Macbeth characters. Purely English history. Macbeth was an exemplary ruler

The name of this woman - like many of Shakespeare's heroes - has long become a household name. For example, Leskov (not without irony) called his story about the merchant's wife, who without hesitation sent her father-in-law, her husband, and her young nephew to the next world - "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk district" ... in a word, the image is extremely unattractive (G. Verdi, who wrote the opera according to this tragedy, even demanded that the role of Lady Macbeth be played by a singer with a hoarse voice and ugly). What kind of woman is this and how justified is her notoriety?

It is hardly worth retelling the plot of Shakespeare's play - you will still have to look for a person who would not know him ... better remember what place our heroine occupies in it. Without exaggeration, the place is central. Macbeth himself is initially a completely noble hero, devoted to the king, only women are to blame for his moral decline (not the plot directly - but a gift to misogynists!). First - the witches with their predictions, one of which immediately came true ... by the way, there is no special mysticism in this: from what sources the witches could get information about the "case of the Cawdor Tan" and the king's decision to transfer the title and possessions of the executed traitor to Macbeth - one can only guess - but they definitely could (after all, they were only a few minutes ahead of the royal messenger with this message), and then - pure Oedipus effect (a prediction that came true precisely because it was made). By the way, the witches successfully use this effect in the future: it is from their suggestion that Macbeth makes Macduff, “not born of a woman”, his enemy, and the witches, in principle, could also be aware of the corresponding detail (maybe it was one of them his mother and "caesarel").

However, even the prediction of witches would not have forced our impeccable hero to commit betrayal and murder, if it were not for the persistent wife who dreams of becoming Queen of Scots (one involuntarily begs the question - did she persuade the witches to “process” her husband?). And here it turns out that Macbeth - so brave and unbending on the battlefield - at home is scared to death of his wife. And she already knows how to twist ropes from her husband - especially since Macbeth is not her first: she mentions that she “breastfed the children”, Macduff later says that Macbeth is childless - which means that Lady Macbeth had children from the first marriage ... So, it’s very easy to “untwist” a man (especially such a weak-willed one) into something:

Or your hope

I was drunk and now, having overslept,

Green and pale, looking

To the old ardor? Your love I see

She is like her in every way. Are you afraid

Be the same in your deeds and in power,

How about wishes? Would you like to own

In what you see the adornment of life,

Living like a coward...

In a word, two "classic" methods of manipulation, which are often used by ladies from ancient times to the present day: "You do not love me" and "You are a coward, you are a rag." And henpecked surrenders!

In the meantime, the Lady developed just an ideal plan: to “remove” the king and remove suspicion from herself, and at the same time eliminate the princes from succession to the throne, “hanging” murder on them (after all, she also gives Macbeth the idea to plant a murder weapon on them).

But to call the heroine unscrupulous is still impossible. As psychiatrists say, “if there is no conscience, hysteria develops; if there is a conscience, neurosis develops.” Lady Macbeth develops precisely a neurosis - more precisely, an obsessive-compulsive neurosis (also known as obsessive-compulsive disorder): she wanders around the castle, trying to wash her hands of "indelible" blood ... Even she - a model of deceit and ruthlessness - cannot live with such a burden - and dies, announcing the castle with a terrible cry. “She should have died later,” Macbeth remarks with annoyance, and one can understand him: this weak-willed person cannot withstand everything that has fallen on him without her “support” (more precisely, stimulation).

This is how Shakespeare tells us the story. But was all this really?

Yes, we can say what happened: the people depicted in the tragedy really lived in Scotland in the 11th century, and the playwright presented the political situation of that era correctly. Shakespeare was right when he asserted (more precisely, hinting) that Macbeth was the second husband of Lady Macbeth ... however, that we are all her by her last name - after all, history has preserved her name! Her name was Gruoh, and her first husband was Gillekomgan, Mormaer (Earl) of Moray - he died in civil strife for possession of this county. The unfortunate widow, together with her son, managed to escape and find shelter with a relative of her husband Maelbeta (whom we now know as Macbeth), later she became his wife.

Did their relationship resemble the one presented to us by the English playwright? We do not know this - historical chronicles do not preserve conversations in the marital bed. But even if she incited her husband to take some actions against the king, you should not judge her strictly: firstly, the late king Malcolm II, and therefore his grandson Duncan I, was her blood enemy (and the reason was serious: the murder of her brother ); secondly ... such thoughts then visited many.

