Macbeth: A Guide to the PlayThough written nearly 400 years ago, Shakespeare's Macbeth continues to capture the interest of modern audiences. Laden with political intrigue, supernatural elements, and complex psychological issues, Macbeth is a play of contemporary relevance, despite its tale of witches and ancient Scottish kings. While the play reflects seventeenth-century theological and political concerns, it also explores enduring themes, such as fate and free will, appearance and reality, order and disorder, ambition and obedience, and madness and sanity. Macbeth has been staged countless times, and it has also been produced for film and television. Numerous editions of the play exist, it is one of the most widely taught dramatic works, and scholars have written an enormous amount of criticism about it. This reference book is a comprehensive guide to the play. |
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... scene is her final gesture toward retaining her " doubtfull joy " as Queen . Clarendon says that Helen Faucit " shuddered at the mention of the ' terrible dreams , ' with which she too was shaken . The sleep - walking scene was ...
... scene were carried by Macduff's rage at Malcolm for being at once so incapable and abject . Macduff had come in search of power and , of course , got that at the end of the scene along with an almost overwhelming personal mo- tivation ...
... scene , hair down around a chalky face , one hand stretched upward , is grippingly good . Since Macbeth seems a paltry object for her affections and ambitions , her early scenes with him are flat ; however , the murder scene is splendid ...
Contents
Critical Approaches | 117 |
The Play in Performance | 139 |
Selected Bibliography | 199 |
Copyright | |
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References to this book
Shakespeare's Visual Theatre: Staging the Personified Characters Frederick Kiefer Limited preview - 2003 |