Macbeth

By William Shakespeare

Read & Co. Classics presents this new beautiful edition of William Shakespeare's iconic play, "Macbeth". Featuring a specially commissioned new biography of William Shakespeare, it is a must for Shakespeare enthusiasts and newcomers alike. “Macbeth” is undoubtedly Shakespeare’s darkest play. On a moor, three witches appear to Macbeth, and prophesise his fate to become Scotland’s King. Macbeth embraces his greed and lust for power to fulfil his destiny by the most scandalous of means, fuelled by his wife’s cold ambition. Guilt and madness take their toll in this atmospheric, psychological and sinister tale. William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) was an English playwright, poet, and actor. He is considered to be the greatest writer in the English language and is celebrated as the world's most famous dramatist.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Feb 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781473370500

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare (1564–1616) is arguably the most famous playwright to ever live. Born in England, he attended grammar school but did not study at a university. In the 1590s, Shakespeare worked as partner and performer at the London-based acting company, the King’s Men. His earliest plays were Henry VI and Richard III, both based on the historical figures. During his career, Shakespeare produced nearly 40 plays that reached multiple countries and cultures. Some of his most notable titles include Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar. His acclaimed catalog earned him the title of the world’s greatest dramatist.

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MACBETH

By

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

MACBETH

A Tragedy

By

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

First published in 1623

This edition is published by Classic Books Library

an imprint of Read Books Ltd.

Copyright © 2018 Read Books Ltd.

This book is copyright and may not be

reproduced or copied in any way without

the express permission of the publisher in writing

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available

from the British Library

Contents

William Shakespeare

DRAMATIS PERSONÆ

ACT I.

SCENE I. An Open Place. Thunder and Lightning.

SCENE II. A Camp Near Forres.

SCENE III. A Heath.

SCENE IV. Forres. A Room in the Palace.

SCENE V. Inverness. A Room in Macbeth's Castle.

SCENE VI. The Same. Before the Castle.

SCENE VII. The Same. A Lobby in the Castle.

ACT II.

SCENE I. Inverness. Court Within the Castle.

SCENE II. The Same. Without the Castle.

ACT III.

SCENE I. Forres. A Room in the Palace.

SCENE II. The Same. Another Room in the Palace.

SCENE III. The Same. A Park or Lawn, with a Gate Leading to the Palace.

SCENE IV. The Same. A Room of State in the Palace. A Banquet Prepared.

SCENE V. The Heath.

SCENE VI. Forres. A Room in the Palace.

ACT IV.

SCENE I. A Dark Cave. In the Middle, a Caldron Boiling.

SCENE II. Fife. A Room in Macduff's Castle.

SCENE III. England. Before the King's Palace.

ACT V.

SCENE I. Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle.

SCENE II. The Country Near Dunsinane.

SCENE III. Dunsinane. A Room in the Castle.

SCENE IV. Country Near Dunsinane: a Wood in View.

SCENE V. Dunsinane. Within the Castle.

SCENE VI. The Same. A Plain Before the Castle.

SCENE VII. The Same. Another Part of the Plain.

SCENE VIII. The Same. Another Part of the Field.

TO THE MEMORY OF MY BELOVED

THE AUTHOR, MR. WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

By BEN JONSON

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare, as any reader of this book will presumably know, was an English poet, playwright and actor, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language - and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Referred to as England's national poet, and the 'Bard of Avon', his extant works, including some collaborations, consist of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and a few other verses, (some with unconfirmed authorship). Few records of Shakespeare's private life survive, and there has been considerable speculation about matters as wide ranging as his physical appearance, sexuality and religious beliefs.

William Shakespeare was the son of John Shakespeare, an alderman and a successful glover originally from Snitterfield, and Mary Arden, the daughter of an affluent landowning farmer. He was born in Stratford-upon-Avon and baptised there on 26th April 1564. His actual date of birth remains unknown, but is traditionally observed on 23rd April, Saint George's Day. Although no attendance records for the period survive, biographers agree that Shakespeare was probably educated at the King's New School in Stratford, a free school chartered in 1553, about a quarter-mile from his home. Grammar schools varied in quality during the Elizabethan era, but grammar school curricula were largely similar. Basic Latin education had been standardised by royal decree, and the school would have provided an intensive education in grammar based upon Latin classical authors.

