Macbeth

1. Plot

1.1. First Act: The play opens with the news that an attempted invasion of Scotland by the Norwegians, helped by a traitor, the Thane of Cawdor, has failed thanks to Macbeth's courage. While returning home from the battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo meet three witches who greet Macbeth as "Thane of Cawdor' and say that he will become King of Scotland. The witches' prophecy begins to work on Macbeth's ambition. Macbeth invites Duncan, the King of Scotland, to his castle and writes a letter to his wife to inform her. She carries out a plan to kill Duncan. Second Act: Duncan is murdered by Macbeth and the blame is put on the king's servants. Macbeth is now on the throne, but Macduff and Banquo are suspicious. Third Act: Macbeth does not feel safe, so he decides to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance; but Fleance escapes and Banquo's ghost haunts Macbeth. Fourth Act: The three witches warn Macbeth to beware of Macduff: this will lead to the murder of Macduff's wife and children. Fifth Act: This act opens with the sight of Lady Macbeth's madness; she walks in her sleep, trying to wash away Duan's blood from her hands. Meanwhile Malcolm is marching into Scotland with an army. Macduff kills Macbeth. The play ends with Macduff holding up Macbeth's head and proclaiming Malcolm King of Scotland.

2. Characters

2.1. The three witches appeal to what Macbeth wants to believe they exist as constant reminders of the potential for evil in the human imagination. Macbeth can be regarded as a tragic hero. At the beginning of the play he is a highly respected soldier. At the end of the play he is totally alone because of his ambition and his own free decisions. The most remarkable quality of his character is his awareness of what is happening to him. He suffers horribly throughout the play, he experiences fear and psychological terrors, but he does not compromise. Lady Macbeth is a devoted wife, in the first part of the play she shows great strength of will. When Macbeth returns from the murder frightened and full of doubts, she keeps calm and tries to help him. In the second part of the play she starts to walk in her sleep and is obsessed with the spots of blood she sees on her hands. She is finally overcome by madness and dies.

3. Themes

3.1. Macbeth is the shortest of Shakespeare's tragedies; unlike the other great tragedies, there is no villain acting against the hero: Macbeth begins as the heroic warrior but, led by ambition, he chooses evil and becomes a murderous tyrant. The main themes of the tragedy are: - Regicide, an act against nature that brings about chaos, catastrophe and terrible weather conditions. The terms blood, bloody' and 'to bleed are the most frequently used words in the play. - The reversal of values, introduced by the three witches, represents the darkest, most dangerous aspect of 'equivocation'. - Closely related to the theme of equivocation is the one of 'false appearances. Shakespeare explores the difference between what is true and what only seems to be true. - Time. If time progresses in a way pre-ordained, whatever action we take to change the future can be only one of the steps necessary to achieve that precise future.