Want to know where Macbeth is set? Shakespeare’s Macbeth is set mainly in Scotland, with a couple of scenes set in England. The Scottish scenes range from Duncan’s camp at Forres, to Macbeth’s castles at Inverness and Dunsinane. And the scenes with the witches, though presumed in Scotland, are given no specific location by Shakespeare – simply referred to as “A desert place” or “A cavern”.
Shakespeare’s language during the some of the Scottish scenes suggest hell and evil. The English scenes, by contrast, indicate a saintly king who sends out his troops to conquor the dark forces that the Scottish king, Macbeth, represents. The play is set in ancient times and there was once a king called Macbeth, but Shakespeare has invented the character he presents in his play: he is nothing like the ancient king who bears his name.
The map below shows all the locations Shakespeare used for Macbeth, and below the map is a text list of the locations. When you click a pin on the map it opens to show all of the settings used within the location, using Shakespeare actual wording. You can zoom in on the map for a more detailed view of an area, click the icons on the map for more information, or use the list of all map pins below the Macbeth settings map: