Macbeth, Act 4

In this episode of Read It and (Don’t) Weep, we move into Act 4 of Macbeth. Macbeth returns to the witches searching for answers about his future, and the visions they show him seem to offer reassurance about his safety. However, the messages are mysterious and leave room for dangerous misunderstandings.

Meanwhile, events in Scotland reveal the growing consequences of Macbeth’s rule. As fear spreads and new alliances begin to form against him, it becomes clear that the conflict surrounding the throne is far from over.

Thanks for listening!  Connect with me on social media:

Facebook 

Instagram

Are you a teacher looking for resources to use with this episode? Connect to my store!

Transcript

Hello and welcome to "Read it and (Don't) Weep," the podcast that will help you breeze through your high school literature classes. Are you tired of struggling to understand the themes and characters in classic works of literature? Well, I’ve got you covered! I am your host, Jackey Taggart, and I taught high school English for almost 20 years. Join me each episode as I dive into the world of high school literature and break down the essential elements of each work. From Shakespeare to Steinbeck, I'll cover it all. My goal is to give you valuable insights and analysis on some of the most popular high school literary texts, as well as tips and tricks for acing your tests and essays. Let’s start reading!

Act 4, Scene 1

Hello and welcome back to Read It and (Don’t) Weep. We are over halfway through Macbeth and beginning Act 4.  It is a short act but includes lots of action. If you have not yet read up to this point, it would be a good idea to get caught up with your reading and listen to my other episodes before continuing.

I have to say, Act 4, Scene 1 is one of my favorite scenes in the play, maybe even of all of Shakespeare’s plays. It’s packed with witchcraft, mystery, and imagery that builds a strong sense of anticipation. The scene opens in a dark cavern with a boiling cauldron at center stage, and thunder rumbling offstage, immediately creating a spooky, foreboding atmosphere. Up to this point, the witches have only appeared briefly, but this is their big moment, and they take center stage in shaping what happens next. Remember back to Act 3, Scene 4 when Hecate said they were going to use illusions to boost his confidence? Now we see that plan put into motion.

As the lights come up, we see the three witches gathered around the boiling cauldron, preparing a powerful potion. As they work, they chant, 

“Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble,”

and toss ingredients into the potion one by one: venom from a toad, eye of newt, tongue of dog, and even the finger of a strangled baby. It makes me think back to the sailor’s thumb in Act 1, Scene 3, but this potion is even more grotesque and symbolic, filled with images of decay, poison, and unnatural creatures. As they stir, they repeat,

“Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble.”

All of this makes it clear that we’ve stepped fully into the supernatural world of the play. The language, the imagery, and the ritual make the moment feel dark and almost forbidden, as if we’re witnessing magic we were never meant to see. Scenes like this are one reason many people in the theater still believe Macbeth or  “The Scottish Play” is cursed. If you want to know more about the Curse of Macbeth, I have another episode dedicated to exploring that story.  

As the witches finish their potion, one of the witches senses Macbeth approaching and says,

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

Notice the shift here. Earlier in the play, Macbeth was seen as a hero. Now even the witches call him wicked. Which is really saying something! This moment reinforces one of the play’s central ideas that what seems good can actually be evil or bad, echoing the witches’ message that fair is foul and foul is fair.

When we see an idea like this repeated throughout the play, it works as both a theme and a motif. A motif is a recurring element, such as an image, sound, word, or symbol, that appears throughout the work to reinforce a central theme. So in Macbeth, Shakespeare repeatedly shows the audience that things are often not what they seem, and what looks good or honorable can actually be dangerous or evil. 

And right on cue, Macbeth himself arrives, demanding answers. He calls the witches “secret, black, and midnight hags” and insists they tell him his future, even if it means unleashing destruction on the world. The witches offer to let him hear from their “masters,” and Macbeth agrees.

At this point, they summon three apparitions, each one symbolic and each one speaking in riddles.

The first apparition is an armed head, which warns Macbeth to beware Macduff. This confirms Macbeth’s growing fear and paranoia that Macduff is up to something.

The second Apparition is a bloody child. This one tells Macbeth to be bold because no one born of a woman can harm him. On the surface, this sounds like protection, but the imagery of a bloody child hints that something is off about this promise. This also gives Macbeth overconfidence, just as Hecate predicted, as he thinks, isn’t every one born of woman?

The third apparition is a crowned child holding a tree. This figure tells him he will not be defeated until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth laughs this off because forests do not move, so he interprets this as proof he is safe. These visions are full of symbolism, but Macbeth only hears what he wants to hear.

But Macbeth pushes for even more information, and asks one more question: will Banquo’s descendants’ rule?

The witches respond by showing him a LONG line of kings, each holding a mirror (making the line appear to be longer in the reflections) and each one connected to Banquo. The final image is Banquo himself, smiling and pointing at them. This confirms the prophecy and reminds us that despite everything Macbeth has done, he cannot control the future.

And them in the blink of an eye, the witches and the cauldron disappear.  Macbeth is momentarily confused. Where were they just here, or was this a figment of my imagination? But he has no time to dwell on this as Lennox enters with news that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth reacts immediately and makes a chilling decision. He says from now on, the first thing he thinks will be the first thing he does, which doesn’t sound like a good ideas to me.  His first impulsive act is to order the murder of Macduff’s family.

At this point, Macbeth is no longer hesitating or questioning himself. He is acting purely on fear, anger, power, and ambition.

