Scene Introduction

Act five scene five of Shakespeare’s novel shows the building of conflict and tension of MacBeth, as Shakespeare begins to transition into the action-filled climax of the novel. The scene begins with Macbeth at his Castle, so relaxed and unperturbed that he gloomily waits with no worries about the upcoming war. When he hears screams of women in his castle, he is unstirred, remarking that after what he has been through, nothing can scare him. Seyton enters telling him that his queen has died, and even through this distress he remains calm, and talks about the pains of life and its cruelness. A messenger comes to tell Macbeth that he saw the woods of Birnam move, and then Macbeth begins to react angrily. This sight of the moving wood is the same as the witches’ prophecy, which was to signal the death of Macbeth. He threatens the messenger, and yells at his troops to begin preparing for battle, so that they may at least die with honor. The story leads from this scene into the epic climax, in which Macbeth fights both You Siward and MacDuff. This scene serves ultimately as the building point of tension and unease for Macbeth, as he learns of both the death of his beloved and of the fulfillment of his own death prophecy. Shakespeare shows proof of this in Macbeth’s change from a nonchalant, gloomy attitude at the beginning of the scene to his anxious, fiery attitude toward the end.