Concetti Chiave
- The play begins with a war between King Duncan of Scotland and the Thane of Cawdor, who seeks to usurp the throne.
- Macbeth, a loyal thane to Duncan, wins the battle and is later prophesied by witches to become Thane of Cawdor and then king.
- Driven by ambition and his wife's influence, Macbeth murders King Duncan and ascends the throne, blaming the king's guardians.
- Haunted by Banquo's prophecy, Macbeth orders Banquo's assassination, but Banquo's son, Fleance, escapes.
- Macduff, seeking revenge for his family's murder, leads an army against Macbeth, ultimately killing him and restoring Malcolm as king.
Our play starts during the war between Duncan, king of Scotland, and the Thane of Cawdor. Duncan was a good king and was liked by most of his lords and thanes, but the Thane of Cawdor wanted to kill Duncan and become king. So they started to fight. It was a desperate battle to save Scotland.
One of Duncan’s loyal thanes was called Macbeth. He fought very hard and he finally won the battle.
Macbeth and his friend Banquo, tired after the battle, were talking about their victory.
Macbeth was driven by his ambitious wife to kill the monarch and take his place. The murder was facilitated by Duncan’s decision to stay at Macbeth’s castle. Late that night Macbeth killed the monarch with the complicity of his wife. The murder left Macbeth so shocked, that Lady Macbeth had to take the control of the situation and she decided to lay the blame for the murder on the two king’s guardians that were found with a bloodstained knife.
When Lennox and Macduff, two of the king’s men reached the castle, the porter was very slow to open the gate and Macduff was annoyed with him. Macbeth took them to the chamber of the king, where they found out the king’s body. In a moment of fury, Macbeth killed the two soldiers. Macduff suspected Macbeth, but he didn’t reveal his suspicious publically. Malcolm and Donalbian the two sons of Duncan, decided to run away from Scotland, because they feared for their lives and Macduff suspected them, too. Everyone agreed with Macduff and the Thanes made Macbeth the new king of Scotland.
But Macbeth was not at him’s ease about Banquo’s prophecy, which said that “Banquo’s children’s children would be king” and he was afraid of him because he knew what the witches had said and perhaps he could suspect that it was Macbeth who killed Duncan. One day Macbeth invited all the thanes to a feast at the palace, included Banquo and his young son Fleance and he engaged two men to assassinate them. The two men killed Banquo, but Fleance could run away.
At the banquet Banquo’s ghost appeared who was sat down at the place reserved to Macbeth. Only the king could see the ghost and the guests were frightened to Macbeth’s fury against an empty chair. Lady Macbeth ordered to everybody to go home because the king needed to rest.
Macbeth, shocked, decided to go to the witches and he asked them to evoke their masters. The first spirit warned him to be careful of Macduff, and then it disappeared. The second spirit said to him that no man of woman born could hurt Macbeth, and then it disappeared. The third spirit told him that he would never be defeated until Birnan wood would fight against him.
While Macduff was in England, Macbeth had Lady Macduff and her son killed. Ross went to England to communicate the murder to Macduff; he was really angry with Macbeth and wanted revenge for what he had done to his wife and his son. So Macduff and Malcolm, with the help of the English king, organised an army against Macbeth.
At the castle Lady Macbeth went mad; she started sleepwalking and she imagined there was always blood on her hands. The doctor said there was nothing he could do. At Dusinane Hill the soldiers took branches from the Birnan wood to disguise their number. In the same time the Queen committed suicide.
During the fight the final battle between Macduff and Macbeth took place. Macbeth thought to be invincible cause “he couldn’t be killed from anyone born from a woman”. But Macduff revealed him to be born by a Caesarean birth, so he was really not born from a woman. They started to fight with their swords and finally Macduff cut off Macbeth’s head, then Macduff carried it to Malcolm, the true king of Scotland.
Domande da interrogazione
- Qual è l'inizio della trama di Macbeth?
- Quali profezie fanno le streghe a Macbeth e Banquo?
- Come reagisce Macbeth dopo aver ucciso Duncan?
- Cosa spinge Macbeth a temere Banquo?
- Come viene sconfitto Macbeth alla fine della storia?
La trama inizia durante la guerra tra Duncan, re di Scozia, e il Thane di Cawdor, che voleva uccidere Duncan per diventare re.
Le streghe profetizzano che Macbeth diventerà Thane di Cawdor e poi re di Scozia, mentre Banquo sarà a capo di una dinastia di re.
Macbeth è scioccato dall'omicidio e sua moglie, Lady Macbeth, prende il controllo della situazione, incolpando i guardiani del re.
Macbeth teme Banquo a causa della profezia che i figli di Banquo diventeranno re e perché Banquo potrebbe sospettare che Macbeth abbia ucciso Duncan.
Macbeth viene sconfitto da Macduff, che rivela di essere nato da un parto cesareo, quindi non "nato da una donna", e lo uccide tagliandogli la testa.