Scene 1
At night, in the king's palace at Dunsinane, a doctor and a gentlewoman discuss Lady Macbeth's strange habit of sleepwalking. Suddenly, Lady Macbeth enters in a trance with a candle in her hand. Bemoaning the murders of Lady Macduff and Banquo, she seems
Scene 2
Outside the castle, a group of Scottish lords discusses the military situation: the English army approaches, led by Malcolm, and the Scottish army will meet them near Birnam Wood, apparently to join forces with them. The "tyrant," as Lennox and the other
Scene 3
Macbeth strides into the hall of Dunsinane with the doctor and his attendants, boasting proudly that he has nothing to fear from the English army or from Malcolm, since "none of woman born" can harm him (4.1.96) and since he will rule securely "[t]ill Bir
Scene 4
In the country near Birnam Wood, Malcolm talks with the English lord Siward and his officers about Macbeth's plan to defend the fortified castle. They decide that each soldier should cut down a bough of the forest and carry it in front of him as they marc
Scene 5
Within the castle, Macbeth blusteringly orders that banners be hung and boasts that his castle will repel the enemy. A woman's cry is heard, and Seyton appears to tell Macbeth that the queen is dead. Shocked, Macbeth speaks numbly about the passage of tim
Scene 6
Outside the castle, the battle commences. Malcolm orders the English soldiers to throw down their boughs and draw their swords.
Scene 7
On the battlefield, Macbeth strikes those around him vigorously, insolent because no man born of woman can harm him. He slays Lord Siward's son and disappears in the fray. Macduff emerges and searches the chaos frantically for Macbeth, whom he longs to cu
Scene 8
Elsewhere on the battlefield, Macbeth at last encounters Macduff. They fight, and when Macbeth insists that he is invincible because of the witches' prophecy, Macduff tells Macbeth that he was not of woman born, but rather "from his mother's womb / Untime