Macbeth

Witches anticipate Macbeth

Jan 1, 1057

By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.

Macbeth

Period: Jan 1, 1057 to Dec 31, 1057

Macbeth meets witches

Feb 1, 1057

"All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!"

Macbeth kills King Duncan, caving to Lady Macbeth

Mar 1, 1057

I go, and it is done; the bell invites me.
Hear it not, Duncan; for it is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell........I have done the deed.

Lady Macbeth's hands covered in blood

Apr 1, 1057

My hands are of your colour; but I shame
To wear a heart so white.

Duncan's sons flee abroad

May 1, 1057

Malcolm and Donalbain, the king's two sons, / Are stol'n away and fled; which puts upon them

Macbeth is made king

Jun 1, 1057

and with his former title greet Macbeth

Murder of Banquo and attempted murder of Fleance

Jul 1, 1057

"O, treachery! Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly! / Thou mayst revenge"

Macbeth returns to Witches

Aug 1, 1057

"The power of man, for none of woman born/Shall harm Macbeth"
"Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until/ Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinaine Hill/ Shall come against him."

Macduff and Malcolm form an alliance

Sep 1, 1057

"Let us seek out some desolate shade, and there / Weep our sad bosoms empty" (4.3.1-2), says Malcolm to Macduff, when Macduff tells him of the terrible situation in Scotland. Macduff wants Malcolm's support for a war against Macbeth, but Malcolm is extremely cautious. He doesn't commit to anything until he has thoroughly tested Macduff's honor and intentions. Malcolm does this by pretending that he would be a king even more evil than Macbeth

Lady Macbeth sleepwalking

Oct 1, 1057

A great perturbation in nature, to receive at once
the benefit of sleep, and do the effects of
watching! Out, damned spot! out, I say!—One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to do't.—Hell is murky!—Fie, my
lord, fie! a soldier, and afeard? What need we
fear who knows it, when none can call our power
to account?—Yet who would have thought the old
man to have had so much blood in him?

Macduff kills Macbeth in battle

Nov 1, 1057

Yet I will try the last. Before my body
I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff,
And damn'd be him that first cries, "Hold, enough!"
—Macbeth's final words.

Malcolm becomes king

Dec 1, 1057

Hail, King of Scotland - Macduff about Malcolm