Macbeth: A Guide to the Play (Greenwood Guides to Shakespeare) [Hardcover]

H. R. Coursen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 30, 1997 | Series: Greenwood Guides to Shakespeare

Though written nearly 400 years ago, Shakespeare's Macbeth continues to capture the interest of modern audiences. Laden with political intrigue, supernatural elements, and complex psychological issues, Macbeth is a play of contemporary relevance, despite its tale of witches and ancient Scottish kings. While the play reflects seventeenth-century theological and political concerns, it also explores enduring themes, such as fate and free will, appearance and reality, order and disorder, ambition and obedience, and madness and sanity. Macbeth has been staged countless times, and it has also been produced for film and television. Numerous editions of the play exist, it is one of the most widely taught dramatic works, and scholars have written an enormous amount of criticism about it. This reference book is a comprehensive guide to the play. The volume begins with a consideration of the play's textual history and a review of some of the most significant editions. The guide then examines important contexts and sources for Macbeth, including Shakespeare's early work on Antony and Cleopatra, the Elizabethan story of bodily humors, Shakespeare's appropriation of material from Holinshed's Chronicles and Buchanan's History of Scotland, the significance of witchcraft, and the Gunpowder Plot. The book then presents a detailed examination of the dramatic structure of the play, along with a consideration of the play's most essential themes. A section on critical approaches summarizes how scholars have responded to the play. The volume then examines specific stage, film, and television productions of Macbeth and discusses the challenges of translating the text into performance. A selected bibliography concludes the work.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“One of the most frequently taught of Shakespeare's plays, 'the Scottish Play' is the ideal subject for the 'Greenwood Guides to Shakespeare' series. In the first four chapters Coursen briefly reviews the textual history, contexts and sources, dramatic structure, and salient themes, the latter including controversial interpretations of key scenes by leading critics and stage directors, which are more fully explored in the final sections of the book. Chapter 5 offers a lengthy review of criticism segmented by topic (genre, world order, witchcraft, psychology, gender, and 'Macbeth as murderer'), each with its own list of references.... Especially interesting is the substantial sixth and final chapter on the play in performance on stage, film, and television, including specific references for each medium.... essential for libraries at all levels.”–Choice

“Its meticulous scholarship and readability make it useful (but not intimidating) for beginning students and advanced scholars. Coursen's illuminating presentation of the play's religious background makes this volume of special interest to Catholic libraries.”–Catholic Library World

“Coursen treats the play in a scholarly manner with a very readable style.”–Christian Library Journal

“Do we really need another guidebook to a major Shakespear play?... Coursen's book provides a decisive answer: Yes... The book is deftly organized.”–Shakespeare and Renaissance Association of West Virginia Selected Papers

About the Author

H. R. COURSEN teaches at the University of Maine at Augusta.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (July 30, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 031330047X
• ISBN-13: 978-0313300479
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,593,469 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Craft, March 4, 2000

By 

Sean Ares Hirsch - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macbeth: A Guide to the Play (Greenwood Guides to Shakespeare) (Hardcover)

I have always liked "Macbeth." What I find interesting is that Macbeth starts out as a valiant general who is loyal to his king, but when he is tempted by evil, he (unlike his fellow general Banquo) can not resist the fruits to be obtained from vile deeds. Even when he tries to prevent himself from acting on his desire to be king, his wife pushes him. But once the deed is done, his wife begins to weaken and he has to push himself all the harder to hold on to what he was reluctant to strive for in the first place. I also find it striking that Macbeth realizes that his murder makes an eventual fallout with his friend Banquo inevitable. So then he has to have him killed secretly. It is masterfully crafted in that when Macbeth sees the ghost of Banquo (who suspected Macbeth of murdering Duncan) Macbeth suddenly realizes that Macduff also suspects him of murdering Duncan. Hence, the secret of Duncan is not dead. It is captivating when Macbeth confronts the witches they deceive him into thinking he is invincible, and yet they have also shown him how he will be destroyed. Also, when Macbeth realizes that Banquo's descendants will eventually reign, his psychological frenzy shows us just how much he has degenerated. This paves the way for the murder of Macduff's family. This in turn gives Macduff a reason beyond politics to fight. Here Shakespeare masterfully shows us that even Lady Macbeth has a conscience. Furthermore, he allows us to feel Macbeth's regret over his crimes. We can even feel a sorry for him when his beloved wife dies, when he fights bravely up until the very end, and when he dies with dignity.