Richard Burbage, seen here in 1599 rehearsing for Love's Labour's Won, (TV: The Shakespeare Code) originated the role of Macbeth. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass)
Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, later the Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland, was the titular character of William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.
Beginning the play as the Thane of Glamis, Macbeth was told by three witches of his destiny to become the King of Scotland. This prophecy, with additional urging from his wife Lady Macbeth, compelled them to commit regicide and usurp the throne from the incumbent king. He was thereafter paranoid of threats to his power and was ultimately vanquished when his interpretations of further prophecies from the witches left him unprepared and outnumbered for an attack by Macduff and Malcolm. (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth)
The Twelfth Doctor once quoted the play by telling Clara Oswald and Jagganth Daiki-Nagata: "To die, to die. Glamis hath murdered sleep, therefore Cawdor shall sleep no more. Macbeth shall sleep no more." (TV: Sleep No More)
He was based upon Macbeth of Scotland, who lived in the 11th century, as he was depicted in Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass) Macbeth also appeared in a derivative play entitled The Adventures of Macbeth's Head which was written by Francis Pearson in 1603. (PROSE: Managra) For the first staging of Macbeth, performed in the presence of King James I and Queen Anne, Macbeth was played by Richard Burbage. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass)
Character biography[]
Act I[]
In an early draft of the play, featuring the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe as characters, Macbeth appeared in Act I Scene III with Banquo. He and Banquo found the trio hiding from them unsuccessfully in the mud on a rainy and foggy night. When he heard Macbeth's name, Jamie recalled that he had been the Thane of both Glamis and Cawdor "in the olden days" with Zoe adding that he also became the King of Scotland. Jamie also told Banquo he would "beget kings" though wouldn't be one himself. After listening, Macbeth explained he knew he was the Thane of Glamis but that the Thane of Cawdor lived. Just as Jamie was about to tell him how they could prophecise this, the Doctor clamped his hand over Jamie's mouth as all three started to vanish, returning to the Tardis, which had malfunctioned. (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth) In the finished version of the play, the trio were replaced by three witches in this scene, who confronted Macbeth and then disappeared, as he put it, "into the air".
Macbeth later sent a letter to his wife, Lady Macbeth, detailing his encounter with the witches. In it, he said he "learned by the perfectest report that they have more in them than mortal knowledge" and "burned in desire to question them further" when they vanished. At this point she realised that, for Macbeth to be king, the present king would have to be murdered. (PROSE: The Empire of Glass)
Act II[]
In Act II Scene III of the earlier version, the Doctor and his companions arrived at Macbeth's castle with the intention of preventing his murder of the king after Jamie and Zoe had given him motive. However, the Doctor soon worked out that Macbeth had already slain the king. From a hiding place, they watched Macbeth speak with Macduff and Lenox as he told them the king was not yet stirring. Macduff discovered the king's body when he entered his chambers and, believing they might be blamed if caught, the Doctor and his friends left in the ensuing chaos. In the finished version, Macbeth framed two guards as the perpetrators of the crime.
At the end of the Act, at least in the early draft, a servant found the Doctor and Jamie and informed them that "King Macbeth" required their services. They followed the servant, leading into the next Act.
Act III[]
During Act III Scene I, Macbeth sat upon his throne and asked the Doctor and Jamie, as the former put it when explaining to the latter, if they were "unscrupulous" and "villains prepar'd to kill to please their king". The Doctor confirmed Macbeth's suspicions, quickly joined by Jamie, resulting in him ordering them to murder Banquo that night, who he felt threatened his rule due to Jamie's earlier prophecy.
In Act III Scene IV, Macbeth hosted a banquet with Lady Macbeth, Rosse, Lenox and the Doctor in attendance. Macbeth went over to the Doctor and asked if Banquo, as well as his son Fleance, had been "dispatched". The Doctor answered in the affirmative but this was not true because, in truth, Fleance was allowed to flee to Wales while Banquo had stayed behind to help convince Macbeth of his death with the help of a perception filter. At the Doctor's signal, Banquo appeared with a "face white with chalk" and sat in Macbeth's seat. He reacted in horror at the sight but nobody else could see Banquo, with the other guests urging him to take the "empty" space at the table. He then adjusted the perception filter and disappeared, leaving Macbeth to take his spot and toast to Banquo, a "dear friend whom [he] miss[ed]". Suddenly, Banquo reappeared, standing on the table, causing him to leap out of his seat in terror and spill his wine before quickly vanishing for a second time. Macbeth soon concluded the banquet after his experience and resolved to meet with the Weird Sisters again, which the Doctor realised was a reference to himself and his companions.
Act IV[]
This encounter occurred in Act IV Scene I. As Zoe had memorised the play Macbeth by heart, it was decided she would do most of the speaking while the Doctor and Jamie occasionally contributed. Macbeth "conjure[d]" them and, after Zoe put several ingredients into a cauldron, she warned him to beware Macduff. He asked for more and Zoe replied by telling Macbeth "none of woman born" would harm him and that he would not be vanquished until Great Birnam Wood came to Dunsinane Hill. As a final request, Macbeth sought to know if Banquo's issue would ever rule in the kingdom and, despite Zoe commanding him to "seek to know no more", she obliged and thanks to one of the Doctor's devices images of future Scottish kings appeared on the cave wall. They then disappeared, leaving Macbeth alone until Lenox came with a torch to greet him.
Lenox was asked by Macbeth if he had seen the Weird Sisters, to which he responded in the negative, but also brought him the news that Macduff had fled to England. This inspired Macbeth to surprise Macduff's castle and seize Fife, putting his wife and children to the sword in the process. Overhearing this conversation, the Doctor made sure to offer his and Jamie's services to Macbeth once again, a proposition which he accepted.
Act V[]
In the earlier draft of the play, Macbeth made his final appearance of the piece in Act V Scene III. With Jamie and the Doctor present, the latter posing as Lady Macbeth's physician, (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth) a role filled by another doctor in the finished version, (PROSE: The Empire of Glass, Managra) a servant informed Macbeth that there were ten thousand soldiers from England outside his castle. After the servant left, Macbeth asked the Doctor for an update on his wife's condition. He said she was "not so sick" but "troubled with thick coming fancies that [kept] her from rest". He asked him to cure her of the illness but the Doctor replied that he couldn't. Macbeth then left to fight the army, proclaiming he would not be "afraid of death and bane" until Great Birnan Wood came to Dunsinane. The Doctor told Jamie that Macbeth would "fight and lose" as he would not realise his men were massively outnumbered until it was too late due to the English forces camouflaging themselves with branches and leaves, thus fulfilling the prophecy.
In Act V Scene VIII, as the Doctor, Jamie and Zoe prepared to leave, Jamie noted the gates would not hold for much longer to which the Doctor confirmed that was "it for Macbeth". Zoe asked him if Shakespeare had got it right after all to which he responded "not quite", asking her to imagine how many more foul murders there would have been if they hadn't intervened. (PROSE: The True Tragedie of Macbeth)
The Adventures of Macbeth's Head saw Macbeth succeeded by Malcolm as King of Scotland. (PROSE: Managra) George Wallace compared Robert Dodds, the founder of Banquo Manor, to Macbeth by stating that, like the character, "his conscience got the better of him". (PROSE: The Banquo Legacy)
