Tragedies • c. 1606
Macbeth: Modern English Translation & Study Guide
A brave Scottish general receives a prophecy from three witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne.
Read Macbeth Side by Side
Every scene pairs the public-domain original with a line-matched, original modern-English paraphrase. Choose a scene below to begin reading.
- Act 1, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. A desert place.
- Act 1, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. A camp near Forres.
- Act 1, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. A heath near Forres.
- Act 1, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. Forres. The palace.
- Act 2, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Court of Macbeth's castle.
- Act 2, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. The same.
- Act 2, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. The same.
- Act 2, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. Outside Macbeth's castle.
- Act 3, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Forres. The palace.
- Act 3, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. The palace.
- Act 3, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. A park near the palace.
- Act 3, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. The same. Hall in the palace.
- Act 4, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. A cavern. In the middle, a boiling cauldron.
- Act 4, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. Fife. Macduff's castle.
- Act 4, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. England. Before the King's palace.
- Act 5, Scene 1 line-by-line translation — SCENE I. Dunsinane. Ante-room in the castle.
- Act 5, Scene 2 line-by-line translation — SCENE II. The country near Dunsinane.
- Act 5, Scene 3 line-by-line translation — SCENE III. Dunsinane. A room in the castle.
- Act 5, Scene 4 line-by-line translation — SCENE IV. Country near Birnam wood.
Macbeth study pathways
Related across the Shake Up Network
Extend this play’s ideas through a connected subject lens.
- Ambition, guilt & moral injury — Shake Up Psychology
Connect Macbeth’s choices to motivation, rationalization, stress, and the psychology of remorse. - Power, fate & moral responsibility — Shake Up Philosophy
Examine whether prophecy limits choice and how ethical responsibility survives pressure.
Original text source: The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, MIT HTML edition. MIT states that its HTML versions of the plays are placed in the public domain.