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Macbeth
Here are the books that help teach Shakespeare plays without the teacher constantly needing to explain and define Elizabethan terms, slang, and other ways of expression that are different from our own. Each play is presented with Shakespeare's original lines on each left-hand page, and a modern, easy-to-understand "translation" on the facing right-hand page. All dramas are complete, with every original Shakespearian line, and a full-length modern rendition of the text.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1606
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 172 reviews
September 3, 2017
My game plan for revisiting Shakespeare was to stream video of a staging of the play, listening and watching, while reading along to as much of the original text as was incorporated by the staging. Later, I read the entire play in the modern English version.
The staging I found for Macbeth was the 1971 film adaptation directed by Roman Polanski, adapted by Polanski & Kenneth Tynan and shot by Gilbert Taylor, the legendary director of photography on Dr. Strangelove, Repulsion and Star Wars. Starring Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth, the production is handsomely mounted, enthralling and spooky, no surprise since this was Polanski's follow-up to Rosemary's Baby.
Historians believe Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in 1606 for the King of Denmark on a visit to his brother-in-law King James I in London. Shakespeare may have drawn inspiration from Ralph Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, which the Bard consulted often in his research. Macbeth ruled Scotland from 1040-1057 A.D. and per Holinshed, conspired with his wife, his aide Banquo and several others to murder Duncan, a rival chief with whom Macbeth held a grievance. Macbeth may have also consulted with "three women in evil apparel" who spun certain prophecies. Macbeth engaged in a series of murders to protect his rule and was eventually revenged by Duncan's son, Malcolm.
A reigning superstition in the theater is that Macbeth is so unlucky that to even utter the title or quote from it on stage will invite disaster. Among theater groups, referring to it as "The Scottish Play", "The Scottish Business" or simply "that play" are preferable to tempting fate by saying the name Macbeth. Constantine Stanislavski, Orson Welles and Charlton Heston all suffered some woe after a performance. Abraham Lincoln apparently read the play the night before his assassination. The bad luck is said to originate from the Witches Song in Act IV, Scene 1, which if the rumors are to be believed, has the power to literally raise hell. Or, the fact that the play is performed in dim lightning with heavy swordplay and stuntwork might account for the freak accidents associated with it.
The play lives up to its sinister reputation. It's one of the darkest and most potent dramas I've read.
Macbeth opens with three witches, the Weird Sisters, commiserating on a Scottish heath as a storm brews. King Duncan arrives on a battlefield with his sons Malcolm and Donalbain to be notified that a rebellion backed by the King of Norway has been repulsed by Macbeth, thane of Glamis. Macbeth and his fellow nobleman Banquo are stopped by the three witches after their great victory and issued a pair of prophecies: that Macbeth will assume the title of Thane of Cawdor and eventually, King of Scoland. A messenger then notifies Macbeth that due to his capture of the traitorous Thane of Cawdor, Duncan has bestowed upon him the villain's title.
In spite of his battlefield honors and favor of the king, Macbeth is none too pleased when Duncan announces that his son Malcolm will inherit the throne. Macbeth returns to his castle at Inverness, sharing with his wife Lady Macbeth that three witches have predicted his rise to power. The little missus doubts that her husband has the mettle to take what is his. When the king arrives to spend the night, Lady Macbeth hatches a plot to disable the king's bodyguards with drink, allowing her husband to slip into the king's room to murder him, laying the blame on the king's men.
Uncertain of his ability to commit regicide, Macbeth is pushed by his wife and manages to carry out the crime. He catches a break when the king's sons flee Scotland for their own protection, sewing suspicion that they may have killed their father. Macbeth is crowned king, but his celebration is short lived. Fearing that Banquo and his boy Fleance will ferret out Macbeth's guilt, he hires murderers to ambush father and son. Banquo is vanquished protecting his son, but during a banquet, Macbeth sees the ghost of his old friend at the table and makes a spectacle of himself, much to Lady Macbeth's displeasure.
Another nobleman, Macduff, distances himself from Macbeth, fleeing to England rather than risk attack. The king responds by sending murderers to slaughter Macduff's wife, children and servants. As forces gather against Macbeth, he pays another visit to the witches. They conjure three apparitions, which tell Macbeth to beware Macduff, that no one born of woman will harm Macbeth and that no harm will come to him until the forest of Birnam Wood advances on his castle. In spite of these predictions, Macbeth and his wife discover it's lonely at the top, and that fate works in mysterious ways.
