Product Description

Lively, instructive access to Shakespeare's rich and complex works. This is the most extensively annotated edition of Macbeth currently available, offering a thorough reconsideration of one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays. A full and accessible introduction studies the immediate theatrical and political contexts of Macbeth’s composition, especially the Gunpowder Plot and the contemporary account of an early performance at the Globe. It treats such celebrated issues as whether the Witches compel Macbeth to murder; whether Lady Macbeth is herself a witch; whether Banquo is Macbeth’s accomplice in crime and what criticism is levelled against Macduff. An extensive, well-illustrated account of the play in performance examines several cinematic versions, such as those by Kurosawa and Roman Polanski, and other dramatic adaptations. Several possible new sources are suggested, and the presence of Thomas Middleton’s writing in the play is proposed. Appendixes contain additional text and accompanying music.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19650 in Books
• Published on: 1997-07-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 302 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
One of Shakespeare's greatest, but also bloodiest tragedies, was written around 1605/06. Many have seen the story of Macbeth's murder and usurpation of the legitimate Scottish King Duncan as having obvious connection to contemporary issues regarding King James I (James VI of Scotland), and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. King James was particularly fascinated with witchcraft, so the appearance of the witches chanting "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" at the opening of the play seemed particularly topical, as was Macbeth's betrayal of Banquo, from whom James claimed direct descent.

However, the play is clearly far more than a piece of royal entertainment. It is also a fast-moving and dramatically satisfying piece of theatre. Macbeth's existential struggle between loyalty to his King and his "Vaulting ambition" is fascinating to watch, as his is struggle with Lady Macbeth, and her own terrifying refusal of her maternal role. The play shows an intensification of Shakespeare's interest in mothers and their effect upon ruling masculinity, and also contains some of the most memorable speeches in the entire canon, including Macbeth's reflections that ultimately life "is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing". --Jerry Brotton

About the Author
Nicholas Brooke is Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of East Anglia.

Customer Reviews

Shakespeare's shortest and "sweetest" (purest) tragedy.
Historical inaccuracies aside (Macbeth was one of Scotland's great kings), this stands as one of Shakespeare's most brilliant plays. It's his shortest tragedy, and has been declared (as the Folger edition quotes) "wholly tragic." Plenty of ambiguities to sort through as well as a wealth of famous lines ('out, out, brief candle!', 'the be all and the end all', 'I begin to grow weary of the sun', etc etc).

I always recommend the Folger editions over others. They have the footnotes on the facing pages (so they aren't disruptive but are at the same time accessible), illustrative images from Shakespeare's time, and a scholarly essay at the end. They are also very clear (without being pedantic) about the uncertainties in editing the work (between folios and quartos, although no quarto editions of MacBeth were published in his time).

Not dark enough
I was disappointed by this CD, particularly as the Naxos recording of King Lear with Schofield is so fine and the Richard III with Branagh a worthy production. Dillane, rated as a fine actor, fails badly to convey the steel and darkness of Macbeth for the early part of this play. Famous soliloquies,'Is this a dagger' fall flat. Later, he improves but fails yet to hit the heights. Finoa Shaw as Lady Macbeth, however, is magnificent. The CD also has some annoying quirks of recording, one scene sounding as if it has been recorded in a shower room

The greatest Lady Macbeth since Judi Dench
OK: so it's a bit odd to review a performance of "Macbeth" and single out Lady Macbeth. Just as it is to compare an audio performance to a live one - they are, of course, massively different.
That said, Fiona Shaw's performance as Lady Macbeth is astoundingly good and real. Every word feels thought and every phrase feels new. It really is a remarkable piece of characterisation and performance. Stephen Dillane, though not Shaw's match, is a thoughtful and aware Macbeth.
It's a must own, for Shaw alone, but there are many pleasures to this great rendition of a great play.