- Paperback: 128 pages
- Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Ed edition (25 Jan 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0140620796
- ISBN-13: 978-0140620795
- Product Dimensions: 11.1 x 0.4 x 18.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 80,797 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Promised a golden future as ruler of Scotland by three sinister witches, Macbeth murders the king to ensure his ambitions come true. But he soon learns the meaning of terror - killing once, he must kill again and again, and the dead return to haunt him. A story of war, witchcraft and bloodshed, Macbeth also depicts the relationship between husbands and wives, and the risks they are prepared to take to achieve their desires.
From the Back Cover
"Wouldst not play false, And yet wouldst wrongly win."
Macbeth is a feat of dramatic genius compelling, as it does, the audience to sympathize with a cold-blooded murderer.
Encouraged by his ambitious wife and the prophecy of the witches, Macbeth, a noble warrior, slays Duncan the king and seizes the throne for himself. But in so doing, he has upset the natural order and cannot hope to prosper.
This edition of the text contains notes, a glossary and an introduction.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I studied this play for my English GCSE and automatically disregarded it because Shakespeare does sound pretty boring. However, once you understand all of the hidden meanings, themes, characters and sub-plots an entire world of betrayal, lust for power and ambition is released with the most magnificent subtlety.
I found the 'York Notes' guide book became essential and really helped me to fully understand the play for my coursework. Also watching the various film editions, including the RSC edition, made even more interesting.
The play starts with the significant and interesting three witches who tell Macbeth that he will eventually become king. Macbeth is an eager soldier of Scotland who feels hard done by when the King, Duncan grants his throne to his son after his death, rather than the more courageous Macbeth. His wife, Lady Macbeth urges him to kill the king in order to claim the throne but he soon realises that being King does not automatically bring the honour and loyalty he expects; this shortly leads to his downfall. In other words, "To be safe is nothing, but to be safely thus."
For me, Macbeth really got the 5star review because of its relevance to modern day life. For example, one theme of the book is that Macbeth is over ambitious, this leads him to his downfall; as does his greed for power. Making it something very relevant to celebrities and eager "pop idols".
This book really makes you think. Yet it does not require your undivided attention for days because it is one Shakespeare's shortest plays. You simply must read this book and there are loads of guides on the internet to help you through it if you find the old language particularly difficult. No matter what your age or ability I think Macbeth has it all.
COME ON! IT'S NOT EXACTLY EXPENSIVE!!!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
How many modern plays do you think will still be gripping audiences and in regular performance to full houses four hundred years after they were written?
Why is this play so great? Written by a genius every word, every phrase, builds together to create the drama and tension of a man and his wife whose lives and country are torn apart by unlimited ambition. This could be the plot of a 21st century blockbuster film, but it isn't. On the other hand, wait a few weeks and undoubtedly it will be!
The skill of Shakespeare is to make us simultaneously love and loathe our two chief characters - to want them to be punished for their crimes whilst sympathising with their suffering. By the end of the play you don't know whether to laugh or cry for them. Once you've read it make sure you go and see it live in the theatre and experience the magic.
This is a cheap and cheerful copy of the play - good enough to write notes all over if you are a student, practical enough to keep on the shelf for reference if you are a Shakespeare addict. For this give away price how can you not have one of these on your shelf?
Why is this play so great? Written by a genius every word, every phrase, builds together to create the drama and tension of a man and his wife whose lives and country are torn apart by unlimited ambition. This could be the plot of a 21st century blockbuster film, but it isn't. On the other hand, wait a few weeks and undoubtedly it will be!
The skill of Shakespeare is to make us simultaneously love and loathe our two chief characters - to want them to be punished for their crimes whilst sympathising with their suffering. By the end of the play you don't know whether to laugh or cry for them. Once you've read it make sure you go and see it live in the theatre and experience the magic.
This is a cheap and cheerful copy of the play - good enough to write notes all over if you are a student, practical enough to keep on the shelf for reference if you are a Shakespeare addict. For this give away price how can you not have one of these on your shelf?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
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.
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.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Clear and concise
Perfect sized text instead of the miniscule print you can often find in copies of the play. Perfect for school or university.
Published 20 months ago by Mountain lady
Power Politics
Witches, ghosts, power politics and foul deeds are all here in a terrific study of greed for, and abuse of, power. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Brownbear101
Poetic Confusion
There is something oddly provocative about enjoying something so perplexing in language that each word serves as a metaphor, reading Shakespears novels is a bit taxing if your not... Read more
Published on 9 Jun 2009 by Mr. S. Djumpah
Prompted by prophecies
The only Shakespearean tragedy that has a villain as its hero, Macbeth presents a stark and disturbing view of the psychology of wickedness and guilt. Read more
Published on 12 April 2007 by Jay
Shakespeare's Best?
There is no doubt about what Shakespeare's best plays are; namely the 7 tragedies written between 1599 and 1608 (Antony and Cleopatra, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth,... Read more
Published on 4 May 2005 by Yougen November
Shakespeare's Best?
There is no doubt about what Shakespeare's best plays are; namely the 7 tragedies written between 1599 and 1608 (Antony and Cleopatra, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Macbeth,... Read more
Published on 4 May 2005 by Yougen November
Great romp!
Just picked up this pulp fiction from Oxfam bookshop. It really is a laugh a minute - the jokes are fabulous, especially that one when Macbeth gets his mate to dress up as a ghost... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2005 by Penny Tration
Fantastic Shakespeare!
This must be one of Shakespeare's best plays. His style has developed in this text, compared with his earlier plays (Macbeth was written in 1606, just ten years before... Read more
Published on 14 Mar 2001
It's really rather good!
The best way to enjoy this book is to get a different person to read aloud each character in the story. Having them dress up and act out the actions help too.
Published on 21 Dec 1999
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