The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC, is home to the world’s largest collection of Shakespeare’s printed works, and a magnet for Shakespeare scholars from around the globe. An up-to-date annotated guide to further reading Fresh images from the Folger Shakespeare Library’s vast holdings of rare books An essay by a leading Shakespeare scholar providing a modern perspective on the play

An introduction to reading Shakespeare’s language A key to the play’s famous lines and phrases Newly revised explanatory notes conveniently placed on pages facing the text of the play Freshly edited text based on the best early printed version of the play The line is blurred between Macbeth’s evil and his opponents’ good, and there are new attitudes toward both witchcraft and gender. Recently, it has been applied to nations that overreach themselves and to modern alienation. Its story was once seen as that of a hero who commits an evil act and pays an enormous price. Like other plays, Macbeth speaks to each generation. Is Macbeth tempted by fate, or by his or his wife’s ambition? Why does their success turn to ashes? In depicting a man who murders to become king, Macbeth teases us with huge questions. He found a spectacle of violence and stories of traitors advised by witches and wizards, echoing James’s belief in a connection between treason and witchcraft. London was alive with an interest in all things Scottish, and Shakespeare turned to Scottish history for material. In 1603, James VI of Scotland ascended the English throne, becoming James I of England. The authoritative edition of Macbeth from The Folger Shakespeare Library, the trusted and widely used Shakespeare series for students and general readers.

William shakespeare and macbeth