"Macbeth" Act 4 and 5 Notes

Act 4 begins with the supernatural masterminds behind the entire play: the three witches.

Macbeth seeks them out just as they finish their spell meant to produce visions for Macbeth that will make him overly confident and lead to his downfall. In fact, when he arrives, one of the witches says "by the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes" (IV.i.44-45). Notice they say something, not someone. Almost like Macbeth is a force of evil and is completely lacking any humanity.

Macbeth's attitude towards the witches is no longer one of awe and fear. He has become demanding, ordering them to tell him prophecies about his future. The witches show him 4 visions that deliver a warning or prophecy to him.

1. The first is a helmeted head that tells him to beware Macduff. Macbeth feels validated in his suspicion of Macduff and makes a plan to kill him.
2. The second is a bloody child who tells him no man born from a woman can hurt Macbeth. Macbeth then laughs, stating it is impossible for Macduff to hurt him. However, he still is determined to kill him just to be safe.
3. The third is a child holding a tree and wearing a crown who tells him Macbeth will only be beaten when the forest of Birnam Wood travels 12 miles to the walls of the castle on Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth feels invincible at this point. He points out how it is impossible for trees to walk and how no man is strong enough to force a tree to move. 
4. When he presses the witches further for information regarding Banquo's prophecy, they show him a line of 8 kings, some of which are dressed and decorated to show that they are kings of more than one nation. At the end of the line is Banquo, gesturing at the line of kings are his future generations. Macbeth is furious and gets angry at the witches for showing him this.

The witches disappear shortly after, leaving Macbeth feeling unsatisfied and cursing them, realizing he himself is damned just for listening and believing them. 

Lennox then comes to tell him that Macduff has fled to England. But who's in England?

Only Malcolm, the rightful heir to the throne!

Macbeth is furious to hear that Macduff refuses to be loyal to him and decides the time for thought is over. He then states his intent to kill all of Macduff's family at his house, a promise he follows through with in the very next scene.

In scene 2, we see Lady Macduff lament the fact that her husband has left them alone during such dangerous times. Her cousin, Ross, tries to convince her that Macduff did not abandon or betray them, but stops just short of saying why he left to avoid giving any information to any spies that may be planted in the house. 

Lady Macduff tells her son that his father is dead, but he refuses to believe it. He asks her what it means to be a traitor and who is responsible for punishing traitors. Lady Macduff explains that honest men punish traitors for breaking promises.

Her son then points out that traitors and liars are fools because they easily outnumber the honest men and could very easily overpower them. 

A messenger suddenly arrives and tells Lady Macduff to get the heck out of her house! He warns her of impending danger and quickly leaves. 

Lady Macduff insists that she is innocent, but then recalls that the world she lives in no longer cares about things like innocence and justice. 

Murderers then arrive and kill the little boy.

In the final scene of the act, we see Malcolm putting Macduff to the test. He doesn't suffer from his father's flaw of bad judgement and so he tests Macduff's loyalty by lying about himself. 

Malcolm points out that Macduff could be an angel like Lucifer, someone who looks and says they are good, but really aren't. When Macduff insists that Malcolm should at least fight for his throne, Malcolm gives a list of reasons as to why he would be a worse king than Macbeth. He says he is evil, greedy, lustful, and not fit to be a king. Macduff tries to hear him out and argues back at first but then gets so frustrated, he lashes out at Malcolm and tells him he isn't fit to even live.

Malcolm then calms him and tells him he passed the test. 

Malcolm then declares he is ready to go back with Macduff and fight for his people with the 10,000 soldiers England has given him to reclaim his country.

Ross then arrives and provides Malcolm with news that the people of Scotland are dying, rebelling, and ready to fight for anyone who tries to get rid of Macbeth. He also delivers the unfortunate news that Macduff's entire family has been killed by Macbeth's men. Malcolm urges Macduff to turn his grief into the motivation for revenge. 

In Act 5, the battle is looming on the horizon. However, we begin with lady Macbeth and how she is currently handling the mounting guilt for her actions and the actions of her husband.

A servant and doctor witness a sleepwalking episode where she appears to be trying to wash her hands of imagined blood stains. She confesses to assisting in the murder of Duncan and knowing about the plan to murder Banquo and the Macduffs. During her episode, she seems to switch back and forth between the cold, heartless woman she wished she was and the broken, remorseful person she truly is. She wishes, vainly, that there existed a way to undo the things that keep her up at night.

The doctor and servant decide to simply watch her more closely and make sure she doesn't hurt herself. The doctor remarks that the illness Lady Macbeth has is not physical, but mental.

In the next scenes, we see that the other thanes of Scotland have gone over to Malcolm's side and that most of Macbeth's soldiers are abandoning their posts. The only soldiers who remain are those who are being forced to. 

Macbeth shows that his sanity is beginning to fail, but like Lady Macbeth. However, where Lady Macbeth wishes she could undo their actions, Macbeth is determined to stay the course. He reflects that no matter what, at the end of everything, he will ultimately have nothing left. He refuses to turn back because he knows it will not change the outcome of his fate. Even later on, after learning that Lady Macbeth has died, he remarks how she would have died eventually anyway and that life seems meaningless, stating that "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing" (V.v.26-28).

Actual footage of Macbeth in Act 5

Meanwhile, in Malcolm's camp, he and his soldiers have decided to camouflage themselves with tree branches as they move towards Macbeth's castle through Birnam Wood.

You know, so that it looks like the forest is moving. 

So, we see one of the witches prophecies coming true. 

When Macbeth hears that it seems as though the forest is moving, he is furious. He gives up on staying safe and defended inside the castle and instead charges out onto the battlefield. There, he focuses solely on the other prophecies that the witches gave: that no man born of woman can harm him and that he should be wary of Macduff.

He tests out the first prophecy on a poor sap named Young Siward who is the first to confront Macbeth on the battlefield. Unfortunately for Young Siward, he is young and inexperienced and Macbeth easily kills him. He feels encouraged, interpreting his victory as proof that the witches were right. 

However, when he comes face to face with Macduff, things change rapidly. Initially, Macbeth says he does not wish to fight Macduff as he has already shed enough of Macduff's "blood," referencing Macduff's wife and children. He also points out that no man born of woman can hurt him. 

Then, Macduff reveals that HE WASN'T BORN OF WOMAN. His mother had a C-Section to give birth instead. Macbeth then realizes he's screwed but fights anyway. 

After a long struggle, Macduff is victorious and brings Malcolm Macbeth's head. In the final lines of the play, Malcolm is hailed as the King of Scotland and that order will one day return to Scotland. 

And that's the end! You made it!