Macbeth (Folger Shakespeare Library)

Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare; it is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatizes the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power for its own sake.

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Published Jul 1, 2003

304 pages

Average rating: 7.9

210 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

boyleschris
Jan 18, 2026
Bennie's recommendation 👍
Sarah Hackbarth
Jan 30, 2026
8/10 stars
“Screw your courage to the sticking place!”

Ahhh, Lady Macbeth remains my favorite character after all these years. She’s complex and corrupt and has the power to corrupt her husband. Yet she’s haunted by the deeds that follow and can’t escape the knowledge that her nudging pushed Macbeth over the edge. In my opinion, she could be held to blame for the entire tragedy of Macbeth; though the meaning could be deeper yet - in that ambition itself is to blame. Or the underlying message that power corrupts, and even the ambition for power corrupts.

Still my favorite Shakespeare tragedy.
Miss Scarlett
Aug 07, 2025
10/10 stars
Maybe, "the Scottish play" is the most meaningful, it's very powerful and intense as a play. You can feel the character's emotions in your own "flesh and blood" (also a phrase commonly attributed to Shakespeare). It's all about ambition, and the desire to have power and rule the world. And it's also about the consequences of that. All the scenery is dark, gothic, medieval. Here you have witches, and madness, and castles, and desire and ambition, and killings and deaths, and ghosts and battles, and Lady Macbeth, who is probably one of the strongest women I've seen on a Shakespearean play. She delivers a lot of fantastic lines too. In short, a magnetic play, from beginning to end. But is better if you call it "The Scottish play" other ways, has a fame of carrying bad luck.
camrynicolee
Sep 16, 2023
9/10 stars
loved all my ap lit reads
Vrhovdenes
Apr 18, 2023
8/10 stars
It was a strange story, but as it was made by William Shakespeare it was wonderful.

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