Macbeth is a gangster movie. Unwilling to pay their dues, the thane of Glamis and his wife resort to violence to rise to the top in a fashion that Tony Montana would approve of. And in gangster movie style, the couple's unchecked ambition gets them exactly what's coming to them. The play is drenched in highland atmosphere, with witches, superstitions, skullduggery, hallucinations and duels. It's eerie, bloody and contains some of most powerful dialogue to be found in Shakespeare. Act V, Scene 5 is particularly memorable, with Macbeth realizing a little too late that "All our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death".
The dilemma faced by Macbeth and his wife -- whether to play the game or grab what's coming to them by any means necessary -- is more relevant to the human condition today than it was in 1040 A.D. The appearance of the witches and their cryptic predictions lend the play a dark and unsettling mood, as if Macbeth's plot had been seen from a hundred miles away and is going to end badly in spite of what his conscience is telling him. It's a quickly paced play with terrific inner monologue by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they debate their course of action and thrills as their plot meets its ends. The characters may not be the most complicated in Shakespeare, but they may be the most cursed.
The staging I found for Macbeth was the 1971 film adaptation directed by Roman Polanski, adapted by Polanski & Kenneth Tynan and shot by Gilbert Taylor, the legendary director of photography on Dr. Strangelove, Repulsion and Star Wars. Starring Jon Finch as Macbeth and Francesca Annis as Lady Macbeth, the production is handsomely mounted, enthralling and spooky, no surprise since this was Polanski's follow-up to Rosemary's Baby.
Historians believe Shakespeare wrote Macbeth in 1606 for the King of Denmark on a visit to his brother-in-law King James I in London. Shakespeare may have drawn inspiration from Ralph Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland, which the Bard consulted often in his research. Macbeth ruled Scotland from 1040-1057 A.D. and per Holinshed, conspired with his wife, his aide Banquo and several others to murder Duncan, a rival chief with whom Macbeth held a grievance. Macbeth may have also consulted with "three women in evil apparel" who spun certain prophecies. Macbeth engaged in a series of murders to protect his rule and was eventually revenged by Duncan's son, Malcolm.
A reigning superstition in the theater is that Macbeth is so unlucky that to even utter the title or quote from it on stage will invite disaster. Among theater groups, referring to it as "The Scottish Play", "The Scottish Business" or simply "that play" are preferable to tempting fate by saying the name Macbeth. Constantine Stanislavski, Orson Welles and Charlton Heston all suffered some woe after a performance. Abraham Lincoln apparently read the play the night before his assassination. The bad luck is said to originate from the Witches Song in Act IV, Scene 1, which if the rumors are to be believed, has the power to literally raise hell. Or, the fact that the play is performed in dim lightning with heavy swordplay and stuntwork might account for the freak accidents associated with it.
The play lives up to its sinister reputation. It's one of the darkest and most potent dramas I've read.
Macbeth opens with three witches, the Weird Sisters, commiserating on a Scottish heath as a storm brews. King Duncan arrives on a battlefield with his sons Malcolm and Donalbain to be notified that a rebellion backed by the King of Norway has been repulsed by Macbeth, thane of Glamis. Macbeth and his fellow nobleman Banquo are stopped by the three witches after their great victory and issued a pair of prophecies: that Macbeth will assume the title of Thane of Cawdor and eventually, King of Scoland. A messenger then notifies Macbeth that due to his capture of the traitorous Thane of Cawdor, Duncan has bestowed upon him the villain's title.
In spite of his battlefield honors and favor of the king, Macbeth is none too pleased when Duncan announces that his son Malcolm will inherit the throne. Macbeth returns to his castle at Inverness, sharing with his wife Lady Macbeth that three witches have predicted his rise to power. The little missus doubts that her husband has the mettle to take what is his. When the king arrives to spend the night, Lady Macbeth hatches a plot to disable the king's bodyguards with drink, allowing her husband to slip into the king's room to murder him, laying the blame on the king's men.
