Book Cover of The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth

by William Shakespeare

Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare; it is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, who was patron of Shakespeare's acting company, Macbeth most clearly reflects the playwright's relationship with his sovereign. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness and death. Shakespeare's source for the story is the account of Macbeth, King of Scotland, Macduff, and Duncan in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland, and Ireland familiar to Shakespeare and his contemporaries, although the events in the play differ extensively from the history of the real Macbeth. The events of the tragedy are usually associated with the execution of Henry Garnet for complicity in the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed, and will not mention its title aloud, referring to it instead as "The Scottish Play". Over the course of many centuries, the play has attracted some of the most renowned actors to the roles of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. It has been adapted to film, television, opera, novels, comics, and other media.

Book Details

Language

English

Original Language

English

Published In

2018

Authors

William Shakespeare image

William Shakespeare

United Kingdom

William Shakespeare was born on April 23, 1564, in Stratford-upon-Avon. The son of John Shakespeare and Mary Arden, he was probably educated at the King Edward VI Grammar School in Stratford, where he...

Books by William Shakespeare

Listen/Download Audiobook

Read by:
00:00
Playback Speed 1.0
00:00
  • Select Speed

Related books

War Is Kind (Collection) Cover image

War Is Kind (Collection) by Stephen Crane

Published in 1899, just a year before his death, War Is Kind by Stephen Crane evokes again the dark imagery of war which made his fortune in The Red B...

Pixie O'Shaughnessy Cover image

Pixie O'Shaughnessy by Mrs. George de Horne Vaizey

Pixie O'Shaughnessy, a spirited and inventive girl from Ireland, is sent to a boarding school in England. Her mischievous nature and imaginative spiri...

Phantom-Wooer Cover image

Phantom-Wooer by Thomas Lovell Beddoes

LibriVox volunteers bring you 13 different recordings of The Phantom-Wooer by Thomas Lovell Beddoes. This was the weekly poetry project for the week o...

Tragedy of Titus Andronicus Cover image

Tragedy of Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

Titus Andronicus is one of Shakespeare's earliest and most controversial plays. It is a bloody tale of revenge and violence that has fascinated and re...

Dead Men's Money Cover image

Dead Men's Money by J. S. Fletcher

This classic mystery produces its first dead body during a clandestine midnight meeting. Already nothing is what it seems... (Summary by Gesine)

Non-Combatants and Others Cover image

Non-Combatants and Others by Rose Macaulay

This novel explores the complex moral and social landscape of England during the First World War through the experiences of an art student. Rose Macau...

Gullivers Rejser Cover image

Gullivers Rejser by Jonathan Swift

Gullivers Rejser er en klassisk satire, der følger Lemuel Gulliver, en engelsk kirurg, på hans fantastiske rejser til forskellige fantastiske lande. D...

Good Dog Book Cover image

Good Dog Book by John Muir

This collection of adult stories and poems explores the complex and often unexpected relationships between humans and their canine companions. John Mu...

Salambó Cover image

Salambó by Gustave Flaubert

Salambó, hija del poderoso general cartaginés Amílcar, se encuentra en el centro de una historia de amor, guerra y sacrificio. Matho, líder de los mer...

The Queen of Hearts  Cover image

The Queen of Hearts by Wilkie Collins

A remote castle in Wales inhabited by three older men is the last place on earth that a young, lively girl of 18 would want to spend time. And yet, wh...

Reviews for The Tragedy of Macbeth

No reviews posted or approved, yet...