1.95

3

May 18, 2008

Years after first adding this to my "Shakespeare" shelf, I finally sat down and did it. So here, long overdue, is

The Scottish Play, abridged:

WITCHES: Bibbity bobbity boo! Time to fuck with the mortals!

DUNCAN: Isn’t Macbeth great? Now there’s a guy I can always trust to have my back. I should promote him.

MACBETH AND DUNCAN: WEEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIEEEENDS. YES WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, WEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, NO TIME FOR -

WITCHES: ThaneofGlamisandCawdorandFutureKingsayswhat?

MACBETH: What?

Years after first adding this to my "Shakespeare" shelf, I finally sat down and did it. So here, long overdue, is

The Scottish Play, abridged:

WITCHES: Bibbity bobbity boo! Time to fuck with the mortals!

DUNCAN: Isn’t Macbeth great? Now there’s a guy I can always trust to have my back. I should promote him.

MACBETH AND DUNCAN: WEEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIEEEENDS. YES WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, WEEEE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, NO TIME FOR -

WITCHES: ThaneofGlamisandCawdorandFutureKingsayswhat?

MACBETH: What?

WITCHES: Oh, and Banquo, your kids are going to be kings someday. Good luck working that one out! *POOFvanish*

BANQUO: ...Dude.

MACBETH: Great news, honey! I meet these witches and they told me I was gonna be the thane of Cawdor and then BAM the king promoted me, and they also said I was gonna be king someday, so I guess Duncan’s going to make me his heir or something.

LADY MACBETH: Cool. I’ll invite him over and then you can kill him.

MACBETH: I…wait, what?

LADY MACBETH: KILL THE KING, YOU PUSSY!

DUNCAN: Hey, Macbeth, how’s my favorite -

MACBETH: I KEEL YOU!

DUNCAN’S SONS: *GTFO*

BANQUO: So anyway, son, apparently you’re going to be king someday, but I don’t really see how since now Macbeth’s the king, but anyway...

ASSASSIN: I KEEL YOU!

BANQUO’S SON: *GTFO*

MACBETH: Hey there, nice witches, I need some help. I just saw Duncan's ghost and I’ve been killing a lot of people and my wife’s losing what few marbles she had to begin with –

LADY MACBETH: THE BLOOD IS THE LIFE! THE BLOOD IS THE LIFE! I KEEL MYSELF (offstage)!

MACBETH: - and I’m not so sure about this whole prophecy thing anymore.

WITCHES: Don’t sweat it, you can’t be killed by any man born of woman, and you won’t really be in trouble until the forest starts moving.

MACBETH: Wait, didn’t something kind of like that happen in The Lord of the Rings?

WITCHES: NO. Also, watch out for Macduff.

MACBETH: Cool, I’ll go kill his whole family now.

WITCHES: This is just too much fun. We should have thought of this years ago.

MACDUFF: Macbeth, you are SO going down.

MACBETH: Joke’s on you, sucker! I can’t be killed by anyone born of woman, and since Caesarians haven’t been invented you…oh shit.

MACDUFF: I KEEL YOU!

WITCHES: More popcorn, Hecate?

THE END.
...more

5

Jan 05, 2010

Don't you kind of hate how we've entered the decadent phase of Goodreads wherein perhaps fifty percent (or more) of the reviews written by non-teenagers and non-romancers are now naked and unabashed in their variously effective attempts at being arch, wry, meta, parodic, confessional, and/or snarky?

Don't you kind of pine (secretly, in the marrow of your gut's merry druthers) for the good ol' days of Goodreads (known then as GodFearingGoodlyReading.com) when all reviews were uniformly Don't you kind of hate how we've entered the decadent phase of Goodreads wherein perhaps fifty percent (or more) of the reviews written by non-teenagers and non-romancers are now naked and unabashed in their variously effective attempts at being arch, wry, meta, parodic, confessional, and/or snarky?

Don't you kind of pine (secretly, in the marrow of your gut's merry druthers) for the good ol' days of Goodreads (known then as GodFearingGoodlyReading.com) when all reviews were uniformly plainspoken, merely utilitarian, unpretentious, and -- above all else -- dull, dull, dull?

Don't you kind of hate when people say 'don't you think this way or feel that way' in an effort to goad you both psychologically and grammatically into agreeing with them?

In the words of ABBA: I do, I do, I do(, I do, I do).

Well, because the interwebs is a world in which the past stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the present (and with fetish porn), we can revisit the past in its inviolable presentness any time we wish. Or at least until this website finally tanks.

Consider (won't you?) Matt Nieberle's review of Macbeth in its entirety. I have bound it with a heavy rope and dragged it here for your perusal. (Please understand that many a sic are implied in the following reviews.)

its really complicated and stupid!
why cant we be reading like Romeo and Juliet?!?!
at least that book is good!

There you have it. Refreshingly, not a review written in one of the witch's voices or alluding to Hillary and Bill Clinton or discussing the reviewer's first period. Just a primal yell unleashed into the dark wilderness of the cosmos. Yes, Mr. Nieberle is (probably) a teenager, but I admire his ability to strongarm the temptation to be clever or ironic. (Don't you?) He speaks the native language of the idk generation with an economy and a clarity that renders his convictions all the more emphatic.

Here's MICHAEL's review of the same play. You may 'know' MICHAEL; he is the 'Problems Architect' here at Goodreads. (A problematic title itself in that it implies that he designs problems... which might be the case, for all I know.)

This book shouldn't be required reading... reading plays that you don't want to read is awful.

Reading a play kinda sucks to begin with, if it was meant to be read, then it would be a novel, not a play. On top of that the teach had us students read the play aloud (on person for each character for a couple pages). None of us had read the play before. None of us wanted to read it (I made the mistake of taking the 'easy' english class for 6 years). The teacher picked students that looked like they weren't paying attention. All of this compounded to make me pretty much hate reading classics for something like 10 years (granted macbeth alone wasn't the problem).

I also hate iambic pentameter.

Pure activism there. STOP the mandatory reading of plays. It's wrong, morally and academically. Plus it can really fuck up your GPA. There's no wasteful extravagance in this editorial... no fanfare, no fireworks, no linked photos of half-naked, oiled-up, big-bosomed starlets, no invented dialogues between the author and the review-writer. It's simple and memorable. Being required to read plays is wrong, and if you require anyone, under duress, to read a play then you have sinned and are going to hell, if you believe in hell. If not, you're going to the DMV.

I am also tired of all you smug spelling snobs. You damnable fascists with your new-fangled dictionaries and your fancy-schmancy spell check. Sometimes the passionate immediacy of a message overcomes its spelling limitations. Also, in this age when we are taught to respect each other's differences, it seems offensively egocentric and mean-spirited to expect others to kowtow to your petty linguistic rules. Artistic expression will free itself no matter how you try to shackle it.

That's your cue, Aubrey.

In my personal opinion, the play Macbeth was the worste peice ever written by Shakespeare, and this is saying quite a bit considering i also read his Romeo and Juliet. Ontop of it's already unbelievable plot, unrealistic characters and absolutly discusting set of morals, Shakespeare openly portrays Lady Macbeth as the true vilian in the play. Considering she is mearly the voice in the back round and Macbeth himself is truely committing the hideous crimes, including murder and fraud, I do not see why it is so easy to assume that Macbeth would be willing to do good instead of evil if only his wife were more possitive. I believe that this play is uterally unrealistic.

But the following is by far the ne plus ultra of classic book reviewing. While succinct and without any distracting inclination to coyness or cuteness, Jo's review alludes to a bitterness so profound that it is inexpressible. One imagines a few Signet Classic Editions hacked to bits with pruning shears in Jo's vicinity.

I hate this play. So much so that I can't even give you any analogies or similes as to how much I despise it.

An incrementally snarkier type might have said something like... 'I hate this play like a simile I can't come up with.' Not Jo. She speaks a raw, undecorated truth unfit for figurative language.

And there's certainly nothing wrong with that. Once in a great while, when you get neck-deep in dandified pomo hijinks, it's a nice wallow in the hog pen you're itchin' for. Thank you, Jo. I love you and your futile grasping at similes that can't approach the bilious hatred in your heart. You are mine, and I am yours. Figuratively speaking, of course.

And now here's my review:

Macbeth by William Shakespeare is the greatest literary work in the English language, and anyone who disagrees is an asshole and a dumbhead.

