Macbeth Act V Scene 5 Summary
Plot Summary / Story-line
Within Dunsinane Castle, Macbeth continues issuing military orders, commanding that banners be hung and boastfully declaring that the castle will easily repel the enemy. He orders his men to hang out banners and speaks with supreme confidence. Suddenly, a woman's cry is heard from within the castle. Seyton enters to deliver devastating news: Lady Macbeth is dead. The nature of her death—whether suicide or from illness—is left ambiguous. Macbeth receives this news with startling numbness and detachment. Rather than expressing grief, he launches into one of literature's most famous meditations on despair and the meaninglessness of existence. He reflects on the passage of time and declares:
"Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage, / And then is heard no more. It is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing."
The speech captures his sense of profound hopelessness—life itself seems devoid of meaning or purpose.
Moments later, a messenger arrives with stunning news: he has observed Birnam Wood apparently moving toward the castle. He reports: "As I did stand my watch upon the hill, I look'd toward Birnam, and anon methought / The wood began to move." Macbeth initially responds with rage and terror, recalling the witches' prophecy. Yet he also recognizes a potential interpretation: the forest is not literally moving, but is being carried by approaching soldiers. This recognition signals the beginning of the end for Macbeth.
He declares that he is "tired of the sun" and that he may be doomed, but he resolves that at least he "will not yield, / To kiss the ground before young Malcolm's feet, / And to be baited with the rabble's curse." He orders his men to "Arm, arm, and out!" and rings the alarm bell, determining to meet his enemies in battle rather than surrender.
Commentary on Act V, Scene v
This complex scene juxtaposes profound psychological despair with fierce martial determination. Macbeth's response to Lady Macbeth's death is startling: rather than grief, he expresses a kind of numb detachment and philosophical nihilism. Some critics argue this reflects his complete emotional exhaustion—he has become so accustomed to horror and murder that even his wife's death cannot move him. Others suggest his response reveals the ultimate emptiness of his ambition: the crown has brought neither joy nor companionship, and even the death of the woman he loved cannot break through his psychological numbness.
His "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow" soliloquy articulates a vision of life as meaningless repetition, a "tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing." This philosophical despair reflects his current spiritual state—a man who has murdered and schemed to achieve power, only to discover that power brings neither contentment nor meaning. The soliloquy's famous line about life being a "poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage" has led some scholars to read it as a metatheatrical commentary on the play itself and the nature of theatrical performance.
The news of Birnam Wood moving produces an immediate shift in Macbeth's emotional state. His initial panic gives way to a rational assessment: he recognizes that soldiers carrying branches can create the appearance of a moving forest. However, this recognition does not lead to surrender or wisdom. Instead, it galvanizes him into defiant action. He will not accept defeat passively; he will fight to his death rather than suffer humiliation. This determination—while admirable in some respects as a refusal to yield—also represents his final embrace of futility. He fights not to win, but to maintain dignity in defeat. The ringing of the alarm bell signals the play's movement toward its violent conclusion.