Please give a summary of each of the acts in the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare.
Answers
Firstly, through the witches, he introduces the theme of the supernatural. The line "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" adds to this supernatural feel and also introduces another key theme—deception. Finally, the theme of loyalty is also significant in the first Act.
Act II of Macbeth is all about the murder of Duncan. There is talk of the witches; there is obvious treachery; the natural order is distorted; things are definitely not what they seem and over all the battle between good and evil rages on.
Macbeth's ambition and that of Lady Macbeth drive all these forces due to their obsession with power. It is therefore ambition that is prevalent in this particular act and to a lesser extent the effects of guilt.
In Acts 3 of Macbeth, Macbeth's greed and ambition begin to take over his character as he tries to procure and protect his title as king. Macbeth now fully believes in the witches' prophecy, having been given the title of Thane of Cawdor after returning from battle. Macbeth then allows his own thoughts and those of Lady Macbeth to cloud his good judgement.He begins to suspect that those close to him are dangerous to his position, and following his interpretation of the witches' prophecy, Macbeth sees Banquo as an immediate threat. Thus, he decides to have Banquo and Fleance murdered. Here, Macbeth's actions show that uncontrolled greed and ambition may lead to one's downfall, a major theme in the play overall.
Act 4 is where the forces of the supernatural completely take hold of Macbeth's fevered imagination. Up until this point in the play, there was something perfectly natural—if utterly ruthless—about Macbeth's treacherous actions. But now that he's on the throne, darkness has entered his soul, turning him into a cold-blooded killer. Act 4 marks the transition between Macbeth the (overly) ambitious monarch and Macbeth the bloodthirsty tyrant completely in thrall to the Weird Sisters' prophecies.