...more

4

Oct 21, 2013

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present A Thing You Probably Didn't Want But Are Going To Get Anyway:

Macbeth, in GIFs:
Witches:


King Duncan to Macbeth:


Macbeth to King (secretly):


Lady Macbeth:


Macbeth:


Lady Macbeth to Macbeth:


Macbeth to Duncan:


Everyone:


Malcom and Donalbain:


Macbeth:


Macbeth to Banquo:


Macbeth:


Fleance:


Malcolm to Macduff:


Macduff and Malcom:


Macbeth:


Lady Macbeth:


Lady Macbeth:


Macbeth:


Army:


Macbeth:


Macbeth:


Witches:


Everyone:

5

May 12, 2007

Macbeth is Shakespeare's darkest play not only because of the restricted palette of its images--shades of black varied with bright red blood--but also because, in the play's world of warfare and witchcraft, its hero is half-damned from the start.

Inured to violence, prone to superstition, Macbeth struggles with the hags' predictions in the depth of his soul. But his wife, fiercely ambitious, never struggles. When he is haunted by his imagination, she is steadfast: preparing everything, looking
Macbeth is Shakespeare's darkest play not only because of the restricted palette of its images--shades of black varied with bright red blood--but also because, in the play's world of warfare and witchcraft, its hero is half-damned from the start.

Inured to violence, prone to superstition, Macbeth struggles with the hags' predictions in the depth of his soul. But his wife, fiercely ambitious, never struggles. When he is haunted by his imagination, she is steadfast: preparing everything, looking after the details, urging him on. It is only afterward, when he is thoroughly damned, coldly vicious, that she finds she cannot wash Duncan's blood off from her hands.

Among other things, this play is the portrait of a good marriage. If, that is, a good marriage can be made in hell. ...more

5

Oct 03, 2008

The Tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare
Macbeth (The Tragedy of Macbeth) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare; it is thought to have been first performed in 1606. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more The Tragedy of Macbeth, William Shakespeare
Macbeth (The Tragedy of Macbeth) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare; it is thought to have been first performed in 1606. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and consequent civil war swiftly take Macbeth and Lady Macbeth into the realms of madness and death. ...
عنوانها: مکبث؛ تراژدی مکبث؛ نویسنده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: در سال 1972 میلادی
عنوان: مکبث؛ نویسنده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: عبدالرحیم احمدی؛ تهران، اندیشه، چاپ دوم 1346؛ در 192 ص؛ با مقدمه : موریس مترلینگ؛ چاپ پنجم 1357؛ در 152 ص؛ موضوع: نمایشنامه های نویسندگان قرن 16 و 17 م انگلستان - سده 17 م
عنوان: تراژدی مکبث؛ نویسنده: ویلیام شکسپیر؛ مترجم: فرنگیس شادمان (نمازی)؛ تهران، بنگاه ترجمه و نشر، 1340، چاپ دوم 1351؛ با متن انگلیسی در 101 ص؛ زیر نظر: احسان یارشاطر؛ چاپ دیگر: تهران، علمی فرهنگی؛ 1365، در 89 ص؛ چاپ بعدی 1370، در 152 ص؛ چاپ ششم: علمی فرهنگی ، 1374 در 101 ص؛ هفتم 1375؛ شابک: 9644450175؛ هشتم 1378؛ دهم 1381؛ یازدهم 1382؛ دوازدهم 1384؛ سیزدهم 1388؛ چهاردهم 1391؛ شابک: 9789644450174؛
مترجم: خسرو شایسته؛ تهران، سپیده، 1364، در 96 ص؛
مترجم: داریوش آشوری؛ تهران، آگاه، 1371، در 100 ص؛ چاپ دوم 1373؛
مترجم: محمدصادق شریعتی؛ تهران، گویش نوه، 1393، در 120 ص؛ شابک: 9786006382487؛
مترجم: علی مجتهدزاده؛ تهران، نگارش الکترونیک، 1395، در 122 ص؛ شابک: 9786008299172؛
مترجم: حمید الیاسی؛ تهران، روشنگران، 1395، در 279 ص؛ شابک: 9789641941194؛
مترجم: بیتا حسینی؛ تهران، اسحاق، 1395، در 64 ص؛ شابک: 9786008175230؛
تراژدی (در تراژدی همیشه سرنوشت قهرمان و دیگران، از وقایع دلپسند آغاز سپس به فاجعه ختم میشوند) مکبث را شاهکار شکسپیر خوانده اند، به گمانم همه ی آثار این نامدار، بی اغراق به چنین صفتی آراسته هستند. نمایشنامه شرح زندگی سردار دلیری ست مکبث نام، وسوسه ها او را برمیانگیزند تا ولی نعمت خود را که مهمان او نیز هست، بکشد. سپس ایشان میمانند و قلم پرفروغ استاد تراژدی، تا سیاهی تباهی روح انسانی را به نمایش درآورند. این نمایشنامه کوتاه‌ترین تراژدی و یکی از محبوب‌ترین آثار ایشان است که بنا به باور بسیاری بین سال‌های 1599 میلادی تا سال 1606 میلادی نگاشته شده است. اساس تراژدی مکبث وقایع تاریخی اسکاتلند است، اما شکسپیر موافق ذوق و طبع هنری و ادبی خویش، تغییراتی در آنها داده و رخداد جنگ‌ها را به هم آمیخته‌ است. این نمایشنامه ی جاویدان، ماجرای: آسیب جسمی، آثار منفی روحی ـ روانی، و جاه طلبی سیاسی کسانی ست، که به‌ دنبال نفس قدرت هستند. نمایشنامه نخستین بار که احتمالاً خود شکسپیر نیز در آن به ایفای نقش پرداخته؛ آپریل سال 1611 میلادی بوده، که بنا به شرح مکتوب سیمون فورمن (منجم، طبیب و گیاه‌شناس انگلیسی دربار ملکه الیزابت نخست) در تئاتر جهان، واقع در لندن اجرا شده است. نخستین نمونه ی چاپی از این نمایشنامه در سال 1623 میلادی در کتاب: مجموعه آثار نمایشنامه‌ ای کمدی، تاریخی، و تراژدیهای شکسپیر، در زمان پادشاهی جیمز یکم، در انگلستان به چاپ رسید و انتشار یافت. شاه جیمز اول را از حامیان آثار و نوشته‌ های شکسپیر دانسته اند؛ و بعضی از آثار نمایشنامه‌ ای شکسپیر در زمان او نوشته شده است. اکثر آثار اما در دوره ی سلطنت الیزابت اول، تدوین و اجرا شده اند. همه ی نمایشنامه‌ های شکسپیر ترکیبی از نظم و نثر هستند. نمایشنامه مکبث به اسثتنای چند بخش کوتاه، تقریبا به طور کامل منظوم یعنی به شعر است. پس از گذشت قرن‌ها، هنوز شخصیت‌های اصلی این نمایشنامه نظیر مکبث و بانو مکبث، جذاب و در عین حال دستمایه ی ساخت آثار اقتباسی سینمایی و تلویزیونی، تئاتر و اپرا، و اقتباس ادبی به شکل رمان، و کمیک بوک نیز بوده است. تراژدی مکبث شرح زندگی پرحادثه ی سرداری دلیر و لایق به نام مکبث است. دانکن، پادشاه شریف و مهربان اسکاتلند، او را از میان هواخواهان خود برمی‌کشد، و به وی لقب و منصب می‌بخشد، اما مکبث بر اثر تلقین جادوگران، و وسوسه ی نفس، و به اغوای زن جاه‌ طلب خویش در شبی که پادشاه میهمان ایشان هستند، او را در خواب به قتل می‌رساند، و با این قتل، جهنمی برای خویش به‌ وجود می‌آورد. مکبث از آن پس گرفتار عذاب وجدان می‌شود، چندان که هر آهنگی و هر در کوفتنی او را هراسان می‌کند. سردار مکبث، و سردار بانکو، پس از شکست سپاهیان نروژی، و در راه بازگشت به اسکاتلند، با جادوگرانی روبرو می‌شوند، که به آنها از آینده خبر می‌دهند، و در حالی که امیر کادور زنده است، او را سالار کادور می‌خوانند، و به او می‌گویند: شاه خواهد شد. ساحران در پاسخ پرسش بانکو، می‌گویند: فرزندان تو به پادشاهی می‌رسند. دو سردار غرق در شگفتی، از ساحران جدا می‌شوند. مکبث در راه بازگشت، توسط پیک دانکن پادشاه اسکاتلند، باخبر می‌شود که امیر کادور به جرم بی کفایتی به اعدام محکوم شده، و ولایت کادور نصیب او شده‌ است، و این پیام تکان دهنده، درستی پیشگویی ساحران را بر او ثابت می‌کند. دانکن امیر کادور برای تقدیر از سردار پیروز (مکبث)، به قصر او وارد می‌شود، تا شب را نیز در کاخ او سر کند؛ غافل از آنکه مکبث، با وسوسه ی همسرش لیدی مکبث، فرجامین شب زندگی او را تدارک دیده‌، دانکن در خوابگاه به قتل می‌رسد، و دستان مکبث و روان لیدی مکبث، به خون ولی نعمتشان، که به فروتنی و تواضع مشهور بوده، آلوده می‌شود. اما این پایان ماجرا نیست، و مکبث برای آنکه پیشگویی ساحران محقق نشود، قاتلانی را به کشتن فرزندان بانکو می‌گمارد. بانکو که بو برده‌، فرزندش فلیانس ممکن است کشته شود، او را فراری می‌دهد، ولی خود کشته می‌شود. مالکوم فرزند دانکن نیز می‌گریزد، تا مبادا به قتل برسد، و این بر خشم و خون‌خواری مکبث می‌افزاید. هدف بعدی او مکداف سالار فایف است، که او نیز از اسکاتلند بگریخته، و به جمع مخالفان مکبث پیوسته‌ است. اما مکبث کاخ مکداف را به آتش می‌کشد، و زن و فرزندان سالار فایف را، با قساوت به دیار عدم روانه می‌کند. اکنون مکبث و لیدی مکبث را چاپلوسان و بزدلان، دوره کرده‌ اند، و هر آنکس که اندکی شجاعت و غیرت دارد، دو راه پیش روی خویش دارد: گریختن از اسکاتلند، یا پذیرش مرگ. جوّ هولناکی بر اسکاتلند حاکم شده، و حتی مردان بزرگ نیز غالباً از ترس جان، به جنگل پناه می‌برند. لیدی مکبث که در آرزوی تاج و تخت، مبتلای جنون شده، دستان آلوده‌ اش را می‌شوید، تا خون دانکن و دیگران را از آن بزداید؛ اما هر بار بیش از پیش گرفتار عذاب وجدان می‌گردد، و در سرسرای کاخ راه می‌رود، و افشای راز می‌کند، و ندیمه و دیگران بر خود می‌لرزند، که چگونه بانو مکبث و مکبث، دستشان را به خون دیگران آلوده کرده‌ اند. پس نه مکبث و نه همسرش شادمان نیستند، و از این روی مکبث به ساحران متوسل می‌شود، تا از آنها بشنود، که آینده چگونه خواهد بود. ساحران بار دوم دیدار نیز، او را امیدوار می‌کنند، که حکومتش و جانش پابرجا خواهد بود، و مادام که جنگل بیرنام به حرکت درنیاید، و کسی که او را مادرش نزاده، آنجا نباشد، کس نمیتواند او را به قتل برساند، و او نباید نگران باشد. اما در این بین مخالفان مکبث به سرکردگی مکداف دردمند و مالکوم، درصدد حمله به اسکاتلند هستند، و لیدی مکبث نیز در اوج جنون به سر می‌برد، لیدی سرانجام جان می‌سپارد. سربازان تحت امر فرماندهان مخالف مکبث، درختان جنگل بیرنام را قطع کرده، و با استتار خود در پس آنها، به سوی مقر حکومت مکبث حمله می‌برند، و او حرکت جنگل بیرنام را، زنگ خطر تحقق پیشگویی ساحران، به حساب می‌آورد. اما هنوز امیدوار است که زنده بماند، لیکن هنگامی که از زبان مکداف می‌شنود که او از مادر زاده نشده، بلکه با جراحی از شکم مادرش وی را به دنیا آورده ‌اند (سزارین)، مرگ را پیش روی خود می‌بیند و چنین نیز می‌شود: مکداف مکبث را می‌کشد و سپاهیان وارد کاخ می‌شوند و مالکوم را به پادشاهی اسکاتلند برمی‌گزینند. ا. شربیانی ...more