The fact is that King Duncan I did not really resemble the wise and noble sovereign that Shakespeare draws for us: in reality, he was an impulsive and narrow-minded person. He came to power in a very dubious way (mortally wounding his own grandfather in battle), and the ruler (as well as the commander) was extremely mediocre: he was defeated in England, where he invaded against the advice of military leaders, and the constant raids of the Orkney jarl Thorfinn nothing could not resist. It is not surprising that the matter ended in a rebellion, which Macbeth really led - and not alone, but together with Banquo (the same Banquo, who was bred in the tragedy as his next innocent victim).

But if Gruoh played any role in these events, then she definitely did not incite her husband to any treachery and betrayal. There was no secret murder under the cover of night - there was a battle in which Duncan died.

Macbeth, on the other hand, became king, having all the rights to it - both according to his own pedigree, and according to the pedigree of his wife. He ruled for 17 years, and - according to the chronicle - "All these years the country prospered." The raids of Thorfinn Orkney stopped, and inside the country the new king put things in order - so much so that he could even afford to leave the country for a long time, making a pilgrimage to Rome. Church sources call him a benefactor of the Church - he was the first among the Scottish kings to be awarded such a description.

As for Banquo, neither Macbeth nor his wife are related to his death either: he died in battle with the Vikings.

What Shakespeare did not sin against the truth is that the sons of the late Duncan did indeed attempt to overthrow Macbeth, and their supporter was Tan Macduff, as well as Earl Siwarth of Northumberland - and their invasion of Scotland really cost Macbeth his life ...

Gruoh did not live to see this - she died three years before these events ... I want to believe that she died happy - after all, the historical Lady Macbeth seems to be a much more attractive person than Shakespeare's heroine.

As you can see, art is not always more beautiful than real life!

The obituary on Macbeth's death calls his reign "the fertile seasons"; this metaphor among the ancient Celts meant that they did not starve.

A whole galaxy of English historians and politicians began a campaign to rehabilitate King Macbeth, claiming that he was unfairly denigrated by the brilliant William Shakespeare.

A thousand years after the birth of the Scottish King Macbeth, whose name has become a symbol of misfortune and religious prejudice, high-browed islanders attempted to remove the stigma of a murderer from him. A group of renowned historians - led by John Beatty of New York's City University who sleeps and sees to declare this year "the year of Macbeth" - convinced 20 Scottish MPs to launch a campaign for recognition of his historical accomplishments. They firmly believe that Shakespeare misrepresented him as an ambitious and merciless tyrant, who, moreover, was "under the heel" of his wife, the notorious Lady Macbeth.

The real Macbeth was not "a murderous butcher and the husband of an insidious queen", but was a wise ruler of a prosperous united Scotland in the 11th century. By the way, he contributed in every possible way to the spread of Christianity. Shakespeare's interpretation of the image of Macbeth is pure fiction and nothing more, writes the Daily Telegraph.

English historians believe that the Macbeth legend used by Shakespeare in his play was created by Scottish bards. The bards, under the patronage of a clan rivaling that of Macbeth, distorted the deeds of Macbeth in order to cast a shadow over his entire family. Is not it?

It is believed that Shakespeare wrote this tragedy in 1606. Wanting to flatter the then King James (a theater lover), the playwright turned to the legendary history of Scotland for a plot. In the tragedy, the author greatly exalted the character of the innocently murdered Banquo, the ancestor of the ruling monarch from the Stuart family. Holinshed Banquo was one of Macbeth's accomplices in regicide. In Shakespeare, he is the ideal of a man who is faithful to duty and friends, so that his high moral virtues made him a bogey for the regicide Macbeth.

In the absence of true facts, Shakespeare uses semi-folk, semi-literary traditions of the "deep antiquity". He reads the Chronicles of Holinshed (Raphael Holinshed. Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland. 1577). Holinshed, in turn, was based on the opus Scotorum Historiae by Hector Boethius (in the English version - Beuys), which was first printed in Paris in 1526.

Macbeth did not kill King Duncan in his sleep, as the play says. He could have killed his rival in the fight for the throne, but this happened in 1040, at the Battle of Pitgaveny (Pitgaveny), write the current whistleblowers. In turn, Macbeth was killed fighting Duncan's son Malcolm in 1057. And in fact? The chronicle remains silent on exactly where Macbeth killed the Scottish king Duncan.

For his part, the poet ignores such facts: after that, Macbeth ruled the country well for 17 long years and no one tried to seize his throne while Macbeth made a six-month pilgrimage to Rome. This is evidence that the situation in his kingdom was stable and Macbeth enjoyed the respect of his subjects.

