Macbeth by William Shakespeare : Book Review

The Pelican Shakespeare: Macbeth
By William Shakespeare
Published by Penguin Books, 2016
Print: $8.00
Ebook: $7.99

In 11th century Scotland, King Duncan has just put down a rebellion with the help of his thane and cousin, Macbeth. Out of gratitude, Duncan promises to bestow great honors and lands and even greater rewards upon Macbeth. But this is not enough. For you see, after the battle was won, Macbeth happened upon three witches who prophecized that HE will be king of Scotland. While Macbeth might have been content to let the prophecy come true of its own accord, his wife wants to speed up the process a bit. By murdering King Duncan. What happens after that is pretty predictable, summed up by Shakespeare's quote, "...blood will have blood."

You would think that from all of the examples from literature throughout the history of the written word that people would have learned by now not to make a deal with the devil. But most people are weak, so we will have tales like Macbeth for as long as we remain human. Greed and avarice always bring about the downfall of man.

Word of advice: don't believe in prophecies that spring from evil sources, as embodied by the witches and the goddess Hecate in this play. They pretty much take delight in fucking with mortals and making them fall into disaster. Their oracle of Macbeth was the truth....IF he let the darkness in himself take over and killed Duncan, which he does, of course. Lady Macbeth has to goad him a little further by questioning his manhood, but it doesn't take a LOT of prodding to get him to commit murder. I wonder if the witches picked Macbeth BECAUSE they knew they could turn him to evil. It wasn't CHANCE that he came upon them. They are there to meet Macbeth and none other. Maybe they had already seen the future and what he would do?

Or maybe they're not there to turn Macbeth to the dark side. Maybe they're just revealing what he really is. In the first scene they chant "Fair is foul, foul is fair." There is a lot of mention of cloaking true intentions and true selves in the play. This quote doubles back on itself later when the goodness of the Macbeths tries to break thru their souls. Their guilt visions, such as Banquo's ghost or Lady Macbeth's hand washing, are to me symbols of their goodness. How can you have a conscience if you are completely evil? The fact that their subconscious is trying to break thru to the real world illustrates that they KNOW how far they have sunk. But at that point, what can they really do? As Macbeth states:

"I am in blood
Stepped in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o'er."

Once you have gone so far, there is no coming back. I thought that was one of the most powerful parts of the play. The mental effects on the Macbeths of the terrible things they had done. The fact that they knew there was no way to atone for their sins and that they just had to continue on their murderous course to their own violent deaths.

I admit that the reason I bought this book was the brand new cover design by Manuja Waldia, along with new editions of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and King Lear. I guess the fact that they published these 4 first tells me that Penguin considers these these works to be Shakespeare's most important plays. On July 5, 2016, two of his comedies will be published with new covers: Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night's Dream. Julius Caesar, Othello, and The Tempest will follow on November 1, 2016.

I think including this time, I've read the play 4-5 times, the first time being in 12th grade English. I remember quite clearly my teacher explaining the hidden meaning of one scene where the characters are really discussing the effect alcohol has on sexual performance. I enjoyed Macbeth again. I loved it for its efficency. I think its Shakespeare's shortest play by a long shot. No froo froo. Just the necessities.

My Grade: A+