2 h 8 minAudiobook8 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · 52 pagesHardcover · 6 × 9 in · 52 pagesAbout this book
What if the promise of a crown costs you every moment of peace?
In William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, three witches meet a brave Scottish general on a heath and tell him he will be king. Macbeth hears a future he longs to claim. His friend Banquo distrusts the witches’ motives. At their castle, Lady Macbeth urges her husband to turn prophecy into action, while the trusting King Duncan stands in the way of his ambition.
This fast-moving tragedy in five acts brings you into a castle at night, a marriage under strain, and a mind that cannot rest. Macbeth sees a dagger floating before him as he waits for his wife’s signal. Shakespeare’s vivid verse makes ambition and guilt feel close, while the witches’ riddles leave a troubling question: how much does fate decide, and how much does Macbeth choose?
What you’ll discover
- A promise on the heath Meet three witches whose riddles awaken Macbeth’s hunger for a crown.
- A marriage under strain Watch Lady Macbeth turn her husband’s longing for power into a plan.
- The dagger at night Enter a tense scene where a floating blade gives Macbeth’s inner struggle a visible shape.
- The weight of guilt Follow a brave warrior as ambition gives way to torment and suspicion.
- Verse alive with darkness Hear the contrast between the nobles’ unrhymed verse and the witches’ short, rhyming chants.
Is it for you?
This is for anyone who wants the full shape of Macbeth before seeing it, studying it or reading it. It suits students and playgoers alike. If you want a cheerful story with a clear hero, you may find it less suited.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Three witches promise a general a crown
- Lady Macbeth pushes her husband toward murder
- The night of the dagger and the knocking
- A king who cannot feel safe
- What the play says about ambition and guilt
- How Shakespeare builds the darkness
Who’s who
- MacbethA brave Scottish general who is told he will be king and must decide how far he will go to make it so.
- Lady MacbethHis wife, quick and forceful, who urges him to act on his ambition and takes charge of the plan.
- BanquoMacbeth's fellow general and friend, who hears his own prophecy and distrusts the witches' motives.
- King DuncanThe gentle and trusting king of Scotland, who rewards Macbeth and names his son as heir.
- MacduffA Scottish nobleman, loyal to Duncan, who grows suspicious of Macbeth's rule.
- MalcolmDuncan's elder son and heir, who must decide whom to trust after his father's fate.
- The Three WitchesStrange sisters who meet Macbeth on the heath and speak in riddles about what is to come.
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- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 8 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in, 52 pages: USD 5.95 when you start free, USD 12.95 on its own.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
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Macbeth
by William Shakespeare· 1623
A Scottish general pursues a crown through murder.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
Three witches promise a general a crown
The play opens in thunder, with three witches planning to meet Macbeth. They speak in riddles, and their first chant says that fair is foul and foul is fair. Nothing in this world, they suggest, will be what it seems.
Macbeth and his friend Banquo are generals serving King Duncan of Scotland. They have just helped to beat back a rebellion and an invading army. As they cross a heath, the witches greet Macbeth with three titles. He is Thane of Glamis, which he already is. He will be Thane of Cawdor, and then king hereafter.
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The author
William Shakespeare
1564–1616 · English playwright and poet
William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet, born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564. He worked in London as an actor and playwright. He wrote plays, including Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, and Macbeth, and published sonnets in 1609. He died in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1616.
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What is Macbeth about?
Macbeth is about a Scottish general who is told by three witches that he will be king. Urged on by his wife, he murders the king to take the crown, and he is then driven by guilt and fear.
Is Macbeth based on a true story?
Loosely. Shakespeare took his tale from Holinshed's Chronicles, which told of an eleventh century Scottish king named Macbeth. The play changes much of the history, and Shakespeare shapes the story of the witches and the supernatural for the stage.
When was Macbeth written?
Scholars think Shakespeare wrote Macbeth around 1606, during the reign of King James I, who had been king of Scotland before he became king of England. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623.
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