The Tragedy of Macbeth

In “Macbeth”, witches, superstition and mysticism create one of  Shakespeare's more fantastical of plays. Add to it the very real, human elements of self-doubt, manipulation, betrayal and soul-tormenting regret and you get one of the most enjoyable, poignant pieces of literature of all time. One of the things that furthers the play's legend is that many believe it to be cursed. All kinds of reasons for this have been bandied about. Disasters occurred, but those should probably be chalked up to chance accidents due to the high number of fight scenes and violent acts that take place. Nonetheless, a feeling developed that saying the title itself brought on bad luck, thus it was considered taboo to speak the name and so it became known throughout England as "The Scottish Play.” – regardless of the naming, this play stands as one of Shakespeare’s absolute masterpieces.