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I'm Nicola Cochlan, and for BBC Radio 4, this is history's youngest heroes, rebellion, risk and the radical power of youth.
She thought, right, I'll just do it.
She thought about others rather than herself.
Twelve stories of extraordinary young people from across history.
There's a real sense of urgency in them.
That resistance has to be mounted and it has to be mounted now.
Follow histories youngest heroes wherever you get your podcasts.
Hello, I'm Tim. Today's story was written as a play hundreds of years ago, and it's sometimes known as the Scottish play.
It involves fighting witches and a man called Macbeth.
We begin with three cackling witches who were meeting Macbeth, a Scottish nobleman who's been out fighting in a great battle.
The witches predict that he will become Thane of Cawdor and King of Scotland, and that the descendants of his friend Banquo will become kings.
What a prediction! Banquo thinks this is a joke, but Macbeth is excited by the idea, and guess what?
Macbeth is actually made Thane of Cawdor by King Duncan as a reward for his bravery.
Macbeth's wife, Lady Macbeth, who's back at home, hears of the news and decides to set out to help him become king too by any means she can.
. Firstly, she persuades him to kill King Duncan.
Macbeth does this by stabbing him in his sleep.
Nobody else knows who committed this murder, and so Macbeth is crowned King of Scotland.
So two out of the three witches' predictions have come true, but he's worried that the third prediction about Banquo's descendants becoming kings will also become true.
So, cruelly, he attempts to kill his friend Banquo's son.
However, Banquo's son escapes, and then Macbeth is haunted by Banquo's ghost and receives worrying predictions from the witches.
Everything swirls around in his head, and he is out of his mind with worry and fear that the truth about what he has done will get out.
Let's find out more about our story of Macbeth.
The brave soldier has somewhat unfairly become King of Scotland.
He'd been impressed by the witches' predictions coming true, but now he's troubled by what they're telling him.
Macbeth now becomes ruthless, killing people who he thinks are a threat.
He goes to the home of an important lord called Macduff.
He is out, but Macbeth kills the rest of his family.
Now Macduff is out to seek revenge and goes to join Malcolm at the court of the English king, Edward.
Malcolm and Macduff decide to lead an army against Macbeth.
Meanwhile, his wife, Lady Macbeth, can't stop thinking about the murder of King Duncan.
The guilt drives her crazy, and she dies but not before giving away her secrets to the doctor.
The truth about what Macbeth has done is now out.
Now Macduff organises a large army and sets out on a journey to Macbeth's castle.
There is a long sword fight between the two of them, but finally Macbeth gives out a loud cry, and his head is cut off.
A gory ending, but I suppose justice has been done.
And that's the end of this famous Shakespeare play.
I've left out some of the smaller details, but hopefully you understood this rather gruesome tale.
I'll see you again soon for another story.
Bye for now. Britain's brightest talent.
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