5

Jun 12, 2012

highlights of this play include, but are not limited to:
- the witches! they are the original halloween qweens. they are serving some major spooky realness. also, they went and haunted a woman just because she wouldnt share her hazelnuts. that is the exact level of petty that i aspire to be.

- lady macbeth. honestly, everything she says (especially to her husband) is so savage. she doesnt want to be a queen, she wants to be the queen. and her first scene is iconic. “unsex me.” yaaassss. ditch highlights of this play include, but are not limited to:
- the witches! they are the original halloween qweens. they are serving some major spooky realness. also, they went and haunted a woman just because she wouldnt share her hazelnuts. that is the exact level of petty that i aspire to be.

- lady macbeth. honestly, everything she says (especially to her husband) is so savage. she doesnt want to be a queen, she wants to be the queen. and her first scene is iconic. “unsex me.” yaaassss. ditch those bonds of femininity. be the murderous biotch we all want you to be.

- how someone born by a c-section is the key factor for determining the outcome of pretty much everything. soooo random. lol.

- that the english army thought they could hide behind tree branches and sneak up on macbeth for a surprise attack.

- the fact the macbeth believed it and actually thought it was the forest.

- “what, you egg!?” is now my go-to insult.
↠ 4.5 stars ...more

5

Aug 01, 2016

Over the past year, I have branched out in my reading, attempting authors and genres that I had not discovered before. Recently, I read Serena by Ron Rash in which the title character is compared to Lady Macbeth. While Serena may be ruthless, I had never read the play so I could not contrast the two heroines. Another of my reading goals this year is increasing my reading of classics. Up until now, I had predominantly read modern classics, and found a worthy reason to read an older masterpiece. Over the past year, I have branched out in my reading, attempting authors and genres that I had not discovered before. Recently, I read Serena by Ron Rash in which the title character is compared to Lady Macbeth. While Serena may be ruthless, I had never read the play so I could not contrast the two heroines. Another of my reading goals this year is increasing my reading of classics. Up until now, I had predominantly read modern classics, and found a worthy reason to read an older masterpiece. So it is without further adieu that I present my take on the Bard's Macbeth.

Shakespeare penned Macbeth around the year 1606 when he was already established as a reputed playwright. For this play, he chose a contemporary Scottish soldier and references the Scottish crown within the text. Yet, as in most of Shakespeare's works, the Bard was not as much concerned with the history surrounding the play, as he was with the characters themselves, their desires and motivations. Thus, Macbeth is regarded as Shakespeare's darkest tragedy.

The tale begins when Macbeth visits three witches, later of "double, double, toil, trouble" fame. They prophesy that he will become the Thane of Crowder, Thane of Glowdis, and King of Scotland. Yet, the men who hold these titles are all currently alive. Lady Macbeth plots and decides to murder all the key players who stand in the way of her husband becoming king, framing other upstanding individuals for her actions. She even goes as far as killing those who relayed news to her that King Duncan had been killed, even though she herself committed the crime. As the tale continues, the Lady now Queen continues to plot and has servants and soldiers at her disposal to do her bidding.

Meanwhile, Macbeth also grows weary of rivals to the crown and plots to eliminate anyone who goes against him. While Lady Macbeth is at ease being an evil mastermind, Macbeth reaches the point where he can not live with himself for murdering Duncan. He returns to the witches in an attempt to change the prophesy, but it is not to be. At this point, Lady Macbeth grows emotionally unstable, while Macbeth himself is no longer afraid to die in battle as penance for previous crimes committed. It is clear that Shakespeare intended for the Lady to be the more hungry individual in this drama.

As in all Shakespearean works, the text is not long but a little tedious if one is unused to old English. Because I had just read Serena, I read along quickly looking for comparisons to the two women, allowing me to be more engrossed in the prose than I might have been otherwise. Shakespeare's words remain timeless over 400 years later, deeming Macbeth, as well as his other works, worthy reads. This play was fun because the characters were so dark, encouraging me to read more Shakespearean tales in the future. ...more

5

Jan 22, 2011

There are two reasons to love this play.

The first reason is Lady Macbeth. Man, that girl has got it goin’ on. Have you ever found yourself in the running for, say, a new position that’s opened up at your company, a position for which you—along with one of your equally worthy colleagues, perhaps—might qualify? You may not have given much thought to your professional advancement before, but now that this promotion has been dangled before you, it has ignited a spark of ambitious desire. Imagine the There are two reasons to love this play.

