Opinions+on+the+Book

OPINIONS ON //MACBETH://

Being that we had been thrown into Shakespeare with Romeo and Juliet and Julius Caesar, I was much more welcoming of Macbeth. Overanalysis of our first two plays had caused me to lose focus and I lacked interest when ending those plays; Macbeth, however, seemed like a better fit for our age group. What I felt missing in the previous plays was supplied in Macbeth, which had a fairly engaging storyline compared to the painful, tedious passages that Shakespeare used so often in Julius Caesar. Lastly, Shakespeare did not overuse themes in Macbeth, I believed, as he did in the other plays we had read, which caused the loss of authenticity with the constant reminder of those themes. I preferred Macbeth over the other plays. - Julian

Although Romeo and Juliet still remains my favorite piece written by Shakespeare, I loved Macbeth. I have always loved reading Shakespeare with previous english classes so I wasn't too upset that we would be reading Macbeth this year. The language doesn't bother me as much as it bothers others because I enjoy reading something that is more of a challenge and out of my usual comfort zone. I tend to only read romance novels, so this type of plot was definitely different for me. I loved the plot and although I knew how it would end based on the foreshadowing throughout the book, I was still intrigued. I can't stay focused on a book unless the beginning seems interesting and Shakespeare always seems to pull me in. There was never a moment in the play that I wasn't able to understand what was going on. I enjoyed reading the play as a class because it made it more interesting to hear the interpretations of the characters through my peers. By taking on the roles of the characters, they became more real to me and I was able to understand the play more clearly. I enjoyed discussing Macbeth because there was always a twist and it always seemed to keep me interested. This was the one piece we read this year that I can honestly say I would read again. It was something different and definitely kept me interested. I love the way all Shakespeare's plays are written and Macbeth was no exception. All of the scenes flow into one another and I am able to imagine exactly what was going on in each scene. I like how the characters come to life and take on unique personalities. Although the play isn't modern day, a lot of the the main characters take on modern characteristics which make it even more of an entertaining read. The women in the play, and other Shakespeare plays I have read, seem to take on modern day traits and seem to "wear the pants" in the relationships. I find this trait interesting and different than other pieces of that era. It was a quick read which I loved and I would love to read more Shakespeare plays because all my experiences with them have been positive. Romeo and Juliet has always been a favorite of mine and now I can add Macbeth to the list as well. I loved it. - Aly DeRiso

I thought that Macbeth was one of the better of Shakespeare's books that I've read (among Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet). There was more scenes/ action that a guy would like such as the violence and the idea of regicide. It was, in my opinion, better written and the scene's didn't seem to boring. The language was more modern that Romeo and Juliet's was, therefore, making it easier to understand. Overall, I thought that Macbeth was a well written story and I somewhat liked it. - Kris

Out of all of the pieces that I've read written by Shakespeare Macbeth is one of my favorite ones. I think that it was interesting and a lot better than Julius Caesar. The idea brought into it seemed very modern, and some of the most important quotations were very insightful. - Lina

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Macbeth was definitely one of my favorite plays written by Shakespeare. Although I did enjoy reading Romeo and Juliet and Taming of Shrew, Macbeth gave me a chance to read something other than romance. It has always been difficult for me to understand what is going on in Shakespeare's plays because of the language, but Macbeth was much easier to comprehend than the other plays I have read. I think that people have to keep an open mind when reading a Shakespeare play because if they don't, they will not give it a chance and just give up. It was an extremely fast read and very simple to understand the main idea of the play. Macbeth was a play filled with murder, suspense, revenge, and power, which is what made it even more intriguing.======

- Jenny Bilash
Macbeth has been my favorite play I have read by Shakespeare so far. I was intrigued by the plot from the beginning, and did not lose interest throughout the play. From the beginning the plot is quick to start, with the witches' prediction which hangs over Macbeth's head throughout the play. It was interesting to see how each aspect of their prophesy unfolded, and the effect it had on Macbeth and the people around him. Shakespeare used this prediction to explain Macbeth's various actions throughout the book, and truly showed how much power can corrupt. He always kept the book interesting, because he always had the reader guessing how the next part would unfold. I was most interested when the witches told Macbeth that the woods had to move and that no man born of a women could harm him. I was beginning to question how Shakespeare would solve these problems, and I was not disappointed. The ending was nothing like I expected, by nonetheless, I did not know what to expect. When we came to the end in class, I was afraid the class would end before we found out how Macbeth died, because I was curious to know, but luckily we found out. My overall thoughts on this book are definitely positive, and for someone who does not normally enjoy Shakespeare, I was pleasantly surprised.