Uncertain of his ability to commit regicide, Macbeth is pushed by his wife and manages to carry out the crime. He catches a break when the king's sons flee Scotland for their own protection, sewing suspicion that they may have killed their father. Macbeth is crowned king, but his celebration is short lived. Fearing that Banquo and his boy Fleance will ferret out Macbeth's guilt, he hires murderers to ambush father and son. Banquo is vanquished protecting his son, but during a banquet, Macbeth sees the ghost of his old friend at the table and makes a spectacle of himself, much to Lady Macbeth's displeasure.
Another nobleman, Macduff, distances himself from Macbeth, fleeing to England rather than risk attack. The king responds by sending murderers to slaughter Macduff's wife, children and servants. As forces gather against Macbeth, he pays another visit to the witches. They conjure three apparitions, which tell Macbeth to beware Macduff, that no one born of woman will harm Macbeth and that no harm will come to him until the forest of Birnam Wood advances on his castle. In spite of these predictions, Macbeth and his wife discover it's lonely at the top, and that fate works in mysterious ways.
Macbeth is a gangster movie. Unwilling to pay their dues, the thane of Glamis and his wife resort to violence to rise to the top in a fashion that Tony Montana would approve of. And in gangster movie style, the couple's unchecked ambition gets them exactly what's coming to them. The play is drenched in highland atmosphere, with witches, superstitions, skullduggery, hallucinations and duels. It's eerie, bloody and contains some of most powerful dialogue to be found in Shakespeare. Act V, Scene 5 is particularly memorable, with Macbeth realizing a little too late that "All our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death".
The dilemma faced by Macbeth and his wife -- whether to play the game or grab what's coming to them by any means necessary -- is more relevant to the human condition today than it was in 1040 A.D. The appearance of the witches and their cryptic predictions lend the play a dark and unsettling mood, as if Macbeth's plot had been seen from a hundred miles away and is going to end badly in spite of what his conscience is telling him. It's a quickly paced play with terrific inner monologue by Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they debate their course of action and thrills as their plot meets its ends. The characters may not be the most complicated in Shakespeare, but they may be the most cursed.
July 4, 2024
Top tier play 10/10 the witches serve c**t
maybe
March 6, 2014Macbeth versus The Complete Sherlock Holmes: REVIEW FOR CELEBRITY DEATH MATCH PURPOSES only
Dramatis Personæ
MACBETH - Pussy-whipped Thane of Glamis, then Thane of Cawdor, and later, King of Scotland
Lay Macbeth - Scold of Glamis
King Dunkin - King of Scotland
(played by Sheerluck in a crown)
Ban-quo, affectionately known as StatusQuo to his mates
Malcolm
Donalbain
Fleance
MacDuff's son
Young Siward ------------------------all played by What-son!?
A Baboon
And
Nanny Ogg and her two Weird Sisters ::[image error]::
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NB - IN THIS STREAM OF CONCIOUSNESS-ESQUE RENDITION OF THE SCOTTISH PLAY, PLEASE TAKE IT AS FACT THAT ANY CHARACTER MENTIONED IS LOOKING STRAIGHT INTO THE CAMERA LENS, THEREFORE COMING EYEBALL TO EYBALL WITH YOUR GOOD SELF.
Mists and belching, dig-dip, digging.
Thunder, lightening, dripping firs
And a bevy or three. And singing.....
Nanny Ogg: How now brown cow, who comes this way?
'tis the Pussy-Whipped One
And His side-kick
Just as we foresaw, forsooth.
And here the tale is told.
Macbeth: You mean I'm ::
::? T'riffick!
Macbeth and StatusQo fashion an exit a la Coconut Horse
Lady M: Wish a reincarnation of Mrs B was here to help me set this table
Fanfare
ENTERS THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR...
Sheerluck dress'd as Dafty Dunkin
To gain a wholesome meal
And have a shufty round the gaff
In lieu of safety for the
Right Real Royal Retinue
LATER
PW - Is that a baboon I see before me
What was, in essence, only a one-pipe problem was actually down the dustpipe for Sheerluck, most of What-son!? and StatusQo.
Win for THE SCOTTISH PLAY
Dramatis Personæ
MACBETH - Pussy-whipped Thane of Glamis, then Thane of Cawdor, and later, King of Scotland
Lay Macbeth - Scold of Glamis
King Dunkin - King of Scotland
(played by Sheerluck in a crown)
Ban-quo, affectionately known as StatusQuo to his mates
Malcolm
Donalbain
Fleance
MacDuff's son
Young Siward ------------------------all played by What-son!?
