What It's About

It's about a military official (a THANE of Glamis), Macbeth, who returns from a battle as a victor with a friend Banquo, and meets three witches in his way who prophesy him being the thane of one more state (Cawdor) and then the King. They also prophesy Banquo's progeny being Kings. Macbeth starts to get obsessed with this, and his ambition is fueled by Lady Macbeth, who helps him murder King Duncan and subsequently succeed the throne. But the story ends on a tragic note with the King's elder son gathering forces with the help of King's loyals to defeat Macbeth. At the end, Macbeth is killed, Lady Macbeth goes mad and commits suicide.

How I Discovered It

I was looking for some work of Shakespeare and ended up picking Macbeth. I read the whole book from a pdf, taking notes on Microsoft OneNote and then highlighted intensely on a physical copy of the book.

Thoughts

The story talks about ambitions and our obsession about them in a crafty way. Macbeth's mad ambition and urge to realize it quickly leads him to commit an offense — probably also a sin - and finally leads to a rule unsatisfactory for him and his subjects alike. Whereas in the case of his wife, who had pretended to be so brave while committing the murder, goes mad and ends up taking her own life. My immediate thoughts upon reading were that ambitions are okay, often even necessary but they should not take over our mind and our goodness. We should permit nature to give its gifts to us at the required time.

What I Liked About It

I really liked the tone of every character — it was so matching to each one's personality — and also the perfect choice of words at every instant.

What I Didn't Like About It

It was too short. Can't say what Shakespeare had in mind while writing, but I seriously consider that the story is a bit too short and could have been more detailed — maybe something about the background of the characters — and more intense.

Who Would Like It?

1. Anyone who wants to know about ambitions, death and sins
2. Someone who wants to just start reading Shakespeare and won't be able to survive a long work of him
3. Someone who will like to have a taste of classic English literature and high class poetry

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