-J.T. Ferrara

Overall this book was fun to read. Normally I wouldn't like anything by Shakespeare because of the language but this was different. The story was a fun one to read. I did not like Lady Macbeth though because I don't think that any one would change so rapidly. All of that aside I would recommend this book to other students. Brian

I thought that this book was very good, but it differed compared to the other books by Shakespeare that I have read. This book seemed to have a lot more literal and easy to comprehend events compared to //Julius Caesar// for example. In other books the entire beginning of the play is a story with vague foreshadowing about the end thrown in. In Macbeth, however, the foreshadowing comprised of three witches literally telling Macbeth what the future held.

-Max

Of all the Shakespeare works that I have read, MacBeth is my favorite.

Romeo and Juliet was chockablock with boring scenes and uninteresting characters. The love they share is very superficial and Shakespeare does not do his best to dive deeper into this motif, making for a weak play.

Julius Caesar played out in this pattern: relatively interesting, bland, relatively interesting, boring.

MacBeth is the strongest of the three, because of its poetic dialogue, interesting characters, and clever use of plot devices.

Shakespeare uses foreshadowing (via The Witches, whose dialogue is convincing enough that we know they are evil, but never goes too far) to help introduce actions in his play, that set up cause and effect, but not predictably. In fact, every turn is a surprise, and when you look back at the beginning of the play, you would never guess it. Reading the early scenes makes it nearly impossible to believe that MacBeth would ever have Banquo murdered, but this still occurs.

The dialogue is a huge plus for this play (where it was a huge minus for Romeo and Juliet) as Shakespeare is able to convey the emotions and motives of the characters very easily and never goes too far. Lady MacBeth is evil, and she has chilling lines to accompany it. (of course the performers added depth.) - Brett

This story was interesting to read because the characters don't play out exactly how you would expect them to, as they don't fit neatly into traditional "good" or "evil" roles. Macbeth starts out as the typical hero character, but towards the end of the book he becomes corrupted with power and he is turned into a tyrannical and ruthless person. Lady Macbeth was just the opposite, as she started out ruthless and aggressive and later became plagued with guilt. The story didn't play out how I expected it to and that's what made it interesting to read. I preferred Macbeth over Julius Caesar, which was way too predictable and boring. -Jim Horvath

Out of all of the plays that I have read by Shakespeare, Macbeth is easily one of my favorites. The plot was intriguing yet still managed to bring about that sense of suspense. To me, a typical play by Shakespeare is difficult to understand and generally boring and uninteresting. However, I found the language in Macbeth much easier to understand. I found it easier to follow along with the plot of the play. Because I was able to easily follow along with the play, I was also able to interpret certain quotes, words, or sayings. This also helped in understanding the language of the play because I was able to get a different meaning of the words, along with some additional ones from my classmates. Furthermore, I also found the plot of Macbeth to be very interesting. The sort of suspenseful feeling brought about a lot of anticipation, leaving me wanting to know what happened next. Because of this, I found Macbeth to be a very quick read, which helped in following along and staying very much interested. My feelings towards Shakespeare have definitely changed because of this play, and it has opened my eyes to the good of Shakespeare's literature. - Laura Bilash

I loved //Macbeth//. As someone who already liked Shakespeare, it wasn't hard for me to enjoy. Oddly, I liked the dark tone of the book and how it was ominous. It was extremely different from //Romeo and Juliet// and //Julius Caesar//, and I liked both of those, but this was enjoyable in a different way. I was always intrigued by Lady Macbeth, and it was really exciting for me to see how she manipulated Macbeth and came up with such deranged plans for him. I really liked how the story included supernatural, as well as realistic topics, and it was interesting to see how someone's conscience can catch up to them, even if it wasn't exactly realistic. Although the book was dark and rather serious, I found myself happily entertained, and even though it was easy to get confused with Shakespeare's language, I didn't mind having to spend time to figure it out. That made the experience that much more interesting, as well as challenging. -Kelsey

