review is coming very soon! as i was in and out because i couldnt stop coughing i did not get a chance to see it all. so it is coming. just i need a bit of time

Macbeth Synopsis! Ayo helped me with this.

The play begins with amidst thunder and lightning and the Three Witches decide that their next meeting shall be with Macbeth. In the following scene it opens with a wounded sergeant who reports to king Duncan of Scotland that his generals- Macbeth, who is the Thane of Glamis and Banquo 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. Following their pitched battle with these enemy forces, Macbeth and Banquo encounter the witches as they cross a moor (A broad area of open land). The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that Macbeth’s companion, Banquo, will beget a line of Scottish kings, although Banquo will never be king himself. The witches then vanish and Macbeth and Banquo treat their prophecies skeptically until some of King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has indeed been named 'Thane of Cawdor' and that he shall "be King hereafter." Macbeth appears to be stunned to silence. When Banquo asks of his own fortunes, the witches inform him 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 as the previous Thane of Cawdor shall be put to death for his traitorous activities. Macbeth is intrigued by the possibility that the remainder of the witches’ prophecy that he will be crowned king—might be true, but he's  uncertain what to expect. Later on he visits King Duncan and they plan to dine together at Inverness, Macbeth’s castle. Macbeth writes ahead to his wife 'Lady Macbeth', telling her all that has happened. Lady Macbeth suffers none of her husband’s uncertainty. She desires the kingship for him and wants him to kill Duncan in order to gain his throne. As soon as Macbeth arrives at Inverness, she overrides all of her husband’s objections and persuades him to murder King Duncan on that very night. So Macbeth and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains (an officer who manages the household of a king) drunk so they will black out; Next morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless as they will remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural portents, including a vision of a bloody dagger. When Duncan’s death is discovered the next morning, Macbeth kills the chamberlains—ostensibly out of rage at their crime—and easilyassumes the kingship. Meanwhile Duncan's sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee to England and Ireland, respectively, fearing that whoever killed Duncan desires their demise as well.

Feared that the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs (Legally entitled to the property or rank of another on that person's death)  will seize the throne. Macbeth hires a group of murderers to attack Banquo and his son Fleance, suddenly Fleance escapes and Macbeth becomes furious and 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 only visible to himself. On the other hand the others panic at the sight of Macbeth raging at an empty chair, until Lady Macbeth desperately 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 lords to leave, and they do so. 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 allay Macbeth’s fears. First, they conjure an armored head, which tells him to beware of Macduff . Second, a bloody child tells him that no one born of a woman shall be able to harm him. Thirdly, a crowned child holding a tree states 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 move. Macbeth also asks if Banquo's sons will ever reign in Scotland: 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, most cruelly, sends murderers to slaughter Macduff’s wife and children. Everyone in Macduff's castle is put to death, including Lady Macduff and their young son.

As soon as the news of his family execution reaches Macduff in England , Macbeth is stricken with deep sorrow and vows revenge. Prince Malcolm (Duncan's son) has succeeded in raising an army in England, and Macduff then joins him as he mount's to Scotland to challenge Macbeth's forces. Scottish nobles are appalled and frightened by Macbeth's  tyrannical and murderous behaviour and the invasion has support of the Scottish Nobles. Meanwhile Lady Macbeth becomes plagued with fits of sleepwalking in which she bemoans (Express discontent or sorrow over something), what she believed to be bloodstains on her hands. Before Macbeth's opponent's arrive, he receives news that she has killed herself, this causes him to sink into a deep and pessimistic despair but nevertheless, he awaits the English and fortifies Dunsisnane to which he seems to have withdrawn in order to defend himself, certain that the witches’ prophecies guarantee his invincibility. Macbeth is struck numb with fear, however he learns that the English army is advancing on Dunsinsnane shielded with boughs cut from Birnam Wood. Birnam Wood is indeed coming to Dunsinane, fulfilling half of the witches’ prophecy.

The stuff I have written or drawn in my pack!!

Things and stuff I have written or drawn in my pack!!

Shakespeare research!

About the play : In August 1606 James was at Hampton Court , a palace near London , entertaining his brother-in-law , King Christian of Denmark. A play was acted for them Macbeth - written by the best dramatist of the time , William Shakespeare. It was a new play, but the story was an old one , and James knew it well. It was about his ancestors , Banquo and Fleance, through whom he had inherited the throne of Scotland. Shakespeare found the story of 'The Chronicles of Scotland ' , by Rapheal Holinshed. However, his play is much more than a dramatic re-writing of the historical facts . He made many changes, and the biggest of these concerned James' ancestors . In true story , Banquo joined Macbeth in killing Duncan ; but clearly it would be tactless to suggest that James was descended from regicide - the murderer of a king. So Shakespeare 's Banquo is innocent. James also believed that he was descended spiritually from the long tradition of English monarchs , and that he had inherited the power of healing that Edward the confessor (1042-66) possessed . Shakespeare's description of this power ( Act 5 , scene 3 , lines 148-58) is , to some extent , deliberate flattery of king of his king. Shakespeare also knew that James was extremely interested in witchcraft and had written a book about it. Macbeth is certainly a play ' fit for a king ' . On one level it is royal  entertainment - and entertainment , too , for all those of us who enjoy the suspense and excitement of a murder story. 

A Moral lesson :

But of course it is more than this , more than flattery for an ancient British monarch. Although the story is largely true , we do not read Macbeth as a ' history'. We could interpret Shakespeare's play as a moral lesson. Macbeth murders his king . To murder any man is crime , but those who lived at the time of Shakespeare thought that the murder of a king was the greatest of all crimes. Kings were appointed by God , to rule as his deputies : rebellion against a true king was rebellion against God. By murdering Duncan , Macbeth gains the crown but he loses , love , friendship , respect and in the end his life. His crime is rightly punished.

Characters : 

Duncan : The King of Scotland (c.1034).  He is presented as a true and gracious monarch - the embodiment of the Elizabethan belief  that a king was appointed as God's deputy on earth and was himself almost divine.  

Macbeth : A mighty and ambitious warrior , one of the leaders of Duncan's army. A witches ' prophecy leads him to murder Duncan so that he himself can be king - but his conscience afterwards will never let him rest. 

Lady Macbeth -  Macbeth's wife. She is even more ambitious than her husband , and has fewer moral scruples . She urges Macbeth to kill Duncan , and refuses to understand his doubts and hesitations . Gradually her close relationship with Macbeth crumbles into nothing. 

Synopsis : 

Act 2 

Scene 1: Banquo and his son , Fleance  are going to bed when they encounter Macbeth , who is preparing himself for his grim task.

Scene 2 : Macbeth has murdered Duncan. Lady Macbeth takes the bloody daggers away from her husband , who is already beginning to regret what he has done. 

Scene 3 : All is discovered. The porter is roused from his drunken sleep by Macduff and Lennox who go to call upon the king but find he has been murdered. Macbeth panics and kills Duncan's attendants . Duncan's sons are afraid for a their own safety and slip away secretly. 

Scene 4 : Ross and an Old Man discuss the unnatural events that occurred on the  night of Duncan's murder. They learn from Macduff that the king's two sons have fled , and that Macbeth has been chosen to be the next king.