Years 7-10

Macbeth Summaries

The Senior room has been studying one of Shakespeare’s tragedies: Macbeth. We have enjoyed the tragic and gruesome tale of guilt, greed and fate.

 

Here are some well written synopses from Shakespeare’s newest fans.

 

Macbeth is one of the most depressing stories I have ever heard. It is about Macbeth and how he ruined his life by listening to 3 hags in the middle of nowhere and his evil, vile witch of a wife.

Its starts off with Macbeth and his best good friend Banquo, racing back to their wives from a

victorious triumphant, when they are side tracked by three psychic witches, who explain to

Macbeth that he will be Thane of Cawder and King of Scotland. Macbeth thinks it is very unlikely. However, due to Macbeth’s heroic efforts, a traitor has been captured and King Duncan sends a messenger to now acknowledge Macbeth as the new Thane of Cawder.

 

Macbeth is shocked but extremely pleased. He gracefully accepts. He then writes Lady Macbeth a letter detailing what the hags had predicted for him and how he is now Thane of Cawder. Lady Macbeth becomes evilly enthusiastic, over-jealous and uses emotional blackmail to persuade her husband to commit treason by killing the king.

When the king and his sons come to stay, due to Macbeth’s misery and guilt, he starts hallucinating.  He sees a floating dagger. “Is this a dagger I see before me…” Macbeth murders the king but starts to go even more psychotic. Macbeth is crowned king, but also becomes paranoid. Does everyone know he killed the king? Will people plot for his demise? He soon stops sleeping. “Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep.” Macbeth hires an assassin to murder his comrade Banquo, as he suspects that he knows Macbeth killed the king. Meanwhile Lady Macbeth becomes so overwhelmed by an imaginary spot of blood, “Out damned spot, out I say!” caused by the guilt of killing the king who strongly reminds her of her father. That she commits suicide. Macbeth goes back to the mystic hags for advice. They tell him that he will never be killed by someone born of a woman. Macbeth conjures up a plan to kill the Macduff family. Fortunately Macduff is away and is crushed by the death of his children and wife. He suspects Macbeth and then sets out to track him down…………….. dun dun dun!                                                                                 Shelby

In this epic tragedy, a noble and wealthy man, Macbeth and his spiteful wife, Lady Macbeth start off as popular citizens but then turn into filthy, lawbreaking, murderous criminals. After the murder of mighty King Duncan, Macbeth discovers he is going to have to keep on murdering to stay king but more importantly to stay alive. After Macbeth’s victory over the Thane of Cawdor he journeys back home but on the way back he gets distracted by the weird witches. He then gets told he will be Thane of Cawdor, but more importantly he will become king.

In the process of becoming king however he ends up murdering King Duncan and his comrade Banquo. Word soon gets around that Macbeth had got involved in the murder of King Duncan. A suspicious Macduff rounds up some men. At the same time Macbeth goes back to see the witches and gets told he can not be killed by anyone born by woman.  A confident Macbeth travels back to his castle on horseback to find not many people about, he isn’t suspicious and wanders back through the castle and finds a big army to kill him. He is not worried because the witches have told him he is practically indestructible. He then grabs a sword and some armour and fights till it is only him and Macduff…

Alex

Rangitaiki Independent School

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