The first reason is Lady Macbeth. Man, that girl has got it goin’ on. Have you ever found yourself in the running for, say, a new position that’s opened up at your company, a position for which you—along with one of your equally worthy colleagues, perhaps—might qualify? You may not have given much thought to your professional advancement before, but now that this promotion has been dangled before you, it has ignited a spark of ambitious desire. Imagine the possibilities! And it is just within your grasp...if only there were a way to edge out the competition. Maybe you could sabotage a project he’s working on. Or you could discredit him by rumoring of his incompetence. Better yet, you could off him in the parking garage. But each of these strategies requires a certain level of gumption to execute, a level not everyone possesses. This is where it pays to be married to Lady Macbeth. All she would need is a mere mention of this potential uptick in your career path and she’s off and running, drafting the schematics, telling you where to stand (just outside the stairwell, across from his car, within easy reach of the tire iron lying in the corner that can be used while he’s distractedly sifting through his keys). Why doesn’t she do it herself, you ask? Well, why should she? It’s not her job. Her job is to support you, to boost your confidence, to supply that additional gumption. You’re the one who has to do the dirty work.

Lady Macbeth is an amazing character. I’ve seen reviews on here that criticize her for being the morally reprehensible of the two protagonists, planting ideas in her husband’s head that he would not have otherwise formed, encouraging him toward evil deeds that he would not have otherwise committed. I disagree. She may have made a mistake helping to plan Duncan’s murder, but if anything Lady Macbeth is the one with her moral faculties still intact—she exhibits a profound sense of remorse at the end of the play that Macbeth recognizes as nothing short of an ailment for which to seek a cure. While Macbeth is off slaughtering anyone who might threaten his regal standing, his wife is at home rubbing the fuck out of her hands until the blisters explode and she suffocates in a pool of her own pus.

The second reason to love this play is the eloquence of the language. There are passages in this play that describe human emotion so briefly yet so profoundly it triggers goosebumps. These are some of my favorites:
On expressing one’s grief:
What, man! ne’er pull your hat upon your brows;
Give sorrow words: the grief that does not speak
Whispers the o’er-fraught heart and bids it break.

On not having enough gumption:
Yet do I fear thy nature;
It is too full o’ the milk of human kindness
To catch the nearest way: thou wouldst be great;
Art not without ambition, but without
The illness should attend it.

On contemplating ambition’s worth:
Nought’s had, all’s spent,
Where our desire is got without content:
’Tis safer to be that which we destroy
Than by destruction dwell in doubtful joy.

On being past the point of no return:
All causes shall give way: I am in blood
Stepp’d in so far that, should I wade no more,
Returning were as tedious as go o’er.

On the futility of life:
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.

On the finality of death:
There’s nothing serious in mortality:
All is but toys: renown and grace is dead;
The wine of life is drawn, and the mere lees
Is left this vault to brag of.

I said in the comments section of my Hamlet review that I was preferring Hamlet to Macbeth. While I think I prefer the character of Hamlet to that of Macbeth, I no longer stand by that statement in terms of the play itself. Macbeth really is a masterpiece. ...more

5

Jun 14, 2016

‘’There’s husbandry in heaven; Their candles are all out.’’

This is a text that has been brewing inside my mind for quite some times. I started reading Jo Nesbø’s retelling of Macbeth two days ago (quite interesting so far, by the way…) and it gave me the chance to reflect on a masterpiece that isn’t just a play but a psychological study of power, ambition and the darkest recesses of the human soul. I don’t presume I am able to write a ‘’review’’ on Shakespeare’s works. Goodness, no! This is ‘’There’s husbandry in heaven; Their candles are all out.’’

This is a text that has been brewing inside my mind for quite some times. I started reading Jo Nesbø’s retelling of Macbeth two days ago (quite interesting so far, by the way…) and it gave me the chance to reflect on a masterpiece that isn’t just a play but a psychological study of power, ambition and the darkest recesses of the human soul. I don’t presume I am able to write a ‘’review’’ on Shakespeare’s works. Goodness, no! This is just my take on the reasons why Macbeth shaped Literature’s dark themes and imagery, having a plethora of the Bard’s most beautiful and darkest quotes, being the most realistic depiction of the human tendency to destroy and violate all that is sacred and honest.

‘’Can the devil speak true?’’

Macbeth -more than any other play, in my opinion- has the power to form images of distinct horror and brutality in our minds. Let us not forget that it is loaded with superstitions and weird phenomena have been recorded during theatre runs throughout centuries of performances. I would take it one step further and say that Macbeth initiated the Gothic elements in Literature, although they wouldn’t have been named thus at the time. This is obvious in the presence of the Three Witches, the characters I’ve always been most fascinated with than any other in the play. Imagine the audience during the reign of James I, the first Stuart king, watching spells and curses unfolding on stage, right before their eyes? How did they perceive their presence in the play? How do we perceive it? Are they merely the harbingers of things to come or do they have an influential role in the fate of Macbeth and the characters? In every production of Macbeth I’ve watched, the Three Witches can make or break the whole performance for me. One of the reasons I adore Polanski’s vision of the play is his choice to end his outstanding 1971 film version with Donalbain coming across the Witches’ lair, bitten by the harsh Scottish rain, as the vicious circle goes on and on…

‘’Now o’er the one half of the world nature seems dead, and wicked dreams abuse the curtained sleep; witchcraft celebrates pale Hecate’s offerings; and withered Murder, alarmed by his sentinel, the wolf, whose howl’s his watch…’’

Darkness is everywhere. This is a country that is slowly finding herself in a deep sleep of deceit and death. Ravens croak, owls shriek, bats signify the end and Hecate walks the Earth with her ominous escort. Rain is the introductory dark omen of what is to come and the wind is filled with lamentations. The strange screams of death and the knockings out of nowhere are signs of the utter violation between two human beings, between kinsmen and friends.

‘’...and nothing is but what is not.’’

Macbeth and his wife put on their most sincere smiles and act like the perfect hosts. He calls Banquo his dearest friend, invites him to his royal feast. Macbeth is brave, unyielding even when his world crumbles, firmly determined until the very end. And yet, his soul hides extreme antitheses. Throughout the action, he knows that his deeds will lead to nowhere. ‘’Blood will have blood’’, he says in sadness. And he is right. What he succeeds in is the murder of trust and every sacred value our world holds dear. The endless course of murder that desires more and more...Regicide, the killing of relatives, dear friends and compatriots and comrades. The slaughter of women, children and servants. He knows that once he starts, he cannot stop.

‘’I have supped full with horrors.’’

Each and every time Macbeth decides to pluck away one more thorn of threat to his reign, he tries to find the arguments for and against the coming deed. The sense of duty doesn’t seem to abandon him altogether but is always in a brutal fight with his burning ambition. Guilt plagues him even before he starts the bloody chain of events, he ‘’murders sleep’’ and, in my opinion, the moment he raises his hand to slaughter Duncan, he first murders himself and his principles. Do I see his wife as the utter solicitor to his bloody future? Definitely yes. Lady Macbeth is by far my favourite Shakespearean heroine but as hard as I try, I cannot find any redeeming qualities in her character. Her remorse is madness, and is it even remorse or the unbearable burden of guilt? These two aren’t one and the same. While Macbeth’s end is as brave as it can be, her end is lonely, honoured only by Macbeth’s quiet sorrow expressed in an achingly beautiful soliloquy. Macbeth isn’t Iago. He’s not a lunatic villain who kills just because. I’ve always considered him an anti-hero. A man who can't survive the fight between his weak will to do what is right and the darkness of his desires.

In Macbeth, Shakespeare created one of the most controversial characters in Literature. While the historical Macbeth was the exact opposite of his theatrical counterpart, the Scottish play became one of the most recognizable works of Art, even to the few uninitiated to the greatness that is the Bard. It became a synonym for conspiracy, treason, murder echoing, among other themes, the Gunpowder Plot that threatened the very essence of the British reign at the time. It became a metaphor of the limits a human can bend in order to achieve the absolute control. A token of lacking faith in everyone and everything. When a man who was considered valiant and loyal becomes devoid of any humanity, what kind of good can be sustained in a world governed by petty leaders and corrupted sovereigns? Do not tell me this doesn’t apply to our current times. I will not try to convince anyone to love this play. Its strength in overcoming prejudices and the fact that it remains one of the most beloved and performed works of Shakespeare speaks for itself. For me, this work of dark beauty and nightmarish brilliance is the best example of how Shakespeare managed to know the human nature more than any other writer...

