Scenes 1-3

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Act 5, Scenes 1-2

Here's a summary of what happens in Act 5, Scenes 1 and 2:

Act 5, Scene 1

A doctor and a gentlewoman are talking about Lady Macbeth.
- The gentlewoman is one of Lady Macbeth's ladies-in-waiting, a close friend and servant. She has seen her mistress behave in unusual ways. She has been sleepwalking.
The doctor asks if she has spoken when she does this. The gentlewoman refuses to say what Lady Macbeth said. She is obviously nervous about what she has overheard.

Act 5, Scene 1 - Lady Macbeth sleepwalks

Lady Macbeth enters, sleepwalking. She carries a candle. She rubs her hands frantically saying, 'Out, damned spot: out I say' and 'who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?'
As she continues to talk, now about Macduff's wife, the doctor realises that he and the gentlewoman are in danger. They now know things that Macbeth and Lady Macbeth want to keep secret, and Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have clearly killed multiple people already.
The doctor says that bad things have happened: 'Unnatural deeds / Do breed unnatural troubles.' He tells the gentlewoman to look after Lady Macbeth and they leave.

Act 5, Scene 2

Noblemen are discussing the army advancing from England. Malcolm leads the army. The army is heading to Birnam Wood.
Angus says that Macbeth is now starting to see the consequences of his actions: 'Now does he feel / His secret murders sticking on his hands'.

Act 5, Scene 2 - Analysis

Macbeth’s murders are metaphorically 'sticking on his hands' because he cannot escape the consequences of his actions.
- This links to Act 5 Scene 1, where Lady Macbeth feels that she cannot get the blood off her own hands.
- Shakespeare could be suggesting that all people are responsible for their own actions, and that all actions have consequences that people must face.

Act 5, Scenes 3

Here's a summary of what happens in Act 5, Scene 3:

Macbeth's confidence

In his castle, Macbeth isn't interested in the reports he's hearing about the army. He still believes in what the spirits said. He tells his advisors he will not be worried until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane: 'Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsinane, / I cannot taint with fear'.
A worried servant comes in to tell Macbeth that there are 10,000 men. But Macbeth insults him for being scared. This moment contrasts with Macbeth’s first meeting with the witches, where he did not believe them because he felt that witchcraft was evil. Here, Macbeth is living his life based on the prophecies from the witches and ignores warnings.

Troubled Lady Macbeth

Seyton, one of Macbeth's men, arrives. He confirms that the army is coming. Macbeth decides to put on his armour and be ready for them: 'I'll fight, till from my bones my flesh be hacked'.
The doctor tells Macbeth that Lady Macbeth is troubled. He says she can't sleep properly. Macbeth asks him to cure her: 'Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, / Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow'.
Macbeth knows that the thanes are abandoning him. He wishes that the doctor could cure Scotland too.

Doctor's fear and Macbeth's isolation

Macbeth leaves and says again that he won't be afraid until Birnam Wood moves to Dunsinane. The doctor is then on stage alone. He tells the audience that he's leaving the castle and won't return for any amount of money.
- Because of his own actions, Macbeth has been abandoned by all of his thanes and even the servants of his own household.
- Macbeth also seems to have abandoned Lady Macbeth herself.
- There is a huge division between Macbeth and everyone else. He has lost everything apart from the kingdom he craved – and he would not hold this for much longer.

1Literary & Cultural Context

1.1Context

1.1.1Tragedy

1.1.2The Supernatural & Gender

1.1.3Politics & Monarchy

1.1.4End of Topic Test - Context

2Plot Summary

2.1Act 1

2.1.1Scenes 1 & 2

2.1.2Scene 3

2.1.3Scenes 4-5

2.1.4Scenes 6-7

2.1.5End of Topic Test - Act 1

2.2Acts 2-4

2.2.1Act 2

2.2.2Act 3

2.2.3Act 4

2.3Act 5

2.3.1Scenes 1-3

2.3.2Scenes 4-9

2.3.3End of Topic Test - Acts 2-5

3Characters

3.1Macbeth

3.1.1Hero vs Villain

3.1.2Ambition & Fate

3.1.3Relationship

3.1.4Unstable

3.1.5End of Topic Test - Macbeth

3.2Lady Macbeth

3.2.1Masculine & Ruthless

3.2.2Manipulative & Disturbed

3.3Other Characters

3.3.1Banquo

3.3.2The Witches

3.3.3Exam-Style Questions - The Witches

3.3.4King Duncan

3.3.5Macduff

3.3.6End of Topic Test - Lady Macbeth & Banquo

3.3.7End of Topic Test - Witches, Duncan & Macduff

3.4Grade 9 - Key Characters

3.4.1Grade 9 - Lady Macbeth Questions

4Themes

4.1Themes

4.1.1Power & Ambition

4.1.2Power & Ambition HyperLearning

4.1.3Violence

4.1.4The Supernatural

4.1.5Masculinity

4.1.6Armour, Kingship & The Natural Order

4.1.7Appearances & Deception

4.1.8Madness & Blood

4.1.9Women, Children & Sleep

4.1.10End of Topic Test - Themes

4.1.11End of Topic Test - Themes 2

4.2Grade 9 - Themes

4.2.1Grade 9 - Themes

4.2.2Extract Analysis

5Writer's Techniques

5.1Structure, Meter & Other Literary Techniques

5.1.1Structure, Meter & Dramatic Irony

5.1.2Pathetic Fallacy & Symbolism

5.1.3End of Topic Test - Writer's Techniques

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