A Baboon
And
Nanny Ogg and her two Weird Sisters ::[image error]::
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NB - IN THIS STREAM OF CONCIOUSNESS-ESQUE RENDITION OF THE SCOTTISH PLAY, PLEASE TAKE IT AS FACT THAT ANY CHARACTER MENTIONED IS LOOKING STRAIGHT INTO THE CAMERA LENS, THEREFORE COMING EYEBALL TO EYBALL WITH YOUR GOOD SELF.
Mists and belching, dig-dip, digging.
Thunder, lightening, dripping firs
And a bevy or three. And singing.....
Nanny Ogg: How now brown cow, who comes this way?
'tis the Pussy-Whipped One
And His side-kick
Just as we foresaw, forsooth.
And here the tale is told.
Macbeth: You mean I'm ::
::? T'riffick!Macbeth and StatusQo fashion an exit a la Coconut Horse
Lady M: Wish a reincarnation of Mrs B was here to help me set this table
Fanfare
ENTERS THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR...
Sheerluck dress'd as Dafty Dunkin
To gain a wholesome meal
And have a shufty round the gaff
In lieu of safety for the
Right Real Royal Retinue
LATER
PW - Is that a baboon I see before me
What was, in essence, only a one-pipe problem was actually down the dustpipe for Sheerluck, most of What-son!? and StatusQo.
Win for THE SCOTTISH PLAY
June 12, 2024
My favorite Shakespeare. Can’t wait to teach it again in the fall…it’s been too long! NEVER SHAKE THY GORY LOCKS AT ME 💀😁
January 26, 2022
I watched the Joel Coen Macbeth movie with Denzel Washington, and since I was a bit dissatisfied by that adaptation, I thought I'd try another one right away to compare, and boy is this one so much worse.
I felt the Coen flick was too dominated by a director who wanted to let you know he was directing dammit!!! from the use of black-and-white stock to the super elongated shadows to the bizarre elevation of Macbeth's cousin Ross from minor messenger in the play to major character in the film. Meanwhile, Denzel's Macbeth was too withdrawn, reserved, and monotone for me.
But at least they didn't dumb down the material to the degree this adaptation does. Of course, the plot and language are simplified for an audience of children, but sheesh. I suppose it will serve to at least familiarize kids with the story so they are better prepared to tackle the original later in life, unless the pure cheesiness puts them off ever attempting that.
At least it made me feel a little better about the Coen film.
I felt the Coen flick was too dominated by a director who wanted to let you know he was directing dammit!!! from the use of black-and-white stock to the super elongated shadows to the bizarre elevation of Macbeth's cousin Ross from minor messenger in the play to major character in the film. Meanwhile, Denzel's Macbeth was too withdrawn, reserved, and monotone for me.
But at least they didn't dumb down the material to the degree this adaptation does. Of course, the plot and language are simplified for an audience of children, but sheesh. I suppose it will serve to at least familiarize kids with the story so they are better prepared to tackle the original later in life, unless the pure cheesiness puts them off ever attempting that.
At least it made me feel a little better about the Coen film.
April 4, 2025
This is so chock full of trans people. Like I think everyone in this play is trans in some way, I genuinely believe this. Someone let me direct a fully trans production of this (as though every production of Macbeth isn’t already trans)
February 5, 2023
Reading the No Fear version is the next best thing to having a teacher guide the way through a story that I’m certain I would have missed a good deal of.
February 25, 2025
I don't have any comparisons or other experience reading Shakespeare, but I really liked this edition. It does a really great job of explaining unfamiliar words and phrases, and it offers a lot of background and other info that helps someone like me, who doesn't really know any details about Shakespeare.
For the play itself, I really enjoyed it and I was surprised by how easy it actually was to read. I sort of expected it to be that kind of incomprehensible old English, but barring a few lines, it really wasn't at all. I did try to read as much as possible out loud, and maybe that helps.
