(T.A.E.’s LitBites) – A modern retelling of Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Macbeth starts as a straight-up legend. He’s brave, loyal, and feared on the battlefield. Everyone knows his name, and for good reason—he just helped crush a rebellion and save Scotland. The king, Duncan, is thrilled. He praises Macbeth publicly and rewards him with a new title. Life is good. Or at least, it should be.

On the way home from the battle, Macbeth and his best friend Banquo run into three creepy figures hanging out in the middle of nowhere. They look like witches, talk like riddles, and act like they already know everything. They tell Macbeth two things: first, he’ll become Thane of Cawdor (a higher rank), and second, he’ll eventually be king. Then they turn to Banquo and say his kids will be kings—even though he won’t be. Before either guy can ask what’s going on, the witches vanish.

Macbeth laughs it off… until messengers arrive and announce that he is now Thane of Cawdor. Suddenly, the impossible feels very real. If the first prophecy came true, what about the second?

Macbeth writes to his wife, Lady Macbeth, telling her everything. She reads the letter and immediately locks in. She wants that crown—badly. And she doesn’t want to wait around for fate to make it happen. When she hears King Duncan is coming to stay at their castle, she sees her chance. She hypes herself up, calling on darkness to wipe out her guilt, and decides Duncan is not leaving alive.

Macbeth hesitates. A lot. He knows killing Duncan would be wrong on every level: Duncan trusts him, he’s a good king, and Macbeth would be destroying his own honour. But Lady Macbeth isn’t having it. She mocks his doubts, questions his courage, and basically says, “If you were really a man, you’d do this.” That hits hard. Macbeth gives in.

That night, Macbeth sneaks into Duncan’s room and stabs him while he sleeps. The moment after, everything feels off. Macbeth is shaking, panicking, hearing voices in his head. He can’t even bring himself to frame the guards properly. Lady Macbeth has to clean up his mess, smearing blood on the guards herself. She tells him to chill, wash his hands, and act normal. But Macbeth already knows—this isn’t something you just wash off.

The next morning, Duncan’s murder is discovered. Chaos explodes. Macbeth pretends to be furious and, in a move that looks emotional but is really calculated, kills the guards so they can’t defend themselves. Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, realize things don’t feel safe. They flee the country, which makes everyone suspicious of them. With no clear heir, Macbeth takes the throne.

Crown on his head. Guilt in his chest.

Macbeth should feel satisfied—but instead, he feels hunted by his own thoughts. He remembers the witches’ words about Banquo’s sons being kings. That eats at him. Macbeth hires assassins to kill Banquo and his son, Fleance. Banquo is murdered, but Fleance escapes. Once again, the plan is only half successful.

That night, at a royal banquet, Macbeth completely loses it. He sees Banquo’s ghost sitting in his chair, staring at him. No one else sees anything, but Macbeth starts spiralling—yelling, panicking, exposing his guilt without meaning to. Lady Macbeth tries to play it off, telling everyone her husband isn’t well, but the damage is done. People start to doubt him.

Macbeth goes back to the witches, desperate for answers. They give him more prophecies, each one sounding reassuring but hiding a trap. They say no man born of a woman can kill him. They say he’ll be safe until Birnam Wood moves to his castle. Feeling invincible, Macbeth becomes reckless and cruel. He orders the slaughter of Macduff’s family just to prove a point.

Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth is falling apart. The confidence that once powered her is gone. She starts sleepwalking, rubbing her hands like she’s washing off blood that isn’t there. “Out, damned spot,” she mutters. Her guilt eats her alive. Eventually, she dies—offstage, alone, and broken.

As enemies close in, Macbeth learns the prophecies weren’t promises—they were tricks. Malcolm’s army camouflages itself with branches from Birnam Wood, making it look like the forest is moving. Then Macduff confronts Macbeth and reveals the final twist: he wasn’t “born” in the usual way—he was delivered by surgery. The prophecy doesn’t protect Macbeth after all.

They fight. Macbeth is killed. Malcolm becomes king.

In the end, Macbeth’s story isn’t about destiny—it’s about choices. He wasn’t doomed by the witches. He was undone by ambition, insecurity, and the belief that power was worth more than his soul. And once he crossed that first line, there was no going back.