Macbeth

“This debate informs the drama of Macbeth: we’re supposed to be horrified at the killing of King Duncan but also supposed to celebrate the killing of the second king, Macbeth. That’s really what the play asks us to do. But the only reason that works is that Shakespeare scants the coronation scene—Macbeth just comes in with the crown and we see him as a usurper—and in the second half of the play he’s called a tyrant about eight times and acts like one, especially in ordering the killing of Macduff’s wife and children. There’s also all that animal imagery—that he is really not a human being but a dog, and so on. “ Read more...

Robert S Miola on Shakespeare’s Sources

Robert S Miola,

“It’s very short by Shakespearean standards and it’s very powerful because of that.” Read more...

Shakespeare’s Best Plays

Emma Smith, Literary Scholar

“It’s been haunting me all my life. There are lines in it that just make you want to weep.” Read more...

René Weis on The Best Plays of Shakespeare

René Weis, Biographer