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In Scene 6, Malcolm orders his men to throw down their branches and reveal to Macbeth just how large
is the opposing army.
Scene 7 finds Macbeth trapped inside his castle and yet he still believes he is invincible because all men
are born of woman. In the meantime, Macduff is scouring the fortress in search of him.
MACBETH'S FINAL EQUIVOCATION
Act 5 has many short scenes as the audience watches the final quick collapse of Macbeth's kingdom.
First comes Lady Macbeth's mental illness and the infamous sleepwalking scene. Then we witness the
English forces assembling at Dunsinane.
After this, we note Macbeth's ever-weakening attempt to defend himself, his soldiers deserting him, his
wife being mentally ill, and he himself clearly distracted.
Malcolm's forces gather at Birnam Wood, and chop down branches of trees to hide their numbers.
Lady Macbeth commits suicide and Macbeth is distressed to find that one more prophecy turns out to be
equivocal: the great forest at Birnam is indeed coming to Dunsinane.
Malcolm's forces throw down their branches to reveal just how large a force confronts Macbeth
The forces attack and Macbeth confidently defends himself, believing still that no-one born of woman can
defeat him. Macduff goes about in search of him.
The two leading Scottish protagonists finally meet face to face. Macbeth at last learns the fatal truth: the
witches have once again deceived him. Macduff was not born of woman but was cut from his mother's
womb.
The shock news dismays Macbeth and he is killed. His head is mounted on a pole for all to see. Malcolm
is proclaimed king of Scotland.
These final short episodes are mostly action scenes to bring the tragic events to a conclusion.
Macbeth has been deceived throughout by the witches' equivocal statements and, in the end, dies --
bravely but nevertheless ignominiously.
Have you looked at the questions
in the right column?
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TEST YOURSELF!
Read the left column and then answer
the following questions:
SCENE 6:
Explain the purpose of these several short scenes. (4)
[Need help?]
The play jumps from Macbeth to the invading forces and back again.
Because these scenes are so short, they provide a sense of urgency. They also enable the audience to
understand what is going on in both camps.
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SCENE 7:
"Swords I smile at, weapons laugh to scorn,
Brandish'd by man that's of a woman born."
- Explain why Macbeth seems to believe there is hope right to the bitter end. (6)
[Need help?]
Macbeth doesn't really remain confident, does he? He realises too late that the witches' have told him a
prophecy which he misinterpreted. This is therefore the end, so he might as well go out fighting.
There is just one glimmer of hope though: the final prophecy about his never being defeated except to
someone not born of a woman. But even that hope has now become a slender one.
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"They have tied me to a stake; I cannot fly,
But bear-like I must fight the course."
- Comment on the image used in these lines. (4)
[Need help?]
Macbeth uses the image of the bear fight which was common in those times.
It was customary to stake a bear to a post and then allow the dogs to attack it. Bets would be taken on
which dogs would win.
Seldom could the bear ever win -- there were just too many dogs attacking it and, since the bear was
staked, it could not escape.
If you've seen the Roman Polanski version of Macbeth, you'll remember the bear fight towards the
beginning. Remember that the bear died there as well.
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"That way the noise is. Tyrant, show thy face!
If thou be'st slain and with no stroke of mine,
My wife and children's ghosts will haunt me still.
I cannot strike at wretched kerns, whose arms
Are hired to bear their staves: either thou, Macbeth,
Or else my sword with an unbatter'd edge
I sheathe again undeeded."
- What is the driving force behind Macduff's quest to find Macbeth? (4)
[Need help?]
Macduff is driven by a need for vengeance. He had abandoned his own wife and children who were
thereupon murdered upon orders from Macbeth.
It is not enough, therefore, that Macbeth be killed; he must be killed by Macduff himself or else the ghosts
of his murdered loved ones will haunt him forever.
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- Why does Macbeth still believe he can defeat Macduff? (4)
[Need help?]
Macbeth has to have hope or else he might as well just lie down and die. It is the witches' final prophecy
which provides that ray of hope.
Surely everyone is born of a woman? If so, then he is unassailable.
It is a slender hope now, of course, because Macbeth is clearly aware that every other prophecy has
crumbled before his eyes. Why should he then still believe this one?
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