1

ACT IV, SCENE I

LINES 1-38 Thunder crashes and the witches appear. They have been out of
the play since Act I, except for the unnecessary Scene V of Act III, so the
beginning of this scene reminds us of who and what they are: pure evil!
As the witches dance around the cauldron, they chant the recipe for the evil
mess they are brewing:
“Fillet of a fenny snake, In the caldron boil and bake, Eye of newt and toe of frog, Wool of bat
and tongue of dog” (lines 14-17) Their ingredients make a wonderfully nasty list, but an evil one
too: “Scale of dragon... Witch’s mummy... finger of birth-strangled babe....” These are not just
strange women; they are evil creatures.
Many of the ingredients include poison (hemlock and yew) as well as animal and human parts
(liver, nose, lips, and finger)

LINES 38-43 Hecate appears. Again, Shakespeare probably did not write this section. It seems
like another excuse for music and song, and it does nothing to move the plot forward. However,
we do note Hecate commending the weird sisters for their evil efforts – how ironic!

LINES 44-135: Into this creepy, dreary fog-filled place comes Macbeth. He strides in boldly, as
if he belonged there. In fact, when one of the witches senses Macbeth coming, she chants, “By
the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes” (lines 44-45).
The Macbeth who presents himself to the witches is not the same man they met in Act I. That
man recoiled from these weird hags, even though he was enticed by what they said. The
Macbeth who comes in now is a man totally dedicated to evil.
The Macbeth the witches first waylaid was afraid of what would happen if he did something evil.
(Remember how he argued with his wife in Act I, Scene vii).
This Macbeth starts by announcing that even if the entire world fall apart as a result, he wants
answers to some questions. The theme of physical nature being affected when people do
sinful things that are against human nature is found in Macbeth’s demand for answers: “though
the treasure Of nature’s germens tumble all together, Even till destruction sicken, answer me
To what I ask you.” (Lines 58-61). He is saying he does not care if the order of all creation is
wrecked by what he does. Remembering the weird events that followed Duncan’s murder, that
possibility doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
Macbeth’s resolve is further demonstrated when the witches give him a choice of talking with
them or with their masters. Any normal person would have to think twice (at least) before asking
to see the demon masters of these hags.
Macbeth, however, immediately shouts, “Call ‘em, let me see ‘em” (line 63). He even sounds
eager to hear their words “had I three ears, I’d hear thee” (line 78)
The witches conjure up three strange visions, and each gives Macbeth a specific piece of
information. In this play, nothing is what it appears to be. The form each apparition takes is an
indication of doom:

WHAT HE SEES AND HEARS EQUIVOCATION AND IMPLICATIONS

1. Sees: an “Armed Head”. That The Armed Head could be Macbeth’s head,
means the head of a man which Macduff will cut off, but Macbeth’s
wearing the headpiece from a suit of arrogance does not allow him to think of the
armour. association between the vision and its words!
Hears: This apparition tells Macbeth to beware NOTE: It does NOT tell him WHY to fear
Macduff, the Thane of Fife. Macduff!
His response: Macbeth says that he already is
worried about Macduff, but the figure
vanishes.

LFA / AHS / 2007

 2
2. Sees: a bloody child. The bloody child who tells Macbeth to fear no
Hears: The demon tells Macbeth man born of woman could be Macduff, who
to be “bloody, bold, and resolute” was “untimely ripped” from his mother’s
(line 79), as if Macbeth needed that advice. womb. (That means he was delivered in a
But he gives Macbeth a good reason to be crude version of what we today call a
confident: “Laugh to scorn the pow’r of man, caesarean section. So, he was never born of
for none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth” a woman in the normal way – hence the
(lines 79-81). equivocation.)
His response: Macbeth is pleased by this Again, in his arrogance he fails to make the
prophesy: “then live, Macduff: what need I fear connection between the 1st and 2nd visions!
of thee?” - But he plans to kill Macduff anyway They’ve just told him to fear Macduff, but then
– cruel? said no-one could harm him! Surely there’s a
trick!
3. Sees: a child wearing a crown The child with a tree in his hand might
and holding a tree in its hand. represent Malcolm – the child of Duncan -
Hears: This figure says Macbeth who will tell his soldiers to carry branches
will never be defeated until from the trees in Birnam Wood to disguise
“Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill / their approach.
Shall come against him” (lines 93-94). Remember Hecate’s promise in Act III scene
His response: This assurance is even more V: that Macbeth will come to “spurn fate,
comforting to Macbeth than the previous one. scorn death, and bear his hopes above
You can tell that Macbeth thinks he is being wisdom” – that is exactly what is happening
told that he is invincible: “That will never be” here! He believes he will “live the lease of
but you know there has to be a trick. Nature” i.e. to a ripe old age!
4. Sees: a ghostly procession of eight kings. Note: he is so bent on finding out the answer
The last king holds a mirror, which shows to his final question: “shall Banquo’s issue
even more kings. And all of them look like ever reign?” – even though they say: “seek to
Banquo! Banquo himself appears, pointing know no more”
at them and smiling. He curses them (ironic) in an attempt to force
His response: Macbeth interprets this vision an answer; then is horrified by what he sees:
correctly; the descendents of Banquo will be “filthy hags! Why do you show me this?”
kings.

