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Macbeth - A simple summaryn the war between Norway and Scotland, thecottish generals Macbeth and his friend Banquo,re very brave soldiers and help Scotland win the

inal battle. After the victory Macbeth and Banquomeet three ugly witches.The witches tell Macbeth that he will be the King of

cotland. Macbeth writes a letter to his wife tellingher about the three witches.The King of Scotland, King Duncan, arrives inMacbeths castle to thank him for being aourageous soldier and to proclaim him ThaneLord) of Cawdor. But this is not enough for

Macbeth: he now wants to be King.Together with his wife, Lady Macbeth, he killsKing Duncan with a dagger when he is sleeping.Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland. He thendecides to kill his friend Banquo. During a party in

the castle, Banquos ghost enters and sits onMacbeths chair.King Duncans sons organise an army againstMacbeth. Macbeth meets the witches and they tell

him that he will be safe until Birnam Forest movesto the castle.But the price of these murders is too much for theconscience of Lady Macbeth and she goes mad. Shethinks she cannot wash the blood from her hands,she walks in her sleep and soon she dies. Macbethis very violent and desperate because KingDuncans son, Malcolm, is bringing his army toScotland to fight him.Macduff kills Macbeth and shows Macbeths headto his army. Malcolm is crowned the new king of

Scotland. He is a good King and finally there ispeace.(* You will also find this summary in Italian on ourwebsite)

A Fuller Summaryn the war between Scotland and Norway, Macbeth shows great courage and King Duncan of Scotland is

very proud of him. After the battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo meet three witches. They greet Macbethwith the title Thane (Lord) of Cawdor and tell him that one day he will be King of Scotland. They tell Banquohat his sons will be Kings. Later King Duncan informs Macbeth that the Thane of Cawdor has been executed

for treachery, and now Macbeth will be proclaimed Thane of Cawdor for his courage in battle. The King says

he wants to visit Macbeths castle. Macbeth writes a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her of the visitand his meeting with the three witches.Lady Macbeth is very excited when she reads what the witches say to her husband. She has an evil idea tokill Duncan when he sleeps as a guest in her castle. She organises a big banquet for the king. Macbeth doesnot like the idea of killing his King, but Lady Macbeth persuades him that they must if they want absolutepower. Later that night they wait until their guests go to bed. Macbeth takes the daggers from King Duncansservants and kills him but at the same time, he is very shocked by what he has done. Lady Macbeth takes thedaggers and places them in the hands of Duncans servants.There is a knock at the door, and Lady Macbeth takes her husband to the bathroom to wash the blood fromhis hands. The Kings friend Macduff arrives and discovers that King Duncan has been murdered. His

servants are also dead. Lady Macbeth and Macbeth appear. They pretend to be shocked. People think thatKing Duncans two sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, killed their father and escaped to England. Macbeth iscrowned king of Scotland and remembers that the witches said Banquos sons would be Kings.Macbeth decides he must kill Banquo and his son Flance as well. Lady Macbeth is not happy, she sees thatMacbeth is depressed and obsessed Page T5 Macbeth teachers material www.theplaygroup.eu

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with Banquo. She decides to have a big banquet in the castle. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth welcome theirguests.A killer tells Macbeth that Banquo is now dead but his son Flance has escaped. Macbeth comments onBanquos absence. Suddenly Macbeth sees Banquos ghost enter: he sits on Macbeths chair, but nobody elseexcept him can see the ghost. Lady Macbeth stops the banquet and sends the guests away. Macbeth tells herhe will visit the witches again.People begin to suspect Macbeth of the murders of King Duncan and also Banquo. King Duncans sons begino organise an army in England.

