Shakespeare's Macbeth is one of the greatest tragic dramas the world has known. Macbeth himself, a brave warrior, is fatally impelled by supernatural forces, by his proud wife, and by his own burgeoning ambition. As he embarks on his murderous course to gain and retain the crown of Scotland, we see the appalling emotional and psychological effects on both Lady Macbeth and himself. The cruel ironies of their destiny are conveyed in poetry of unsurpassed power. In the theatre, this tragedy remains perennially engrossing.
Dark and violent, Macbeth is
also the most theatrically spectacular of Shakespeare´s tragedies.
Indeed, for 250 years - until early this century - it was performed with
grand operatic additions set to baroque music.
In his
introduction Nicholas Brooke relates the play´s changing fortunes to
changes within society and the theatre and investigates the sources of
its enduring appeal. He examines its many layers of illusion and
interprets its linguistic turns and echoes, arguing that the earliest
surviving text is an adaptation, perhaps carried out by Shakespeare
himself in collaboration with Thomas Middleton.
This fully
annotated edition reconsiders textual and staging problems, appraises
past and present critical views, and represents a major contribution to
our understanding of Macbeth.
