Macbeth

Front Cover
Simon and Schuster, Aug 23, 2011 - Drama - 272 pages
In 1603, James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne, becoming James I of England. London was alive with an interest in all things Scottish, and Shakespeare turned to Scottish history for material. He found a spectacle of violence and stories of traitors advised by witches and wizards, echoing James’s belief in a connection between treason and witchcraft.

In depicting a man who murders to become king, Macbeth teases us with huge questions. Is Macbeth tempted by fate, or by his or his wife's ambition? Why does their success turn to ashes?

Like other plays, Macbeth speaks to each generation. Its story was once seen as that of a hero who commits an evil act and pays an enormous price. Recently, it has been applied to nations that overreach themselves and to modern alienation. The line is blurred between Macbeth’s evil and this opponents' good, and there are new attitudes toward both witchcraft and gender.

The authoritative edition of Macbeth from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers, is now available as an eBook. Features include:

· The exact text of the printed book for easy cross-reference
· Hundreds of hypertext links for instant navigation
· Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play
· Full explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play
· Scene-by-scene plot summaries
· A key to famous lines and phrases
· An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language
· Illustrations from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books
· An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play
 

Selected pages

Contents

Directors Foreword
vii
Editors Preface
xi
Shakespeares Macbeth
xiii
Macbeth
xv
Shakespeares Life
xxiv
Shakespeares Theater
xxxii
The Publication of Shakespeares Plays
xli
An Introduction to This Text
xlv
ACT 3 Scene 2
91
ACT 3 Scene 3
95
ACT 3 Scene 4
99
ACT 3 Scene 5
111
ACT 3 Scene 6
113
ACT 4 Scene 1
119
ACT 4 Scene 2
133
ACT 4 Scene 3
139

Text of the Play with Commentary
1
ACT 1 Scene 1
7
ACT 1 Scene 2
9
ACT 1 Scene 3
13
ACT 1 Scene 4
25
ACT 1 Scene 5
31
ACT 1 Scene 6
35
ACT 1 Scene 7
39
ACT 2 Scene 1
49
ACT 2 Scene 2
55
ACT 2 Scene 3
61
ACT 2 Scene 4
73
ACT 3 Scene 1
81
ACT 5 Scene 1
161
ACT 5 Scene 2
165
ACT 5 Scene 3
169
ACT 5 Scene 4
173
ACT 5 Scene 5
177
ACT 5 Scene 6
181
ACT 5 Scene 8
185
Textual Notes
193
A Modern Perspective
197
Further Reading
209
Key to Famous Lines and Phrases
221
Copyright

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About the author (2011)

William Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death.

Bibliographic information