At the age of eighteen, Shakespeare married the twenty-six year old Anne Hathaway (who was pregnant at the time), with whom he had three children: Susanna, and twins, Hamnet and Judith. After the birth of the twins, Shakespeare left few historical traces until he is mentioned as part of the London theatre scene in 1592. The exception is the appearance of his name in the 'complaints bill' of a law case before the Queen's Bench court at Westminster, dated Michaelmas Term 1588 and 9th October 1589. Between 1585 and 1592, he began a successful career in London as an actor, writer, and part-owner of a playing company called the Lord Chamberlain's Men, later known as the King's Men. By 1598, his name had become enough of a selling point to appear on the title pages.

Shakespeare continued to act in his own and in other plays after his success as a playwright. The 1616 edition of Ben Jonson's Works names him on the cast lists for Every Man in His Humour (1598) and Sejanus His Fall (1603). During this time, Shakespeare divided his time between London and Stratford, and in 1596 bought ‘New Place’ as his family home in Stratford, whilst retaining a property in Bishopsgate, North of the river Thames. He moved across the river to Southwark by 1599, the year his company constructed the Globe Theatre there. By 1604, Shakespeare had moved north of the river again, to an area north of St Paul's Cathedral with many fine houses. He appears to have retired to Stratford around 1613 at the age of forty-nine, where he died three years later.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the sixteenth century. The first recorded works of Shakespeare are Richard III and the three parts of Henry VI, written in the early 1590s during a vogue for historical drama. Shakespeare's plays are difficult to date however, and studies of the texts suggest that Titus Andronicus, The Comedy of Errors, The Taming of the Shrew and The Two Gentlemen of Verona may also belong to Shakespeare's earliest period. Shakespeare's early classical and Italianate comedies, containing tight double plots and precise comic sequences, give way in the mid-1590s to the romantic atmosphere of his greatest comedies. A Midsummer Night's Dream, one of his earliest comedies, is a witty mixture of romance, fairy magic, and comic lowlife scenes.

Reviews for Macbeth

[sdtaylor555 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm not a big Shakespeare fan, so I won't rate any of his works very high

[jfoster_sf · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Classic tragedy.

[jonfaith · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
And falls on the other.

Last winter I heard a report on NPR about Stalin's dacha in Sochi. Such featured some curious design features including a bulletproof sofa with extended headrests that prevented his head being exposed from behind to an assassin. The curtains were also shorter in length from the top to prevent someone from hiding from behind them. As I drove I mused as to what sort of world-view would emerge from someone's sense of self and safety?

The Bard's tale chooses not to address the policy of Macbeth but rather allows him only time to address his version of destiny in such a spirited supernatural environment. Macbeth is a rushed affair. It lacks the splendid pacing of Hamlet. Apparently Fortune favors the breathless as the narrative steps are sprinted and obstacles leaped like some wonky Wuxia. Despite all the gore, there isn't a great deal of introspection or even calculation. Such is strange but not so much as some things one finds on the Heath.(postscript: I just watched the Patrick Stewart led PBS film version: it was simply an avalanche.)

[meandmybooks-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my favorites! Macbeth's corruption, Lady Macbeth's savage ambition, the deliciously spooky menace of the witches... It's just such fun! And perfect late October reading (I could pretend that I fell behind in my “All Shakespeare in a Year” reading just so Macbeth would fall at the right time of year.)I've read this quite a few times before – my kids acted in an adapted version when they were small, in which “the Curse” was demonstrated when our Macbeth tripped and split his forehead on the edge of the cauldron, and my daughter was the cutest little witch ever – and, as with most great literature, the play just gets better with each reading. This time I supplemented my reading with Garry Wills's “Witches and Jesuits,” which, while perhaps a bit overstated in its claims, is interesting and pointed me to some aspects I'd previously missed, and also Marjorie Garber's wonderful chapter on the play in her “Shakespeare After All.” The Arkangel recording, with Hugh Ross and Harriet Walter (and David Tennant as the porter!) is marvelous, and, as a fun “extra” I watched the Shakespeare Retold version, in which Macbeth is a very ambitious head chef in a popular restaurant. Highly recommended.

[atothel · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Classic. My favorite SS play.

[bookomaniac-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

1606, Shakespeares meest intense tragedie, confrontatie met de kracht van het kwaad.Ook zijn kortste stuk, sterk geconcentreerd. Doordrenkt met demonische energie (via woorden als duisternis en bloed).“Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player/ that struts and frets his hour upon the stage/ and then is heard no more: it is a tale / told by an idiot, full of sound and fury / Signifying nothing”.Spijtig van het zeer flauwe einde.

