English LiteratureISC Class 12 · Macbeth (Acts III, IV & V)

Macbeth Act V: Sleepwalking, the 'Tomorrow' Soliloquy and the End (ISC Class 12)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

In Act V Lady Macbeth sleepwalks and relives the murders, and the doctor says her illness is beyond his practice. Macbeth, learning of her death, speaks the 'Tomorrow' soliloquy on life's meaninglessness. Birnam Wood advances, Macduff reveals he was not born in the usual way, and Macbeth dies fighting. Malcolm becomes king and restores order.

Follow the arrows: Lady Macbeth's guilt, the marching wood and Macbeth's despair lead to his fall and Malcolm's restored order.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Lady Macbeth's Breakdown and Macbeth's Despair (Macbeth, Act V)

The sleepwalking (V.i). A doctor and a gentlewoman watch Lady Macbeth rub her hands and relive the murders of Duncan, Lady Macduff and Banquo. She says 'Out, damned spot!' and 'all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand'. The doctor says 'This disease is beyond my practice'. Her illness is of the conscience, not the body.

The two armies (V.ii-iv). Scottish lords march to join the English force near Birnam Wood, saying Macbeth wears his title like a giant's robe on a dwarfish thief. Macbeth, relying on the prophecies, abuses a frightened servant. He admits that his life has 'fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf', without honour, love or friends, and asks the doctor to 'minister to a mind diseas'd'. Malcolm orders every soldier to cut a bough from Birnam Wood to hide their numbers.

The soliloquy (V.v). A cry tells Macbeth that the queen is dead. He answers 'She should have died hereafter' and speaks the 'Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow' speech: 'Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player, / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage', 'a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing'. A messenger reports that the wood is moving. Macbeth calls him 'Liar, and slave!' but begins to doubt 'th' equivocation of the fiend'.

The end (V.vii-viii). Macbeth kills young Siward. Macduff finds him; Macbeth boasts of his 'charmed life', but Macduff reveals that he was 'from his mother's womb / Untimely ripp'd'. Macbeth refuses to yield and is killed. Malcolm makes the thanes earls, calls Macbeth 'this dead butcher' and his wife a 'fiend-like queen' who, he reports, died by 'self and violent hands'. Order is restored at Scone.

What to analyse. Guilt (Lady Macbeth's mind breaks), the loss of meaning (Macbeth's speech), equivocation (Birnam Wood and the birth reveal) and the tragic arc: a brave man who keeps fighting although he knows he is doomed.

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

Here's the smell of the blood still: all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.
Lady Macbeth: Sleepwalking (V.i).
Guilt that cannot be washed away.
This disease is beyond my practice
Doctor: Watching Lady Macbeth (V.i).
Her illness is of the mind and conscience.
Life's but a walking shadow; a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
Macbeth: After hearing of the queen's death (V.v).
His despairing vision of life as brief and meaningless.

Lady Macbeth's Breakdown and Macbeth's Despair (Macbeth, Act V): key facts

Lady Macbeth then and now: III.iv commands the banquet
V.i sleepwalking, hands that cannot be cleaned
V.viii died by self and violent hands (Malcolm); A before-and-after pair for contrast questions.
The two prophecies fulfilled: Birnam Wood moves: soldiers carry boughs | None of woman born: Macduff untimely ripp'd; Both fulfil the words but not the hope.
Tomorrow soliloquy images: walking shadow
poor player
tale told by an idiot; Name the image, then the meaning.

III.iv	commands the banquet
V.i	sleepwalking, hands that cannot be cleaned
V.viii	died by self and violent hands (Malcolm)

How to answer Lady Macbeth's Breakdown and Macbeth's Despair (Macbeth, Act V) questions

Use this for 10-mark analysis of Act V.

1State a clear position.
2Make four or five points, each with an event.
3Support three of them with short quotations.
4Use soliloquy lines for the character's inner state.
5Conclude with Malcolm and order, within 200 to 250 words.

Lady Macbeth's Breakdown and Macbeth's Despair (Macbeth, Act V) in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Guilt that returns in quiet moments

Suppose a student secretly copies in a test and wins a prize, and later, though no one suspects him, he cannot sleep and keeps washing his hands before every meal.

What does his behaviour have in common with Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking in V.i?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Both are free of outside punishment.
Both are troubled by conscience.
The body repeats an act that cannot cleanse the mind.

Answer: Like Lady Macbeth, the student carries a guilt that no outer success removes. Her rubbing of hands and 'Out, damned spot!' show a conscience that works when she is asleep.

Memory hook: Guilt does not sleep.

Tricks to remember Lady Macbeth's Breakdown and Macbeth's Despair (Macbeth, Act V)

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

Spot, Shadow, Wood, Womb
V.i spot, V.v shadow, V.v-vi wood, V.viii womb.
Use it when: Key images of Act V in order.
Two false safeties
Born of woman? Wood moving?
Use it when: The two prophecies and their fulfilment.