The one warning sounds helpful; two prophesies sound like good news to him; but the 4 th
enrages and horrifies him!

NOTE: This last vision serves a dramatic purpose. It enrages Macbeth and probably makes him
even more evilly reckless. But there was another, nondramatic, purpose for this vision. Macbeth
was first presented for James I, who was a descendent of the historical Banquo. “Banquo’s
issue,” as Macbeth calls it, was the Stuart line of kings.

LINES 136-56: The witches vanish, leaving Macbeth standing amazed. Macbeth calls to
Lennox, who was waiting for him nearby. Lennox says he did not see the witches go past him,
confirming that they vanished into thin air. He also tells Macbeth that several men came to tell
Macbeth that Macduff has gone to England.
Is Lennox toying with Macbeth in the same way the witches were? We know that Lennox was
already aware of Macduff’s mission to England. Perhaps he withheld the information till now for
some purpose. Like the characters in the play, we cannot be sure what to believe.
Macbeth senses that it is dangerous to trust the witches: “damned [be] all those that trust them”
(line 139). But he no longer has any cool judgment to guide him. Or maybe Macbeth considers
himself damned already; he certainly places all his trust in the witches’ prophesies.

LFA / AHS / 2007

 3
In the same way that the witches’ earlier predictions set the action of the first part of the play,
these new prophesies have set the action of the rest.

It is worth looking at Macbeth’s final resolve in lines 146-156:

From now on he determines that the “firstlings of my heart shall be the firstlings of my hand”. In
other words whatever thought come into his head, he will act upon them without thought! And to
prove his determination he decides to “Seize upon Fife” and slaughter all Macduff’s family.
There is no just cause for such an action – the decision proves that Macbeth has become the
epitome of cruelty and tyranny!

ACT IV, SCENE II

Now that Macbeth has completed his descent from loyal thane to evil tyrant, Shakespeare
leaves him for a while.
The setting changes from the eerie gloom of the witches’ haunt to a quiet, domestic scene in
Macduff’s castle. The characters are Lady Macduff, Macduff’s son, and a kinsman, the Thane of
Ross.
Although Lady Macduff and her son are not part of the political turmoil caused by Macbeth, they
are affected by it. Good and bad have been blurred and confused for them, too.

LINES 1-30: Macduff has gone to England without saying goodbye to his family, on whom his
lack of loyalty to King Macbeth will bring disgrace. Lady Macduff does not understand why he
has abandoned them. She decides he must not love them.

NOTE: Let’s stop for a minute to look at his reasons for sneaking off that way. We can guess
that after enduring Macbeth’s tyranny for some time, Macduff decided something had to be
done. The only hope for his country was to bring back Malcolm, its rightful king. And that meant
going to England in secret.
Could Macduff have guessed what would happen? It seems unlikely. He must have known that
his wife and children would be shamed and unprotected, and that Macbeth would make it hard
on them. But maybe he figured that a new king for Scotland was worth the price. But how could
Macduff or anybody else imagine how threatened his family would be? Clearly, he
underestimated Macbeth.
“How can you tell right from wrong, courage from cowardice, in a topsy-turvy world?”
this scene asks. Lady Macduff is a strong, intelligent woman, and she cannot
understand her husband’s motives. She is angry at him, because she believes he has
acted unwisely.
Ross seems convinced that Macduff is doing the right thing, but he cannot explain why.
He sums up the situation well: “But cruel are the times, when we are traitors And do not
know ourselves; when we hold rumour From what we fear, yet know not what we fear”
(lines 18-20) Ross finds Macduff’s family’s plight so sad, he has to leave before he starts crying.

