Here is the line-by-line paraphrase of Lady Macbeth’s monologue:

Original: ‘They met me in the day of success: and I have learned by the perfectest report, they have more in them than mortal knowledge.
Modern: ‘The witches appeared to me on my day of victory, and I learned from the most reliable sources that they possess supernatural knowledge.

Original: When I burned in desire to question them further, they made themselves air, into which they vanished.
Modern: When I desperately wanted to ask them more questions, they turned into air and disappeared.

Original: Whiles I stood rapt in the wonder of it, came missives from the king, who all-hailed me ‘Thane of Cawdor;’
Modern: While I stood there amazed by what had happened, messengers came from the king, greeting me as the new Thane of Cawdor.

Original: by which title, before, these weird sisters saluted me, and referred me to the coming on of time, with ‘Hail, king that shalt be!’
Modern: The witches had already called me by this exact title and told me about the future, saying ‘Hail to the future king!’

Original: This have I thought good to deliver thee, my dearest partner of greatness, that thou mightst not lose the dues of rejoicing, by being ignorant of what greatness is promised thee.
Modern: I wanted to share this news with you, my beloved partner in ambition, so you wouldn’t miss out on the joy of knowing what greatness awaits you.

Original: Lay it to thy heart, and farewell.’
Modern: Take this to heart, and goodbye.’

Original: Glamis thou art, and Cawdor; and shalt be What thou art promised:
Modern: You are already Lord of Glamis and Cawdor, and you will become what you’ve been promised—king.

Original: yet do I fear thy nature; It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness
Modern: But I worry about your character; you’re too filled with natural human compassion

Original: To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great;
Modern: To take the quickest path to power. You want to be great,

Original: Art not without ambition, but without The illness should attend it:
Modern: You do have ambition, but you lack the ruthless evil that should come with it.

Original: what thou wouldst highly, That wouldst thou holily;
Modern: What you want greatly, you want to achieve honorably.

Original: wouldst not play false, And yet wouldst wrongly win:
Modern: You don’t want to cheat, yet you want to win through wrong means.

Original: thou’ldst have, great Glamis, That which cries ‘Thus thou must do, if thou have it;
Modern: You want something, great Glamis, that demands ‘This is what you must do to get it,’

Original: And that which rather thou dost fear to do Than wishest should be undone.’
Modern: But you’re more afraid of doing what’s necessary than you wish it didn’t need to be done.

Original: Hie thee hither, That I may pour my spirits in thine ear;
Modern: Hurry home to me, so I can fill your mind with my determination

Original: And chastise with the valour of my tongue All that impedes thee from the golden round,
Modern: And use the power of my words to overcome everything that stands between you and the crown,

Original: Which fate and metaphysical aid doth seem To have thee crown’d withal.
Modern: Which fate and supernatural forces seem determined to place upon your head.

In Act I, Scene 1 of Macbeth, three witches meet on a heath during a thunderstorm. The scene opens with the First Witch asking when they shall meet again, and they agree to gather again when the battle currently being fought is over. They plan to encounter Macbeth at that time, chanting together about meeting him “upon the heath.” The witches speak in riddling language, declaring that “fair is foul, and foul is fair,” before preparing to depart through the fog and filthy air.

The brief scene establishes the supernatural presence that will influence the play’s events. The witches demonstrate their knowledge of current events, specifically referencing a battle and their intention to meet with Macbeth. They call to their familiar spirits - Graymalkin and Paddock - before vanishing. The scene serves as the play’s opening moment, introducing the witches who will later prophesy Macbeth’s fate and set the tragic events in motion.

Macbeth: Plot Summary

Macbeth, a Scottish general and Thane of Glamis, encounters three witches on a heath following a victorious battle against rebels and Norwegian invaders. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will become Thane of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland, and that his companion Banquo’s descendants will inherit the throne. When King Duncan almost immediately grants Macbeth the title of Thane of Cawdor, Macbeth begins to contemplate the possibility of fulfilling the rest of the prophecy. Urged on by his wife, Lady Macbeth, he murders King Duncan in his sleep while the king is a guest at their castle. Macbeth frames Duncan’s chamberlains for the murder, and Duncan’s sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, flee the country out of fear for their own lives, which causes them to fall under suspicion for their father’s death. Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland.

As king, Macbeth grows increasingly paranoid and ruthless. Troubled by the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s descendants will be kings, he arranges for Banquo and his son Fleance to be murdered. Banquo is killed, but Fleance escapes. At a royal banquet, Macbeth is visited by Banquo’s ghost, causing him to behave erratically in front of his assembled nobles. Lady Macbeth attempts to cover for her husband, but the dinner dissolves in confusion. Macbeth returns to the witches, who present him with new prophecies warning him to beware of Macduff, the Thane of Fife, but assuring him that no man born of woman can harm him, and that he will not be defeated until Birnam Wood marches to Dunsinane Hill. Taking comfort in what seem to be impossible conditions, Macbeth orders the massacre of Macduff’s castle, killing his wife and children.

Macduff has traveled to England to join Malcolm, Duncan’s son, and together they raise an army against Macbeth. Meanwhile, Lady Macbeth, tormented by guilt, descends into madness and ultimately dies, reportedly by her own hand. Malcolm’s army cuts down branches from Birnam Wood to use as camouflage as they march on Macbeth’s castle at Dunsinane, fulfilling one of the witches’ prophecies. In the ensuing battle, Macbeth encounters Macduff, who reveals that he was delivered by caesarean section and was therefore not, in the traditional sense, born of woman. Macduff kills Macbeth in combat. Malcolm is proclaimed the rightful King of Scotland and order is restored to the kingdom.