Other editions of book The Tragedy of Macbeth

“By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.” Second Witch, Act IV, Scene I Macbeth is an unprincipled but imaginative man, with a strong tincture of reverence and awe. Hitherto he has been restrained in the straight path of an upright life by his respect for conventions. When once that barrier is broken down, he has no purely moral check in his own nature to replace it, and rushes like a flood, with ever growing impetus, from, crime to crime. His wife, on the other hand, has a conscience; and conscience, unlike awe for conventions, can be temporarily suppressed, but not destroyed. It reawakes when the first great crime is over, drives the unhappy queen from her sleepless couch night after night, and hounds her at last to death. It is the tragedy of eager ambition, which allows a man no respite after the first fatal mistake, but hurries him on irresistibly through crime after crime to the final disaster. —from AN INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE, by H. N. MacCracken and F. E. Pierce and W. H. Durham

The Tragedy of Macbeth was to Elizabethan England what the daily soap operas are to television today. The story of ambition, murder, and madness still resonates deeply within the psyche of man. A tale of the fight to win control of the Scottish crown, Macbeth plays with themes of ambition, guilt, and the basic elements of evil entwined mischievously by the playwright, William Shakespeare. It begins with a military victory led by generals Macbeth and Banquo. Going home from the battle they cross paths with witches who fatefully tell Macbeth he will rise to great power and will never be killed, save by a man not born by women. “Macbeth, Macbeth, beware McDuff,” they tell him. As the prophesy toys with his ego and insatiable drive for power, Lady Macbeth goads him into killing King Duncan, whose sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, are next in line for the throne. After Macbeth ascends to the throne, guilt interferes with the enjoyment of their newfound power. Macbeth now has to deal with the natural turmoil of running a country as well as trying to juggle his wife’s ensuing madness. Her guilt is an all consuming presence that eventually leads to her death. Lovingly recreated as an mp3 audio this cd contains the timeless story of The Tragedy of Macbeth for you to enjoy again and again. Ideal for children, teachers, students, the whole family and even the young at heart. - MP3 compatible player (or a computer) required to play this CD Version: Unabridged Language: English Reader: Various Format: MP3 CD Tracks / Chapters: 5 Acts Total running time: 02:06:36

While this is William Shakespeare’s most powerful and emotionally gripping play, it is also his bloodiest and shortest tragedy. The play tells the tale of Macbeth, a Scottish general who receives a prophecy from three witches that he will become King of Scotland. The fateful prophecy ultimately leads to patricide and its aftermath. The play was written between 1603 and 1607, probably in 1606—early during the reign of King James I. The king was a patron of Shakespeare’s acting company and Macbeth reflected Shakespeare’s close relationship with him. While the play paid homage to the king’s Scottish lineage, Macbeth bears no relation to real events in Scottish history as Macbeth, or The Red King (1040-1057) was an admired and just monarch. The earliest account of the play’s performance is in April of 1611.