Crimes of the Rich and Famous
link2-Project-Gutenberg - Macbeth, by William Shakespeare
MACBETH, an ebook
by William Shakespeare
Synopsis
The Witches' Prophecy
Three witches tell the Scottish general Macbeth that he will become king.
They also tell his friend, Banquo, that his descendants will rule Scotland.
Soon after, Macbeth learns he has been made Thane (lord) of Cawdor, which makes him believe the rest of the prophet.
The Murder of King Duncan
Prompted by his ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth murders King Duncan while the king is staying as a guest at their castle.
They frame the king’s guards for the crime.
Duncan's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, flee out of fear, making them the prime suspects.
Macbeth takes the Scottish crown.
Tyranny and Paranoia
Consumed by guilt and paranoia about Banquo’s prophecy, Macbeth hires assassins to kill Banquo and his son Fleance .
Banquo is killed, but Fleance escapes.
Macbeth is haunted by Banquo’s ghost at a celebratory feast.
He visits the witches again, who warn him to beware of Macduff, but tell him he is safe from any man born of a woman and cannot be defeated until Birnam Wood moves.
Believing he is invincible, Macbeth orders the slaughter of Macduff’s wife and children.
The Fall of Macbeth
Overwhelmed by guilt, Lady Macbeth begins sleepwalks, hallucinates, and eventually commits suicide.
Macduff and Duncan’s son Malcolm lead an invading army against Macbeth.
The soldiers use branches cut from Birnam Wood as camouflage, fulfilling the first part of the prophecy as they march on the castle.
During the final battle, Macduff reveals he was born via a cesarean section (not "of woman born in the traditional sense") and kills Macbeth.
Malcolm is crowned the rightful King of Scotland .
Summary
King Duncan, the father of two youthful sons Malcolm and Donalbain is the victim of a well-plotted Regicide in a power grab by his first cousin, and trusted captain, Macbeth. The origin of the character lies in a narrative of the historical Donnchad mac Crinain Duncan I of Scotland, King of Scots, in Raphael Holinshed's 1587, The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, a history of Britain familiar to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. - link2source -
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