[regularguy5mb · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Dark and supernatural, Macbeth is one of my favorite of Shakespeare's tragedies. One of the biggest questions I always ask is, "Would the weird sisters' prophecies come to pass even if Macbeth hadn't gone all murder crazy?"Macbeth is a great cautionary tale of the dangers of ambition, especially when it comes to power. Shakespeare explores what lengths men will go to for power, especially when they believe it is owed them.Adding this copy to my Little Free Library in hopes that someone in the neighborhood can learn something from it, especially as certain phrases remind me of the current political climate and I know the way my neighbors tend to vote.

[m.belljackson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

MACBETH ranks with A Midsummer Night's Dream as my favorite Shakespeare.It deals with how we all face Evil, the consequences within and without.The opening lines, here and in Roman Polanski's indelible film, often stay with readers foreveras do so many other memorable words, fears, and actions.The only reason for not ranking it a Five Star-Plus book is MacDuff.Like his wife, I still can figure out no logical reason for leaving his wife and children behindwhile he flees to England. And why did he not tell his cousin to hide or bring them when the cousin stopped to see them?Ideas welcome.

[rosamie.bautista · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Opening with the prophecies of the three witches always caught my imagination. I love how the story relates to that throughout the play, and also how Macbeth is intrigued that he may indeed become king. It adds a great, dramatic effect. Beginning to end this is a brilliantly written play.

[barb_h_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Audiobook. It was done like a play and very enjoyable =)

[judithrs · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Macbeth; Complete Study Edition. William Shakespeare, edited by Sidney Lamb. As soon as I found out the Shakespeare Festival was putting on Macbeth, I knew I wanted to see it, but I held back when I found out this production was to be set in a post-apocalyptic society. I have always wanted Shakespeare the way I think “it’s ‘sposed to be.” But the more I thought about it, the more intrigued I was. So when I decided to see it, I decided to re-read it, and I am glad I did. This is good edition for people like me who haven’t read Shakespeare. There are plenty of explanatory notes that explain the history surrounding the play and the unfamiliar vocabulary.

[john257hopper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Haven't read this since school. Thundering great stuff, and the witches are magnificent. 5/5

[sedelia_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Macbeth is one of the greatest plays ever written, and it is my personal favorite of Shakespeare's works. This rendition is different in that it's the story of a man in a psychiatric unit who channels the story of Macbeth. This play is uniquely suited to this type of portrayal due to Macbeth's transformation and corruption. He only gets worse, which can be mirrored by a mentally insane person having an episode.Alan Cumming does a brilliant job in narrating. While I don't think it comes close to what this portrayal must have been like on stage, he is still a great narrator. Unfortunately, there is nothing that suggests the context of a man in an insane asylum channeling Shakespeare's characters; either the listener has to imagine it for herself or simply take it as a reading of the play. Cumming does a good job in giving each character individuality, and the parts with the witches gave me the chills -- the editing is perfectly done so that his voice echoes three times to match the characters.I do think that only those familiar with Macbeth can get much out of this. Any work of Shakespeare is hard to understand as an audiobook, especially with only one person narrating. Those unfamiliar with the story of Macbeth are likely to get confused. Likewise, any people out there who can't understand a Scottish accent may have trouble following along. But for those who are familiar with Macbeth and don't have a problem with understanding accents, you will love this.

[cbl_tn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don't recall reading Macbeth since high school, yet as I listened to the audio version I found myself quoting lines along with the actors. The play seems like it's full of cliches, yet it's the source for phrases like “vaulting ambition”, “a charmed life”, “be-all and end-all”, and “milk of human kindness”. Reader that I am, I also caught several book titles “borrowed” from its lines: Borrower of the Night (Elizabeth Peters), Look to the Lady (Margery Allingham), Light Thickens (Ngaio Marsh), By the Pricking of My Thumbs (Agatha Christie), Something Wicked This Way Comes (Ray Bradbury), The Sound and the Fury (William Faulkner). I'm a long-time fan of the TV series All Creatures Great and Small, so it was a little disconcerting to hear Siegfried Farnon (i.e., Robert Hardy) in the role of Duncan. That aside, it's an exciting dramatization of one of Shakespeare's most famous plays.

