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Macbeth (Penguin Popular Classics)
 
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Macbeth (Penguin Popular Classics) (Paperback)

by William Shakespeare (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
RRP: £2.50
Price: £2.38 & eligible for Free UK delivery on orders over £5 with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Frequently Bought Together

Macbeth (Penguin Popular Classics) + Romeo and Juliet (Penguin Popular Classics) + Hamlet (Penguin Popular Classics)
Price For All Three: £6.46

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Product details

  • Paperback: 128 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Classics; New Ed edition (25 Jan 2007)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140620796
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140620795
  • Product Dimensions: 18 x 11.4 x 0.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 8,804 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories:

    #2 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Shakespeare, William > The Plays > A-Z > Macbeth
    #14 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Shakespeare, William > The Plays > Tragedies
    #16 in  Books > Poetry, Drama & Criticism > Drama > By Period > Shakespeare

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Product Description

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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Macbeth (Penguin Popular Classics)
88% buy the item featured on this page:
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Romeo and Juliet (Penguin Popular Classics)
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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (9)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:    (0)
2 star:    (0)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Anybody can enjoy this, 23 Jan 2004
By D. Russell (Kent) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
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!!!

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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Happy birthday ' Macbeth', 25 May 2006
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?
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Shakespeare!, 15 Mar 2001
By A Customer
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 Shakespeare's death). Macbeth is superbly tragic, and gives a brilliant display of man's need for power, however he gains it. If you only ever read one of Shakespeare's fantastic plays, make it this one!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars 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 1 month ago by Mr. S. Djumpah

1.0 out of 5 stars Really boring
This book is incredibly boring.

This Shakespeare guy is way over-rated.

it is written in old English so you need an other book to simply translate it's... Read more
Published 14 months ago by James Murdoch

4.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars 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 5 May 2005 by Yougen November

5.0 out of 5 stars 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 5 May 2005 by Yougen November

5.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2005 by Penny Tration

5.0 out of 5 stars Do you really need to read a review to know you need this?
A great price for a true classic. Pared of the pretentious analysis of other versions, this is the basic text - albeit with notes on text, and the story is so well known that it... Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2004 by R. Leggett

5.0 out of 5 stars 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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