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Act Four

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Scene One:The witches circle their cauldron, throwing into it the elements of their magic spell while chanting "double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." Hecate appears, and they all sing together, then Hecate leaves again. Macbeth enters, demanding answers. The witches complete their magic spell and summon forth a series of apparitions. The first is an Armed Head (a head wearing a helmet), that warns Macbeth to beware the Thane of Fife (Macduff). The second apparition is a bloody child, who tells him that "none of woman born / Shall harm Macbeth." Hearing this, Macbeth is bolstered, and states that he no longer needs to fear Macduff then. The third apparition is a child wearing a crown, with a tree in its hand, who says that "Macbeth shall never vanquished be until / Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane Hill [Macbeth's castle] / Shall come against him." This cheers Macbeth even more, since he knows that nothing can move a forest. Macbeth now asks his last question: will Banquo's children ever rule Scotland?
The cauldron sinks, and a strange sound is heard. The witches now show Macbeth the "show of kings": a procession of eight kings, the eighth of whom holds a mirror in his hand, followed by Banquo. As Banquo points at this line of kings, Macbeth realizes that they are indeed his family line, and that the witches' words were true. The witches dance and disappear, and Lennox enters, with the news that Macduff has fled to England. Macbeth resolves that from now on he will act immediately on his ambitions, and the first step he will take will be to seize Fife and kill Macduff's wife and children.
Scene Two:At Fife, Ross visits Lady Macduff, who is frightened for her own safety now that her husband has fled. He reassures her by telling her that her husband did what he had to do, and takes his leave, telling her that he will return soon. After he leaves, Lady Macduff engages her son in a conversation about his missing father. The little boy shows wisdom beyond his years in his side of the discussion. A messenger interrupts them with a warning to flee the house immediately. But before Lady Macduff can go anywhere, Macbeth's hired murderers attack the house and kill everyone in it.
Scene Three:Macduff has arrived at the English court and meets with Malcolm. Malcolm, remembering his father's mistaken trust in Macbeth, tests Macduff by confessing that he is a greedy, lustful and sinful man, who makes Macbeth look like an angel in comparison. Macduff despairs and says that he will leave Scotland forever if this is the case, since there seems to be no man fit to rule it. Hearing this, Malcolm is convinced of Macduff's goodness and reveals that he was merely testing him; he has none of these faults to which he has just confessed. In fact, he claims, the first lie he has ever told was this false confession to Macduff. He then announces that Siward has assembled an army of ten thousand men and is prepared to march on Scotland.
A messenger appears and tells the men that the king of England is approaching, attended by a crowd of sick and despairing people who wish the king to cure them. The king, according to Malcolm, has a gift for healing people with the laying on of hands.
Ross enters, just come from Scotland, and reports that the country is in a shambles. When Macduff asks how his wife is, Ross replies "Ay, well," meaning that they are now beyond Macbeth's grasp. Pressed further, he relates the story of her death. Macduff is stunned speechless, and Malcolm urges him to cure his grief by acting, and getting revenge on Macbeth. Macduff replies "he has no children," meaning perhaps that Malcolm does not know what it feels like to lose a child, or that Macbeth could never have killed another man's children if he had children of his own. He is overcome with guilt that he was gone from his house when it happened. Again Malcolm urges him to put his grief to good use and seek revenge, and all three men leave to prepare for battle.
Knock knock. Who's there? Mr. X. Mr. X who? Mr. Ex-Stender. HAHAHA. HOW LAME. Well, I got Ex-Stender from my hope of an extension on this project.:-D
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Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Act Five
Macbeth