The obituary on Macbeth's death calls his reign "the fertile seasons"; this metaphor among the ancient Celts meant that they did not starve. "Macbeth ruled the country quite successfully," says Ted Cowan, professor of history at Glasgow University. “Some of the ancient Scottish clans mentioned Macbeth as the last great Celtic ruler of Scotland.” Professor James Fraser of Edinburgh University believes that it has not been proven that Macbeth was a tyrant who ruled over a kingdom where he was hated, as the play says.

Should gentlemen break spears? After all, it is well known that the writer is free to resort to "poetic liberty" at his own discretion. Remember the famous "nail" Dumas père, on which he "hung his novels." Richelieu of the Three Musketeers is not at all the outstanding statesman of France, which he really was. Only a mad Gaul would take it into his head to refute Papa Dumas with documents. However, the trendsetters of the 19th century zealously cradle their amour to the “simple shepherdess” from the village of Domremy.

According to the chronicle, the cruelty of Macbeth against Macduff is motivated by the fact that the latter, violating his duty, began to communicate with the enemies of the king. In the tragedy, Macduff just refused to come to the feast. In Holinshed, Macbeth personally marches with an army against a recalcitrant vassal; in the play, he deals with his innocent family with the help of hitmen. Shakespeare himself seems to have forgotten such a departure from the source, and at the end of Act IV, Rosse tells Macduff about the capture of his castle and the extermination of all his vassals, which, of course, was impossible for hired killers.

In conclusion, a few words, or rather quotes. August Wilhelm Schlegel, in his Lectures on Dramatic Art and Literature, is absolutely sure that Shakespeare wanted to portray an ambitious but noble man who succumbs to diabolical temptations; all the crimes to which he is driven by the desire to secure the fruits of his first atrocity cannot erase from his image the stamp of innate heroism.

It is terrible to see how the former brave warrior, who looked directly into the face of death, now, out of fear of the afterlife, clings to his earthly existence. And yet, in spite of the disgust that his atrocities inspire in us, we cannot refuse him sympathy. Shakespeare wants to show in his drama that the struggle between good and evil in this world is carried out by the will of Providence.

In 1840, in his analysis of Griboyedov’s comedy, the great Russian critic Belinsky defines the two main characters of this tragedy as follows: “Shakespeare’s Macbeth is a villain, but a villain with a deep and powerful soul, which is why, instead of disgust, he excites participation: you see in him a person, in whom there was the same possibility of victory as of fall, and who, in a different direction, could have been a different person.

And secondly: "Macbeth" is one of the most ... monstrous works of Shakespeare, where ... reflected ... all the barbarism of the century in which he lived.

How much deeper these statements are than the delights of the gentlemen from History. Well, keep rewriting the Bible, Shakespeare, etc. The flag is in your hands!

The story takes place in the 11th century in Scotland and England. The Scottish ruler Duncan learns that his relative, the brave commander Macbeth, won a brilliant victory over the Irish and Norwegian troops opposing Duncan, and the king assigns to the brave cousin the title of Thane of Cawdor, which previously belonged to the traitor executed by him.

The three witches, talking among themselves, brag to each other about the heinous deeds that they managed to do, and it is at this moment that Macbeth appears before them. The sorceresses greet him as tan of Gdamis, this title passed to the commander by inheritance, as tan of Cawdor, whose title he received quite recently, and as king. Comrade Macbeth Banquo, who is at this moment next to him, recommends not paying attention to the predictions of witches, but the ambitious commander is already beginning to dream of a real throne, although at the same time he is disgusted to think about the murder of the generous and completely trusting King Duncan.

Duncan welcomes the arriving military leaders with sincere joy, and proclaims his eldest son Malcolm as his heir. Macbeth is furious, seeing that there is another obstacle to his accession, he is almost ready to commit a monstrous crime in order to win the throne. Meanwhile, Macbeth's wife, having read in her husband's letter about the prediction of witches, is delighted, the woman has no doubt that her life partner is worthy of the highest fate. When Macbeth arrives home, his wife tells him that she has already made a plan to kill Duncan, he should be eliminated that night, which he must spend under their roof, Lady Macbeth tries her best to overcome her husband's doubts and hesitations.

Macbeth is ashamed to kill the king, who literally showered him with favors and good deeds, especially under the roof of his own castle, but at the same time, a strong thirst for power does not cease to haunt him, and his wife begins to sharply reproach him for cowardice, which is unbearable for a brave warrior. According to Lady Macbeth, the king is terribly tired and will quickly fall asleep, and she will intoxicate his servants with a sleeping potion and wine. The king should be stabbed to death with their daggers to ward off any suspicions.