It's crazy to imagine that people were watching this performed in 1600, it must've blown their minds. Some of the lines go so hard ("What's done cannot be undone", "I heard a voice cry, 'Sleep no more!'") and there's turns of phrase and metaphors that are just so unique (well, in today's time, at least). It's also always interesting to read the source material of references from modern works ("something wicked this way comes", maybe "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow"?). It was just really obvious while reading why people keep coming back to stuff like this.
A couple of other things I found interesting: the ideas of masculinity/femininity, and how Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth he isn't a man if he doesn't kill Duncan. I also love stuff that handles prophecy and fate this well, like he tells you exactly what's going to happen, but it's still fascinating to watch how exactly it comes true. And you can't help but hope it can turn out differently. Even the way he resolves the part about Birnam Wood moving to Dunsinane, you're like, how's this going to happen?? And it's just a perfectly silly yet clever resolution of the prophecy there. Really fun.
Big fan of this and I'm very interested in getting more into Shakespeare now.
Oh, and I do think this makes Sleep No More make more sense to me, now. Better late than never, I guess.
For the play itself, I really enjoyed it and I was surprised by how easy it actually was to read. I sort of expected it to be that kind of incomprehensible old English, but barring a few lines, it really wasn't at all. I did try to read as much as possible out loud, and maybe that helps.
It's crazy to imagine that people were watching this performed in 1600, it must've blown their minds. Some of the lines go so hard ("What's done cannot be undone", "I heard a voice cry, 'Sleep no more!'") and there's turns of phrase and metaphors that are just so unique (well, in today's time, at least). It's also always interesting to read the source material of references from modern works ("something wicked this way comes", maybe "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow"?). It was just really obvious while reading why people keep coming back to stuff like this.
A couple of other things I found interesting: the ideas of masculinity/femininity, and how Lady Macbeth tells Macbeth he isn't a man if he doesn't kill Duncan. I also love stuff that handles prophecy and fate this well, like he tells you exactly what's going to happen, but it's still fascinating to watch how exactly it comes true. And you can't help but hope it can turn out differently. Even the way he resolves the part about Birnam Wood moving to Dunsinane, you're like, how's this going to happen?? And it's just a perfectly silly yet clever resolution of the prophecy there. Really fun.
Big fan of this and I'm very interested in getting more into Shakespeare now.
Oh, and I do think this makes Sleep No More make more sense to me, now. Better late than never, I guess.
July 9, 2025
‘Twas a rough night choral reading Macbeth at the Folger Library with a bunch of English teachers. Just kidding, super-fun.
April 4, 2021
I definitely liked it, but not as much as Shakespeare's other plays. I loved how wicked and manipulative Lady Macbeth was. I hated Macbeth for his greed and being naive.
Some lines in this play really spoke to me, like Macbeth's soliloquy about the dagger - I know it's not anything special, but he's talking about seeing something that you think is real but it is not in reality. I guess you can just see that speech from another perspective when taken out of context.
Update (2021): I always think of Macbeth as my favorite play by Shakespeare. My initial reaction is always different than the lingering effect.
Some lines in this play really spoke to me, like Macbeth's soliloquy about the dagger - I know it's not anything special, but he's talking about seeing something that you think is real but it is not in reality. I guess you can just see that speech from another perspective when taken out of context.
Update (2021): I always think of Macbeth as my favorite play by Shakespeare. My initial reaction is always different than the lingering effect.
November 22, 2023
Macbeth is one of my all time favourite plays, and one of Shakespeare's fastest, and most furious efforts. Everything happens at break-neck pace, in a world that's full of horror, strangeness, and otherworldly happenings. On this curious backdrop we find some of humanities worst elements projected.
I've always loved the Three Weird Sisters, and Hecate in this play. They're an oracular allusion, and their choral songs and spells are just that: spell binding.
I love everything about this play.
I've always loved the Three Weird Sisters, and Hecate in this play. They're an oracular allusion, and their choral songs and spells are just that: spell binding.
I love everything about this play.
August 14, 2022
This book was much better than I had expected... I might read again another time, but I still have to finish up some other books. :)
July 22, 2024
Read it for my English class, not great but like just above mediocre for me lowkey
January 30, 2025
4.5🌟 haven’t read this since 9th grade but it still HITS
February 28, 2025
i thoroughly enjoy Shakespeare’s plays about crazy men, they’re so fun
February 25, 2025
As an adult reader, I am reading Shakespeare's play for the first time. About four scenes in, I started to feel frustrated with how much time it is taking me to grasp the language. I thought it might be a good idea to read a general, engaging overview before diving back into the original text. Enter: Coville's Macbeth picture book adaptation. This was an excellent introduction to the storyline of Macbeth, and I feel a lot more inspired to return to the play with these stunning visuals (by Gary Kelley) in mind.
