Macbeth Act V Scene 4 Summary

Plot Summary / Story-line

In the countryside near Birnam Wood, Malcolm confers with the English lord Siward and his officers regarding military strategy. Malcolm proposes a tactical stratagem: each soldier should cut down a large bough from Birnam Wood and carry it in front of him as the army marches toward Dunsinane Castle. This will serve to disguise the true size of their forces from Macbeth's scouts and observers. The officers approve this plan, and the army prepares to advance toward Dunsinane, carrying the camouflaging tree branches.​

Commentary on Act V, Scene iv

This brief scene is structurally crucial because it reveals the mechanism by which one of the witches' prophecies will be fulfilled. The audience now understands that Birnam Wood will indeed "move" to Dunsinane—not through supernatural magic, but through the practical stratagem of soldiers carrying branches.

The irony is rich: Macbeth has interpreted the prophecy as literally impossible and therefore a guarantee of his safety, yet the very individuals opposing him devise a simple means to fulfill it. This scene underscores a central theme: the witches' prophecies are not false, but they are subject to human interpretation and action. Those with imagination and flexibility can find ways around seemingly impossible obstacles.

Macbeth, by contrast, has proven himself lacking in imaginative capacity—he cannot conceive that a forest might "move" in any sense other than rising up and walking. This scene thus foreshadows his defeat not through supernatural intervention, but through the superior strategic thinking of his opponents. It also reinforces that while the witches set events in motion, human choices and actions determine specific outcomes.