Macbeth Translation

Three witches (a.k.a. the "weird sisters") meet on a foggy heath (an open plain) in Scotland, amidst thunder and lightening. It's all very dramatic and mysterious. They discuss when they'll meet ag...

Duncan (the King of Scotland), his two sons (Malcolm and Donalbain), and Lennox (a Scottish nobleman) hang out with their attendants at a military camp in Scotland. King Duncan's forces h...

The three witches meet again on the heath and check in about what everyone's been up to. Oh, the usual witchy stuff: one was killing swine; another has been making some poor sailor's life...

Back to Duncan, who wants to know if the Thane of Cawdor is dead. Duncan's son, Malcolm, says he is, and he confessed to being a traitor right before he died.

Lady Macbeth receives a letter from her husband, calling her his "dearest partner of greatness," and telling her all about his encounter with the witches and what they said. Lady Macbeth quickly de...

Duncan, his sons, Banquo, and a bevy of noblemen arrive at Glamis Castle (Inverness). Duncan and Banquo spend a little time talking about how pretty and peaceful this place is. (Remember: one of th...

Somewhere in the castle Macbeth sits alone, contemplating the murder of King Duncan. And it gets a little complicated. See, if it were simply a matter of killing the king and then moving on without...

Banquo and his son, Fleance, are at Macbeth's inner court at Glamis. They're both feeling a little twitchy.

Lady Macbeth is alone on stage. She tells us that she drugged the King's guards and set their weapons out where Macbeth wouldn't miss them. She says she would've killed Duncan herself, if he hadn't...

Now that there's been a murder and a lot of spooky crazy talk, it's time for a brief, comedic interlude. There's a ton of knocking and the Porter (the guy who's supposed to answer the door) does a...

Ross chats with a conveniently placed wise old man, who is disturbed by the night's strange events—both the King's murder and the weird things going on in nature. Ross says the heavens are c...

At Macbeth's new palace in Forres, Banquo, alone on stage, delivers a soliloquy: he's totally suspicious of Macbeth. But he does take the time to note that his part of the prophecy, regarding his r...

Lady Macbeth asks a servant if Banquo is already gone. When she realizes he has, she asks the servant to get Macbeth for a little chat.

At a park near the palace, the two murderers are joined by a third, which is a little fishy. He says Macbeth sent him, but the First and Second Murderers didn't seem to be expecting anyone else. Ch...

Meanwhile, back at the dinner party, the Macbeths make a big show of welcoming their guests.

The witches again meet at an open place, this time with Hecate, the goddess of witches, who looks pretty angry.

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Scotland, Lennox discusses Scotland's plight with another Lord. Isn't it weird that Duncan was murdered, that his run-away sons were blamed, that Banquo has now been murdere...

On a dark and stormy night, the three witches are hanging out in a cave roasting marshmallows and chanting spells around a boiling cauldron.

At Fife, in Macduff's castle, Lady Macduff is lamenting to Ross that her husband has run away, which, sure makes him look suspicious. Also, abandoning your family with no defense is seriously uncoo...

In England, Malcolm and Macduff brainstorm about Scotland's plight under the tyrannous Macbeth. Malcolm suggests finding a nice shady spot where they can cry their eyes out. Macduff's got...

Back in Scotland, at Macbeth's castle in Dunsinane, a doctor waits with one of Lady Macbeth's gentlewomen. They're keeping an eye out for Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking, which the gentlewoman reported...

A bunch of Scottish noblemen converge in the country near Dunsinane, where Macbeth keeps his castle. On their heels, heading for Birnam, is the English army, led by Malcolm, Malcom's Uncle Siward,...

Macbeth is pumped for battle. Thanks to the sisters' prophecies, he's pretty confident that he can't be beat.

More people meet, specifically Malcolm, Siward, Macduff, Menteith, Caithness, Angus, Lennox, and Ross. Does anyone have a mnemonic for that? (Here you go: My Silly Mother Makes Cakes And...

Macbeth (still at Dunsinane) insists that banners be hung outside the castle. Many of his former forces are now fighting against him on the English side, making it difficult for him to meet the arm...

Malcolm, Siward and Macduff land their army (covered with branches from Birnam Wood) outside Dunsinane, where they drop their tree branches so they can head into battle. . Siward will lead the batt...

Macbeth appears on stage and compares himself to a bear in a bear-baiting contest. Bear-baiting is a blood sport that involves chaining a bear to a stake and setting a pack of dogs on it....

Macbeth enters the stage alone and says he refuses to "play the Roman fool" (someone who would choose noble suicide in the face of defeat, like, ahem, Antony).

Wait, isn't it over? Yes, yes it is. Scene 8 of Macbeth is a little...extended.  There's a lot of entering and exiting and other fancy stage directions, so sometimes editor...

Check out our blurb at Act 5, Scene 9 for an explanation for why you might see a Scene 10 floating around some versions of Macbeth. The real deal ends with Scene 8.

What are you still doing here? The play ends with Scene 8, so head back there for the deets.