Macbeth - The Complete Classic Play With Illustrations

*This Ebook Features Dynamic Chapter Navigation Links*

The Tragedy of Macbeth (commonly called Macbeth) is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy & is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 & 1607. The earliest account of a performance of what was probably Shakespeare's play is April 1611, when Simon Forman recorded seeing such a play at the Globe Theatre. It was first published in the Folio of 1623.

Shakespeare's source for the tragedy are the accounts of King Macbeth of Scotland, Macduff, & Duncan in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of England, Scotland & Ireland familiar to Shakespeare and his contemporaries. However, the story of Macbeth as told by Shakespeare bears little relation to real events in Scottish history, as Macbeth was an admired & able monarch.

In the backstage world of theatre, some believe that the play is cursed, & will not mention its title aloud, referring to it instead as, the Scottish play.