I honestly hate Shakespeare and I was very unexcited to read //Macbeth//. I thought that it would be as boring and confusing as the other Shakespeare books. I was surprised because I actually liked this book. The story was very interesting and it wasn't hard to understand what the story was talking about. My favorite part about this book was the ending. I liked how the end kind of foreshadowed that the same thing that happened to Macbeth would happen to Macduff. I thought that it was really cool. For some reason I liked the three witches. I think that adding supernatural themes to the story made it a lot better. -Gab Freedman

Out of all the Shakespeare plays that I have read in the past, //Macbeth// is by far my favorite. I really liked the use of foreshadowing, and how the book came full circle. For example, in the beginning of the book, Macbeth came back from a battle carrying the head of the Thane of Cawdor. However, at the end, Macduff carried the head of Macbeth after he defeated him. I also really liked the Witches in this story. I liked the concept of predicting the future and determining Macbeth's fate. Lastly, Macbeth was the easiet Shakespeare play to understand, in my opinion. Although we are not as familiar with this dialect of English, I did not find mysef having to stop after every sentence to try to grasp the meaning. Overall, I really enjoyed reading Macbeth. -Amanda Snider

I thought that following Macbeth's transformation from the beginning of the book up until his death was very interesting. Shakespeare's ability to convey individuals' journey away from disposition is marvelous and I really appreciated the characters of the tragedy. Witchcraft has always fascinated me and its role within the play was clever. The abnormal dialogue was twisted at times and distinguished this play from Shakespeare's others. Perhaps it was the way that we read and interpreted //Macbeth// as a class, but the darkness of this book actually felt quite whimsical to me. So far, //Macbeth// is my favourite out of Shakespeare's plays. -Cassie Beck

I very much enjoyed reading Macbeth because the plot line moved quickly and was easily translatable into a modern frame of mind. The prominent themes of political assassinations and mental anguish and guilt are timeless ones, which made this classic easily understandable and interesting. I'm not sure if I am just getting more used to interpreting Shakespearean language and dialogue, or if this play was one of his less cryptic, but either way, I think I had an easier time understanding the events and the subtleties of the play than I have in the past. That's part of what made reading Macbeth such an enjoyable experience for me. - Ali Gordon

Like the others have stated, this play is great. With the help of Morone, I felt that I had a better understanding of this play. I just liek the play overall because it is not that complicated and anyone can understand how corrupt and paranoid someone becomes from an experience with witches. Though htis might not make sense, the amount of work that Shakespeare put into this shows how corrupt one in power becomes because that might just happen to Siward or England in this play.

- Shah

I enjoyed reading //Macbeth// very much because it has been one of my favorite plays written by Shakespeare since I studied Shakespeare plays in the fifth grade. Even though I knew what was going to happen throughout the book, I still enjoyed reading it because of the great twists and schemes in the storyline. I especially like Shakespeare's plays because they are extremely original. His plays are different from everything else I have read, which makes his plays more exciting and interesting to read. This was the first time since the fifth grade that I enjoyed reading, or re-reading, Shakespeare, because I feel that the class was well led by Mr. Morone and the members of the class worked well together in order to make reading //Macbeth// as smooth as possible.

This play is definitely going to be one of my Shakespeare favorites. I assumed Shakespeare was boring/dull after i read //Romeo and Juliet//. My opinion began to change after I read //Twelfth Night.// Macbeth has truly made me a fan of Shakespeare. It was exciting, the drama of the play made it very suspenseful, and i wanted to keep reading to see how the story unfolded. The language of the play was a little tricky to get into, but eventually i was able to understand it fairly well. I like how there were random moments of levity to ease the overall tension of the play; it kept it from getting too depressing. All in all, i was very satisfied.

