How Plays Work

• 'Macbeth' is meant to be watched - not read

  1. Macbeth is a play. A play tells a story by showing it to you

  2. When you read a play, it's often pretty hard to follow what's going on. Try to imagine what's happening and how the people would speak and act - it should all start to make a lot more sense

  3. If you can, try to see the play on stage. If not, watch a film version to get an idea of the story

  4. But remember to read the play as well - films often cut scenes and change the language, so it's dangerous to rely on them too much
• 'Macbeth' is a tragedy

  Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's most famous tragedies. Mostly, it's a typical tragedy:

  1. It's about serious topics like war and death

  2. It's sad - lots of the characters die

  3. The play's main character (Macbeth) dies as a result of his flaws

  But there are also a few more unusual things:

  4. There are supernatural elements - the three Witches and their prophecies

  5. Lady Macbeth isn't typical of Shakespeare's female characters - she's evil and strong-willed

  6. There are a few comic moments - the Porter is a comic character
• Pay attention to the stage directions

  When you're reading the play, look at the stage directions - they're little phrases in italics that tell the actors what to do, when to come in and when to leave the stage.

  These are the really common stage directions in Shakespeare:

  Enter = when someone comes onto the stage

  Exit = when one person leaves the stage

  Exeunt = when more than one person leaves the stage

  Aside = the character is talking to themselves, not the other characters on the stage