At the end of the feast in Macbeth's castle, Duncan retires to the bedroom, and soon the owner of the house enters the same place. He kills the king, but all the work of covering up the tracks has to be done by Lady Macbeth, her husband is too shocked by what he has done. At this moment, the noble Lord Macduff arrives at the castle, who was ordered by the king to arrive there as soon as possible. Macbeth leads this man to the royal chambers, and the nobleman is horrified to see that Duncan is stabbed to death, and drunken servants are smeared in his blood. Macbeth immediately kills these servants, feigning righteous anger. No one doubts their guilt, with the exception of the sons of the deceased king, who immediately disappear from the castle, which makes Macduff suspicious. Macbeth really becomes the new ruler.

The newly-made king and his wife arrange a dinner, the main guest of which should be Banquo. Macbeth now sees in him the main enemy and rival, because according to the predictions of the witches, which have so far impeccably come true, it is the grandchildren of Banquo who should reign after him, Macbeth himself has no children. The ruler sends two unfortunate killers to destroy not only Banquo, but also his son, a teenager Flins, but the boy still manages to escape.

The guests have already settled at the table and are ready to start the meal. The killer appears and reports that the task has been completed, but not completely, and at this moment Macbeth sees a bloodied Banquo in front of him. Besides him, no one notices this ghost, no one from the audience understands with whom the king is talking. Lady Macbeth explains his strange behavior as unhealthy, and the ruler himself hurries to the witches the next morning, wanting to know more about his future.

Macduff escapes to England. His wife and son do not have time to escape, they are cruelly dealt with by the murderers sent by Macbeth. Meanwhile, Macduff persuades Malcolm, the eldest son of the late Duncan, who is also in England, to oppose the tyrant, and the young man is ready to fight, besides, the English king agrees to put a huge army at his disposal. It also becomes known that the Scots intend to raise an uprising against the unbearable tyranny of Macbeth.

Arriving with the troops in Scotland, young Malcolm orders each of the soldiers to carry a tree branch in front of him, and Macbeth is horrified to learn that Birnam Forest is moving towards his castle, as the witches predicted. In a deadly fight, Macbeth meets Macduff face to face, and the courageous lord kills the cruel usurper.

When Macduff presents the head of Macbeth to the Scots, all joyfully greet Malcolm, the rightful sovereign. The new young king announces that all those who fled from Scotland from the tyranny of Macbeth should return to their homeland again, while the minions of the former ruler should be severely punished. But above all, Malcolm is going to undergo the traditional coronation procedure in accordance with centuries-old rules in order to feel like a real ruler of his native country.

And James the First, the son of the executed Scottish Queen Mary Stuart, entered the English throne. Paying tribute to the Scottish origin of the new king, William Shakespeare in the summer of 1606 wrote a tragedy on a Scottish theme - "Macbeth". Shakespeare took material for his tragedy from the history of Scotland, described in R. Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland. The prototype of the protagonist of the tragedy was a real historical figure - King Macbeth of Scotland (1005 - 1057), but Shakespeare made Macbeth, who was a wise and just ruler, a villain and despot.
"Macbeth" could please the new king of England for another reason - because of the fully disclosed witch theme. The fact is that King James soon after his accession to the throne issued a decree on the persecution of witches. However, it is worth noting that the prediction of witches is also mentioned in the historical source used by Shakespeare.

The action of the tragedy opens with an ominous scene when, at the sound of thunder and lightning, three witches are waiting for the Scottish commanders Macbeth and Banquo, who have just defeated the Norwegians who invaded Scotland. When Macbeth and Banquo appear, the witches greet Macbeth, calling him "Glamish thane" (than is a Scottish noble title; Macbeth is already a Glamisian thane in origin), "Cawdorian thane" and "king to come". Then the witches predict to Banquo that he himself will not be king, but his descendants will be kings. Macbeth wonders how he can be a Cawdorian thane, because another person is a Cawdorian thane and Macbeth has no chance of inheriting his title. However, the witches disappear without answering Macbeth's question.

Messengers appear who inform Macbeth that the Cawdorian thane has turned out to be a traitor and his title passes to Macbeth. Macbeth sees that the witches' predictions are beginning to come true and thinks about the possibility of becoming king. Macbeth shares his thoughts with his wife, the ambitious Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is the most demonic image of all the villains in Shakespeare's tragedies. It is devoid of any moral principles and any manifestations of humanity.

