Macbeth Coloring Pages
Macbeth is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and one of his spookiest, set among the castles and misty moors of Scotland. Actors are so wary of it that many won't say its name inside a theatre and call it the Scottish Play instead. These pages follow the story from the witches' prediction to the day the right king finally gets his crown.
Jump to: Three Witches | The Dagger | Banquo | Lady Macbeth | The Forest
Three Witches Who Knew Too Much
Macbeth is a brave Scottish general, and he's walking home from a battle with his friend Banquo when three witches step out of the mist. They greet Macbeth as Thane of Cawdor, which he isn't yet, and then they tell him he'll be king. To Banquo they say his children will wear crowns one day even though he won't. Before either of them can ask a question the witches vanish, and soon a messenger arrives to say the king has just made Macbeth the new Thane of Cawdor. One prediction has already come true, so it's hard for Macbeth to stop thinking about the other.
A Dagger That Wasn't There
King Duncan is so pleased with Macbeth that he decides to visit his castle, and Macbeth has already written ahead to tell his wife about the witches. Lady Macbeth is clever and ambitious, and she doesn't want the prediction left to chance, so she talks Macbeth into a terrible plan for the night the king stays over. Macbeth isn't sure about it, and as he creeps through the dark castle he sees a dagger floating in the air with its handle pointing toward his hand. Nobody else can see it. By morning the king is gone and Macbeth has taken the crown, while Duncan's two sons run away from Scotland because they're afraid they could be next.
The Friend Who Wouldn't Stay Quiet
Banquo hasn't forgotten what the witches said about his children, and neither has Macbeth. Being king doesn't make him feel safe, so he hires two men to stop Banquo and his young son Fleance on the road. Banquo doesn't survive, but Fleance runs into the dark and gets away. That night Macbeth holds a grand feast, and Banquo's ghost turns up and sits down in the chair meant for the king. Only Macbeth can see him, so he ends up shouting at an empty seat in front of all his guests while Lady Macbeth does her best to explain.
Lady Macbeth Can't Wash Her Hands
Being king turns out to be lonely, and more and more people in Scotland start to turn against Macbeth. Lady Macbeth doesn't cope any better. She begins walking in her sleep, and a doctor and a maid watch her rub her hands together over and over, trying to scrub off a stain that nobody else can see. Macbeth goes back to the witches, who tell him that no man born of a woman can harm him and that he's safe until a forest comes walking up to his castle. Both promises sound impossible, which is exactly why he believes them.
A Forest Comes to Dunsinane
Macduff is a Scottish lord who's seen enough, so he travels to England to join Malcolm, the late king's son, who's been gathering an army. They march north together, and when they reach the woods near Macbeth's castle every soldier cuts a leafy branch to carry so the other side can't count them. From the castle walls it looks like the forest is walking. Macbeth still has the other promise to lean on, and he faces Macduff certain that nothing can touch him. Then Macduff tells him he wasn't born in the usual way, and the promise turns out to mean something quite different from what Macbeth thought. Macduff wins the fight, Malcolm is crowned king, and Scotland finally gets a quiet night's sleep.
