Act 5 summaries
- Scene 1: Dunsinane. Ante-room in the castle.
- Scene 2: The country near Dunsinane.
- Scene 3: Dunsinane. A room in the castle.
- Scene 4: Country near Birnam Wood.
- Scene 5: Dunsinane. Within the castle.
- Scene 6: Dunsinane. Before the castle.
- Scene 7: Another part of the field.
- Scene 8: Another part of the field.
- Scene 9: Another part of the field.
Scene 1: Dunsinane. Ante-room in the castle.
A doctor and a gentlewoman (a lady’s maid) discuss Lady Macbeth: She has started sleepwalking. As they speak, she sleepwalks into the room, and they watch her talking to herself in an agitated way. Lady Macbeth more or less reveals that she and her husband were behind the murders of the late King Duncan and Banquo. She desperately tries to clean her hands which she thinks are stained with Duncan’s blood.
Scene 2: The country near Dunsinane.
Scottish noblemen - Menteith, Caithness, Angus, and Lennox - and some soldiers talk about how the English army is heading for Macbeth’s castle. Rumour has it that Macbeth has gone mad and that the people serving him have lost their loyalty towards him. The group heads on to join the English army led by Malcolm, Duncan's son.
Scene 3: Dunsinane. A room in the castle.
Bad news keeps arriving for Macbeth as he is having his armor put on by Seyton, one of his officers: Macbeth’s thanes abandon him; his remaining people are white with fear; and the doctor comes to inform him of Lady Macbeth’s troubled mental s...