[veilofisis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

‘Let it come down.’Macbeth is a remarkably saturnine, poisonous play: a thread of muddy doom is woven through the fabric of its plot, and any hint of redemption obscured by dark, threatening clouds. That its skeleton is constructed with certain stock materials—vaulting ambition punished, the insidious and cruel female, the equivocal and often deleterious nature of prophecy—is curious given its transcendence of the maudlin trappings of most of these sorts of tragedies: Macbeth takes place, after all, on a somewhat epic-scale; unlike similar fictions, however, it doesn’t squeeze in its more human elements as mere padding between its battle scenes: the play is its human elements. Despite the conspicuous spilling of blood and the sometimes convoluted machinations of its political contexts, Macbeth is truly a tragedy of the soul.Relationships are strained here; and that of Lady Macbeth and her husband is, obviously, the most interesting and complex Shakespeare is offering: the veil between sanity and madness is delicate in a play where guilt is consistently put further on the backburner as the atrocities pile up. Lady Macbeth, seemingly a seething black hole of corruption and evil, provides us with an interesting contrast to the slow devolution of her husband: her own guilt manifests behind the curtain of consciousness, only reaching its climax offstage, where her (implied) suicide—and its motivation—remains somewhat mysterious and open to interpretation. Macbeth, on the other hand, remains unrepentant to the last, and we are treated to his gruesome undoing in exacting detail. Shakespeare has loaded the duality that exists in both of these characters with a great deal of psychological weight: the tension that boils between them is more complex than murderer and accessory (and we can pick who fits which title). Lady Macbeth’s convictions exist undeterred until she is confronted with their ramifications after-the-fact; Macbeth’s own convictions waver in the face of forethought, but once the transaction has been purchased with blood, he stands behind them, unwavering, to his very death. A haunted couple, they have become archetypes in our literature.Macbeth’s relationship with Banquo is less baroque. Banquo provides a foil of reason to Macbeth’s decline: Banquo represents the innocent who stands on the just side of fate, while Macbeth rises heavenwards, like Icarus, chasing destiny with dire results. This begs a question, however: how much of what takes place in Macbeth is solely the work of destiny? Certainly one can say that the prophecies regarding both Banquo and Macbeth coming to their fruition is confirmation of the play’s propensity towards the supernatural, but of Macbeth’s pursuit of fate…this is more curious: after all, why plot to kill Duncan and make yourself king if the cards have already been laid out towards this end? Or are Macbeth’s crimes exactly what the prophecy infers? This question could be argued in circles, certainly, because it exists beyond the constraints of the play. Macbeth’s vision is very dark, however, and I would lean towards the latter conclusion: predestination requires a fated evil as much as a fated good, and we do not always find ourselves in the position to choose. This is one of the more troubling truths examined in Macbeth.Macbeth is obsessed with the supernatural: with fate, with visions, with incantation, with prophecy. It is entirely natural, then, that its characters should be shrouded in the gloom of uncertainty: each of these people is swallowed up by the fog that surrounds them, whether for eventual good or ill. None of them leave this play without experiencing shattering transformation, both internal and external. But the play goes beyond average considerations in pursuit of more metaphysical themes: it suffocates us with its horrors and leaves us disconcerted by their import—chews at our hopes as much as at our fears. It implies, without beating us over the head, that perhaps free will is a more complicated privilege than we’d care to admit: that perhaps even that most elemental of freedoms is subject, somehow, to the caprices of fate.

[jcbrunner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Having just read a biography about the bard, I read or better re-read the tragedy of Macbeth. Its strength lies in the fantastic special effects. Witches, ghosts and woods grab the attention much more than the bloody body count. While Macbeth and Lady Macbeth have become stock characters, they lack the inherent ambivalence that makes Shakespeare’s villains great. Mr and Mrs Macbeth are but a greedy power couple that loses control of the events it triggered. Incidentally, the tragedy of Macbeth nearly passes the Bechdel test – if only he had given names to the witches or created a female sidekick for Lady Macbeth. The visual nature of the play really calls for the theater not a reading.

[shanaqui_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read Macbeth when I was younger -- year seven or so -- and watched some kind of adaptation of it made for TV. I didn't remember it well enough to do any kind of review (and Shakespeare is usually too recent for me, and irrelevant for my purposes, since he never touched on the Matter of Britain). Anyway, I had a long car journey today, and a pound or two left of a gift certificate, so I bought myself Macbeth and Hamlet for my Kindle.

I still don't like reading plays, but it is funny when reading Shakespeare's plays to realise how often they're quoted by everyone, often by people who don't know what they're quoting. My cousin quoted Shakespeare at dinner today: I'm not sure he's ever read a book in his life.

Macbeth is a powerful play, even just in text, and I wish I could see it performed.

