ACT FIVE

SCENE FIVE

Macbeth: “Here let them lie

Till famine and the ague eat them up” (5. 5. 3-4).

Macbeth referencing the opposing army and is planning to leave them dying outside his castle because he predicts they will not be able to enter. This relates to the motif of sleep because death is often thought of as the eternal sleep. It also demonstrates Macbeth’s self-confidence and ruthlessness to his enemies. He believes that he will never be defeated by man and almost thinks himself immortal. This relates to the theme of the supernatural being able to control fate, and man is helpless in the fate of it. There is nothing Macbeth can do because his fate is already written.