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One of the great Shakespearean tragedies, Macbeth is a dark and bloody drama of ambition, murder, guilt, and revenge. Prompted by the prophecies of three mysterious witches and goaded by his ambitious wife, the Scottish thane Macbeth murders Duncan, King of Scotland, in order to succeed him on the throne. This foul deed soon entangles the conscience-stricken nobleman in a web of treachery, deceit, and more murders, which ultimately spells his doom. Set amid the gloomy castles and lonely heaths of medieval Scotland, Macbeth paints a striking dramatic portrait of a man of honor and integrity destroyed by a fatal character flaw and the tortures of a guilty imagination.

A man's thirst for power ends in tragedy in this Signet Classics edition of one of William Shakespeare's most powerful works. When a trio of witches foretell that Macbeth will become King of Scotland, the brave general is consumed by ambition. Encouraged by his wife to seize the throne, their quest for power leads down a blood-strewn path that ends in madness and death in this play that explores the consequences of guilt and corruption. This title in the Signet Classics Shakespeare series includes- . An overview of Shakespeare's life, world, and theater .A special introduction to the play by the editor, Sylvan Barnet . Selections from Raphael Holinshed's The Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland, the source from which Shakespeare derived Macbeth . Dramatic criticism fromA. C. Bradley, Elmer Edgar Stoll, Mary McCarthy, and others . A comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions of Macbeth . Text, notes, and commentaries printed in the clearest, most readable format . Recommended readings

Summary: Perhaps no other Shakespearean drama so engulfs its readers in the ruinous journey of surrender to evil as does Macbeth. A timeless tragedy about the nature of ambition, conscience, and the human heart, the play holds a profound grip on the Western imagination.