I leave you with what I consider to be the finest lines about the futility of chasing unattainable ambitions and the most beautiful soliloquy ever written…

‘’Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his way upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.’’

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.word... ...more

5

Jul 18, 2011

“By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.”

Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy is also one of his most powerful. Macbeth’s lust for power is compulsory, when confronted with the witches’ prophesy he is drawn into the tragedy as if he were a runaway train on tracks. He must fulfill his ambition.

“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.”

“By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.”

Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy is also one of his most powerful. Macbeth’s lust for power is compulsory, when confronted with the witches’ prophesy he is drawn into the tragedy as if he were a runaway train on tracks. He must fulfill his ambition.

“To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death.”

Macbeth is a tragic hero but, like Richard III, is also villain, and like Milton, Shakespeare immerses his audience in a character study of dark shadows. By casting the lot and allowing his tragedy to live out to its necessarily bloody conclusion, Shakespeare was drawing on primal heartstrings that people of his time, and people for all time, can relate. At the black heart of this play is a fear of death, and yet a perverse and paradoxical fascination with it as well.

“Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.”

Though written and produced in the late 1500s and early 1600s (originally) the subject involves witchcraft and sorcery and harkens to a pagan past, not too long lost on the folks sitting at the Globe. No doubt ancient family legends and folk tales still resounded in dank cellars and back rooms, and the imagery and symbolism Shakespeare used to such potent effect served as a chilling contrast with the Christian spectators. The inchoate curse of guilt for naked ambition is a theme readily apparent.

“Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and is heard no more. It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”

Lady Macbeth is one of the great female characters in literature. Her role as a temptress and wily beneficiary of the ruthless plan, and her eventual abysmal fall is one that resounds with readers and audiences to this day.

“Things without all remedy should be without regard: what's done is done.”

...more

5

Aug 29, 2016

Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.

Poor old Macbeth. You were doomed from the very first act. Your mistake was believing in hearsay, prophecy and half-truths. You were an excellent Thane, noble and strong. But you were never meant to be King. You should never have told your wife about the witches, that way the fires of your ambition would never have been fanned.

You only committed in halves to the witches advice. You needed to Be bloody, bold, and resolute. Laugh to scorn
The power of man, for none of woman born
Shall harm Macbeth.

Poor old Macbeth. You were doomed from the very first act. Your mistake was believing in hearsay, prophecy and half-truths. You were an excellent Thane, noble and strong. But you were never meant to be King. You should never have told your wife about the witches, that way the fires of your ambition would never have been fanned.

You only committed in halves to the witches advice. You needed to go the full way or not at all. For you are bloody. Your butcher’s work in King Duncan’s tent saw to that. Your soldier’s work on the battlefield also saw to that. You weren’t afraid to get your hands dirty and in this you were bold and daring, but none would ever call one such as you resolute. Your conscience got the better of you, it made you weak and vulnerable, and because of this you failed. Your rule failed. Your sword arm failed. You needed to go the full way or not at all.

Desperation, paranoia and butchery are what followed your indecisiveness. You killed those that could have been loyal; you killed those that could have remained friends. And it was your doom. You created your own haunting, your own end. You listened to the advice of the witches when you should have followed your own path, your own mind. Their words killed you. Your faith in them killed you. Macduff was defeated at your feet, but your fear conquered you. Their words unmanned you.

Macbeth! Macbeth! Macbeth! Beware Macduff.
Beware the thane of Fife. Dismiss me. Enough.

...more

5

Jan 28, 2018

I absolutely loved this play! I absolutely loved this play! ???? ...more

5

Feb 24, 2018

Act One. Scene Minus One.

A greasy spoon café on a Blasted Heath. Three Witches at a Table.

First Witch : It’s not warm, though, is it?

Second Witch : Cold it be and warm it bain’t –
This café could do with a coat of paint

Third Witch : I wish you wouldn’t do that all the time.

Second Witch : (To Waiter) Excuse me – what’s the soup of the day?

Waiter: Scotch broth.

Second Witch : What’s in it?

Waiter : Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Fillet of a fenny Act One. Scene Minus One.

A greasy spoon café on a Blasted Heath. Three Witches at a Table.

First Witch : It’s not warm, though, is it?

Second Witch : Cold it be and warm it bain’t –
This café could do with a coat of paint

Third Witch : I wish you wouldn’t do that all the time.

Second Witch : (To Waiter) Excuse me – what’s the soup of the day?

Waiter: Scotch broth.

Second Witch : What’s in it?

Waiter : Toad, that under cold stone
Days and nights has thirty-one
Swelter'd venom sleeping got,
Fillet of a fenny snake,
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab.

Second Witch : I’ll just have the salad then.

First Witch : Now listen – we know what we’re going to say when we meet Macbeth and Banquo tomorrow but what if we run in to King Duncan?

Third Witch : Okay, what about this – King thou be but not for long
Alas, O Dunc, it’s all gone wrong

First Witch : Wait – how about – You may be king but listen mate
We are the hags who know your fate
If you knew what we know Macbeth you’d hate
And by the way you should lose some weight

Second Witch : Yes, good! I hear they call him Dunkin’ Duncan at the palace.

Third Witch : What about if we run into Lady Macbeth?

First Witch : Well, she won’t be wandering round the battlefield will she? That’s not logical.

Third Witch : But sister weird and sister dear
This is a play by W Shakespeare
Great poet, philosopher and teacher
Logic ain’t the overriding feature

Second Witch : I’m going to do this one tomorrow – Hover through fog and filthy hair-

Third Witch : Hair? You should change that to air.

First Witch : The night draws on so must we run
But there’s time for some tea and an iced* bun

Second Witch : Macbeth hath not the greatest wit

Third Witch : But let’s agree he is quite fit.

Exeunt


*the stress is on the second syllable ...more

4

Sep 22, 2018

Macbeth, one of William Shakespeare’s most famous tragic plays, is a quick read despite being in Early Modern English. It’s also one of his shortest plays. It’s not easy to read this kind of English, so it makes it difficult to review.

The story is a simple one of lust for power and seemingly endless murder. Macbeth, one of King Duncan’s most trusted noblemen in Scotland, is driven by Lady Macbeth and the witches to put himself into power. I could tell from the beginning that it was doomed to Macbeth, one of William Shakespeare’s most famous tragic plays, is a quick read despite being in Early Modern English. It’s also one of his shortest plays. It’s not easy to read this kind of English, so it makes it difficult to review.

The story is a simple one of lust for power and seemingly endless murder. Macbeth, one of King Duncan’s most trusted noblemen in Scotland, is driven by Lady Macbeth and the witches to put himself into power. I could tell from the beginning that it was doomed to fail, as this is a tragic play. There is no happy ending. However, it is reasonably entertaining, being one of my favourite Shakespearean plays. I first read this in high school about 20 years ago, so it was interesting to see what I could remember. It was shorter than I remember. Nevertheless, it felt fresh and I could read it with a new, more mature perspective.

Most characters are quite unlikeable. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth may be the protagonists, but who wants to see them succeed? I thought Macduff was the easiest to like, though Ross was also a good guy. The three witches provided memorable quotes, though they appeared less than I remembered. The single-mindedness of Macbeth, and especially Lady Macbeth, showed an incredible amount of obsessive ambition. I would hope to never meet anyone like them.

As this is a play, it reads very differently than a novel. There is next to no narration, and is all dialogue and stage directions. However, it’s easy to follow, and the footnotes aid in understanding Early Modern English. The version I read, Signet Classic, has more than 200 pages, but the play is less than 100. There’s a lot of information about Shakespeare and the play. ...more

5

Feb 24, 2018

My Macbeth's second read.

Written in an economy prodigy, one of Shakespeare's shorter pieces, based on accounts of wars between noble lineages in England, Scotland and Ireland, Macbeth is one of the author's bloodiest tragedies. Of the protagonists only two survive, it is the tragedy par excellence of human ambition. The tragedy in Scotland tells the story of Macbeth, one of King Duncan's generals, successful in his fight with the rebels. He is visited by three witches who predict their fate as My Macbeth's second read.

