By William Shakespeare
[Fresh from victory on the battlefield, the
celebrated general and nobleman Macbeth
receives a prophecy from three witches that he
will one day become king of Scotland. Driven by
his own ambition and that of his power-hungry
wife, he murders King Duncan and seizes the
throne for himself. Forced to commit murder
again and again to maintain their grip on power,
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth become haunted by
guilt and paranoia, spiralling into madness and,
eventually, death.]
Can I just start by saying - I READ A SHAKESPEARE PLAY FOR FUN.
If you'd have known me back in secondary school or even college you would know how much I loathed Shakespeare. Annotating every single blasted word drove me up the wall.
But I found myself, a few months ago, wanting to attempt a reading of his darkest play out of pure curiosity. As a writer, he is worshipped. So what is all the fuss about?
Funnily enough, I rather enjoyed reading Macbeth.
The version I read had a sort of translation page opposite the actual Shakespearian play which was very handy indeed. I don't think I would've enjoyed it half as much if it wasn't for that because I still probably wouldn't have understood at least 60% of it.
But it was good. I enjoyed the story and the characters. I seemed to prefer scenes with Macbeth or Lady Macbeth in them, or the witches, because they were the scenes that were a lot more dramatic. I was always wondering who they'd kill next or what prophecy the witches would come up with next.
The only thing I wasn't particularly happy about were the sudden write-offs of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I think I would've liked to see what actually happened to them both as their deaths were off-stage.
However, saying that, the way it was written might've been very effective in play format, so who knows?
Maybe I'll try Romeo and Juliet soon...
➴
[Fresh from victory on the battlefield, the
celebrated general and nobleman Macbeth
receives a prophecy from three witches that he
will one day become king of Scotland. Driven by
his own ambition and that of his power-hungry
wife, he murders King Duncan and seizes the
throne for himself. Forced to commit murder
again and again to maintain their grip on power,
Macbeth and Lady Macbeth become haunted by
guilt and paranoia, spiralling into madness and,
eventually, death.]
Can I just start by saying - I READ A SHAKESPEARE PLAY FOR FUN.
If you'd have known me back in secondary school or even college you would know how much I loathed Shakespeare. Annotating every single blasted word drove me up the wall.
But I found myself, a few months ago, wanting to attempt a reading of his darkest play out of pure curiosity. As a writer, he is worshipped. So what is all the fuss about?
Funnily enough, I rather enjoyed reading Macbeth.
The version I read had a sort of translation page opposite the actual Shakespearian play which was very handy indeed. I don't think I would've enjoyed it half as much if it wasn't for that because I still probably wouldn't have understood at least 60% of it.
But it was good. I enjoyed the story and the characters. I seemed to prefer scenes with Macbeth or Lady Macbeth in them, or the witches, because they were the scenes that were a lot more dramatic. I was always wondering who they'd kill next or what prophecy the witches would come up with next.
The only thing I wasn't particularly happy about were the sudden write-offs of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. I think I would've liked to see what actually happened to them both as their deaths were off-stage.
However, saying that, the way it was written might've been very effective in play format, so who knows?
Maybe I'll try Romeo and Juliet soon...
➴
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