Macbeth attacks his courage and lays out a scheme to drug Duncan's guards, murder the sleeping king, and blame the attendants. Macbeth accepts the plan and prepares to deceive the royal household.

After a hallucination of a dagger, Macbeth enters Duncan's chamber and kills him. He returns shaken, still carrying the guards' daggers, so Lady Macbeth takes them back and smears the sleeping men with blood. Knocking begins at the gate. Macduff arrives to wake Duncan, discovers the body, and raises the alarm. Macbeth kills the guards before they can be questioned, claiming rage. Duncan's sons fear the murderer may target them next: Malcolm flees to England and Donalbain to Ireland. Their escape makes them look guilty. Macbeth is chosen as king and travels to Scone for coronation, while Macduff remains apart and Banquo remembers the witches' prophecies.

As king, Macbeth fears Banquo's suspicion and the prediction that Banquo's descendants will inherit the crown. He hires murderers to ambush Banquo and Fleance. Banquo is killed, but Fleance escapes. At a royal banquet, Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost occupying his place and reacts in terror before the guests, while Lady Macbeth struggles to dismiss his behavior as an illness. Macbeth decides to consult the witches again and recognizes that violence has trapped him in further violence. Hecate plans to use misleading visions to make him overconfident. Scottish nobles increasingly suspect Macbeth of Duncan's and Banquo's deaths. Macduff has gone to England to join Malcolm and seek military help against the new king.

The witches summon apparitions that tell Macbeth to beware Macduff, but also say that no one born of woman will harm him and that he will be safe until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane. A vision of kings descended from Banquo enrages him. Learning that Macduff has fled, Macbeth orders an attack on his home; murderers kill Lady Macduff and her children. In England, Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty by pretending he would be a corrupt ruler, then withdraws the claims once Macduff proves his concern for Scotland. Ross brings news of the slaughter of Macduff's family. Macduff turns his grief toward revenge, and Malcolm prepares to return with an army supported by the English commander Siward.

Lady Macbeth sleepwalks under a doctor's observation, repeatedly trying to wash imagined blood from her hands and revealing fragments of the crimes that torment her. Scottish nobles join Malcolm as the invading force approaches Dunsinane. Macbeth clings to the witches' promises despite reports that his supporters are deserting. Malcolm orders each soldier to cut a branch from Birnam Wood and carry it as camouflage, making the forest appear to move toward the castle. Macbeth then learns that Lady Macbeth has died and responds with exhausted despair. A messenger reports the advancing wood, shaking one prophecy, but Macbeth arms himself for a final defense.

Malcolm's forces throw down their branches and attack Dunsinane. Macbeth continues to trust the assurance about ordinary birth and kills Young Siward in combat. When Macduff confronts him, however, Macduff explains that he was delivered from his mother's body before natural birth. Macbeth understands that the witches' promise was a trap but refuses to surrender. Macduff kills him and enters with his severed head. Malcolm is proclaimed king. He makes his loyal thanes the first earls of Scotland, invites back those driven into exile, and promises to restore order after the tyranny. Macbeth's reign ends, Macduff's family is avenged, and Duncan's rightful line returns through Malcolm.

Malcolm's army advances on Dunsinane carrying branches cut from Birnam Wood, fulfilling one prophecy in a way Macbeth had not expected. Macbeth learns that Lady Macbeth has died but continues fighting because he trusts the promise that no man born of a woman can harm him. He kills Young Siward, then meets Macduff. Macduff reveals that he was delivered surgically before natural birth, removing Macbeth's final assurance. Macduff kills and beheads him. Malcolm is acclaimed king of Scotland, rewards his supporters with the new Scottish title of earl, recalls exiles, and promises to repair the damage of Macbeth's rule. Macduff has avenged his murdered family, but Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macduff, her children, and Lady Macbeth remain among the dead produced by Macbeth's pursuit of the crown.