[seraphinac.b4 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Macbeth and Banquo defeat two armies of enemies. Later three witches appear and prophesy that Macbeth will become a thane of Cawdor, eventually the king of Scotland, and Banquo will beget a line of Scottish kings. Unsure, neither of them are too concerned. When things are starting to come true, Macbeth tells his wife the good news. Lady Macbeth wants her husband to kill Duncan, the king, so that the rest of the prophecy will come true. Macbeth would become king if the present king "died". He stabs Duncan and the two watchers. Fearful that Banquo's heirs might inherit the throne, he hires murderers to kill him and his son Fleance. Fleance has escaped death and becomes Prince of England. He raises an army and fights Macbeth. Macbeth is killed and beheaded. This play was entertaining and had some rhyming. It was easier to read than most Shakespeare plays because it didn't have many characters. It was a quick read. It only took a few days. It was violent and not happy but understanding. I could read this book again. I would recommend this book to anyone 6th grade and up.

[gbill_7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

That Bill Shakespeare could really write a play. 400 years later, Macbeth still more than holds up. I love this one for how lean and taut it is. It grabs you from the start, with the valorous Scottish Thane Macbeth receiving a prophecy from three witches that he will one day be King. Egged on and aided by his wife, he later kills King Duncan and assumes the throne. Guilt and paranoia lead to more violence, and of course violence begets violence. The play is dark, tragic, and lasting.There are many memorable scenes here, including Lady Macbeth sleepwalking, but for me, the three witches steal the show. Who can forget “double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble”?There was a real Macbeth, King of Scotland from 1040 to 1057, who killed then King Duncan at the battle of Elgin, and who was later himself killed by Malcolm Canmore, Duncan’s son, with help from England’s King Edward the Confessor. Shakespeare used the material 550 years later when the English and Scottish thrones were united under James I, following Elizabeth’s death, to curry favor with James. He delivered the goods. I loved this particular edition, with its 81 page introduction, including among other things illustrations of baroque art from the time period, Caravaggio and Bernini, to help illustrate the comparison to this baroque drama. The footnotes included in the text of the play are detailed, taking up a good fraction of each page, and very helpful. This would be a good book to start with for someone new to Shakespeare.Quotes:On guilt:“Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this bloodClean from my hand? No – this my hand will ratherThe multitudinous seas incarnadine, Making the green one red.”On the transience of life:“She should have died hereafter;There would have been a time for such a word – Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,To the last syllable of recorded time;And all our yesterdays have lighted foolsThe way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle,Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor playerThat struts and frets his hour upon the stage,And then is heard no more. It is a taleTold by an idiot, full of sound and furySignifying nothing.”Lastly this one, from the witches, so morbid, such great imagery:“Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,Witch’s mummy, maw and gulfOf the ravined salt-sea shark;Root of hemlock, digged i’th’dark;Liver of blaspheming Jew,Gall of goat, and slips of yewSlivered in the moon’s eclipse;Nose of Turk, and Tartar’s lips;Finger of birth-strangled babeDitch-delivered by a drab:Make the gruel thick and slab;Add thereto a tiger’s chawdron,For th’ ingredience of our cauldron.”

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I think this is one which needs to be seen. It seemed very slow to me, aside from the bits with murder and ghosts.

[joles_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is one of my absolute favorite plays by Shakespeare. The "Scottish Play" contains the supernatural, riddles and memorable quotes. It is a testament about the times and a warning to those that would deceive others to get what they want. This play is a must read/see!

[benmartin79 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Shakespeare is, it goes almost without saying, likely the greatest English author ever. No one else uses the language quite as well as he does. And of all his plays, Macbeth is by far my favorite. It's short and to the point, it has one of the strongest moral messages of any of his plays, contains some of his best character development in the Lord and Lady Macbeth, and it is elegantly written, posessing several of Shakespeare's most impressive soliloquies and an excellent example of his abilities at duplicitous wordplay.

[liammurrray · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed reading this play write even after the 1st time reading it a few years earlier. Although much of the language is hard to understand as it is written by Shakespeare in a complete different time period, it expresses an awesome story about the corruption of power. Initially, Macbeth is a character of the most heroic attributes, and his first acts present him as a very noble man. It is sad to see him be brought to his downfall after his wife brings the dark side out of him and herself as well. The corruption of having a great deal of power is presented by this play, and Macbeth is brought to his death because of this pursuit of power. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Shakespeareian plays or the history of the Middle Ages.

