"Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player…"
"Out, out, you brief flame! Life's just a walking shadow — a bad actor…"
Macbeth · Act 5, Scene 5
Tragedy · 1606
Macbeth, in Modern English
The full play, original text on one side, plain modern English on the other — every scene, free.
- Year
- 1606
- Genre
- Tragedy
- Setting
- Scotland, 11th century
- Acts & scenes
- 5 acts · 28 scenes
- Reading time
- ~2 hours
- Audio runtime
- ~1h 48m (in app)
What it's about
Macbeth is a tragedy about a Scottish general whose unchecked ambition and influence from supernatural forces lead him down a path of murder, tyranny, and eventual downfall.
Macbeth is a tragedy about a Scottish general whose unchecked ambition and influence from supernatural forces lead him down a path of murder, tyranny, and eventual downfall.
Study guide
Everything we have for Macbeth, all on one page.
Read
The full play, scene by scene, original beside modern English.
Characters
Who's who — and what each one wants.
Themes
What the play is about, beneath the plot.
Motifs & Symbols
Patterns Shakespeare keeps returning to.
Famous Quotes
The lines you know, paraphrased and explained.
Scene Summaries
What happens in each scene, and why it matters.
Quiz
Fifteen questions. No login.
About this Play
Year, setting, length, why people read it.
Read by scene
Tap any scene below to start reading.
Act I
- Scene 1. An open Place
- Scene 2. A Camp near Forres
- Scene 3. A heath
- Scene 4. Forres. A Room in the Palace
- Scene 5. Inverness. A Room in Macbeth’s Castle
- Scene 6. The same. Before the Castle
- Scene 7. The same. A Lobby in the Castle
Act II
- Scene 1. Inverness. Court within the Castle
- Scene 2. The same
- Scene 3. The same
- Scene 4. The same. Without the Castle
Act III
Act IV
- Scene 1. A dark Cave. In the middle, a Cauldron Boiling
- Scene 2. Fife. A Room in Macduff’s Castle
- Scene 3. England. Before the King’s Palace
Act V
- Scene 1. Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle
- Scene 2. The Country near Dunsinane
- Scene 3. Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle
- Scene 4. Country near Dunsinane, a Wood in view
- Scene 5. Dunsinane. Within the castle
- Scene 6. The same. A Plain before the Castle
- Scene 7. The same. Another part of the Plain
- Scene 8. The same. Another part of the field
Famous lines, translated
The ones you've heard. The ones you almost remember. Now in plain English.
"Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."
"Double the work, double the trouble; fire burns and the cauldron bubbles."
Witches · Act 4, Scene 1
In the app 
Hear every line of Macbeth, narrated.
Common questions
Is the modern English translation accurate?
Yes — every line is matched to its original. Our translations preserve meaning over cleverness: where Shakespeare uses a metaphor, we keep it; where the wordplay turns on a sound that no longer exists, we explain rather than fake it. This is a translation, not a summary.
How long does Macbeth take to read?
About 2 hours at a steady pace. With synced narration in the app, the runtime is roughly 1h 48m — and you can pause anywhere without losing your place.
Is the original text complete and unabridged?
Yes. We use the full public-domain First Folio text, with no cuts. The simplified column runs in parallel — every line of original Shakespeare has its modern English match.
Where can I listen to it?
Synced read-along narration is in the Fluid Shakespeare app on iOS and Android. Tap a line; press play; the words highlight as they're read. Get the app →