Written in an economy prodigy, one of Shakespeare's shorter pieces, based on accounts of wars between noble lineages in England, Scotland and Ireland, Macbeth is one of the author's bloodiest tragedies. Of the protagonists only two survive, it is the tragedy par excellence of human ambition. The tragedy in Scotland tells the story of Macbeth, one of King Duncan's generals, successful in his fight with the rebels. He is visited by three witches who predict their fate as future landlord and king of England. Lady Macbeth, wife of the general, plot for the king's death to put her husband in place. Fearful, Macbeth hesitates to take part in his wife's plan, but kills the king in his sleep with his blood-stained hands. Macbeth reflects on whether he made the right decision by taking that action. After the assassination of the king, Macbeth is crowned and lives moments of glory. However, Macbeth fears Banquo, the other general, who rivals him in cunning and intelligence and for whom the witches predicted that he would be the future king with his lineage, while Macbeth would not have heirs, reigning for that. Macbeth then hires two assassins to kill him, but Banquo's son Fleance escapes from death. Macbeth then begins to be haunted by the ghost of Banquo, who leads him to madness, then begin the intrigues on the part of the nobles to depose Macbeth. In visiting witches, Macbeth receives councils of apparitions that foretell Macduff's intention take the throne and also the lineage of Banquo. Malcolm, the son of the former king and Macduff, then found themselves in England and asked the king for help in deposing Macbeth, for Siward and ten thousand men borrowed by the King of England. In Scotland, Lady Macbeth goes mad and starts wiping her hands without stopping, to get rid of the blood that torments her and begins to say disconnected words. The battle is approaching and Macbeth, maddened, seeks to make sense of the words spoken by the witches. Lady Macbeth dies in her own room, and the English army is approaching with branches of trees in hand, confirming the prophecy that one day the grove would come to the castle. After the match, Macbeth is killed and only Malcolm, Ross, Macduff and other soldiers remain, crowning Malcolm as the new king. ...more

3

Oct 29, 2015

3.5 stars

So I listened to the Playaway audio version, and it was good! Instead of someone reading the story, this one has a whole cast reading it like a play. There's even sound effects!
{insert booming thunder}



I know, right?!
So, yeah, that was very cool!

Now, as far as the actual play goes?
Eh. It was ok.
Wait, wait, wait! Before you tell me I'm an idiot (debatable), and that this was the best thing since sliced cheese, let me remind you that I was listening to this sucker, so it's not like I 3.5 stars

So I listened to the Playaway audio version, and it was good! Instead of someone reading the story, this one has a whole cast reading it like a play. There's even sound effects!
{insert booming thunder}



I know, right?!
So, yeah, that was very cool!

Now, as far as the actual play goes?
Eh. It was ok.
Wait, wait, wait! Before you tell me I'm an idiot (debatable), and that this was the best thing since sliced cheese, let me remind you that I was listening to this sucker, so it's not like I could study the words for a few seconds or anything.
People with accents were speaking in some sort of Ye Olde Englishith, and some of it got lost in translation for me.
Plus, I'm used to reading mostly comic books, so my brain wandered off a few times while I was listening to this. <---This will become a very important thing to remember later in this review.
shrugs



Here's what I got out of it:

Witches! Witches everywhere!
Yeah, random witches did this singsong thing, and rambled on for a bit about things that I couldn't quite make out. I'm going to assume they made predictions, and I'm going to assume the predictions were important.
Double, double, toil and trouble...plus some other stuff.



Evil queen alert!
Yep. Some poor dude is about to get done in by his wife.
Bet he's wishing he'd remembered their anniversary about right now...



Apparently, she's having an affair with Macbeth, and talks him into killing her hubby, King Whatshisname? Doesn't matter, he's dead pretty much right off the bat.



Right away, Macbeth becomes king, and (I guess) inherits Lady Whatshername Macbeth. All is going according to plan!



Edit: Hey, guess what?! None of that affair stuff happened! Yeah, it seems as though I totally misinterpreted all of it. Shocking that I could do something like that! (view spoiler)[Look, you guys could at least PRETEND to be shocked. I'm not asking for much, here, am I? Just a little bit of support as I try to become better read, more well-rounded, and expand my horizons. So, you know, GASP! or something, goddamnit! (hide spoiler)]
Guess Lady Macbeth was just a power-hungry twat that talked her henpecked hubby into stabbing his buddy in his sleep.
Still, I think my version is cooler, and William should think about writing my idea into this play, you know?

Now, here's where the plot got (more) murky for me.
I guess Mr. Macbeth started killing off Olde King Whatshisname's supporters, and made himself some enemies.



Plus, Lady M starts to lose her mind just a tad, and starts wandering around at night scrubbing imaginary blood off of her hands.
Out, damned spot!
Is it guilt? OCD? Or just the lack of a good pre-soak agent?



Time to get more good advice from the witches!
Bubble, bubble, you're in trouble...plus other stuff.



Lady BigMac loses it completely, offs herself, and leaves Macbeth to deal with the consequences on his own. What a bitch, right?!
But that's ok, because he doesn't seem to spend much time mourning her.
It must have been love but it's over now. It must have been good but I lost it somehow...



Whatever. She's dead, and these other dudes out there are pissed because he killed off their families, and besmirched their good names.
You tell 'em I'm coming... and hell's coming with me, you hear?... Hell's coming with me!



But Macbeth ain't skeered, see? 'Cause he's got this prophecy that the witches gave him, tucked into his back pocket.
No man born from a woman will ever defeat you.
So, I was thinking, Ooooh! Hey, I'll bet that means some chick is gonna stab his ass!, but I was wrong.
The twist was waaaay better.
Emergency C-Section, for the win!



And that's it, kiddies.
*takes a bow*

...more

5

Jun 25, 2014

"Blood will have blood."

Naked ambition and ruthlessness combined with superstition and entitlement belief is a strong cocktail, carefully mixed in the witches' cauldron. The spicy recipe is of course hard to digest, and only those taunted and ridiculed in their toxic masculinity by "unsexed" wives will swallow the bait and act out the disaster.

Despite the centuries of democratisation that form a barrier between us and Macbeth' dream of "safe power", one recognises the brutal wish for fame and "Blood will have blood."

Naked ambition and ruthlessness combined with superstition and entitlement belief is a strong cocktail, carefully mixed in the witches' cauldron. The spicy recipe is of course hard to digest, and only those taunted and ridiculed in their toxic masculinity by "unsexed" wives will swallow the bait and act out the disaster.

Despite the centuries of democratisation that form a barrier between us and Macbeth' dream of "safe power", one recognises the brutal wish for fame and elevation in many of our contemporary players on the world stage. There is an element of blindness that needs to be cultivated to be able to be both ambitious and careless enough to use violence to grasp power illegitimately.

While Macbeth and Lady Macbeth follow their ambition to gain glory, they manage to simultaneously hold the belief that:

"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."

This tale is definitely not told by an idiot, and it signifies more than the fury it unleashes on stage. It contains the conundrum of the human condition, the neverending question why we destroy what we built to gain a loss. ...more

5

Feb 25, 2014

I recently attended the Royal Shakespeare Company’s performance of Macbeth at the Barbican Centre (London, 2019, directed by Polly Findlay). In this interpretation of the play, Macbeth and the men around him are modern infantrymen. The staging does not point explicitly to a situation on which Shakespeare could shed some light — although current and unsettling examples would have been easy to pick. We are in Hell itself. The Weird Sisters are played by very young girls, who strangely resemble the I recently attended the Royal Shakespeare Company’s performance of Macbeth at the Barbican Centre (London, 2019, directed by Polly Findlay). In this interpretation of the play, Macbeth and the men around him are modern infantrymen. The staging does not point explicitly to a situation on which Shakespeare could shed some light — although current and unsettling examples would have been easy to pick. We are in Hell itself. The Weird Sisters are played by very young girls, who strangely resemble the twin girls in Kubrick’s Shining, just as Banquo’s ghost, soaked in blood, reminds us of De Palma’s Carrie. Macbeth’s progression, from zealous liegeman to killing machine and finally to cornered nihilist is manifest; as well as that of his alluring wife, from blind ambition to denial and fatal hysteria.

However, the most striking aspect of this stageplay — and, broadly speaking, of Shakespeare’s masterpiece — is not only the fact that it is all centred on the villain, the monster. It is, above all, the inescapable machinery of death that is set into motion from the very start (the witches’ self-fulfilling prophecy), and especially from the moment when Macbeth stabs Duncan to eternal sleep. From this moment on, there is no turning back, and at this precise moment, the hungover Porter, sole comic relief and dispassionate observer of the whole tragedy, sets a huge clock ticking down, that will reach zero exactly when Macduff slits Macbeth’s throat. Here, as in other dramas indeed, the initial prediction is inescapable, whether the heroes try to change their fate (think about Laius’ failed attempt in Oedipus Rex), or whether they struggle to make it happen against all the odds and bloodbaths, as is the case in this “Scottish Play”.