Lady Macbeth decides that the surest way to power is to kill King Duncan, who is staying at Macbeth's house:

husky raven
Cawed Duncan's ill-fated drive-in
Under the shadow of my loopholes. - Fly, spirits
Deadly thoughts, pervert my sex,
Fill me up from head to toe
Cruelty! Thicken my blood
Close the entrances and paths of meditation,
So that attacks of mental remorse
They did not shake either the idea or the deed.
Come close to my nipples and drink
Like bile, their milk, you servants of death,
Wherever your host hovered, invisible to the eye,
Harm the living! - Come, thick night,
And wrap yourself in the blackest smoke of Gehenna,
So that my knife, piercing, does not see the wound
And the sky could not through the canopy of darkness
Exclaim: "Stop!"

Macbeth hesitates, saying:

Duncan was like a ruler
So pure and kind that valor him,
Like angels they will trumpet for vengeance.
And in a storm of pity a whirlwind will be born,
And a cloud will appear with a naked baby,
And, with this news, flying around the whole world,
Flood him with a sea of ​​tears.

William Blake. Illustration for "Macbeth"

But Lady Macbeth still convinces her husband to commit regicide and blame everything on the servants, whose daggers need to be smeared in blood.

Macbeth kills Duncan and forgets to place the bloodied daggers in the hands of the sleeping servants. When the wife forces her husband to return and put the daggers into the hands of the servants, shocked Macbeth is unable to force himself to return to the scene of the murder, then Lady Macbeth grabs the daggers herself and does what she has planned.

The next morning, the murder is revealed, Macbeth kills the servants, allegedly guilty of the murder. The sons of the slain king flee, fearing for their lives. Macbeth becomes king. The witches' prophecy is fulfilled regarding Macbeth, but the new king is worried about the prophecy regarding Banquo. Macbeth wants his descendants, and not the descendants of Banquo, to reign in the country. Macbeth invites Banquo to a feast, but sends assassins to kill Banquo and his son on the way. Banquo is killed, but his son manages to escape. Banquo's ghost, visible only to Macbeth, appears at the feast. Macbeth is horrified at the sight of the ghost and screams at him, which confuses the guests and Lady Macbeth.

Macbeth decides to go to the witches again. They give him new predictions about how to beware of Macduff (a Scottish nobleman), and also that none of those who are born of a woman can kill Macbeth. The witches conclude by saying that Macbeth will be safe until Birnam Wood comes out to fight on Dunsinane Hill (where Macbeth's castle is located).

Returning from the witches, Macbeth learns that Macduff has fled and orders the massacre of Macduff's entire family.
Lady Macbeth, tormented by madness, begins to walk in her sleep, talking about the accomplished murders and trying to wash the blood from her hands.

Macduff and one of the sons of the slain king gather an army in England and invade Scotland. To hide their numbers, the warriors cut down branches from Birnam Forest and go to Dunsinam Hill. Macbeth sees that this prophecy has also been fulfilled. Macbeth is informed that his wife has died and Macbeth realizes that she committed suicide.

Troops invade the castle, but Macbeth is not too afraid for his life, remembering the prophecy that only he who is not born a woman is dangerous to him. However, Macduff tells Macbeth that he was not born of a woman, but was cut from his mother's womb (caesarean section). Macduff kills Macbeth and Malcolm, Duncan's son, becomes the new king.
What about the prophecy that the descendants of Banquo will reign? Banquo was a real historical figure and was considered the progenitor of the Stuart dynasty, from which came King James, who reigned in the time of Shakespeare.

William Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth" has been staged countless times on the stage of theaters.

The famous British actress Sarah Siddons as Lady Macbeth (1785)

In 1955, the famous British actors Laurence Olivier and Vivien Leigh played the roles of Macbeth and his wife.

Firstly, this is a 1948 film adaptation of Macbeth directed by Orson Welles. If the film "Othello" by Orson Welles did not like me at all, then "Macbeth" by the same director turned out to be excellent. The spirit of the darkest of Shakespeare's tragedies is conveyed in the best possible way, the actors play perfectly: Wells himself plays the role of Macbeth, the role of Lady Macbeth is played by 36-year-old Janette Nolan, who is not very beautiful, but very accurately conveys the demonic spirit of her heroine. The witches in the film are made so sinister that they give you goosebumps.
The only drawback of Wells' "Macbeth" is the paucity of scenery, which at times makes the film look like a play.

