Macbeth (Oxford School Shakespeare) - Softcover

Shakespeare, William

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198321465 ISBN 13: 9780198321460

Publisher: OUP Oxford, 2004

Synopsis

Oxford School Shakespeare is an acclaimed edition especially designed for students, with accessible on-page notes and explanatory illustrations, clear background information, and rigorous but accessible scholarly credentials. In this edition of Macbeth, illustrations have been extended and updated; the preliminary notes have been expanded; reading lists have been updated, and include websites; and the classroom notes have been brought in line with recent practice. Macbeth is a set text for 11-14 year olds in England and remains the most accessible and popular of Shakespeare's plays for secondary students the world over.

About this title

Review:

One of Shakespeare's greatest, but also bloodiest tragedies, was written around 1605/06. Many have seen the story of Macbeth's murder and usurpation of the legitimate Scottish King Duncan as having obvious connection to contemporary issues regarding King James I (James VI of Scotland), and the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. King James was particularly fascinated with witchcraft, so the appearance of the witches chanting "Fair is foul, and foul is fair" at the opening of the play seemed particularly topical, as was Macbeth's betrayal of Banquo, from whom James claimed direct descent.

However, the play is clearly far more than a piece of royal entertainment. It is also a fast-moving and dramatically satisfying piece of theatre. Macbeth's existential struggle between loyalty to his King and his "Vaulting ambition" is fascinating to watch, as his is struggle with Lady Macbeth, and her own terrifying refusal of her maternal role. The play shows an intensification of Shakespeare's interest in mothers and their effect upon ruling masculinity, and also contains some of the most memorable speeches in the entire canon, including Macbeth's reflections that ultimately life "is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing". --Jerry Brotton

Review:

"The polymathic scholar and translator Burton Raffel not only elucidates baffling terms but offers guidance on the prosody and declamation of Shakespeare's lines, often to subtle effect, which will be useful to actors as well as readers."--Eric Ormsby, New York Sun

About this edition

• Publisher: OUP Oxford
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0198321465
• ISBN 13: 9780198321460
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 160
• Editor: Gill Roma