September 3, 2025
One of the very best of al time!
August 21, 2025
Reading Shakespeare now, it's so easy to see why his plays and poems are still read and performed today.
Macbeth was amazing, and the themes shone throughout the whole play. This particular version was very helpful for bits of dialogue and phrasing that (unless you study Shakespeare) is not commonly used, and could be hard to understand.
Shakespeare is always worth the read.
Macbeth was amazing, and the themes shone throughout the whole play. This particular version was very helpful for bits of dialogue and phrasing that (unless you study Shakespeare) is not commonly used, and could be hard to understand.
Shakespeare is always worth the read.
August 25, 2025
3.5/5
i think cause i am reading this for school i just cant like it more than 4 stars sorry
but this was actually fun to read still i was entertained but there was still quite a bit to unpack so yeah not bad
lady macbeth is highkey a baddie
i think cause i am reading this for school i just cant like it more than 4 stars sorry
but this was actually fun to read still i was entertained but there was still quite a bit to unpack so yeah not bad
lady macbeth is highkey a baddie
October 23, 2016
*Book source ~ Library
From Goodreads:
In its concentration of interest upon the protagonists, Macbeth can be seen as Shakespeare's experiment in unity of focus, whose chief appeal arises from the struggles of the central characters with each other and with the infernal powers that inspire or govern them. Ok, whatever. It’s freakin’ MacBeth. By that dude Shakespeare.
I will admit that I am not a fan of Shakespeare. He’s so damn hard to read! For fuck’s sake! I remember reading Romeo & Juliet in school, but that’s about it. I’d read more, but I get so bored and frustrated that I decided I was going to be someone who never reads his shit anymore. But then I spotted this graphic novel at the library and thought, Well, hell. Maybe I can finally get the gist of this without the headache. And I was right! The basic story is here without all the fancy language and wow, is MacBeth an asshole. And don’t get me started on his power hungry wife. Bonus that a couple of famous quotes were included and now I know where the hell they came from. I could never remember when I heard them, so maybe I will now. Anyway, the footnotes were a bit annoying only because I’ve read historical romances for more years than I care to admit to, so I knew a lot of what was being noted. However, I can understand, this being an educational series, the need for definitions. The illustrations aren’t too bad considering they’re small panels, but they don’t particularly float my boat. Plus, the historical facts and such at the end were very interesting. Overall, a good telling of an old classic.
From Goodreads:
In its concentration of interest upon the protagonists, Macbeth can be seen as Shakespeare's experiment in unity of focus, whose chief appeal arises from the struggles of the central characters with each other and with the infernal powers that inspire or govern them. Ok, whatever. It’s freakin’ MacBeth. By that dude Shakespeare.
I will admit that I am not a fan of Shakespeare. He’s so damn hard to read! For fuck’s sake! I remember reading Romeo & Juliet in school, but that’s about it. I’d read more, but I get so bored and frustrated that I decided I was going to be someone who never reads his shit anymore. But then I spotted this graphic novel at the library and thought, Well, hell. Maybe I can finally get the gist of this without the headache. And I was right! The basic story is here without all the fancy language and wow, is MacBeth an asshole. And don’t get me started on his power hungry wife. Bonus that a couple of famous quotes were included and now I know where the hell they came from. I could never remember when I heard them, so maybe I will now. Anyway, the footnotes were a bit annoying only because I’ve read historical romances for more years than I care to admit to, so I knew a lot of what was being noted. However, I can understand, this being an educational series, the need for definitions. The illustrations aren’t too bad considering they’re small panels, but they don’t particularly float my boat. Plus, the historical facts and such at the end were very interesting. Overall, a good telling of an old classic.
March 6, 2017
2.5 stars
I remember reading Macbeth in high school and not enjoying it as much as other Shakespeare works – mainly due to the harsh sounding Scottish language (or Scotch as the ‘pres’ says). Plus, I was not very literate in high school either, refusing to read anything.