Macbeth (Orson Welles), Lady Macbeth (Jeanette Nolan) and Lady Macduff (Susan Dury) in Macbeth (1948)

Macbeth (Orson Welles) and Lady Macbeth (Jeanette Nolan) in Macbeth (1948)

witches in Macbeth (1948)

Second, I watched the 1971 adaptation of Macbeth by Roman Polanski. The film was produced by Playboy, which is reflected in the fact that Lady Macbeth walks naked in the scene of her madness, the witches that Macbeth comes to are also naked. John Finch's Macbeth is not as convincing as Orson Welles's, but Lady Macbeth in Polanski's film, in my opinion, is successfully played by Francesca Annis, although at the beginning of the film I had doubts whether this beautiful and feminine girl could be inhuman Lady Macbeth .

Macbeth in the cartoon

Lady Macbeth cartoon

Shakespeare's Macbeth was written in 1606, three years after the death of Queen Elizabeth. The work, based on one of the plots of Scottish history, became a kind of response of the writer to the political situation in England.

For a reader's diary and preparation for a literature lesson, we recommend reading the online summary of Macbeth chapter by chapter. You can test your knowledge with the test on our website.

main characters

Duncan- King of Scotland, wise and just ruler.

Malcolm, Donalbain- sons of Duncan, direct heirs to the throne.

Macbeth- Duncan's cousin, a brave commander.

Banquo- Faithful friend of Macbeth, also a commander.

Lady Macbeth- The wife of Macbeth, an ambitious and cruel woman.

Other characters

Fliance- Banco's son.

Siward- An English general.

Macduff, Lenox, Ross, Angus- Scottish nobles.

Hecate- the mistress of the dark forces.

Three witches- evil creatures, through whose fault the tragedy occurred.

Act I

Scene 1

On the wasteland "by lightning, under thunder" three witches agree to meet at the end of the battle in the heather, where they plan to meet Macbeth "before the evening dawn".

Scene 2

A bloodied sergeant arrives at the camp near Forres, which serves as the residence of King Duncan of Scotland. He brings good news - the king's cousin and one of his experienced commanders, "the pet of swearing glory, the brave Macbeth", defeated the opponents, and their leader MacDonald "cut the body in half, and stuck his head on a pole above the tower".

However, the joy of the brilliant victory of Macbeth did not last long. The King of Norway, a former ally of Duncan and his vile traitor, took advantage of the opportunity to move his numerous regiments against the Scots.

However, Macbeth and the second general Banquo "answered the enemy with a double blow" and defeated the enemy.

The sergeant becomes exhausted from blood loss and is taken to the doctor. The nobleman Ross appears at the king's house and announces the unconditional surrender of the Norwegians: King Svenon pleads for a truce and offers to "hand over ten thousand dollars." Impressed by Macbeth's bravery, Duncan rewards him with the title of vanquished traitor, Thane of Cawdor.

Scene 3

Three witches flock to the heather field and brag to each other about their evil deeds. Hearing the drumbeat, they close the magic circle three times, thereby casting a spell on Macbeth.

On the road to Forres, Banquo and Macbeth come across these "withered and wild creatures." The witches greet the generals and predict Macbeth's coming coronation. Banquo also wants to know his future. The witches answer him: "You are not a king, but you will give birth to kings." The friends are not a little surprised by what the old women predicted to them.

Royal envoys Angus and Ross are jumping towards the generals to announce the royal favor to the winners. Witches' predictions begin to come true - Macbeth learns about the assignment of new titles. In his dreams, he already sees himself as a king, but Banquo warns his friend against such thoughts, which can do a disservice.

Scene 4

At the palace in Farres, Malcolm informs his father of the execution of the Thane of Cawdor. The king thanks Macbeth for his courage, but he modestly replies that the duty of all subjects is “to win love and honor from the sovereign.”

Duncan informs the assembled that he is raising Malcolm's son to the "Prince of Cumberland" and is formally appointing him as his successor. Macbeth understands that now Malcolm is getting in his way to the coveted throne.

Scene 5

In Inverness, in Macbeth's castle, his wife receives a letter from which she learns about the prediction of witches. Realizing that her husband can become a king, and she a queen, Lady Macbeth calls on evil spirits to feed her "from head to toe with villainy."

Macbeth arrives at the castle, followed by the king. The wife of the brave commander asks to rely on her in everything, and to “look like an innocent flower” when communicating with Duncan.

Scene 6

Lady Macbeth courteously greets the King of Scotland and his retinue. Duncan asks to quickly take him to Macbeth.

