"Macbeth" Synopsis

The play opens with the three witches ("weird sisters") discussing their upcoming meeting with Macbeth. Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, and Banquo, generals to King Duncan of Scotland, have just defeated invasion of Scotland by the allied forces of Norway and Ireland led by the rebel Macdonwald. As Macbeth and Banquo wander into a heath the three Witches greet them with prophecies. The first witch hails Macbeth as "Thane of Glamis," the second as "Thane of …

…equivocating. The two fight, which ends with Macduff beheading Macbeth offstage, thereby fulfilling the last of the witches' prophecies. In the final scene of the play, Malcolm is crowned as rightful King of Scotland, suggesting that peace is restored to the kingdom. However, the witches' prophecy concerning Banquo, "Thou shalt [be]get kings," was known to the audience of Shakespeare's time to be true, as James I of England was supposedly a descendant of Banquo.