Macbeth: A Norton Critical Edition

This book was apparently shipped from Texas, and whoever sold it should be ASHAMED. It was in horrible condition for being labeled as "very good". All the pages were there, but the spine of the book was completely cracked, there was pink highlighter in the pages, and the cover itself was chewed up. It was acceptable quality at best, and now I'm frustrated because the quality is so bad that I can't get rid of it!

The previous owner wrote into it

This review is of Macbeth (Signature Shakespeare), edited by Jesse M. Lander. There may be other versions that come close. Macbeth was made to be watched. However, it is well that we slow down and read the words. I have time to think about the meaning and what they mean to us. There are several renditions in print. However, his rendition is the one you want to handle and display in your library. Short of expensive incunabula, we can display this book with pride. It is not just another pretty face with exquisite laser-cut designs, as we can get insights from the annotation. The introductory material is worth the price alone. If you are new to Macbeth: It starts with three witches who tell a Scottish general, Macbeth, that he will become king. Macbeth's wife eggs him on as suggesting that he dispatch the existing ruler and cousin Duncan to move the process forward. Little did Macbeth and Lady Macbeth (or we, for that matter) suspect at the time that they would encounter more blood and supernatural forces to correct the situation. You may find this a tad more layered than you think, as we must decide if the hero Macbeth is the bad person as suggested by Malcolm and Angus. Do not overlook the politics of the time. Warning: you may find yourself going around and saying, "Out, d-a-m-n-'-d spot!"

After struggling with my decision to use this book with my senior students, I am finding they are less hesitant to read AND they are enjoying the concepts in this drama! If it were an honors class, I think I would make students read the original text, but for my regular classes, I am very happy with my decision because they are GETTING IT. We are reading the authentic Shakespeare for the really good lines/soliloquys that shouldn't be missed. This is much better than other renditions that simply paraphrase as far as comprehension is concerned.

Virtually all editions of Macbeth will have at least some annotations. Rummaging through five different editions, I preferred this Yale University Press version, edited by Burton Raffel, as having the most comprehensive and comprehensible notes, as well as an excellent introduction to Shakespeare's play. Raffel not only explains the meanings of obscure words, but also gives brief notes pertaining to relevant history, geography, stage directions, etc, that are rarely addressed as fully by other editors. In addition, Raffel frequently gives the proper way to stress the syllables in a line when reading it aloud, which can be extremely helpful. (However, in most places these stresses need to be very subtle, so that you don't sound like "taDUM taDUM taDUM".) And Yale's page layout is among the clearest that I've seen. As a bonus, this edition includes at the back a long essay on the play by Harold Bloom. This is not an uninteresting commentary, but Bloom desperately needs a good editor. His essay is not only at least three times longer than it should be, but is startlingly repetitious. Yale would have been wise to have asked Bloom for a rewrite.

Interfact Shakepeare series only includes Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet so far. Both books are easily readable and allow students and teachers to follow along in its setup. Each scene is explained in a synopsis and the dialogue is faithful to Shakespeare's language. What makes this exceptional is the CD that comes with the book. The book also provides useful information and helps you out with the CD. The CD is a great asset and is filled with easy tests, games, and allows the teacher and students to explore Macbeth without worrying about getting it wrong. This book and CD should be available to all Literature and Language Arts teachers everywhere. Macbeth should not have to be so hard. It's worth the money, believe me. It's truly a bargain.