LINES 31-64: Lady Macduff tells her son that his father is dead. What she means is that they
have been left to fend for themselves; nobody knows when Macduff will come back.
The tone of the scene is light, but the intent is serious. Macduff’s son is bright and cocky. He
doesn’t believe for a minute that his father is dead. Probably Lady Macduff’s tone lets him know
that she does not mean what she says literally. But being left alone and in disgrace will be
difficult for them.
Lady Macduff also tells her son that his father is a traitor. She probably says it because she
knows that he will hear a lot of other people say it before long.

LINES 65-85: Not even the oppressed people of Scotland realize the depth of Macbeth’s evil.
Never in Lady Macduff’s talks with Ross or with her son has it occurred to any of them that she
and her children could be killed. That would be too cruel, even for Macbeth.

LFA / AHS / 2007

 4
This false sense of security is shattered when a man runs in, winded and scared to death. He
warns Lady Macduff that she and her family are in great danger. Then he runs away. Lady
Macduff has only a few moments to wonder why she should be in danger when she has done
no harm before several murderers enter.
One of the murderers says the same thing about Macduff his wife has just been saying—that he
is a traitor. This time, both she and her son defend him.
When the young Macduff is grabbed by the man and stabbed, he bravely calls to his mother to
run. She does, but she is caught by another murderer and killed.

NOTE: This scene highlights the differences between Macbeth and Macduff, as well as
between Lady Macbeth and Lady Macduff:

Macbeth Macduff
He is a true traitor to God and country He is a freedom fighter
He acts without wisdom or reason He wisely decides that he needs to do
something and has good reason for his actions
His selfish and desperate actions have made His actions have been purely for the benefit of
him careless of the outcomes for his wife both family as well as country
Lady Macbeth Lady Macduff
She lacks all femininity and grace – even She is motherly and nurturing – clearly has a
threatening to dash out the brains of her own good relationship with her offspring
child
Welcomes evil: Come ye spirits that tend on Recognises the disorder that has come about
mortal thoughts as a result of evil: …to do harm is often
laudable; to do good, sometimes accounted
dangerous folly.

ACT IV, SCENE III

In England, Malcolm and Macduff repair the bonds of loyalty and trust which have
been destroyed by Macbeth.

LINES 1-37:
THE APPEAL:
 Macduff wants Malcolm to lead a revolt against Macbeth. He ironically points out that in
Scotland, “new widows howl, new orphans cry; new sorrows strike heaven…” (line 5-6) –
without even realising that this sorrow belongs to him!
MALCOM’S DILEMMA:
 Malcolm would like to overthrow his father’s murderer, but he has a problem: how does
he know he can trust Macduff? Malcolm is in a delicate position. As Scotland’s rightful
king, he owes it to his people to overthrow the tyrant. But he must be very careful.
Macbeth has been sending spies to try to lure Malcolm back to Scotland and into a trap.
So far, Malcolm has seen through all their plots.
 Now Malcolm has to figure out whether or not Macduff is what he appears to be. In
Macduff’s favour is the fact that he is known as an honest man. But Macbeth was
considered an honest man at one time. Also, Macbeth has not actually done Macduff any
personal harm yet. (Neither of them knows about the murder of Macduff’s family.)
 Malcolm’s problem is how to tell a good man from a bad man acting good:
“Though all things foul would wear the brows of grace, / Yet grace must still look so”
(lines 24-25). In other words, “foul” wants to seem “fair,” and “fair” is “fair” by nature, so
how can you tell them apart?
 Fortunately for Malcolm, he has a quick mind and a clever tongue. When one approach
fails, he can try another. His direct questioning of Macduff (“Wouldn’t you get a lot for
LFA / AHS / 2007
 5
turning me in to Macbeth?” “If you are Macbeth’s enemy, how can you have left your
family exposed to him?”) only makes the older man angry.
That does not help. Macduff’s anger could be either that of a guilty man found out or an
innocent man unjustly accused.

LINES 37-114:
MALCOLM’S SELF-DENIAL:
 Malcolm tries another tactic. He tells lies about himself. He describes in great detail
what an awful person he is and what a terrible king he would make.
 At first, Macduff tries to downplay the faults Malcolm gives himself. After all, Macduff
thinks, anybody would be better than Macbeth.
 As Malcolm goes on, he gives an anatomy of a bad king. He says that he is lustful.
Macduff does not approve, but he knows that there are plenty of women willing to
satisfy a king’s sexual appetites.
 Malcolm adds greed to his list of faults. Macduff likes this fault even less, but says
that there are enough riches in Scotland to satisfy anybody’s desire for wealth.
Malcolm’s virtues, says Macduff, will outweigh his faults.
 Malcolm gives Macduff one final chance to reject him. He lists every virtue a king
could have. Then he declares that he doesn’t have any of them. He says that, if he
were king, he would “Pour the sweet milk of concord into hell” (line 98).

