1. Macbeth
Act 4 Notes

2. In a dark cavern, a bubbling pot is boiling and the three witches appear
They circle the pot chanting spells and adding bizarre ingredients to the pot.
Hecate appears and compliments the witches on their work
One of the witches states, “By the pricking of my thumbs,/Something wicked this way comes.”
Macbeth then enters – He asks the witches to reveal the truth of their prophecies.
The witches begin to summon apparitions (ghosts) each of which offers Macbeth another prediction.
Scene 1 Summary

3. Scene 1 Summary (Predictions)
A floating, helmeted head warns Macbeth to beware Macduff
“I thank you for the warning; I suspected him already
A bloody child appears and tells Macbeth that “…none of woman born/shall harm Macbeth.”
I need not fear Macduff but I will make sure and kill him anyway so I can sleep at night
A crowned child holding a tree tells Macbeth that he will be safe until Birnam Woods moves to Dunsinane Hill.
I am safe because there is no way a whole forest can be moved
Scene 1 Summary (Predictions)

4. Scene 1 Summary Macbeth demands to know more
The witches dance and then vanish
Lennox enters the cave and tells Macbeth that Macduff has fled to England.
Macbeth decides to send murderers to capture Macduff’s castle and to kill Macduff’s family.
Scene 1 Summary

5. “Double, double, toil and trouble;(10) Fire burn and cauldron bubble.”
“Then live, Macduff. What need I fear of thee? But yet I'll make assurance double sure, And take a bond of fate: thou shalt not live, That I may tell pale-hearted fear it lies, And sleep in spite of thunder.”
“That will never be. Who can impress the forest, bid the tree Unfix his earth-bound root? Sweet bodements, good!”
“The castle of Macduff I will surprise, Seize upon Fife; give to the edge o’ the sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls That trace him in his line.”
Scene 1 Quotes

6. The witches’ behaviors in this scene reinforce the fact that they are evil and sinister characters – notice the ingredients in their cauldron
Weird refers to fate or doom – look at how the predictions can be seen as fate (Banquo lesser than Macbeth but greater, not as happy but much happier)
The predictions can also be seen as choice – would Macbeth have killed Duncan w/o the predictions?
Macbeth’s character has become dependent on the witches’ prophesies. He is left feeling confident that no man will be able to kill him – even though one prediction said beware Macduff
The mirror in that last prediction may have been included for King James – James believed he was an ancestor of the real Banquo
Scene 1 Analysis

7. Scene 2 Summary The setting is Macduff’s castle
Lady Macduff, angry with her husband’s departure, asks Ross why Macduff has gone to England.
She believes he has left as a coward and feels betrayed
Ross implores her to trust her husband and exits
Lady Macduff tells her son that his father is dead
The little boy argues that Macduff is not dead
Scene 2 Summary

8. A messenger enters and warns Lady Macduff that her and her family are in danger
Lady Macduff refuses to leave her own home saying she has done nothing wrong
A group of murderers then enter
They call Macduff a traitor and Macduff’s little boy calls them liars
One of the murderers stabs Macduff’s son and kills him
Lady Macduff runs away with the group of murderers chasing after her
Scene 2 Summary

9. Macbeth’s murder of Macduff’s family shows his descent into utter evil and madness
Macbeth kills not out of political gain or to silence an enemy but out of a desire to do harm
Lady Macduff shares some characteristics with Lady Macbeth
She manipulates her son by telling him that his father is dead when really Macduff has gone to help his country
Scene 2 Analysis

10. Scene 3 Summary The setting is England, outside King Edward’s palace
Malcolm and Macduff speak to one another
Malcolm tells Macduff that he does not trust Macduff because he has left his family – Malcolm believes Macduff is a spy for Macbeth
Malcolm rambles on about his own personal faults
Malcolm says that he is not fit to be a king himself – he tells Macduff that he is lustful, greedy, and violent
Macduff politely disagrees telling Malcolm that such things can be fixed and that Malcolm would make a better king than Macbeth
Scene 3 Summary

11. After Malcolm keeps talking about how bad of a person he is, Macduff finally says that Malcolm should not only be king but should also probably die
The reader learns that Malcolm has simply been testing Macduff to ensure that he can be trusted
Malcolm accepts Macduff as an ally
A doctor appears and mentions that a crew of wretched souls waits for King Edward
Malcolm tells Macduff that King Edward has a miraculous power to cure disease
Scene 3 Summary

12. Ross enters and lies to Macduff that his wife and children are safe
He urges Malcolm to return to his country describing the terrors of Macbeth’s reign
Malcolm says that he will return with an army of 10,000 English soldiers
Ross finally confesses to Macduff that Macbeth has had his entire family murdered
Macduff is crushed with grief and vows to inflict revenge upon Macbeth
Scene 3 Summary

13. The reader learns that Malcolm and Macduff see Macbeth as pure evil.
They believe the only cure for Scotland is Macbeth’s removal as king
Macduff serves as a teacher to Malcolm
Ross brings word that Macduff’s family has been murdered Malcolm tells Macduff to “…dispute it like a man.”
Macduff responds by saying, “…I shall do so,/But I must also feel it as a man.”
Macduff teaches the young Malcolm that men must also be compassionate – unlike Macbeth
Scene 3 Analysis