Title: MacbethAuthor: William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
First Published/Performed: It was written sometime between 1600 and 1610, and the earliest performance known was in 1611.
My Edition: Barnes and Noble Shakespeare (I prefer these over the other editions. They read easier and have great supplemental materials-you can see my edition at left).
Pages: 328
Other Works Include: Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, etc.
I would be highly offended if you told me you haven't given Shakespeare a try! I love Shakespeare and I find that with the right edition, it is not as difficult to figure out as you might think.
For my challenge, I am reading a whopping 16 plays by William. I have already completed 2-Much Ado About Nothing and The Winter's Tale. I have read a great deal of Shakespeare's work in the past, in college, high school, and on my own. So far in my personal challenge I haven't picked up a Shakespeare play that I haven't already previously read. This will be my fifth or sixth time reading Macbeth, and it has always been one of my FAVORITE Shakespeare plays. It is very dark and sinister and I LOVE the witches.
Before I wrap this up, I just want to mention a couple things about reading Shakespeare. People have a great misconception that Shakespeare is difficult. While yes, his language is tricky, he is not as difficult as you may think. With his plays, it is more important to get the big scheme of things rather than get caught up on every individual word. With that being said, you can buy great editions of his plays that have footnotes and information to help you. I think Barnes and Noble has done a great job with theirs. I also really like No Fear Shakespeare and Folger's editions as well. They are great places to start!
I definitely used to enjoy Shakespeare, though I haven't picked him up in awhile! I suppose I should get back to him one of these days. :)
ReplyDeleteI loved reading Shakespeare in high school, however we never read Macbeth! I'll have to give it a try. To date my favourite play by him is Twelfth Night. Happy reading!
ReplyDeleteHi Allie,
ReplyDeleteI am re-reading MacBeth this month. A couple years ago I attempted a "Project: Shakespeare" where I scheduled out his 38 plays over the year, with the idea reading 3 or 4 a month in order be through with them by year end. I failed. BUT I did read over 2/3s of them and am still working on it from time to time.
I love your list of 250 books and admire you for your reading project. I've read just over 80 of them, but I've had a lot more years than you. Keep reading!
-Jay
Ahhh, the witches were definitly my favorite too. And of course, like you said all the sinsterness. One of my favorites, but the Tempest will always be my favorite Shakespeare play :)
ReplyDelete