Macbeth (Folger Shakespeare Library) Reviews

• Handy Edition with Puzzling Introduction

  
  By A2ORDVE96GL3Q7 on 2004-01-05
  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 pages of introductory material about Shakespeare, his times, and the play itself, all written by an unnamed editor who uses the first-person and discusses editorial choices made in this version. The editor emphasizes the fact that there are weaknesses and holes in the text, caused by Shakespeare's writing on a short deadline in 1606 and by the fact that later editors and actors and compilers probably cut-and-pasted large sections. The result, counsels the editor, is that some scenes (including Hecat's speech in III-v, and the witches' appearance in IV-i) is "probably not by Shakespeare".

  This is rather a large leap. It may be true, but we have no way to know for sure. Other credible scholars (Levi, Bloom) note that these sections are unique, but do not aver that they are not by Shakespeare. In any event, it is rather interesting that this editor devotes so much space to this notion, and misses the opportunity to discuss other --more important-- elements of the play, such as the subtle poetry of Macbeth's speeches, the "post-Christian" religious significance, the blood-darkness-water themes, the parallels to Lear, or the political connections between Scottish Thanes and British Earls.

  Another quibble is with the notes: all the text notes and vocabulary are at the end of the book, so an interested reader is constantly riffling back and forth. Penguin should have followed Folger's admirable lead and put the text notes on the same pages as the text itself.
  
  

• Yale's may be the best edition of Macbeth

  
  By A15VGFD2Q9NWIO on 2005-12-31
  Virtually all editions of Macbeth will have at least some annotations. Rummaging through five different editions, I preferred the Yale University Press version, edited by Burton Raffel, as having the most comprehensive and comprehensible notes, as well as an excellent introduction to Shakespeare's play. Raffel not only explains the meanings of obscure words, but also gives brief notes pertaining to relevant history, geography, stage directions, etc, that are rarely addressed as fully by other editors. In addition, Raffel frequently gives the proper way to stress the syllables in a line when reading it aloud, which can be extremely helpful. (However, in most places these stresses need to be very subtle, so that you don't sound like "taDUM taDUM taDUM".) And Yale's page layout is among the clearest that I've seen.
  
  (To find this edition: at Avanced Search, enter ISBN 0300106548; or, enter Macbeth as title, and either Raffel as author or Yale as publisher.)
  
  As a bonus, this edition includes at the back a long essay on the play by Harold Bloom. This is not an uninteresting commentary, but Bloom desperately needs a good editor. His essay is not only at least three times longer than it should be, but is startlingly repetitious. Yale would have been wise to have asked Bloom for a rewrite.
  
  
  

• Shakespeare on the danger of messing with prophecy

  
  By A2NJO6YE954DBH on 2003-12-30
  William Shakespeare's tragedy "Macbeth" was performed at the Globe Theater in 1605-06. The "Scottish" play was a calculated to be pleasing to James I, who took the throne of England after the death of Elizabeth Tudor in 1603. It was not simply that the play was set in the homeland of the Stuarts, but also that when Banquo's royal descendants are envisioned the last of them is the new King. (Note: Shakespeare does a similar sort of tribute to Queen Elizabeth when in the final act of "Henry VIII" the the Archbishop prophesizes great things for the infant Elizabeth. However, not only is there doubt that Shakespeare was the sole author of that particular history, it was not produced until 1612-13, ten years after Elizabeth's death.)

  The play chronicles Macbeth's seizing the Scottish throne and his subsequent downfall, both aspects the result of blind ambition. However, one of the interesting aspects of "Macbeth" for me has always been its take on prophecy, which is decidedly different from the classical tradition. In the Greek myths there is no escaping your fate; in fact, one of the points of the story of Oedipus as told by Sophocles is that trying to resist your fate only makes things worse (the original prophecy was that Oedipus would slay his father; it was only after Jocasta sought to have her son killed to save her husband that the prophecy given Oedipus was that he would slay his father and marry his mother). In the Norse tradition prophecy is simply fate and manhood demands you simply resign yourself to what must happen.

  But in "Macbeth" there is a different notion of prophecy that is compatible with what is found in the Bible: specifically, the idea that human beings simply cannot understand God's predictions. This is the case both with those who failed to understand the prophecies that foretold the birth of the Christ but also the book of Revelations, where the fate of the world is detailed in complex and essentially uncomprehensible symbolism. When Macbeth is presented with the first set of prophecies by the three witches, he is understandably dubious: he will become thane of Cawdor and then King, while Banquo will beget kings. However, when the first prophecy comes true, Macbeth begins to believe that the rest of the prophecy may come true. His fatal error, at least in the Greek tradition, is that he does not allow fate to bring him the crown, he takes active steps by slaying King Duncan. He compounds this error by projecting his ambitions onto Banquo; although Macbeth has Banquo killed, his son escapes to keep the prophecy intact.