Lady Macbeth's Breakdown and Macbeth's Despair (Macbeth, Act V): solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: The doctor's verdict · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

In her sleepwalking, what does Lady Macbeth say will not make her hand sweet?
(a) the waters of the sea (b) all the perfumes of Arabia (c) the oil of the king (d) the smoke of Dunsinane

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

She says 'all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand' (1 mark).
The image shows guilt that no luxury can remove.

Answer: (b) all the perfumes of Arabia.

Example 2: Macbeth's reaction to the moving wood · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonBoard level

Complete the sentence: When a messenger reports that Birnam Wood is moving, Macbeth calls him 'Liar, and slave!' because ____

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The prophecy said he was safe until the wood came to Dunsinane (0.5).
He cannot believe the impossible has happened (0.5).

Answer: he trusts the prophecy that the wood would not move, and refuses to believe the news.

Example 3: Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking (5 marks) · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level

How does the sleepwalking scene show the effect of guilt on Lady Macbeth? Write about:

what she does and says
how it contrasts with her earlier character

(100-150 words)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Bullet 1: hand-rubbing, Out damned spot, perfumes of Arabia (2).
Bullet 2: contrast with banquet control (2).
Conclusion (1).

Answer: In V.i Lady Macbeth sleepwalks, rubs her hands and relives the murders of Duncan, Lady Macduff and Banquo. She cries 'Out, damned spot!' and says that all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten her little hand. These actions show a conscience that cannot be washed clean. In III.iv, by contrast, she controlled the banquet, explained away Macbeth's fit and sent the guests away. The woman who once dismissed guilt as easily washed away is now broken by it. The doctor's remark that the disease is beyond his practice confirms that her trouble is of the mind. The scene therefore shows that guilt, suppressed during the day, destroys her at night.

Example 4: The 'Tomorrow' soliloquy (5 marks) · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level

What view of life does Macbeth express after hearing of his wife's death? Support with two images. (100-150 words)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

His reaction: She should have died hereafter (1).
Walking shadow and poor player (2).
Tale told by an idiot (1).
Meaning: despair (1).

Answer: On hearing that the queen is dead Macbeth says 'She should have died hereafter', and then reflects that life is empty. He calls life 'a walking shadow', something unreal that passes, and 'a poor player, That struts and frets his hour upon the stage', an actor who makes a noise for a short time and is then forgotten. He adds that it is 'a tale Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, Signifying nothing'. The images show his despair: ambition, power and crime have left him without honour, love or friends, as he admitted earlier. The speech shows a man who has lost all sense of meaning, yet he still goes out to fight.

Example 5: Is Macbeth fighting a lost battle? (5 marks) · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

Do you agree that Macbeth is fighting a lost battle against forces beyond his control? Answer with reference to Act V. (100-150 words)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Position: partly (1).
Forces beyond control: prophecies, Birnam Wood, birth of Macduff (2).
Own responsibility: ambition, crimes (1).
Conclusion (1).

Answer: I agree only partly. Macbeth's final battle does look lost from the start: Birnam Wood seems to move, as Malcolm's soldiers carry boughs, and Macduff, who was 'from his mother's womb Untimely ripp'd', is not 'of woman born' in the usual sense. The prophecies seem to close every way out. However, these forces were created by his own choices. He killed Duncan and Banquo, ordered the killing of Macduff's family and trusted the apparitions because of overconfidence. The witches only spoke in double meanings; Macbeth chose to act. His refusal to yield shows courage, but it is courage in a cause he has made hopeless. So the battle is lost mainly because of his own ambition and cruelty.

Where students lose marks in Lady Macbeth's Breakdown and Macbeth's Despair (Macbeth, Act V)

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Writing that Lady Macbeth sleepwalks in Act IV
The sleepwalking scene is V.i.
Wrong working
In IV.i Lady Macbeth sleepwalks.
Right working
In V.i, at Dunsinane, a doctor and a gentlewoman watch her sleepwalk.
Do this: Learn V.i = sleepwalking.
Usually costs: 1 mark
Mistake: Narrating the battle without analysis
The syllabus tests understanding and analysis.
Wrong working
A line-by-line story of V.v to V.viii.
Right working
Four or five points on guilt, equivocation, meaning and order, each with a quotation.
Do this: Start each paragraph with the idea.
Usually costs: 3 to 4 of 10 marks
Mistake: Treating the prophecies as lies
They come true literally.
Wrong working
The witches told lies.
Right working
The words come true in a way Macbeth did not expect: equivocation.
Do this: Use the word 'equivocation'.
Usually costs: 1 to 2 marks
Mistake: Quoting the Tomorrow speech inaccurately
Words changed in memory lose marks for evidence.
Wrong working
Life is a tale told by a fool.
Right working
'a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing'.
Do this: Learn the exact lines.
Usually costs: 1 mark

Exam tips

For Lady Macbeth always set III.iv against V.i.
Learn the exact words of the 'Tomorrow' speech.
Show Macbeth's courage and his despair together.
Use 'equivocation' for Birnam Wood and 'not of woman born'.
Keep a 10-mark answer to 200-250 words with a clear position.

