Macbeth

by Paul Leonard Murray, William Shakespeare (with a help from)

First Witch: Welcome to the Scottish play
Second Witch: It's "Scottish" 'cos it rains all day
Third Witch: It's cold enough to see your breath
First Witch: We're waiting here to see Macbeth.
Second Witch: Hanging out in bogs and ditches
Third Witch: Yes you've guessed it; we're the witches!
First witch: We're here to guide you all the way
Second witch: Because we know the end of the play

The Silly Shakespeare for Students edition of Shakespeare's Macbeth simplifies the famous tragedy without dumbing it down. It's perfect for introducing students to the Bard and helping English Language Learners practice speaking and oracy skills while grappling with the classics.

Author Paul Leonard Murray, director of the Belgrade English Language Theater, has cut the play down to an hour or so and made the language more accessible. But he's kept all the tragic parts while adding some jokes. And if you think jokes in a version of Macbeth is weird, the whole thing is also written in rhyming couplets. Production notes and a summary of the play make putting on Shakespeare easy and fun, even if you've never done drama in class before!

Looking for something different for drama club, student theater, or speaking class? Want to spice up your literature or reading class and give students a new appreciation for Shakespeare? This is the series for you.

112 pages, Paperback

Published April 20, 2020

Reviews

[Rhonda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taking an old classic and simplifying it for better understanding. Shakespeare can be hard to understand but this book tells the same story but in a way that is easier to understand. Great for students and teachers.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

[Suzanne Hare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great idea to introduce Shakespeare’s work to the younger generations. The masterful plays be William Shakespeare are difficult to read because of the antiquated language, especially for young teens. They get caught up in trying to read the prose that the understanding is left out. Now don’t get me wrong, Shakespeare’s work is ageless. This version of the play keeps the rhyming but simplifies the language so the story itself becomes the focus. The author took some liberties and increased the role of the witches and added humour to hold the interest of the target audience. I think as a first exposure to this play, you would become familiar with the storyline so that when you are exposed to Shakespeare’s original version, it would be a much more meaningful experience. What a great idea.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.