Witches and Jesuits by
In his Pulitzer prize-winning 1993 book Lincoln at Gettysburg, Garry Wills showed how the Gettysburg Address revolutionized the conception of modern America. In Witches and Jesuits, Wills again focuses on a single document to open up a window on an entire society. He begins with a simple question: If Macbeth is such a great tragedy, why do performances of it so often fail? After all, the stage history of Macbeth is so riddled with disasters that it has created a legendary curse on the drama. Superstitious actors try to evade the curse by referring to Macbeth only as "the Scottish play," but production after production continues to soar in its opening scenes, only to sputter towards anticlimax in the later acts. By critical consensus there seems to have been only one entirely successful modern performance of the play, Laurence Olivier's in 1955, and even Olivier twisted his ankle on opening night. But Olivier's ankle notwithstanding, Wills maintains that the fault lies not in Shakespeare's play, but in our selves. Drawing on his intimate knowledge of the vivid intrigue and drama of Jacobean England, Wills restores Macbeth's suspenseful tension by returning it to the context of its own time, recreating the burning theological and political crises of Shakespeare's era. He reveals how deeply Macbeth's original 1606 audiences would have been affected by the notorious Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when a small cell of Jesuits came within a hairbreadth of successfully blowing up not only the King, but the Prince his heir, and all members of the court and Parliament. Wills likens their shock to that endured by Americans following Pearl Harbor or the Kennedy assassination. Furthermore, Wills documents, the Jesuits were widely believed to be acting in the service of the Devil, and so pervasive was the fear of witches that just two years before Macbeth's first performance, King James I added to the witchcraft laws a decree of death for those who procured "the skin, bone, or any other part of any dead person--to be employed or used in any manner of witchcraft, sorcery, charm, or enchantment." We see that the treason and necromancy in Macbeth were more than the imaginings of a gifted playwright--they were dramatizations of very real and potent threats to the realm. In this new light, Macbeth is transformed. Wills presents a drama that is more than a well-scripted story of a murderer getting his just penalty, it is the struggle for the soul of a nation. The death of a King becomes a truly apocalyptic event, and Malcolm, the slain King's son, attains the status of a man defying cosmic evil. The guilt of Lady Macbeth takes on the Faustian aspect of one who has singed her hands in hell. The witches on the heath, shrugged off as mere symbols of Macbeth's inner guilt and ambition by twentieth century interpreters, emerge as independent agents of the occult with their own (or their Master's) terrifying agendas. Restoring the theological politics and supernatural elements that modern directors have shied away from, Wills points the way towards a Macbeth that will finally escape the theatrical curse on "the Scottish play." Rich in insight and a joy to read, Witches and Jesuits is a tour de force of scholarship and imagination by one of our foremost writers, essential reading for anyone who loves the language.
Shakespearean Tragedy by
Approaching the tragedies as drama, wondering about their characters as he might have wondered about people in novels or in life, Bradley is one of the most liberating in the line of distinguished Shakespeare critics.
Shakespeare for Students:critical interpretations of As you like it, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, The merchant of Venice, A midsummer night's dream, Othello, and Romeo and Juliet. by
The mountain of Shakespearean criticism is often more intimidating to students than Shakespeare's plays themselves. This volume attempts to address this problem with a single, accessible volume of criticism to the playwright's eight most popularly studied plays in secondary schools and undergraduate curriculums - Macbeth, Hamlet, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, As You Like It, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, and The Merchant of Venice.
Macbeth by
A man's thirst for power ends in tragedy in this Signet Classics edition of one of William Shakespeare's most powerful works. When a trio of witches fortell that Macbeth will become King of Scotland, the brave general is consumed by ambition. Encouraged by his wife to seize the throne, their quest for power leads down a blood strewn path that ends in madness and death in this play that explores the consequences of guilt and corruption. This revised Signet Classics edition includes unique features such as: * An overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater * A special introduction to the play by the editor, Sylvan Barnet * Selections from Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, the source from which Shakespeare derived Macbeth * Dramatic criticism from A. C. Bradley, Elmer Edgar Stoll, Mary McCarthy, and others * A comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions * Text, notes, and commentaries printed in the clearest, most readable text * And more...
Shakespeare's Mature Tragedies by
Despite their diversity in tone and subject matter, Shakespeare's four mature tragedies--Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth--all have an essential experience in common. Bernard McElroy defines this experience as the collapse of the subjective world of the tragic hero. Originally published in 1973. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.
King Lear, Macbeth, Indefinition, and Tragedy by MACBETH (Scroll Down for Resources)
"Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."
Macbeth, set primarily in Scotland, mixes witchcraft, prophecy, and murder. Three "Weïrd Sisters" appear to Macbeth and his comrade Banquo after a battle and prophesy that Macbeth will be king and that the descendants of Banquo will also reign. When Macbeth arrives at his castle, he and Lady Macbeth plot to assassinate King Duncan, soon to be their guest, so that Macbeth can become king.
After Macbeth murders Duncan, the king's two sons flee, and Macbeth is crowned. Fearing that Banquo's descendants will, according to the Weïrd Sisters’predictions, take over the kingdom, Macbeth has Banquo killed. At a royal banquet that evening, Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost appear covered in blood. Macbeth determines to consult the Weïrd Sisters again. They comfort him with ambiguous promises.
Another nobleman, Macduff, rides to England to join Duncan's older son, Malcolm. Macbeth has Macduff's wife and children murdered. Malcolm and Macduff lead an army against Macbeth, as Lady Macbeth goes mad and commits suicide.
Macbeth confronts Malcolm’s army, trusting in the Weïrd Sisters’ comforting promises. He learns that the promises are tricks, but continues to fight. Macduff kills Macbeth and Malcolm becomes Scotland's king.
(Photo: Macbeth, 1971,Caliban Films, Dir. Roman Polanski)
Macbeth (1971, Polanski), [Clipper Archive] by 
Macbeth (Orson Welles) [Clipper Archive]
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