Moreover and to top it all off, at the end of this RSC performance, when Malcolm is crowned, and justice seems to be restored, the three witches make one last appearance, revealing that Fleance, Banquo’s son, might very soon use another dagger against his sovereign. The clock, tick-tick or knock-knock, is ready to be triggered into horror again. Here, Time has never been less “out of joint”. It is, on the contrary, set for another deadly loop — again, a Kubrickian trait. “To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow” (V,5,19). Disturbing and mind-blowing. ...more

4

Feb 18, 2015

While nature remains an impassive witness that blossoms with wounded beauty and treacherous storms in “King Lear”, it embodies a mystic underworld rich with esoteric tradition and almost sacrilegious imagery in “Macbeth”.
Apparitions, ghosts and witches dance at the tune of lyrical prophecies and besiege the open plains of Scotland during nighttime. Only Macbeth hears their infantile incantations:

“The weyward sisters, hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land,
Thus go do about, about.
Thrice to While nature remains an impassive witness that blossoms with wounded beauty and treacherous storms in “King Lear”, it embodies a mystic underworld rich with esoteric tradition and almost sacrilegious imagery in “Macbeth”.
Apparitions, ghosts and witches dance at the tune of lyrical prophecies and besiege the open plains of Scotland during nighttime. Only Macbeth hears their infantile incantations:

“The weyward sisters, hand in hand,
Posters of the sea and land,
Thus go do about, about.
Thrice to thine and thrice to mine,
And thrice again, to make up nine.”

Alliteration, wordplay and riddles acquire supernatural connotations due to the magical significance of the number “three”, for three witches there are and three times they repeat their capricious charms.
It is amidst this confusing, hallucinatory atmosphere that Macbeth arises as the merging point between reality and the afterlife, overshadowing the rest of the noblemen that sort of blur together in an undistinguishable mass of secondary characters.
His presence is so engulfing that defies categorization and the archetypal part of villain or murderer, like Edmund or the deceitful sisters in “King Lear”, becomes but a deficient label to describe the protagonist of this tragedy forged in imagination.
Spurred by the bewitched air and cradled by the shrouding dark, Macbeth covets the crown of Scotland devoid of greed or ambition, and like a frequent seer of the occult, he anticipates his doomed fate:

“She would have died hereafter.
There would have been a time for such a word.
Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time,
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle.”

Lady Macbeth’s venomous speech, “unsex me here, And fill me, from the crown to the toe, top full Of direst cruelty!” drips with acidity towards her husband’s manliness but neither the reasons for her ambitious aspirations nor her apparent dissatisfaction with her condition as a female are revealed.
Yet it is prematurely disclosed in the opening scenes of Act I that the Macbeths are childless and that after betraying the King and his faithful friend Baquo, Macbeth seems to retaliate exaggeratedly against Madcuff and orders to have not only his wife but all his heirs brutally assassinated.
Can Macbeth’s actions derive from hurt pride? Envy? Fear?
The motives remain elusive, but the result is not. Because when “justice” is done, when the traitor is beheaded and Madcuff has proved his honor in avenging his family, he salutes Malcom, the heir to the throne of Scotland, and the public gathered there with the famous:

“Behold, where stands
The usurper’s cursèd head. The time is free.
I see thee compassed with thy kingdom’s pearl,
Whose voices I desire aloud with mine:
Hail, King of Scotland!”

Nevertheless, the escalating grandeur of Macbeth, which grows exponentially towards a climatic explosion, has eclipsed the aberrant bloodshed to secure the kingdom and demoted it to the trivial status of the ephemeral.
Macbeth’s days have been usurped by the dusky scented nights and his visionary faculty has been rewarded with the gift of immortality. He now throws his pennies in the fountain and wishes for nothing else, just like the reader.
...more

4

Feb 24, 2018

A reread, a one that disappointed me a freaking lot. Once again. I really want to believe that humans are better than this. Or have been at some historical point. Then, bam!, and this arrives on my reading stack and proves to me that people have always been fucked up in their respective heads. Thanks a freaking lot! And here I was building my dreamcastle and getting ready to wear some rose glasses!

This is not about a good marriage. This is about how some people can instigate each other to do A reread, a one that disappointed me a freaking lot. Once again. I really want to believe that humans are better than this. Or have been at some historical point. Then, bam!, and this arrives on my reading stack and proves to me that people have always been fucked up in their respective heads. Thanks a freaking lot! And here I was building my dreamcastle and getting ready to wear some rose glasses!

This is not about a good marriage. This is about how some people can instigate each other to do weird shit (to put it extremely mildly!). Basically, if you take these two particular people going their separate ways, they might live well enough to not do too much damage to the world. But you connect them, in marriage or friendship or otherwise, and you get a boiling mix of complexes that even psychotherapy (had it even been available at that point in history, which it wasn't!) would have been hard pressed to resolve. The bottomline is: some people have synergistic effects when together, and some of those are designed by hell's blueprints.

It's beautiful and all. But not everyone is likely to see all (or even most!) of the things expressed in this play. So, 4 stars. It's profound and I love the 'double trouble' thing (cheers, Mr. Potter!) but still way too somber.

Q:
Witch:
When shall we three meet again
In thunder, lightning, or in rain? (c)
Q:
Hecate:
Your vessels and your spells provide,
Your charms and every thing beside.
I am for the air; this night I'll spend
Unto a dismal and a fatal end:
Great business must be wrought ere noon:
Upon the corner of the moon
There hangs a vaporous drop profound;
I'll catch it ere it come to ground:
And that distill'd by magic sleights
Shall raise such artificial sprites
As by the strength of their illusion
Shall draw him on to his confusion:
He shall spurn fate, scorn death, and bear
He hopes 'bove wisdom, grace and fear:
And you all know, security
Is mortals' chiefest enemy. (c)
Q:
LL
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
Second Witch
Fillet of a fenny snake,
In the cauldron boil and bake;
Eye of newt and toe of frog,
Wool of bat and tongue of dog,
Adder's fork and blind-worm's sting,
Lizard's leg and owlet's wing,
For a charm of powerful trouble,
Like a hell-broth boil and bubble.
ALL
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Third Witch
Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf,
Witches' mummy, maw and gulf
Of the ravin'd salt-sea shark,
Root of hemlock digg'd i' the dark,
Liver of blaspheming Jew,
Gall of goat, and slips of yew
Silver'd in the moon's eclipse,
Nose of Turk and Tartar's lips,
Finger of birth-strangled babe
Ditch-deliver'd by a drab,
Make the gruel thick and slab:
Add thereto a tiger's chaudron,
For the ingredients of our cauldron.
ALL
Double, double toil and trouble;
Fire burn and cauldron bubble.
Second Witch
Cool it with a baboon's blood,
Then the charm is firm and good. (c)
Q:
Second Witch
By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes. (c) ...more

5

Dec 09, 2010

Still my favourite Shakespeare play? I think so.
Language-wise, Shakespeare is always a master. He invented many a word and phrase that we all use even today, centuries later. But some of the stories and characters are better than others. Macbeth, in my opinion, sits near the top of the pile. The witches and their fateful prophecies, the bloody betrayals, the madness of Lady Macbeth, and the tragedy of Macbeth himself. Bringing about his own prophesised downfall, step by step. Nothing short of Still my favourite Shakespeare play? I think so.
Language-wise, Shakespeare is always a master. He invented many a word and phrase that we all use even today, centuries later. But some of the stories and characters are better than others. Macbeth, in my opinion, sits near the top of the pile. The witches and their fateful prophecies, the bloody betrayals, the madness of Lady Macbeth, and the tragedy of Macbeth himself. Bringing about his own prophesised downfall, step by step. Nothing short of genius. ...more

5

Mar 17, 2018

A Scottish Game of Thrones

With real witches and crones

Double, double toil and troubles

A cauldron that bubbles

Black magic, and woes

All Royals are foes

Each eager for absolute power

To be the master, in the tower

The one that sees all

As all the Kingdoms, before him fall

Much blood on his hands, a dagger before him, a nightmare

A story of betrayal, and many battles, and destined to scare A Scottish Game of Thrones

With real witches and crones

Double, double toil and troubles

A cauldron that bubbles

Black magic, and woes

All Royals are foes

Each eager for absolute power

To be the master, in the tower

The one that sees all

As all the Kingdoms, before him fall

Much blood on his hands, a dagger before him, a nightmare

A story of betrayal, and many battles, and destined to scare???????? ...more

4

Jan 07, 2012

Book Review
Ah Macbeth... good old, dark and devious Macbeth. We read this as part of a 10th grade AP English course and watched a movie to compare the differences between the two versions. Everyone has his or her own take on Macbeth. I rather enjoyed the play back in high school and then again in college during my English major. It's nearly 500 years old. Even by today's standards, it has some of the most fun drama you could imagine. It's sort of like a reality TV show, don't you think?

