*This Book is annotated (it contains a detailed biography of the
author). *An active Table of Contents has been added by the publisher
for a better customer experience. *This book has been checked and
corrected for spelling errors. Macbeth (full title The Tragedy of
Macbeth) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, thought to have been first
performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and
psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for
its own sake. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign
of James I, who was patron of Shakespeare's acting company, Macbeth most
clearly reflects the playwright's relationship with his sovereign. It
was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book,
and is his shortest tragedy.