act 5 scene 6-8

Act 1 Plot

Macbeth is a loyal soldier who is satisfied until the witches tempt him by prophesying he will be king.

Act 2 Plot

Macbeth successfully commits to his goal by killing King Duncan and is made King of Scotland.

Act 3 Plot

Things go wrong; Macbeth feels threatened by Banquo, fails to kill Fleance, and starts seeing Banquo's ghost.

Act 4 Plot

Macbeth loses control by slaughtering Macduff's family, forcing Macduff to join Malcolm's opposing army.

Act 5 Plot

The hero is destroyed; Lady Macbeth dies and Malcolm's army arrives right outside the castle walls.

clamorous

making a loud and confused noise.

bruit / bruited

spread a report or rumor widely.

rabble

a disorderly crowd; a mob.

prowess

skill or expertise in a particular activity or field.

usurper

a person who takes a position of power or importance illegally or by force.

salutation

a gesture or utterance made as a greeting or acknowledgment of another's arrival or departure.

Malcolm's Order

He tells his men to throw down their tree branches and disclose their true identities.

Battle Leaders

Uncle Siward and his right-noble son lead the first battle; Macduff and Malcolm lead the remainder.

Trumpet Quote

"Make all our trumpets speak; give them all breath" — macduff's command to blow trumpets to announce their final attack.

Trumpet Literary Device

Personification; it gives human characteristics of speaking and breathing to inanimate trumpets.

Clamorous harbingers

Macduff's description of the trumpets as loud messengers of blood and death.

Macbeth's Stake Quote

"They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly…" — an expression meaning he is trapped and unable to run.

Young Siward's Fate

He boldly confronts and attacks Macbeth on the field but is ultimately slain.

Macduff's Goal

He refuses to fight standard hired soldiers (kerns) and only wants to kill the tyrant Macbeth himself.

Siward's Observation

"The tyrant's people on both sides do fight" — meaning many of Macbeth's own soldiers deserted him to fight for Malcolm.

Suicide Thought

Macbeth considers whether he should "play the Roman fool" and commit suicide on his own sword.

Macbeth's Charmed Life

Claims he leads a charmed life that will not bleed or yield to anyone born of a woman.

Macduff's Birth Secret

He was untimely ripped from his mother's womb via a C-section rather than being born naturally.

Macduff's Threat

Threatens to put Macbeth in a traveling freakshow under a sign reading, "Here may you see the tyrant."

Young Siward's Wounds

Located on his front, proving to his father that he died bravely facing his enemy instead of running away.

Macbeth's Defeat

Macduff walks onto the field carrying Macbeth's severed head and addresses Malcolm as the true King of Scotland.

Malcolm's Plans

Welcomes back all exiled friends, rewards loyal supporters, and brings Macbeth's remaining loyalists to justice.

Lady Macbeth's Death

Malcolm reveals that she took her own life through self and violent hands (suicide).

Scone

The location where Malcolm invites the nobles to witness his official coronation as king.

Macbeth's Main Flaw

Overconfidence; he blindly trusted the witches' tricks and completely overlooked his own vulnerabilities.

Deceit Layer 1

Malcolm's invading army holds up tree branches to disguise their true numbers from Macbeth.

Deceit Layer 2

Macbeth completely deceives himself by blindly relying on prophecies to believe nothing can hurt him.

Deceit Layer 3

Hecate and the witches intentionally provided double-meaning prophecies to blind Macbeth to reality.

Gender Roles

Young Siward's brave death confirms he was a true man, showing how masculinity is used to honor characters.

Poetic Justice

Macbeth's story ends with his own head severed, perfectly mirroring how he severed Macdonwald's head at the beginning.

Fleance Unresolved

The play closes without explaining how his lineage will eventually fulfill the prophecy to become kings.

Donalbain Unresolved

He fled to Ireland to escape danger, but the play never mentions him again, leaving his fate ambiguous.