Scene 7

In honor of important guests, Macbeth arranges a sumptuous feast in his castle. His wife regrets that it is impossible to commit an atrocity with one blow and thereby confirm the prophecy. She assures her husband that their plan will work. All you need to do is get Duncan and his entourage to drink properly, and put all the blame on the stupid servants.

Act II

Scene 1

After the feast, Banquo and his son Fliens go to rest. Having met in the corridor of the castle with Macbeth, he gives him a diamond - a gift from the king for "the best of housewives".

When Banquo and Fliens are removed, a bloodied dagger appears in front of Macbeth's eyes - "an ominous ghost", which "is accessible only to the eye, not to the hand."

Scene 2

Having properly drunk all the guests, Lady Macbeth waits outside the gates of the hall for her husband, who must commit a crime - to kill Duncan. He soon leaves, shocked by what he has just done.

Lady Macbeth demands that her husband immediately return to the hall and throw the bloody blades to the sleeping servants, but he refuses. Then the resolute woman herself throws the instruments of crime on innocent people, and smears them with blood, "so that evil is read on them."

A knock is heard at the south gate. The couple rush to their bedchamber to wash the blood stains off their hands and take on the appearance of people who have just woken up.

Scene 3

The porter lets the royal nobles Lenox and Macduff into the castle. Lenox tells the owner of the castle about the terrible storm that raged all night, while Macduff goes to wake the king. Soon he runs out and tells the terrible news - the king is killed!

Macbeth and his wife play horror beautifully. Under the pretext of fierce hatred for the "murderers" of the king, Macbeth kills the servants who found bloody daggers. In fact, he simply eliminates unnecessary witnesses.

The sons of the murdered Duncan - Donalbain and Malcolm - do not trust anyone present. They are sure that "feigned sadness is easy for some liars." For their own safety, the brothers decide to "divide the fates": Malcolm goes to England, and Donalbain goes to Ireland.

Scene 4

Ross discusses the events of the previous night with a 70-year-old man. Seeing Macduff, he asks who was the killer of the king. He says that the crime was committed by servants stabbed by Macbeth, who were bribed by the brothers Malcolm and Donalbain, who fled in a hurry from the castle.

No one doubts that now "Be King Macbeth". Without delay, he goes to Scone, "to accept the crown there."

Act III

Scene 1

Banquo suspects that Macbeth became king in an unclean way. He is only comforted by the fact that, according to the witches' prophecy, he himself will become the "father and root of many kings."

Macbeth shares in Banquo rumors of "bloody nephews" that sow confusion in people's minds. Left alone with himself, the newly appeared king begins to reason. He confesses to having a "deep fear of Banquo" in his "heart", which overwhelms him. Macbeth hires two assassins to destroy his main opponents in the fight for the throne - Banquo and his son Fliens.

Scene 2

Seeing her sad husband, Lady Macbeth tries to cheer him up, because "victory is worthless" if it does not bring joy. The commander hints to her that a new crime is expected soon.

Scene 3

The two assassins tasked with killing Banquo and their son are joined by a third villain. He confesses that he was also sent by Macbeth. They manage to kill Banquo, but he warns Fleens of the danger in time, and the young man is hiding from the killers.

Scene 4

At a feast in honor of the new king, Lady Macbeth welcomes distinguished guests. In the meantime, the assassins will inform Macbeth of the mission accomplished: Banquo has "twenty wounds on his head", however Fliens managed to escape.

Suddenly, the bloodied ghost of Banquo appears before Macbeth, and he begins to talk to him, thereby frightening his guests. Lady Macbeth tries to explain her husband's strange behavior by the seizures that have tormented him since childhood.

The ghost now disappears, then reappears, and Macbeth "with his strange ailment" spoils the whole feast. The guests disperse. Macbeth notices that Macduff was not at the feast.

Seine V

In the steppe, Hecate, the mistress of the dark forces, scolds the three witches for daring to "secretly introduce Macbeth" to the mysteries of death. The king does evil for his own selfish interests, and "does not want to be a servant" of darkness. Hecate decides to correct the mistake of her subjects and prepare a terrible fate for Macbeth.

Scene VI

Lenox makes “impudent speeches” with the lord: the nobleman has no doubt that Macbeth was involved in the death of Duncan and Banquo. The Lord says that Malcolm settled at the court of the English rabbit Edward. Faithful Macduff soon joined him.

Act IV

Scene 1

Thunder rumbles, storm rages. There are three witches in the cave and they are brewing a potion in a large cauldron, throwing a wide variety of ingredients into it: "copper's eye, supper tail, leather wool, a dog's tooth along with a frog's metacarpus". Hecate thanks the witches for their efforts and advises them to quickly finish their preparations - Macbeth is approaching the cave.

