Customer Reviews

Macbeth (Norton Critical Editions)

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As a teacher of 11th grade English, I ordered this text because I was curious about its supplementary material. Now I am committed to the Norton Critical Editions for EVERY Shakespeare play I teach in the future! My students were amazed and sometimes enthralled with the incredibly rich background material which supplemented their study of Macbeth. They especially loved comparing Lady Macbeth's invocation of evil forces, and her declaration of imagined infanticide, with Seneca's Medea, in which Medea declares she will sacrifice her children to punish her cheating husband. They were incredulous that Macbeth's witches were actually mentioned several times in Holinshed's history. The factual background for Macbeth's rise and fall, set within the context of the eleventh century, gave them a deeper understanding of his inherent brutality. They also were better able to appreciate the modern aspects of his personality as interpreted by Shakespeare by contrasting the Bard's Macbeth with Holinshed's details of the actual historical Macbeth. And they really enjoyed learning that Lady Macbeth's real name was Gruoch. (Several said they're going to name their dog or their first daughter after her! Ha, ha!) WHAT A SUPERIOR SOURCE for any teacher! Please buy this if you are reading, studying, or teaching Macbeth!

Added note: Now it's years later, and I have used the Norton Critical Editions for teaching EVERY time one is available for the work I'm teaching. They are simply the best in providing depth and analysis via the historical documentation, critical reviews (both historical and contemporary), and other source material. I am such a fan of these, and have shared them with so many students, that my AP students have begun to buy them also for the work we are studying. I can't praise these editions highly enough!

It was in great condition, exactly what I expected. The book is amazing and I know that I will be reading it again and again!