Book Review
Ah Macbeth... good old, dark and devious Macbeth. We read this as part of a 10th grade AP English course and watched a movie to compare the differences between the two versions. Everyone has his or her own take on Macbeth. I rather enjoyed the play back in high school and then again in college during my English major. It's nearly 500 years old. Even by today's standards, it has some of the most fun drama you could imagine. It's sort of like a reality TV show, don't you think?

Witches. Devious wife. Devilish husband. Death all around. Ghosts. Superstitious behavior. All great plot points. Amazing characters to work with. Fun and lyrical language. Can't say enough good things about it. But to flip the coin for a minute... was it too much all in one story? What are we supposed to learn from it? Who was this really about? Many open-ended questions I'd love to ask Mr. Shakespeare.

If you've never read it... it's necessary reading for classic / historical literature. If you've read it and didn't like it, why? I'd love to know.

For me, it hit the mystery sweet spot in a few ways, even though it wasn't quite a story about "who's the killer." It was more a thriller... "who else is gonna die?"

Tons of adaptions. Stage plays. It's a multi-media dream come true for directors, producers and actors. As a play, it's easy to follow and moves quickly.

About Me
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by. Note: All written content is my original creation and copyrighted to me, but the graphics and images were linked from other sites and belong to them. Many thanks to their original creators.
[polldaddy poll=9729544]
[polldaddy poll=9719251] ...more

5

Sep 29, 2011

For the Celebrity Death Match Review Tournament, Macbeth (30) versus The Complete Sherlock Holmes (19)

This early draft of Macbeth, recently translated from the original Klingon, casts new light on the play and has already caused its fair share of controversy. We present two extracts.
_________________________________

MACBETH:

Surely no man suspects I killed the King?
Or if they do, they durst not breathe a word
Knowing our wrath...

ATTENDANT:

Well, actually, my lord
There's quite a few down at the bar For the Celebrity Death Match Review Tournament, Macbeth (30) versus The Complete Sherlock Holmes (19)

This early draft of Macbeth, recently translated from the original Klingon, casts new light on the play and has already caused its fair share of controversy. We present two extracts.
_________________________________

MACBETH:

Surely no man suspects I killed the King?
Or if they do, they durst not breathe a word
Knowing our wrath...

ATTENDANT:

Well, actually, my lord
There's quite a few down at the bar who say
The whole thing stinks and something's going on
I think that if you went and called the cops
And told them to investigate a bit
Nothing excessive, sure, they know the drill
It might be smart.

LADY MACBETH:

Hush, fool, and still thy tongue
Another word will surely be thy last
And yet it might be good to make a show
Of seeking truth when all we want is lies
To this end have I summoned us some help
Two private dicks I'm sure we can control
I have them here.

[Enter HOLMES and WATSON]

Come in guys, don't be shy.

[To MACBETH]

I've told them everything they need to know

[She winks heavily at MACBETH and the ATTENDANT]

They'll start investigating right away
So all can see no coverup's afoot.

[HOLMES takes out his magnifying glass and starts examining the rug]

Have on't good sir, thy diligence to show!
And prove Macbeth is whiter than the snow.
_________________________________

[Night in the castle. Without, the PORTER is taking regular nips from his hip-flask and has evidently been doing so for some time. Within, WATSON, alone, is waiting for HOLMES to return.

Enter MACBETH without]

MACBETH:

How now, my man? The night is bitter cold.

PORTER:

Marry, there be no night so cold that a drop of whiskey will not warm me. Ifaith, I say, more cold, that I may have the more occasion for to cure it! Many a time have I disputed this with the Englishman, but he is of another mind. What care I: he may partake of his white snuff, I of my trusty flask here, and we are both the happier. God save your Majesty!

[He takes another nip]

MACBETH:

What sayeth the Englishman?

PORTER:

He is a mighty one for secrets. He examines old stained clothes with his glass, and the marks of shoes, and he holds converse with the servants. And he writes in his book, and nods, and nods again. But why he nods, that I cannot tell ye.

MACBETH:

What has he said?

PORTER:

When eight bells sounded, I heard them together. I know, Watson, he said, and soon will I have proof.

[MACBETH starts violently]

Knowst thy Majesty whereof he spoke?

MACBETH:

I will ask him direct.

[MACBETH moves towards the door. Meanwhile, WATSON has been shivering, rubbing his arms, etc]

WATSON:

I never dreamed that Scotland was so chill!
My ears are freezing. I'll just put this on.

[He dons HOLMES's deerstalker hat and sighs in contentment]

How warm and comfy. Wait! What was that noise?

[He moves to the window and listens, turning his back to the door. MACBETH enters. Thinking he sees HOLMES, he stabs WATSON in the back. WATSON falls and MACBETH realises his mistake]

MACBETH:

Thou wretched, rash, intruding fool, farewell!
I took thee for thy better...

WATSON:

Hey, come on
That bit's from Hamlet. Oh, well, never mind.

[Dies. HOLMES has meanwhile entered, and is pointing something at MACBETH]

HOLMES:

Thou mangy, wretched, murderous damn'd dog!
I have thee covered: make no sudden moves.

MACBETH:

Covered? With what? Thy words mean aught to me
Threaten me not: no man of woman born
May kill Macbeth

[He moves towards HOLMES, still holding his sword]

HOLMES:

But hark! I am no man
Rather an android, sent from future times
To rid the world of such foul fiends as thee.
I know thou murderedst Banquo; Duncan too;
Lastly poor Watson. Let us make an end.

[He shoots MACBETH with his phaser]

MACBETH:

Jesus and Mary, none of this makes sense
And now you'll say you fired in self-defence.

[Dies]

HOLMES:

I will. This night shalt thou with demons sup
Okay, I'm done here. Scotty, beam me up.

[Exit, dematerialising]

FINIS
...more

5

Mar 07, 2011

“Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.”
― William Shakespeare, Macbeth



I haven't read this since I was in HS. Loved it. Probably my biggest complaint is how slim it is. But, Shakespeare is at the top of his game. Based on an account of the reigns of Duncan and Makbeth in "the Chronicals of Scotland" in Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, it also spins into myth and alludes a bit to Seneca's tragedies. This is an efficient play. It is a “Stars, hide your fires; Let not light see my black and deep desires.”
― William Shakespeare, Macbeth



I haven't read this since I was in HS. Loved it. Probably my biggest complaint is how slim it is. But, Shakespeare is at the top of his game. Based on an account of the reigns of Duncan and Makbeth in "the Chronicals of Scotland" in Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, it also spins into myth and alludes a bit to Seneca's tragedies. This is an efficient play. It is a sword, a knife, a razor blade; interesting and tight. And Lady Macbeth is just, well, bloody amazing. It is hard sometimes to map EXACTLY where the magic of Shakespeare happens, but with Macbeth it is fairly easy. Shakespeare is the master at weaving very human characteristics (pride, ambition, duplicity, guilt) with a dark, mythic background filled with ghosts and witches. But add to that Shakespeare's poetry (95% of this play is in verse) and grand-scale characters, and he transports this play from great to fantastic. Some of Shakespeare's most memorable lines and moments come from Macbeth. I still think there are several plays that are better (Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, etc), but there is SOMETHING in this play that hooks me hard. Not necessarily always in a good way. But it grabs me like guilt still.

Some of the best lines:

― “Where shall we three meet again in thunder, lightning, or in rain? When the hurlyburly 's done, when the battle 's lost and won” (Act 1, Scene 1).

― “I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
And falls on the other.” (Act 1, Scene 7)

― “False face must hide what the false heart doth know.” (Act 1, Scene 7)

― “Confusion now hath made his masterpiece.” (Act 2, Scene 3)

― “By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes.” (Act 4, Scene 1)

― “Life ... is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.” (Act 5, Scene 5). ...more