Finally Macbeth meets the witches again and he asks them questions. Their answers are three strangeapparitions: a head with a helmet who warns Macbeth against Macduff, a bloody child who tells him hecannot be hurt by somebody born of woman, and a crowned child with a tree in his hand who saysMacbeth is safe until Birnam Forest moves towards his castle.Afterwards Macbeth decides he has no choice but to kill his friend Macduff and all his family. Macduff is inEngland with other Scottish rebels who want to attack Macbeth.But Lady Macbeth is not well. She walks in her sleep and feels she cannot wash away the blood of their

crimes. Eventually she kills herselfAn army organised by King Duncans son, Malcolm, is marching to Macbeths castle in Dunsinane. Macbeths very violent and desperate. Doctors tell him that his wife is dead.

The battle begins. Birnam Forest seems to move. Actually it is soldiers moving with branches and leaves inheir hair. Macbeth thinks he is invincible because the witches told him that he cannot be killed by a man

born of woman. Finally Macduff looks for Macbeth. When they meet Macbeth tells Macduff what thewitches had said. Macduff informs Macbeth that he was not born to his mother in the normal way (she hada Caesarian), so he is not invincible. The two men fight and Macduff kills Macbeth. Malcolm is made king ofScotland and peace and order is restored to Scotland.

Shakespeares world - a dangerous place!* Even travel was very difficult. Laws prohibited travelling without money and a travel permit. Travelling toother countries needed permission from the King.* Shakespeares England was very dirty! There was no fresh water, people did not wash themselves or theirclothes often and most houses had rubbish outside, so imagine how the cities smelled. Strong perfumes werevery popular!* The water was often dangerous to drink. This may explain why people drank so much beer or wine, so theywere often drunk!* Getting sick (also frequent) was not a good idea. For example, the cure for asthma was to drink winemarinated with insects.* Crime also did not pay. Murder and stealing was punishable with execution.As you see, Shakespeares England was often violent and dangerous. Since his family was not rich, it wassurprising he survived to write anything at all..!Page T6 Macbeth teachers material www.theplaygroup.eu

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Elizabethan EnglandThe two centuries before Shakespeares birth were a very exciting time in history. All over Eu-rope, new ideas were developing. People were rediscovering the culture of Ancient Greeceand Rome. They explored new lands and used science to understand the world. The inventionof printing (introduced into England in 1476) had resulted in more books, more studying and

more knowledge. This period was called the Renaissance. It was the time of Leonardo daVinci, Galileo, Erasmus and many other important people in European culture. Shakespearelived in the late Renaissance.England itself was changing rapidly and developing a national identity. It was a Protestantcountry with a powerful Queen, Elizabeth I.England was proud of its success in commerce and war. Literature, especially drama, wasvery important and the English language was developing rapidly: 12,000 new words appearedduring this time and many words are used for the first time in Shakespeares plays.Drama in Elizabethan England was as important as television and films today. It examinedpolitical, religious and social questions. There were many popular plays by various writers but

Shakespeare was (and still is) considered the greatest. InMacbeth, he shows how exaggeratedambition can destroy people. It is one of the plays which have made Shakespeare famous forhis imagination, his use of language and his understanding of human psychology.

Superstition and the play MacbethActors are often superstitious in many countries. For example, they try not to wear the colourpurple in the theatre. Interestingly, Shakespeares playMacbeth is one of the most cursed andsuperstitious plays in the world!Actors must not say the title of the play (instead, they say The Scottish Play). Actors alsoavoid even speaking the lines fromMacbeth before a performance, particularly the Witchesincantations. If an actor says Macbeth in a theatre before a performance, he must leave the

theatre building, turn around three times, spit, curse, and then knock on the door forsomebody to open it.Outside the theatre and after a performance, this is no longer a problem!So why this superstition?Here are some theories:- the witches song is an actual spell that will bring evil spirits.- because there is more sword fighting inMacbeth than other Shakespeare plays, this increasesthe chances of somebody being injured.- BecauseMacbeth is one of Shakespeares shortest plays it is often produced by companieswho are in financial difficulty.- the Globe Theatre was burned down during a performance ofMacbeth.

- the actor playing Macbeth died shortly before or after the production- another legend claims that the original production of the play used actual witches and witch-craft, and so the play is cursed for ever!Perhaps you might like to ask your students if they believe any of these superstitions. Or

witches / curses in general!.