Macbeth

:Macbeth is also an opera.

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Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, based loosely on historical events, such as the King Macbeth of Scotland, and including characteristic features of a morality play. Scholars think it an archetypal Jacobean play, with plenty of endorsements of James I's reign, and place its composition around 1606.

Related Topics:
Tragedy - William Shakespeare - Macbeth of Scotland - Morality play - Jacobean - James I - 1606

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There is considerable evidence that the text of the play as we have it incorporates later revisions by Thomas Middleton, who inserted popular passages (notably an extra scene involving the witches, for such scenes proved highly popular with audiences) from his own play The Witch (1615).

Related Topics:
Thomas Middleton - The Witch - 1615

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Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most popular works—as well as his shortest tragedy—and is frequently performed at professional and community theatres around the world. It is seen as an archetypal tale of dangers of the lust for power and betrayal of friends.

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On the stage, Lady Macbeth is seen by many as one of the most challenging roles for women in theater.

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Actors often consider the play to be 'unlucky', and usually refer to it as 'the Scottish play' rather than by name. The characters are sometimes referred to as 'Mackers' and 'Lady Mackers'. To say the name of the play inside a theatre is considered to doom the production to failure.

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