Practice questions on Lady Macbeth's Breakdown and Macbeth's Despair (Macbeth, Act V)

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
Who describes Macbeth as wearing his title like a giant's robe on a dwarfish thief?
(a) Malcolm (b) A Scottish lord (c) Macduff (d) The doctor
Hint
V.ii, the lords marching to Birnam Wood.
Answer
(b) One of the Scottish lords in V.ii.
Q2 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Why does Malcolm order each soldier to cut a bough from Birnam Wood, and what does this have to do with the prophecy? (100-150 words)
Hint
Hide numbers; fulfil the words.
Answer
In V.iv Malcolm orders every soldier to cut a bough from Birnam Wood and carry it so that Macbeth's scouts cannot judge the size of his army. This is a sensible military device. It also fulfils the third apparition's promise that Macbeth would not be vanquished until Birnam Wood came to Dunsinane, because from a distance the advancing army looks like a moving wood. The prophecy is therefore true in a way Macbeth did not expect, which is the 'equivocation of the fiend' that he later mentions. The episode shows Malcolm as a capable general and shows how the witches' words deceive by their literal sense.
Q3 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Describe Macbeth's state of mind in V.iii. What does he mean by asking the doctor to 'minister to a mind diseas'd'? (100-150 words)
Hint
Sere, yellow leaf; servant; doctor.
Answer
In V.iii Macbeth is outwardly confident because he trusts the prophecies, but his state of mind is troubled. He abuses a frightened servant, which shows his irritability, and admits that his way of life has 'fall'n into the sere, the yellow leaf', meaning that he is old in spirit and has no honour, love or friends. When he asks the doctor to 'minister to a mind diseas'd', he is asking about his wife, but the words apply to him as well: his own mind is sick with guilt and fear. The speech shows a man who has lost peace even while he seems secure.
Q4 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
How does Malcolm's closing speech restore order? Do you think the play ends on a hopeful note? (100-150 words)
Hint
Earls, dead butcher, Scone; and the Tomorrow speech.
Answer
Malcolm's closing speech restores order by rewarding the thanes, making them earls, by calling Macbeth 'this dead butcher' and his wife a 'fiend-like queen', and by inviting all to his coronation at Scone. Scotland again has a rightful king, and the tyranny ends. The ending is therefore hopeful politically. Yet the play also leaves a darker thought behind in Macbeth's 'Tomorrow' soliloquy, which describes life as a tale told by an idiot, signifying nothing. The hope is also limited: Malcolm describes Lady Macbeth as dying by 'self and violent hands', and the cost of the struggle has been heavy. I think the ending is hopeful for the country but sad for the individuals.
Q5 · 5 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Compare Lady Macbeth in III.iv with Lady Macbeth in V.i to show how her character changes. (100-150 words)
Hint
Command, then collapse.
Answer
In III.iv Lady Macbeth is in command. When Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost, she says that he has had such fits since youth and sends the guests away at once. She is quick-witted and controls the court. By V.i she is a different person. She sleepwalks, rubs her hands and relives the murders of Duncan, Lady Macduff and Banquo, saying 'Out, damned spot!' and that all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten her hand. Her self-control has gone, and the doctor says the disease is beyond his practice. The change shows that guilt which she suppressed in public destroys her in private, and it moves us to pity: Malcolm later reports that she died by 'self and violent hands'.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Who watch Lady Macbeth sleepwalk?Show answer
A doctor and a gentlewoman.
2.What does Macbeth say when told the queen is dead?Show answer
'She should have died hereafter'.
3.How did the army hide its numbers?Show answer
Each soldier cut a bough from Birnam Wood.
4.How was Macduff born, according to himself?Show answer
'from his mother's womb Untimely ripp'd'.
5.Where is Malcolm's coronation to be held?Show answer
Scone.
6.Who kills Macbeth?Show answer
Macduff.

Lady Macbeth's Breakdown and Macbeth's Despair (Macbeth, Act V): frequently asked questions

Where is the Tomorrow soliloquy?

In Act V, scene v.

Does Lady Macbeth's death happen on stage?

No, a cry is heard and Macbeth is told the queen is dead; Malcolm later says she died by self and violent hands.

Why is the Act V soliloquy important in exams?

The soliloquy and Lady Macbeth's breakdown are central to the tragic arc, so they are frequently set for analysis in ISC questions.

Who becomes king at the end?

Malcolm.