  Now the witches's prophecies are deceptively clear: no man born of woman may harm him and he is secure until trees start walking. Macbeth, who now believes in the inevitability of prophecy, fails to understand the fatal concept of loopholes. Thus, the nature of prophecy becomes an integral part of the play's dynamic.
  
  

• A Masterpiece "To the last syllable of recorded time."

  
  By A39N5LM90UKSC7 on 2005-04-10
  "Macbeth" comes out as one of William Shakespeare's darkest and murkiest plays, most likely as a result of being written during one of Shakespeare's darkest times in his own life. This play strays away from the more common Shakespearean formula that contains a hero and his demise resulting from a specific tragic flaw. In "MacBeth", the title character is not a hero, but rather a villian. MacBeth murders the king of Scotland to bring truth to a prophecy given to him by three witches (the famous "toil and trouble" sisters). After assuming the throne, MacBeth returns to the witches and requests to hear the circumstances of his own death. The witches tell MacBeth he cannot be killed by any "man of woman born." Under a false assumption of near immortality, MacBeth relaxes his gaurd and perhaps displays his own tragic flaw of over confidence.
  Focusing on the power corrupt and merciless villain MacBeth and his dastardly and influential wife Lady MacBeth, this play works as a twisted look into a mind poisioned with greed and hate. Though pessimistic and disturbing, this play must not be dismissed. It contains some of the most poetic language and beautiful lines ever to be written. It is no mystery that MacBeth stands as one of the most quoted works in literature. It is however a mystery that Shakespeare could create something so magnificient in a period when he saw life as "...a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
  
  

• Original Gangster

  
  By on 2003-09-16
  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!
  
  
• Macbeth
  By AKVF8XH092ZFK on 2005-02-04
  What to say about Macbeth? Words cannot describe the ultimate spine-tingling, soul-shaking nature of it until you've read it. Then you know that there is only one way to describe this terrifying yet amazing play: by reading it. Shakespeare captures a whole new age and style with this harsh tragedy about the powers of evil.
  
  Riding home from battle, Macbeth is told by three mysterious witches that his future holds great things-he will be king. When Lady Macbeth hears the news, she prays for the spirits of evil to infect her heart so she will have the courage to kill King Duncan and assure the prophecy's carrying out. After the awful deed's been done, Macbeth goes mad, although he is also granted the title `King.' Evil and madness soon holds sway over both Macbeth and his lady's will, and the kingdom falls apart. Will there be a way to triumph over this man who cannot be slain by a man born of woman? Who will not be slain until a forest moves up a hill? This seeming immortal demon?
  
  So... "When shall we three met again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain? When the hurly-burly's done, when the battle's lost and won. That will be ere the set of sun. Where the place? Upon the heath. There to meet with Macbeth..."
  
  
• Not my favorite Shakespeare...
  By A29YT2VIPTOA4C on 2003-12-12
  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 favorite. I feel like you know almost everything that is going to happen after the three witches appear. I understand the themes, but sometimes I feel like they are so blatant, and hardly masked by the characters and the rest of the story. I think people should read Macbeth, but I don't think it's his best work.
  
  
• Nothing Much
  By A114IO16WXJ6GS on 2004-02-13
  Rather bleak play with a pessimistic storyline. Mediocre plot, mediocre characterization. I don't recommed it.
  
  
• My favourite of the tragedies.
  By A1N1YEMTI9DJ86 on 2005-01-23
  I have always loved the story of Macbeth. Yes, it is bleak, but there is still hope expressed throughout. The comic breaks within the play are memorable. Who can forget the drunken porter? What about the three witches stirring their cauldron? Shakespeare's little gems throughout his tragedies are the soliloquies, and Macbeth has a number of memorable ones. The play explores the nature of ambition and the complexities of moral responsibility. It is a story of a nobleman driven to murder at the bequest of his power-hungry wife. Then we follow these two as each of them slips deeper and deeper into madness. Shakespeare sets the scenes so well in this play - the cold, draughty castle, the lonely moors. Because this play is so short, the action moves along quite quickly. And this also has the effect of showing Macbeth's descent into madness very quickly too, which makes it seem so much more horrible. Wonderful!
  