But, I have been enjoying all the other Bruce Coville retellings of Shakespeare stories, so why stop! In any case, it’s good to hear these stories from a kid-point-of-view for people like me to understand them better. I did not enjoy Macbeth as much as I have enjoyed the other stories but it was ok. The next one we’re going to do is Midsummer Night’s Dream, I think.
Olsen, my eight-year-old son, will write a short review.
Olsen's rating 2 stars
Olsen's review
In giving this book 2 stars since Macbeth turned into a murderer and a bad guy.
I remember reading Macbeth in high school and not enjoying it as much as other Shakespeare works – mainly due to the harsh sounding Scottish language (or Scotch as the ‘pres’ says). Plus, I was not very literate in high school either, refusing to read anything.
But, I have been enjoying all the other Bruce Coville retellings of Shakespeare stories, so why stop! In any case, it’s good to hear these stories from a kid-point-of-view for people like me to understand them better. I did not enjoy Macbeth as much as I have enjoyed the other stories but it was ok. The next one we’re going to do is Midsummer Night’s Dream, I think.
Olsen, my eight-year-old son, will write a short review.
Olsen's rating 2 stars
Olsen's review
In giving this book 2 stars since Macbeth turned into a murderer and a bad guy.
November 16, 2021
I love Macbeth and I have this book as a reference within my classroom. While I will pull bits and pieces from it to show my students, as a whole, this book is not well done. The characters look very similar and the drawings don't seem to match with the emotions all the time. Also, while I understand that No Fear Shakespeare is supposed to make it easier to understand, they are also getting rid of the actual beauty of so much of the play. There's a healthy balance of Shakespearean and modern English and they did not strike it.
Also, there is just so much text... I understand that there are soliloquies, but holy cow this is on a new level for the amount of text in a speech bubble.
Also, there is just so much text... I understand that there are soliloquies, but holy cow this is on a new level for the amount of text in a speech bubble.
November 15, 2017
An entertaining retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth. The graphics are top-notch.
This GN includes a cast of the major characters at the beginning, history of the authors and the play as well as explanation of some of the more difficult lines in the story.
This would make a great introduction and/or companion piece to the play Macbeth.
This GN includes a cast of the major characters at the beginning, history of the authors and the play as well as explanation of some of the more difficult lines in the story.
This would make a great introduction and/or companion piece to the play Macbeth.
October 8, 2021
I’ve been thinking about reading Shakespeares’ Macbeth soon, so when I saw this I thought it would be the perfect introduction to the story. And it was, it was concise and the art style was great. I especially liked how it pulled actual quotes from the play and gave food-for-thought questions at the end.
September 2, 2022
it was pretty good. i'm sorry, i know shakespeare did not do everything he did in his career for me to sit under my covers at 1 in the morning and say "yeah it was pretty alright" but here we are. lots of interesting themes about guilt and masculinity. macduff almost got it right realizing emotions are a part of manhood, but then said he wasn't going to sit around and weep like a woman.
June 5, 2022
Man kan ikke andet end at give sådan et værk 5 stjerner..
Dog tror jeg ikke at jeg ville kunne have gennemført, havde det ikke været fordi denne version har så meget hjælpemateriale til at få læseren igennem.
Mit andet Shakespeare stykke, men bestemt ikke mit sidste.
Dog tror jeg ikke at jeg ville kunne have gennemført, havde det ikke været fordi denne version har så meget hjælpemateriale til at få læseren igennem.
Mit andet Shakespeare stykke, men bestemt ikke mit sidste.
September 4, 2024
A haunting and thought-provoking tragedy. Would love to see it on stage. The language was difficult for me to follow at times but I was able to translate where I had difficulties and YouTube also offers reviews to make sure you understood the theme and conveyed message.
January 1, 2025
A lot of people consider this to be their favorite Shakespeare play. Maybe it's because they read it in school. I personally enjoyed it but other than Lady Macbeth who was fantastic there weren't any gripping characters I found myself wanting to follow along with.
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January 2, 2016Macbeth is just plain creepy.
November 21, 2021
A nice refresher on Macbeth, who went from "no, absolutely no murder" to "yeah, alright, fine, murder" in, like, 24 hours, and yet people still choose to bemoan Romeo and Juliet.
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