That is just what Macbeth has done. Finally, Macduff sees that Malcolm would not be an
improvement. He gives up hope.

LINES 115-138:
MACDUFF PASSES THE TEST:
By giving up hope, Macduff passes Malcolm’s test. Malcolm reveals that he has been telling lies
about himself in order to test Macduff. The truth, he says, is just the opposite. Because of the
extremity of the situation, we can forgive Malcolm for his lack of humility as he informs Macduff
of his virtues.
“Old Siward, with ten thousand warlike men” (line 134) are already prepared to march on
Scotland, Malcolm tells Macduff.

LINES 139-159: This interlude about the king of England and his healing powers serves to
contrast with the sickness a bad king like Macbeth brings on his country.
King Edward’s character is in stark contrast with that of Macbeth:
 He has healing powers from God and uses them to cure
 He “solicits (help from) heaven”
 He uses “holy prayers” to create his “healing benediction”
 He has a “heavenly gift of prophecy”
 “Blessings hang about his throne”
 His actions “speak him full of grace”

All this suggests that a true king is good, and a gift from God.

LINES 160-192: Ross appears, having just arrived from Scotland. He is bringing the terrible
news about Macduff’s family, but he cannot bring himself to say it at first.

NOTE: Notice that when Ross first enters, Malcolm does not recognize him.
Macbeth has kept the rightful king away from his country for so long that he does not even
know his people anymore. Of course, after riding hard for several days to be the bearer of bad
news, Ross may not look his best!
When Ross describes Scotland, it sounds as if he were trying to tell somebody about a
nightmare:
LFA / AHS / 2007
 6
“Where sighs, and groans, and shrieks that rent the air, Are made, not marked; where violent
sorrow seems A modern ecstasy.” (lines 168-170) Ross is going through his own personal
nightmare trying to bring himself to tell Macduff that his wife and children have been killed.
When Macduff asks about his family, Ross dodges the question. His answer has a weird blend
of horror and humour:
Macduff: The tyrant has not battered at their peace?
Ross: No; they were well at peace when I did leave ‘em. (lines 178-79)

Macduff can tell that Ross is holding something back. He presses him for news.
Ross changes the subject for a moment, saying that he has seen Macbeth’s army. He appeals
to Malcolm to come home and lead the revolt. When he is told that the troops are ready to
march, he knows that he can no longer wait to tell Macduff about his family.

LINES 192-240: Macduff’s reaction to the news is the most touching passage in the play for
many readers. This blunt, practical man, this soldier who has seen many of his comrades die on
the field, stands blinking in disbelief. He must ask Ross to tell him several times. He can
understand the words but he cannot fathom anything so horrible.
There is a lesson in the way Macduff takes the news. Malcolm, who is still
relatively inexperienced, tries to snap Macduff out of his grief:

Malcolm: Dispute it like a man.

Macduff: I shall do so; But I must also feel it as a man. (lines 220-21)

Macduff is not only brave in fighting; he is brave enough to face his own personal tragedy.
Finally, Macduff converts his grief to rage – especially as Malcolm advises him to use his grief
as a “whetstone” (tool for sharpening swords) to sharpen his own anger. Strong as his resolve
to overthrow Macbeth was before, it is now even stronger.

NOTE: Shakespeare has just set up the last act of the play. We know that Macbeth is
depending on the witches’ new prophesies and believes himself invincible. We also know that a
mighty army is setting out from England to defeat him. The stage is set for the final battle, in Act
V.

NOTE: There are many references to sickness and disease in this scene:

REFEENCES IMPLICATIONS
Macduff: Bleed, bleed, poor country (L 31) Scotland is bleeding to death like an ailing
patient
Malcolm: It weeps, it bleeds; and each new He recognises that Macbeth’s reign of terror is
day a gash is added to her wounds (L 40-41) adding to the agony of the patient (Scotland)
Macduff: O nation miserable… when shalt He wonders if Scotland will ever be “healthy”
thou see thy wholesome days again?(L 103-5) again
Ross: Alas, poor country!... It cannot be called He recognises that the country has become
our mother but our grave … the dead man’s like one huge gravesite; and that people die so
knell is scarce ask’d for who (L 164-173) often that no-one even asks who is dying
anymore.
Malcolm: Let’s make medicines of our great He wants them to use their grief as a healing
revenge, to cue this deadly grief (L 214-5) agent i.e. turn grief to anger; use it to enrage
and ultimately be the cure for the disease -
Macbeth

LFA / AHS / 2007