Act 5 of Macbeth:

The Final Act.

Summary

• Act five opens with Lady Macbeths sleepwalking scene, the start of her insanity. Macbeth’s kingdom is slowly unraveling, his followers are leaving; Malcolm and Macduff are leading the rebellion closer to Macbeth. Lady Macbeth, in her insane guilt, kills herself. Macbeth now has no one who is close to him. The rebellion reaches the castle and in the struggle Macduff kills Macbeth, by beheading him. The act, and play, ends with Malcolm becoming King.

MOTIFS!!!

Yeah motifs get excited!Sickness and Equivocation and all that fun

stuff!

Sickness

• Sickness of Lady Macbeth– Not a literal sickness but a mental sickness. This is

also in Macbeth.• “Not so sick, my lord, As she is troubled with thick-

coming fancies That keep her from her rest”• “Therein the patient must minister to himself” (pg.255)

• In Scene two the country is mentioned as sick and it can only be cured by Macbeth’s death, as he is the one who has brought sickness to the country.

Equivocation

• Scene one– Sleepwalking, her eyes are open but she isn’t

really seeing. • “To doubt th’ equivocation of the fiend that

lies the truth.” (pg. 267)– This Macbeth referring to the witches prophecy,

he is realizing that the witches have been speaking the truth, just in riddles and that he does need to be worried when before this epiphany he didn’t believe he needed to.

Nature• The sleepwalking in scene one is considered un-natural

– “A great perturbation in nature, to receive at once the benefit of sleep and do the effects of watching.” (pg. 239)

• Marching to Birnam Wood – “To dew the sovereign flower and drown the weeds. Make we our

march towards Birnam” (pg. 249)– This also is referring to Macbeth as a weed and the sovereign flower is

the rightful leader, Malcolm.• “Till Birnam Wood remove to Dunsaine” (pg. 251)

– This is referring to the prophecy that the witches told him of, the woods appear to be moving when Malcolms army marches.

• “My way of life has fallen into the sere, the yellow leaf” (pg. 253)– This is referring to Autumn leaves. They are dying, and so Macbeth is

saying that his way of life is slowly dying.

“Out, damned spot; out, I say. . . . Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so

much blood in him?”

Symbols in the Last Act of Macbeth

Light

• Light is used throughout the play but is noticeable in the last scene because of the candle Lady Macbeth holds. The light represents Lady Macbeths guard of the darkness and insanity that’s enveloping her.

• “She has light by her continually; ‘Tis her command.”(pg. 241)

Blood

• Blood is also used in Lady Macbeths scene. The blood is a stain that forever terrorizes Lady Macbeth. The stain represents this guilt that can not be lessened through attempting to wash her hands, or any physical actions.

“Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him.” (pg. 241)

Sleep

• Sleep comes into play in the last act with Lady Macbeth Sleepwalking. Sleep symbolizes peace of mind and innocence. Having Lady Macbeth sleep walk represents her inability to be innocent, freed from her crime, and the fact that she can not find peace of mind.

“This is her very guise, and upon my life, fast asleep. Observe her; stand close.” (Pg. 240)

Character Changes Throughout Act 5

Deaths and Sorrow and Triumph, oh my!

Lady Macbeth• Lady Macbeth is probably the biggest character

change that we see in this act.• Her transformation starts right away, Scene 1, in

her sleepwalking scene. As mentioned before sleep is a symbol.

• We see her filled with guilt, when before she was fine with this murder.

- “Here’s the smell of the blood still. All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand” (pg. 243)

•Readers can see Macbeth’s powerful reign falling apart, Lady has been a solid pillar always there to be calm and collected, now that we, the readers, see her falling apart it becomes clear that Macbeth will soon follow.

•Her suicide comes as a shock to first time readers, she is no longer there to support Macbeth and from there it goes downhill. •Don’t forget why she committed suicide – guilt. Her guilt is the pivotal aspect that lead to her entire character change.

“The queen, my lord, is dead” (pg. 263)

Macbeth• Act 5, Scene 3 – The first scene we see Macbeth in, He is being

informed of Lady Macbeth’s health. His characterization in this scene is the same as it was before.

• The scene when we next see him is scene 5 when Lady Macbeth’s suicide happens and he learns of it.– “She should have died hereafter, There would have been a time for

such a word.” (pg. 265)• This triggers a reaction from him and the readers see a Macbeth

without a purpose and he is also grieving.– “…signifying nothing” (pg. 265)

• The last and final scene we see him in is scene 7. This is the scene where Macbeth is slain. – During this scene he is almost a shell of his old self, he uses brave

words but ultimately knows he will die because Macduff is not born by woman.

Macduff

• The readers also notice a change in Macduff.• In this act, due to the death of his family,

Macduff is hardened and ready to kill Macbeth. He accomplishes his task and returns to Malcolm with Macbeth’s head.– We can see this change when he is fighting

Macbeth. “Then yield thee, coward” (pg.279)

Themes Emphasized in Act 5

• Guilt is Not Easily Removed – this idea is shown through out the play, whether it is someone assuming that guilt can be washed off or someone feeling guilt, it is emphasized in Act five through Lady Macbeth. Her sleepwalking is proof of her terrible guilt as well as her suicide is.

• “Out damned spot! Out, I say!” (pg.241)

Themes Emphasized in Act 5

• Unnatural Deeds have Unnatural Consequences – Unnatural doesn’t necessarily have to mean supernatural, even though it sometimes does, in this case it means murder. Macbeth’s murders have lead to ‘unnatural consequences’ such as woods moving and sleepwalking and ultimately his own death, which was done by Macduff who was born unnaturally.

Themes Emphasized in Act 5

• Equivocation is Dangerous – The motif of equivocation appears everywhere in this play. It can be deadly as seen in this act. The witches have been telling Macbeth these half truths which cause him not to worry and then leads to his downfall. This serves as a warning to the readers that half truths can be just as dangerous as lies.

“So, thanks to all at once and to each one, whom we invite to see us crowned at Scone”

(pg. 285)

The last sentence of Macbeth.