The king wants answers to his questions, not from the witches, but from the "elders". The prophets are mistaken for witchcraft, and soon a ghost in a helmet appears before Macbeth. He advises the king to be wary of Macduff.

The second ghost in the guise of a bloodied baby assures that Macbeth can boldly shed blood and violate any laws, since he is invulnerable "for those who are born a woman."

The third ghost - "a child in a crown, with a branch in his hand" - predicts great success for Macbeth, but only until "until Birnam Forest sends trees to Dunsinan Hill on a campaign".

Macbeth asks the witches if the Banquo clan will “sit on the throne of the state”? But they do not give the king an exact answer.

Scene 2

In the castle of Macduff, the wife of a nobleman is killed due to the absence of her husband, who has left her and her children. The little son of Macduff asks his mother if his father was a traitor, and what is due to him for betraying the king.

Suddenly, a messenger appears in the castle, who asks the lady to run away immediately, "taking the children with her." Following the messenger, the killers appear in the hall, one of whom stabs the boy. Lady Macduff is trying to escape from her pursuers.

Scene 3

In the palace of the English king, Malcolm invites Macduff to mourn his father, but he wants only one thing - to draw his swords and "to stand up for the fallen homeland." However, the battle for the throne is not included in the plans of the legitimate heir, because he considers himself too unworthy to take his father's place.

Malcolm lists all his vices to Macduff, and the honest nobleman is unable to put up with them. Then Malcolm admits that he deliberately denigrated himself in order to test the loyalty of the servant. He is ready to return to Scotland and fight for the throne.

Ross arrives in England and tells how "the tyrant's troops are gathering" - Macbeth is preparing for war. He tells Macduff the sad news - his wife, children and all the servants are brutally killed.

Act V

Scene 1

In Dunsinan, a lady of the court informs the doctor that Lady Macbeth suffers from sleepwalking. Together they watch how a woman with open but blind eyes rubs her hands with a habitual movement - “it seems to her that she washes them.”

Hearing the muttering of Lady Macbeth, the doctor takes up his pen, "to keep firmly in mind" everything she says. So the doctor and the lady of the court learn the terrible secret of Lady Macbeth.

Scene 2

The Scottish nobles are discussing the imminent approach to Birnam Forest of the English troops, led by Macduff, Malcolm and Siward. In conversation, they touch on Macbeth: someone considers him crazy, and someone - "mad daredevil".

Scene 3

Upon learning of the flight of his soldiers, Macbeth becomes furious. However, this does not diminish his self-confidence - the king believes in the prophecy of ghosts.

A servant, white as chalk, enters, and reports that ten thousand well-armed Englishmen are standing near Dunsinan. Macbeth understands that the coming battle will "either exalt or crush" him. He orders the doctor to heal his sick wife as soon as possible, but he assures that medicine is powerless in her case.

Scene 4

The British army is located near Birnam Forest. Malcolm orders the soldiers to pick branches and hide behind them in order to confuse the scouts and prevent them from knowing the exact number of troops.

Scene 5

Macbeth is not worried about the upcoming siege of the castle. Hearing a woman scream, he orders to find out what happened. The servant brings the sad news: "The queen, sovereign, has died." However, Macbeth is annoyed - the death of his wife is completely out of place.

A messenger comes running to the king and reports that "the forest is going to the castle."

Scene 6

In front of the castle, the English soldiers throw off their branches and go into open battle with the army of Macbeth.

Scene 7

Macbeth compares himself to a bear, "that is tied to a post, but must fight." He fights with the son of the commander Siward and kills him in a match. Meanwhile, Macduff is looking for his terrible enemy - Macbeth, to avenge the death of his family.

Scene 8

Seeing Macduff, Macbeth asks him to leave, because he feels guilty for the death of his wife and children. In anger, Macduff attacks him, but the king only laughs and says that "one who is born of a woman" will never kill him. To which the nobleman gloatingly reports that he was "cut before the deadline with a knife from the womb of the mother," and kills the king.

Macduff brings Macbeth's head to Malcolm and praises the new king.

Conclusion

Shakespeare's tragedy was intended to emphasize the historic friendship between England and Scotland, and thereby strengthen the union of the two states. To give the work a special mysticism, the writer introduced the theme of witches and sorcery into it, which was very popular in those days.

After reading a brief retelling of Macbeth, we recommend that you read Shakespeare's play in its entirety.

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