Macbeth begins with the appearance of three witches who plan to meet Macbeth. At a military camp, King Duncan of Scotland receives news that one of his thanes, Macbeth, has defeated leaders of a rebellion against the king, MacDonwald and the thane of Cawdor. The king decides he will name Macbeth the new thane of Kador. On their way back from battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo encounter the witches. The witches greet Macbeth as Thane of Kador and predict that he will become king.
They also tell Banquo that his descendants will someday be kings. After the king executes the old Thane of Kador, he grants Macbeth the title. Macbeth starts to believe the witches'predictions and relates the events to his wife.
In the rising action, Lady Macbeth begins to plot the murder of King Duncan so that Macbeth can take the throne. When King Duncan visits the castle, Macbeth, initially hesitant, goes through with the plan. Lady Macbeth gets Duncan's guards drunk and Macbeth kills Duncan in his sleep.
Macbeth returns with the daggers in his blood-stained hands. Lady Macbeth goes back to plant the weapons and frame the guards. The next morning, Duncan's body is discovered.
and blood and the daggers are found on the guards. Macbeth, pretending to be enraged, kills them. Fearing for their own safety, Duncan's sons Malcolm and Donalbain flee the country. Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland, and the thanes speculate about the strange events. Meanwhile, remembering the witches'predictions, Banquo grows suspicious of Macbeth.
Seeing Banquo as a threat, Macbeth hires murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. Banquo is killed. but Fleance escapes. At a banquet the same night, Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost and appears insane to the court.
Macbeth meets again with the witches, and they make three new predictions about his future. They tell him to beware of Macduff, that no man born of woman can harm him, and that he will be secure until Great Burnham Wood, a forest, comes to Macbeth's castle at Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth, believing the last two predictions are impossible, assumes he is safe. In the meantime, Macduff travels to England to find Malcolm, Duncan's eldest son, and convince him to head back to Scotland to fight for his rightful throne. Macbeth takes this opportunity to send murderers to Fife to kill Macduff's wife and son.
Macduff convinces Malcolm to return to Scotland with an army. As Macbeth's rule is waning, Lady Macbeth goes mad. She is under a doctor's care because of hallucinations caused by her repressed guilt. In the climax, the Scottish lords and thanes have united against Macbeth and joined Malcolm's army. The Scottish and English armies meet at Great Burnham Wood and use tree branches as camouflage to approach Dunsinane Hill.
While Macbeth prepares for the onslaught at Dunsinane, he learns his wife has died. One of his servants then tells him, Burnham Wood appears to be moving toward them. This rattles Macbeth because it fulfills one of the witch's prophecies.
Still, he relies on the witch's assurance that no man born of woman will cause him harm. In the falling action, when he meets Macduff on the field, however, he learns Macduff was delivered by Caesarion's section. Macduff kills Macbeth, and in the resolution, Malcolm takes his place as the rightful King of Scotland.