William Shakespeare’s Macbeth is one of the great tragedies of the western canon. It is a play filled with many famous characters, such as King Duncan, the three Witches, Banquo, Macduff, and of course the notorious Lady Macbeth, all of whom permeate our collective literary consciousness.

The name Macbeth itself instantly evokes numerous images to the mind: the three Witches dancing around a boiling cauldron, chanting, “Double, double, toil and trouble“; Macbeth mesmerized by a dagger hanging in the air before him; and Lady Macbeth sleepwalking, desperately trying to rub off a bloodstain that will not “out“.

Despite the enduring popularity of Macbeth, the play is hard to understand. Yes, we may enjoy watching a production of Macbeth on the stage, but the reality is, the language is very challenging, and there are few resources that even begin to help any fan of the play to truly understand everything that the characters are saying.

This is where our annotated edition fills a four-century old void: the detailed annotations appear next to the lines, patiently explaining every difficult speech, line, phrase and word. If you have always wanted to actually understand Macbeth, you have come to the right place.

Our Story: Three Witches predict great things for Macbeth, a Scottish noble and military hero. The question for the ambitious Macbeth is, should he patiently wait for Fate to play itself out in his favour, or should he force the issue so as to hurry along the rewards the Witches have promised him? We may wonder whether his ruthless wife, Lady Macbeth, will have any say in the matter?

Download Macbeth:

On-line Reading:
Macbeth Annotated, pdf

White Background for Printing:
Macbeth Annotated, pdf

Theatre Script:
Macbeth Script