Although I have only read Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet by Shakespeare, I really enjoy reading his plays. Because Shakespeare's "lessons" are all widely and publicly known, I knew what was going to happen in the end but it did not make me enjoy it less. The language in the play is very hard to understand, but with class discussion it became a lot easier and more enjoyable. Because of this, though, I would never be able to read one of his stories on my own and I would have to read it with a group of people in order to gain anything from it. The characters are also very interesting and make the story what it is. From the beginning, it is hard to tell who is good and bad, and then when their true colors show, it makes the story a lot more interesting. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this. -Katie Haskins

While reading the play, //Macbeth//, I realized that it was very predictable. After reading the first chapter, it became apparent as of what would happen. Macbeth was clearly going to be King and he would be power hungry. Others would look for revenge and in the end Macbeth would be killed. However, compared to the other Shakespeare plays such as Romeo and Juliet, I did enjoy reading Macbeth as it had more scenes and a easy story line. Also, in my opinion, the writing was put more clearly and I enjoyed the foreshadowing throughout the play as well. -Deandra

I very much enjoyed reading //Macbeth,// and compared to //Julius Caesar// and //Romeo and Juliet//, this play was much more interesting in characters, themes, and plot. Although it was very easy to predict what was going to next occur in Macbeth, Shakespeare used foreshadowing well and made the play interesting that one wanted to keep reading. I liked the characters in Macbeth much more than the characters in the //Julius Caesar// and //Romeo and Juliet// as they seemed more complex and changing over the course of the play. For example, I was able to see the change in Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they switched roles. Lady Macbeth was very strong at the beginning of the play and set a majority of the plot in motion, but towards the end of the play she clearly could not handle the murders. However, where Lady Macbeth broke down, Macbeth kept building himself up as he took on the role of organizing murders and controlling how long he would have the throne. Moreover, I liked the plot of this play and believe that Shakespeare planned and laid out the play well; the play both ended and began with a traitor's head being carried, in the end it was Macbeth's head being presented to Malcolm. Lastly, the themes in this play were thought-provoking such as destiny, corruption, and unnatural occurrences. They certainly play a big part in Macbeth's life and it was interesting to see the role knowing ones future can have on a person's mental stability, and how corruption can lead to one's downfall. Overall, //Macbeth// is, as of now, my favorite of Shakespeare's literature. - Danarenae

I was pleasantly surprised to see myself enjoy Macbeth while reading it with the class. I never expected to like it as other Shakespeare plays put me to sleep. Last year, Julius Caesar was a bore to read and in 8th grade, Romeo and Juliet seemed so over done. Macbeth was a story I’ve never heard of before and I was shocked how everything turned out, although it was predictable thanks to the witches. The class seemed into the book as well and I liked how everyone got involved reading and sometimes even reading with accents. Not only the class helped, but Morone as well, as we all analyzed each part. That made me more interested and excited to read each week. Anyways, I loved Macbeth! –Jess Spellman

I thought that Macbeth was one of the better Shakespeare plays I read. I think it was the hints of violence and killing, along with the other fictional entities (such as witches) that got me through the play, but nonetheless I enjoyed. There were constantly twists added to the plot that kept me on my feet to follow the ever-changing series of events. It was very interesting to try to use the symbols, motifs, and what I thought was foreshadowing, to try to guess events to come. Keeping an eye on the background always helped, such as fusing the weather to conclude that eerie events were to arise. There were many lessons that were learned from the play, which also gave me something to think about while reading the book. There play taught morals such as how power leads to corruption, the effects of guilty consciences, and many others. - Jesse Krantz

It is no surprise to me that Macbeth is considered Shakespeare's best play by many critics. It is a tragedy, but at the same time it has historic elements. I've read Romeo and Juliet and I've read Twelfth Night, but neither have I liked more than this show. I did not know what was going to happen next, and there were many plot twists. Reading this book as a class did a lot to help. I'm not always very good at interpreting Shakespeare-ian text, so to have Mr. Morone translating every few passages really helped keep the class together. I also liked having the chance to read occasionally, and I think hearing a show aloud helps to understand the text. It is interesting to see how similar themes used in modern literature were used in this older literature as well, such as greed, guilt, and corruption. -Lenny Marshall