In Scotland, Captain Macbeth, kinsman of King Duncan, returns victorious from the war and meets three witches who greet him as future king. The prophecy, his desire, and his wife's pressure lead him to murder Duncan, and the throne won by crime brings fear, more deaths, and an emptiness that he describes as a tale told by an idiot, until the army of Malcolm and Macduff brings him down.
Act I
Three witches arrange to meet Macbeth after the battle (scene 1 of Act I). In the camp, a wounded Captain tells King Duncan that Macbeth killed the rebel Macdonwald and that he and Banquo resisted the Norwegians, and Duncan condemns to death the Thane of Cawdor, a traitor, and gives the title to Macbeth (scene 2 of Act I). On the heath, the witches greet Macbeth as Thane of Glamis, of Cawdor, and future king, and promise Banquo that his sons will be kings; Ross and Angus arrive and confirm the title of Cawdor, while Banquo suspects that evil tells small truths in order to betray in great ones (scene 3 of Act I). Duncan names his son Malcolm Prince of Cumberland and announces that he will go to Inverness, Macbeth's castle, and Macbeth sees in the heir a step on his path (scene 4 of Act I). Lady Macbeth reads her husband's letter, calls on spirits to empty her of pity and, when he arrives, takes command of the plan (scene 5 of Act I). Duncan reaches the castle and is received with humility (scene 6 of Act I). Macbeth weighs the crime, for Duncan is his kinsman, his king, and his guest, and draws back, but Lady Macbeth accuses him of cowardice, reveals the plan to drug the chamberlains and place the blame on them, and he gives in (scene 7 of Act I).
Act II
At midnight, in the courtyard of Inverness, Banquo and his son Fleance cross paths with Macbeth, who, alone, sees a dagger in the air and heads for the king's room (scene 1 of Act II). Lady Macbeth had waited, after drugging the chamberlains and leaving the daggers in plain sight, and Macbeth returns with the deed done, shaken; he says he heard a voice announce that he has murdered Sleep, and he dares not return to the room with the daggers he brought. She takes them, smears the chamberlains with blood, and sends her husband to wash his hands while they knock at the door (scene 2 of Act II). A drunken Porter is slow to open the door to Macduff and Lennox; Macduff discovers Duncan's body; Macbeth kills the chamberlains, claiming a rush of love for the king; and Malcolm and Donalbain, trusting no one, decide to flee (scene 3 of Act II). Ross and an Old Man discuss the omens of the night, and Macduff tells that the princes' flight raised suspicions and that Macbeth was elected and left for Scone to be crowned (scene 4 of Act II).
Act III
Banquo suspects the new king played dirty, but hopes that the prophecy about his descendants will also come true; Macbeth invites him to the banquet, learns that he rides with his son Fleance, and convinces two murderers to kill father and son (scene 1 of Act III). Macbeth and Lady Macbeth admit that the crown has brought no peace: he says they have only wounded the serpent and that he no longer sleeps without nightmares, and he hides his plan from her (scene 2 of Act III). The murderers wait on the road to the palace, Banquo dies after sending Fleance to flee, and the son escapes in the dark (scene 3 of Act III). At the banquet, Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost sitting in his place, which the guests do not see; Lady Macbeth tries to cover up the scene and dismisses the nobles, and he decides to look for the witches again (scene 4 of Act III). Hecate rebukes the witches for having dealt with Macbeth without calling her and promises illusions that will lead him to scorn Destiny and to trust too much in himself (scene 5 of Act III). Lennox comments, ironically, on the official version of the deaths, and a lord tells that Macduff went to England to ask Malcolm for support (scene 6 of Act III).
Act IV
In a cave, the witches prepare the cauldron and Macbeth demands answers: an armed head warns him to beware Macduff, a bloody child says no man born of woman can harm him, and a crowned child, with a tree in his hand, says he will not be defeated until the wood of Birnam marches against Dunsinane; he still sees eight kings, with Banquo at the end, and, on learning that Macduff fled to England, decides to massacre his family (scene 1 of Act IV). In the castle of Fife, Lady Macduff accuses her husband of cowardice for having fled, and assassins kill the boy and chase the mother (scene 2 of Act IV). In England, Malcolm tests Macduff's loyalty by pretending to be worse than Macbeth; the two agree on war with Siward's men, and the noble Ross brings the news that Macduff's wife and children were killed (scene 3 of Act IV).
Act V
In Dunsinane, a Doctor and a Gentlewoman watch Lady Macbeth, who walks in her sleep, rubs her hands and murmurs about blood, Duncan, Banquo, and Macduff's wife, and the Doctor concludes that the case is beyond medicine (scene 1 of Act V). The Scottish nobles march to Birnam to meet Malcolm's army (scene 2 of Act V). Macbeth, confident in the promise about Birnam, scorns the flight of the thanes and calls for his armor (scene 3 of Act V). Facing the wood, Malcolm orders each soldier to take a branch and carry it before him, to hide the size of the troop (scene 4 of Act V). Macbeth learns from Seyton that the queen has died and answers with the speech about tomorrow; a Messenger swears he saw the wood advance, and Macbeth begins to doubt the words that deluded him (scene 5 of Act V). On the plain, Malcolm orders the branches dropped and gives the orders for attack (scene 6 of Act V). Surrounded, Macbeth kills young Siward, and Macduff, facing him, says he was torn from his mother's womb before his time; the two fight, Macduff returns with Macbeth's head and hails Malcolm as king, who rewards the barons with the titles of Earl and invites everyone to the coronation at Scone (scene 7 of Act V).