It may seem odd for Bardfilm to have Macbeth as a Book Note post, but this isn't just any Macbeth.
For me, the Arden Shakespeare series offers the best single editions of the plays. I want to have conjectural composition dates, textual history, performance history, critical apparatuses (apparatii?), and notes upon notes upon notes.
But I have a Doctor of Philosophy in Shakespeare.
Other readers don't want or need all of that information. In fact, it might get in the way of actually getting to the play. And none of us wants that!
Enter our good friend ShakespeareGeek (a.k.a Duane Morin) and his daughter. She wanted an edition with a lot of space to make her own notes and to provide her own critical apparatus and to fill with her own thoughts. That's when ShakespeareGeek decided it was time for just such an edition: The My Own Personal Shakespeare Edition of Macbeth. You can read more about how it came to be here.
I'm greatly enjoying my own personal copy of The My Own Personal Shakespeare Edition of Macbeth. The text is solid, and ShakespeareGeek has provided enough guidance so that readers don't get lost but not so much that they're in danger of being overwhelmed. And, indeed, there's plenty of space for notes. Here's a sample from the opening scene:
Blank pages have also been provided between acts:
It's a great edition for both the first-time reader and the reader (me) who is in danger of paying more attention to the notes than to the text.
We can only hope that editions of more plays will follow. Go get yours today—you'll have an entirely fresh encounter with Macbeth.
Click below to purchase the book from amazon.com
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
(and to support Bardfilm as you do so).
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