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Macbeth
 
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Macbeth [Kindle Edition]

William Shakespeare
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Review

"Macbeth is a blast...ghoulish...beguiling...sardonic...an expression of how captivating an evening of crackling Shakespeare can be." -- Peter Marks, The Washington Post

"The explosive and overwhelming effect of a truck bomb...this horrific, riveting Macbeth ought to be seen by as many people as possible." -- Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal

Product Description

The Tragedy of Macbeth (commonly called Macbeth) is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. The earliest account of a performance of what was likely Shakespeare's play is April 1611, when Simon Forman recorded seeing such a play at the Globe Theatre. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book for a specific performance.
Shakespeare's sources for the tragedy are the accounts of King Macbeth of Scotland, Macduff, and Duncan in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland and Ireland familiar to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. However, the story of Macbeth as told by Shakespeare bears no relation to real events in Scottish history as Macbeth was an admired and able monarch.
In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed,and will not mention its title aloud, referring to it instead by such names as "the Scottish play". Over the centuries, the play has attracted some of the greatest actors in the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It has been adapted to film, television, opera, novels, comic books, and other media.

by wikipedia

Product Details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 103 KB
  • Print Length: 96 pages
  • Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B004K6MMD8
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Not Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
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Customer Reviews

Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars very helpful Jan 31 2013
Format:Paperback
If you are a student, this version of Macbeth is very helpful because it has the original text of the play, but also in the margins are explinations about what Shakespeare is refering to, what the metaphores and similies mean and definitions that make the Shakespeare style of english a bit easier to understand. I highly recommend this version to anyone who is new to reading Shakespeare.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Not as advertised July 14 2009
Format:Paperback
Can't complain about the price, but the cover illustration is wrong (wrong publisher), there are no 'textual notes', 'modern perspective' or 'further reading' etc. and the book is 84 pages, not 221+ (as according to 'Click to look...' nor 96 as stated in the product description section). Don't show me the 2004 Simon & Schuster edition if what you are selling (1993 Dover Thrift Edition) isn't even close to what you're advertising.
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5.0 out of 5 stars Let not light see ... April 30 2011
By E. A Solinas HALL OF FAME TOP 10 REVIEWER
Format:Paperback
In the theater, people apparently don't call Shakespeare's "Macbeth" by its actual name -- it's usually called "MacB" or "The Scottish Play." The dark superstitions that hover around this play really show its power: it's a harrowing portrait of a weak man who spirals into a personal hell of ambition, murder and madness.

Shortly after a victory in battle, Macbeth and his friend Banquo are traveling home across a heath when they encounter three witches -- who greet him with "All hail, Macbeth! hail to thee, Thane of Cawdor! All hail, Macbeth! that shalt be king hereafter!"

When MacBeth is made Thane of Cawdor, he naturally begins to think that being king might be next in line. And when King Duncan visits his castle, Lady MacBeth goads her husband into murdering the king and framing a couple of innocent servants for the deed. As the witches predicted, MacBeth becomes king of Scotland.

But the witches also prophesied that Banquo would be the father of kings, so MacBeth starts tying off loose ends by hiring assassins to kill Banquo and his young son, as well as a wily thane named MacDuff and all of his family. But though MacBeth believes himself to be safe from everyone, his fear begins to grow as madness and guilt torment him and his wife...

One of the most fascinating things about "Macbeth" is how evil it is -- mass murder, insanity, bloody ghosts, a trio of manipulative witches pulling MacBeth's strings, and a nice if weak man who becomes a raving murderous paranoiac. Shakespeare starts the story on a dark note, and it gets darker and bloodier as the story winds on to its bleak climax.

In fact, the entire story is a two-part spiral -- things get tighter and more intense, even as MacBeth and Lady M. get crazier and more violent. Shakespeare litters the story with brutally intense scenes (Banquo's ghost crashing the dinner, Lady M. trying to scrub her hands clean) and powerful dialogue ("Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit,/And look on death itself! up, up, and see/The great doom's image!").

The one flaw: Shakespeare's handling of the "no man born of woman" prediction is a bit lame. I mean, didn't that count as "born" back in Elizabethan times too?

Honestly, MacBeth is both a fascinating and repulsive character. He starts off as a nice ordinary thane with no particular ambition, but his weakness and his wife drive him to some pretty horrible acts. Before long, he's become somebody you desperately want to see diced into little pieces. And Lady Macbeth is little better, although there's a slight disparity between her ruthless ambition and her later insanity.

"MacBeth" is a story filled with stormy darkness and all-consuming fire -- a powerful depiction of evil and how easily we can be seduced. Just don't say its name in the theater.
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Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A Quintessential Shakespearean Tragedy
A must read for fans of Shakespeare. A great version of a great story. It has footnotes to explain esoteric vocabulary.
Published on July 25 2010 by S. Scofield
5.0 out of 5 stars Handy Edition with Puzzling Introduction
A handy little paperback pocket edition of the great play you've read and seen many times. The 1994 Penguin Popular Classic edition is interesting because it includes twenty-two... Read more
Published on Jan 4 2004 by richard_t
2.0 out of 5 stars Not my favorite Shakespeare...
I am a fan of Shakespeare, and I have a lot more reading to do until I've completed all his works. However, I have to say out of the plays I have read, Macbeth is one of my least... Read more
Published on Dec 12 2003 by Victory Silvers
5.0 out of 5 stars Original Gangster
Macbeth is the original Scarface. A man murders his way to the top and loses his mind and his loved ones in the process. Shakespeare at his best!
Published on Sep 16 2003
4.0 out of 5 stars An amazing play
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's finest accomplishments. It is a good vs evil tale about a man, Macbeth, who apparently sees three witches, who are said to be prophets. Read more
Published on July 21 2003 by K. Bentley
5.0 out of 5 stars A must read...
This book truly is my favorite book by Shakespear...

Forget Romeo & Juliet...That's for sissies, this book has, witches, blood, death, plots to kill the kings, war, crazy house... Read more

Published on July 17 2003 by J. D Philipson
5.0 out of 5 stars And let the frame of things disjoint!
This book is very difficult to read, not just because of the play's main theme -murder- as because of the main characters' stupidity, that baffles me. Read more
Published on July 14 2003
3.0 out of 5 stars Bad story, but......
'Macbeth' is a bad story, but is has one of the greatest passages in English literature history. The speech Macbeth gives at the end is simply mindblowing. Read more
Published on July 4 2003 by Dhaval Vyas
5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping exploration of "black and deep desires"
"Macbeth," the play by William Shakespeare, is definitely one literary classic that still holds its own as a vital and engaging piece of art. Read more
Published on May 17 2003 by Michael J. Mazza
5.0 out of 5 stars A journey into the macabre
A dark and grim tale of murder and deceit, Macbeth emerges as perhaps Shakespeare's bloodiest and most demonstrably macabre of his tragedies. Read more
Published on Mar 31 2003 by Chris Salzer
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