Keys+to+MacBeth

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//Macbeth and Banquo Meet the Three Witches//
====The beginning of a play is always important. When Macbeth and Banquo encounter the three witches the entire tone of the story is set. The three weird sisters set the feeling of impending danger on Macbeth and on Banquo. Eventually we learn that the witches never leave Macbeth, and that they aren't really seeing revenge on them..but on his wife Lady Macbeth. ====

//Prophecies Begin to Come True//
====As the witches predicted, Macbeth becomes Thane of Cawdor. He receives the news of this not long after his first meeting with the witches. Macbeth and Banquo are both stunned at the news. They begin to wonder what will happen next, as the witches predicted Banquo to father kings and Macbeth to become king himself. This is when Macbeth beings expressing feelings that he hopes to become king next. ====

//Lady Macbeth Comes Up With a Plan//
====When Lady Macbeth receives the letter containing the news that her husband could become king she becomes power hungry. She knows that Macbeth is incapable of making a plan so she comes up with her own. She decides that she must kill Duncan. She asks a greater power to give her the conscious of a man so that she herself can kill Duncan. When Macbeth arrives home his wife does all that she can to get him to follow along with her plan. She seduces him, taunts him, and even questions his manliness. In the end he finally agrees to go along with the murderous plot. ====

= __ACT II __ =

//"Is this a dagger I see before me?"//
==== When Macbeth begins to really think about the murder he will be taking part in, he starts to become mentally unstable. This instability continues throughout the pay but this is when it first starts. He imagines that he sees a floating dagger with its handle facing towards him. ====

[[image:lady-macbeth-by-george-cattermole.jpg width="480" height="367"]]
====Macbeth was not originally supposed to be the one to kill Duncan. Lady Macbeth proved to him that she could be strong enough to do it but when she is faced with the situation she is can not do it. Forcing Macbeth to kill Duncan means that the blood will be on his hands instead of hers. This could have been her plan all along because she claims that she can kill babies but she was unable to kill Duncan simply because he looked like her father. ====

//All Hail Macbeth//
 ====Macbeth becomes king when both of the kings sons flee in an effort to avoid being murdered also. This makes them look guilty of the murder. Macbeth becomes king and the final part of the witches prophecy comes true. This is when Macbeth starts to become very power hungry. This adds to the feeling that the witches have a set and final plan for Macbeth and his wife. ====

= __ ACT III __ =

 //Macbeth Hires Murders//
====<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;">Macbeth decides to have Banquo and Fleance murdered. Macbeth is beginning to become greedy and suspicious. He knows Banquo himself wont be king but Fleance will. He chooses men that are easily bought off and untraceable back to Macbeth to do the killing. These men are also known to publicly dislike Banquo. Macbeth is starting to become more and more heartless which shows in that he is trying to kill an innocent boy. The murderers succeed in killing Banquo but Fleance escapes. ====

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;">//Banquos Ghost Appears//
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;"> Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost in front of many people at a dinner party. This is right after he receives the news that the killing of Banquo was successful. Macbeth's mind is becoming even more unstable. Lady Macbeth tries to play it off as him being sick and simply having a fit. When she pulls him aside she questions his manliness. Not even her threats can calm Macbeth down when Banquo's ghost reappears and sits in his seat at the dinner table.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;">//Hectate and the Witches//
====<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;"> When the witches meet Hectate they all four decided to continue to torture Macbeth. Hectate is actually angry that the witches are taking out their anger at Lady Macbeth out on Macbeth himself. This scene gives us the feeling that there is even more danger awaiting Macbeth. ====

= __<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;"> ACT IV __ =

//<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Macbeth seeks out Hectate //
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;"> ====<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;">Macbeth seeks out Hectate to call the witches so he can ask them more questions about their prophecies. They bring him news that he will lose his crown. They also tell him that they know he cannot be killed by a man born of woman and he wont be killed until it looks like the forest is moving through the fog. At the end he sees a long line of kings with Banquo at the end holding a mirror showing him all the sons that will serve as king. Macbeth takes this as news that he is unable to be killed but later we find out there are exceptions. ====

//<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif;">Lady Macduff is Abandoned //
<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;"> ====<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;">Lady Macduff learns that her husband has fled the kingdom. She claims that he is a traitor for leaving them alone. Because they are alone Macbeth decided to have them killed. This shows how power hungry he actually is. He kills Lady Macduff and all of her children. ====

[[image:427px-Johann_Heinrich_Füssli_030.jpg width="295" height="419"]]
====<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;">Lady Macbeth's Gentlewoman has called a doctor to come and observe her during the night. Lady Macbeth has been sleep walking. She has been seen writing letters, and as they are watching at that moment she continuously washes her hands claiming that there is a spot that seems irremovable. Her words betray what her and her husband have done. It seems like shes reliving the night that her and Macbeth killed Duncan. The doctor concludes that Lady Macbeth does not need a physicians help but instead should seek out a priest to clear her conscious. ====

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<span style="display: block; font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; text-align: center;">When Macbeth receives news that Lady Macbeth has died he decides to fight with everything hes got left..since he still believes that he is unable to be killed by any man born of woman. The first part of the witches prophecy has come true, as the battle tactic of using trees and moving with them has been used. When Macbeth faces Macduff he claims that he is unable to be killed but then Macduff promptly tells him that he was ripped from his mothers womb. He then fights and successfully kills Macbeth---by beheading him. ======

=Helpful Links:= [|Macbeth Summaries]

[|Character Analysis]

[|Macbeth History]