[jacketscoversread · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

“Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn and cauldron bubble!” {pg. 82}Comprised of five acts, The Tragedy of Macbeth starts as three witches agree to meet up again after a battle is fought. Originally, Macbeth starts off being portrayed as a hero, having led King Duncan’s forces successfully in battle, and hence will get a new title. The witches flatter his ego by telling him of the titles he will receive - more than he could ever have hoped - and that he will become king, ultimately.From then on, Macbeth and his wife, Lady Macbeth become ‘evil’, and pursue the witches’ prediction, and plot to kill Duncan. They have become greedy from the prediction. The play then follows their corruption, the murders they commit, and their ultimate downfall.I prefer to watch Shakespeare’s plays rather than read them, especially when they’re very long. Lucky for me, The Tragedy of Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s shortest plays and probably has the easiest message to comprehend-the corrupted nature of power and greed, and the terrible affects it can have. However, The Tragedy of Macbeth is Shakespeare’s equivalent of a summer blockbuster. Entertaining with lots of action (fight scenes, murder), oddities (witches, ghosts, prophesies, hallucinations, and insanity) but poor character development and nothing intellectual to take from the play.

[hamburgerclan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

My daughter has shamed me a bit in recent months. She's been on a Shakespeare kick--purchasing his works here and there from book sales and the like. Me, I've read a couple of plays and seen one or two others on television. I've never got around to reading these treasures of English literature. It was this shame, and the need to find a book that would fit in my lunch box, that led me to check out Shakespeare's Macbeth. 'Tis the tale of a Scottish thane or chieftain who, tempted by a cryptic prophecy, murders his king and tries to cover it up. There is much bloodshed and guilt, all set in iambic pentameter. The story was enjoyable enough, though I have to confess, I read through the synopsis before attempting to tackle the 17th Century English. (This, the Oxford School Shakespeare edition, is chock full of notes to help us poor students along in our studies.) Reading it spoiled the drama, but also helped me follow the story. So anyway, now my own guilt has been assuaged--for the nonce--and I can get back to reading more modern fluff. I don't think the child has procured a copy of Othello yet, anyway.--J.

[xicanti_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a wonderful play with so many great things going on. One of my favourite lines comes when MacDuff learns that his family has been killed. He says, "Oh, my pretty chickens!" As those of you who've read the play will know, much of it revolves around the idea that fair is foul and foul is fair. Pretty chickens are fair fowls. I can't help but wonder if Shakespeare did that deliberately.Stuff like that kills me.

[athenamilis · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Macbeth is a tragic tale of power and corruption. The main character, Macbeth, is persuaded by his wife and supernatural forces to kill the sitting king he serves in order to take the throne himself. To cover up his crime he is forced to kill others including his close friend Banquo. The plot of this story is intense and highly interesting. The inclusion of witches and voices and daggers and the tolling of bells create a level of suspense that may keep young readers on the edge of their seats if they can understand the language. The old English style is often hard for students who use the modern vernacular to understand. In addition, students need to understand that the author wrote this play to be preformed and not read. Therefore, I feel that English language learners as well as struggling readers may have trouble reading this book on their own. It is definitely a play that can be read and acted out as a whole class at the high school level.

[jpsnow · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favorite Shakespeare play so far, due to the simple depth of the plot, the cool use of the witches, and the straightforward, yet dynamic characters.

[obrien8341 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Obviously, Shakespeare is a poetic genius. This play is beautifully written and contains messages about morality. Although Shakespeare's writing can be sometimes hard to understand, I followed this play very well and found it very entertaining. It is interesting to notice the way that fate plays a huge role in the outcome of the play.

[shamille_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Anyway, Macbeth is a play about this scottish dude and some witches come up to him and they're like "hey Macbeth! You're gonna be king!" and so Macbeth thinks: Ok it's my fate... so i have to make it happen! like a dummy. So he kills the king.. and the princes flee, and Macbeth becomes king! but to keep his secret he has to kill a whole bunch of other people...But Macbeth sucks as a king, and his wife, who was all evil before, is all weak and has gone crazy.Then Macduff (yes another Mac... it's scotland) comes around with the old king's son, Malcolm. And they're like.. "no way man, Malcolm's supposed to be king! Macbeth's a tyrant!" so they pretty much overthrow him.I know i gave it away but i'm just thinking probably everyone knows this story anyway. uhhhmm.....some facts about this story:# It's really funny# When they give this play people aren't allowed to say Macbeth until it's over... it's bad luck# In Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson books, Georgia and her schoolmates are giving the play Macbeth. Since she can't say the name, in her diary (or whatever the hell it is) she calls it MacUseless. Which is funny, because it is.