  
• Folger is a good series
  By A3BQ10UXUIXKEW on 2006-12-31
  It would be ridiculous for someone to come on here and give Bill a bad review. When a person writes a review on a Shakespeare play, Shakespeare is not on trial, the reviewer is. So, I have no comments on the play, just the series. This is the second Shakespeare work I have read out of the Folger Library series. The running commentary and essay at the end of the play are well done and beneficial. If you enjoy reading Shakespeare, but find the archaic language hard to grasp at times, this is a good series for you.
  
  
• Mac-Good for Mac-Shakespeare
  By A15DLG41650O0X on 2008-01-09
  I'll admit, it's hard for me to get into Shakespeare (so go stone me in the streets, you drama geeks). Yet, this play is a killer.....literally. I mean, they need to make this into a movie nowadays-all the battle scenes, all the drama, all the Scottish accents. This play is the epitome of action-packed. You get the real beauty of this play sitting in your AP Literature class, reading it out loud as a class, and getting the class clown to tackle the part of Lady MacBeth. It's Mac-Awesome.
  
  
• a wonderful tragedy ...
  By A2WSMB96RG3SM7 on 2005-06-05
  Today, many people desire to see what lies ahead in life but fail to realize the ceaseless consequences that can transpire if premonitions about the future come about prior to its arrival. Macbeth is the victim in this situation, when he receives a foretelling from three supernatural witches that he would become the king of Scotland. From then on, fueled by his greed, Macbeth does anything to reign, and goes far enough as to killing his best friend. As the previous noble knight becomes a malicious evildoer, many people in Scotland yearn for his abdication or someone to put an end to his life. Soon, their wish comes through.
  
  Though it is difficult to understand Shakespeare's style of writing and some of the language he used, this did not keep me from enjoying the book. The story itself was action-packed and had many metaphors that related to human nature.
  
  My suggestion on reading Macbeth is to receive an overview of the story before actually reading the text, as it is extremely convoluted (but meaningful). I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading classic literature.
  
  
  
• Macbeth does murder sleep - finish it tonight
  By A1Y1NUGKOF8QSY on 2005-08-07
  One of the great Shakespearian tragedies. It deals with political avarice in the royal family and the consequences thereof on the personal lives of those involved.
  
  What else can I say that has not already been said. The play has survived so long with such esteem for a reason. It's brilliant.
  
  
  
• I generally like Shakespeare, but...
  By A2L9U2BKMHXBEL on 2008-01-19
  I generally like Shakespeare. In fact, I can't think of one play that I did not like before I read this one. Macbeth I found to be tacky with very few memorable quotes.
  
  
• Playwright vs. Poet: the Playwright wins.
  By A3U41P0AV1WST4 on 2008-02-17
  Shakespeare was not very kind to the linchpin of his story. The tragedy of Macbeth the king became a personal tragedy of Macbeth the character of the play. He is sad, doubtful, fearful and altogether pathetic. In words, he is rebellious against his fate, but in the end he is powerless to do anything to alter it. He is not given an opportunity to shine his wit or spirit. He is not endowed with a single pun. Even Banquo is granted a piece of wisdom: "To win us to our harm, the instruments of darkness tell us truths, win us with honest trifles, to betray's in deepest consequence". Even Polonius is allowed to be witty ("Neither a borrower nor a lender be") and gives us "Though this be madness, yet there is method in't". Richard III is a veritable fountain of spirit, eloquence and wit. Macbeth is just evil and pathetic.
  
  Evil and pathetic is Lady Macbeth.
  
  The colorful relief from the lackluster main characters comes in the form of the porter and fantastical infernal creatures (Weird Sisters, Hecate and the apparitions) - the sole possessors of the playful and witty spirit. Maybe Shakespeare could not allow Macbeth to shine because the play was intended to please James I, the patron of Shakespeare's company and the descendent of murdered by Macbeth Banquo. Perhaps Macbeth indeed was a singularly uninspired man. Or the play may have been cut. Whatever the reason, in this macabre play about a tortured soul, Shakespeare uses spirits and the porter as a valve that relieves the pressure of pent up spark.
  
  The many murders and the eerie creatures make for quite a dramatic staging. However, the general lack of spark makes one miss other Shakespearean plays where the main characters, however evil, are not spared the playwright's poetry...
  
  

• The Merchant of Venice (Folger Shakespeare Library)
• The Taming of the Shrew (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)
• Twelfth Night (Folger Shakespeare Library)

• Hamlet (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)
• Othello (Folger Shakespeare Library)
• Things Fall Apart: A Novel
• Lord of the Flies (Penguin Great Books of the 20th Century)
• King Lear (The New Folger Library Shakespeare)