- 01Thunder, lightning, and the witches’ meeting on the heath
- 02The prophecy of meeting Macbeth after the battle
- 03The chant of foul and fair as a governing motif
Macbeth
by William Shakespeare · 1606 · 12 chapters · 24/7 tutor
Ambition, violence, guilt, and political legitimacy.
12Chapters
14Lessons
54Topics
Certificate of completion included
This course was produced by Cavua from a public-domain text.
Skills this course leaves you with.
- Analyze Macbeth’s central themes of ambition, violence, guilt, and legitimacy
- Trace the sequence of major plot developments from the witches’ prophecy to Macbeth’s downfall
- Interpret key scenes including Duncan’s murder, Banquo’s ghost, and the final prophecies
- Explain how Shakespeare uses soliloquy, prophecy, and imagery to shape Macbeth’s character
- Discuss how power, succession, and moral disorder drive the tragedy
About Macbeth.
Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and it moves fast: in five acts a loyal general hears a prophecy, murders his king, and is destroyed by the guilt and violence that follow. This study guide shows how the play is built, which themes and images to follow, who the key characters are, and a two-sitting reading plan that keeps the speed without losing the detail.
William Shakespeare wrote Macbeth around 1606, early in the reign of James I, who had been King of Scotland as James VI before inheriting the English crown in 1603. The story comes from Holinshed's Chronicles, a history Shakespeare drew on often, and reshapes the reign of an eleventh-century Scottish king into a tragedy of ambition. It is set in Scotland, with one long scene in England, and is the shortest of his tragedies.
Several details seem aimed at the new king. James claimed descent from Banquo, and the play makes Banquo honorable, where Holinshed has him help Macbeth; James had written a book on witchcraft; and the Porter's joke about an equivocator is often linked to the trial of a Jesuit after the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. The play is still read because it packs a complete moral collapse into a few hours and asks who is responsible when a prophecy comes true.
What the book is really about.
Macbeth's themes are carried by repeated images more than by speeches about them, so each theme below points to the lines and scenes where you can collect evidence.
Questions to ask as you read.
- 1Would Macbeth have killed Duncan without the witches, or without his wife?
- 2Why does Banquo keep quiet about the prophecies after Duncan's murder?
- 3Does Lady Macbeth's strength in Act 1 make her the more guilty of the two?
- 4Why does a comic Porter scene come straight after the murder?
- 5What does Banquo's ghost, seen only by Macbeth, show about his state of mind?
- 6Why does Macbeth have Macduff's family killed, when it gains him nothing?
- 7Why does Malcolm pretend, in England, to be worse than Macbeth?
- 8What makes a good king in this play, judging by Duncan and Malcolm?
- 9Is Macbeth's response to his wife's death grief, exhaustion or emptiness?
- 10Is Macbeth a tragic hero, or simply a villain?
Curriculum
The full table of contents.
Every chapter, every lesson, every topic — laid out before you enroll. Click any chapter to expand it.
- Chapters
- 12
- Lessons
- 14
- Topics
- 54
- 01The bleeding captain’s account of Macdonwald’s rebellion
- 02Macbeth’s brutal victory over the rebel forces
- 03The king’s praise and the decision to reward Macbeth
- 01The sailor’s wife, the chestnuts, and the curse on the tiger’s master
- 02The witches’ wind-charm and the pilot’s thumb
- 03Macbeth and Banquo encounter the three apparitions
- 04The prophecy that Macbeth will be king and Banquo’s line will rule
- 05Ross and Angus confirm Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor
- 01Duncan’s gratitude for Macbeth’s service
- 02The naming of Malcolm as Prince of Cumberland
- 03Macbeth’s private resolve against the new obstacle
- 01Lady Macbeth’s reaction to Macbeth’s news of the witches
- 02Her judgment of Macbeth’s ambition and kindness
- 03The invitation for Macbeth to come to Inverness
- 01The raven and the arrival of Duncan at the castle
- 02The plea to be unsexed and filled with cruelty
- 03The plan to turn night into concealment for murder
- 01The castle’s pleasant air and welcoming appearance
- 02Lady Macbeth’s courteous hospitality to Duncan
- 03Duncan’s trust in his host and hostesse
- 01The argument against assassination and the consequences of bloodshed
- 02Ambition as Macbeth’s only spur
- 03Lady Macbeth’s pressure and the decision to proceed
- 04The plan to drug Duncan’s chamberlains and frame them
- 01Banquo’s uneasy night watch and thoughts of cursed dreams
- 02Macbeth’s vision of the floating dagger
- 03The bell that summons Macbeth to the deed
- 04Lady Macbeth’s waiting, the drugged grooms, and the aftermath of the murder
- 05Macbeth’s horror at blood and the impossibility of cleansing it
- 01The porter’s hell-gate comedy and equivocation jokes
- 02Macduff and Lennox arrive at the castle gate
- 03The discovery of Duncan’s murder and the alarm raised
- 01Macbeth’s explanation for killing the grooms
- 02Malcolm and Donalbain’s fear and decision to flee
- 03Suspicion, grief, and the political fallout of regicide
- 01Ross and the old man on the unnatural night
- 02The falcon and owl omen
- 03The horses that eat each other
- 04Macduff’s report that Macbeth has been named king
- 01Banquo’s murder and Fleance’s escape
- 02Macbeth’s banquet and the ghost in his seat
- 03Lady Macbeth’s attempts to cover his public collapse
- 04Macbeth’s resolve to consult the witches again
- 01Hecate’s plan to deceive Macbeth through security
- 02The witches’ cauldron and ingredients of the charm
- 03The apparitions: armed head, bloody child, and crowned child
- 04The line of kings and Banquo’s descendants
- 05Macbeth’s decision to attack Macduff’s castle
- 06Macduff’s family slaughter and the grief of Ross and Malcolm
- 07Malcolm’s testing of Macduff and the healing king of England
- 08The march on Dunsinane and the final battle
01How many chapters are in the Macbeth course?
The Macbeth course has 12 chapters, each with its own lessons and topics.
02How many lessons are in the Macbeth course?
There are 14 lessons across the course, and you can ask your 24/7 tutor about any of them.
03Can I see what the Macbeth course covers before I start?
Yes. The full curriculum is listed on this page, beginning with "Actus Primus. Scoena Prima.".
04Do I get a certificate for the Macbeth course?
Yes. Finishing the course earns a personal Cavua certificate of completion.
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