'Macbeth' is the first play that actually made me like Shakespeare. We studied it at school after a few years of the comedies like A Midsummer Night's Dream and Much Ado About Nothing. Whilst I *sort of* appreciate them now, I just don't think they're a good starting point for teens? They're confusing and the gory tragedies appeal much more to school kids.
Anyway, 10 years on I came back for a re-read and I loved it even more than I did the first time around. If you're not familiar with the story, three witches make a prophecy to Macbeth that he will be king, but his children will not. He tells his wife and Lady Macbeth hatches a plan to secure his position as king. It all gets out of control when they commit murder; whilst he regrets it, she looks down on him as being weak.
This is one of my absolute favourite Shakespeare plays. Macbeth isn't a massively interesting character, but I love the three witches and Lady Macbeth. It really is all about the women despite the name. The women drive the plot: the witches by creating their prophecy and then Lady Macbeth by driving everyone's actions to fulfil it.
The play contains some of the most well known Shakespeare quotes ('Out damned spot') and has a plot that's very easy to get to grips with. It's one I could read time and time again - the darkness at the heart of it is exciting and interesting: you want to know what plan Lady Macbeth will hatch next, and just how far she will go to secure the power she seeks.
I gave this play 5 stars, and just writing this review has made me want to go and read another one of his plays again.
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