And that is where the scene ends. Before moving on to scene 2, take a few minutes to record your thoughts in your reading journal. Choose one image from this scene and explain how you think is will mislead Macbeth.

Hey teachers! Are you looking for some top-notch resources to go along with this podcast episode? You'll find them right in my store. A quick click on the link in the show notes gets you right there. What awaits? A stash of guided questions, note-taking aids, and assessments to use with your students. Go ahead, make the most of these resources today!

Act 4, Scene 2

Scene 2 is short, but it hits hard. We move to Macduff’s castle in Fife, where Shakespeare shows us the human cost of Macbeth’s choices more clearly than almost anywhere else in the play.

Lady Macduff is furious that her husband has fled to England. She questions Ross, wondering what could make a man abandon his home and family. To her, it looks like madness and even disloyalty. She argues that even the smallest bird will fight to protect its young, so how could Macduff leave his family behind?

Ross tries to defend Macduff, saying he is wise and understands how dangerous things have become. But even Ross seems uneasy, and he quickly leaves, sensing that staying too long could be risky.

Once he is gone, Lady Macduff talks with her young son, Sirrah She tells him his father is dead to them, but the boy pushes back with surprising logic. When they talk about what makes someone a traitor, the boy points out that there are plenty of liars in the world and not enough honest people to stop them. The conversation is playful on the surface, but it highlights how upside down the moral world has become.

Their moment together is suddenly interrupted when a messenger rushes in, warning that danger is close and that Lady Macduff should flee immediately. Lady Macduff hesitates, saying she has done nothing wrong, but she quickly realizes that in this world, doing good can be dangerous More fair foul; foul fair stuff.

Almost immediately, the murderers arrive. They accuse Macduff of treason, and when Sirrah defends his father, one of the men kills him on the spot. With her son dead, Lady Macduff runs for her life as the killers chase after her.

This scene shows just how far Macbeth has fallen. He is no longer targeting rivals for the throne. He is ordering the murder of innocent families.

Before moving on to scene 3, take a few minutes to record your thoughts in your reading journal. Why is the murder of Macduff’s family important, and what does it reveal about how Macbeth’s has changed?

Act 4, Scene 3

In contrast to scene 2, Scene 3 is one of the longest scenes in the play, and it’s important because it shows the beginning of the rebellion against Macbeth. Scene 3 takes us to King Edward the Confessor’s castle in England, where Macduff meets Malcolm, the rightful heir to the Scottish throne. 

Macduff urges Malcolm to act, saying Scotland is suffering more every day. He describes a country filled with grief. Macduff feel the time for action has come.

But Malcolm is cautious. He worries that Macduff might actually be working for Macbeth. After all, Macbeth has not harmed Macduff directly yet (that anyone know about), and Malcolm wonders if Macduff might be a trap sent to win his trust.

To test Macduff’s loyalty, Malcolm pretends he would be an even worse king than Macbeth. First, he claims he would be ruled by endless lust. He says his desires would be so great that no women in Scotland could satisfy him.

Macduff is like, well despite this, you could still be a good king.  So, Malcolm raises the stakes. He says he would also be consumed by greed, claiming he would seize the lands, wealth, and titles of the nobles just to feed his own hunger for power.

Macduff is not happy to hear this but says Scotland does have enough wealth and land to satisfy Malcolm without destroying the country. So Malcolm pushes the lie even further. He says he has none of the qualities a king should have, no justice, no mercy, no patience, or self-control. He even claims that if he ruled, he would destroy peace itself and there would be chaos. 

At this point, Macduff finally gives up hope. He cries “These evils thou repeat'st upon thyself / Have banished me from Scotland. O my breast, / Thy hope ends here.” Basically, he has given up hope, and Scotland is doomed.

That reaction is exactly what Malcolm was looking for. Macduff’s grief proves he cares more about Scotland than about power or position. So at this point Malcolm is basically like, jk, just kidding, I’m not actually any of those things. He admits he was lying to test Macduff’s loyalty and says he really does plan to return and fight for Scotland. He also reveals that an English army is already preparing to help. Macduff is totally thrown off and says, “Such welcome and unwelcome things at once / ’Tis hard to reconcile,” which is basically him saying, wait… you were lying? I’m not thrilled about that, but alright, I’m with you now.

At this point, Ross arrives from Scotland with grim news. He describes the country as suffering deeply under Macbeth’s rule. When Macduff asks about his family, Ross hesitates before finally telling him the truth. His castle has been attacked, and his wife and children have been killed.

Macduff is, obviously, devastated. He struggles to process the loss and asks if all of them are gone. In his grief, he vows revenge and asks to face Macbeth directly in battle.

Malcolm, seeing Macduff’s determination, says that Macbeth is now ready to fall. The two men leave together to gather their forces and prepare to reclaim Scotland.

As we close out Act 4, take a few minutes to record your thoughts in your reading journal. Why do you think Malcolm tests Macduff, and what does Macduff’s response prove to Malcom?

Closing

Thanks for listening to this episode of Read it and (Don’t) Weep. Be sure to subscribe to the show so you will be notified when new episodes are released. If you liked today’s show, please leave a review so others can discover my show.  If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for future episodes, drop me an email at readitanddontweep@gmail.com, or reach out to me on social media. I would love to hear from you. The links are in the show notes.  

Thank you for listening.  I am Jackey Taggart and remember to Read It and Don’t Weep.