A close reading and detailed analysis of Shakespeare’s Macbeth Act I scenes i and ii. This work is aimed at GCSE and A level students and teachers and anyone wanting to read and understand Shakespeare with more confidence. It offers a brief but thorough background to Elizabethan theatre and Shakespeare’s use of language, the basic rhythm of iambic pentameter and the ways in which Shakespeare disrupts the rhythm for effect. There is a section on the structure within the plays, based on Nicholas Rowe’s 5 Act structure in 1709, but the main focus is on how Shakespeare creates drama throughout the play and how he explores various themes via dialectic argument.

Based on my almost 40 years teaching English Literature in various UK Secondary schools, the book offers teachers and students a detailed understanding of the key scenes in the plays.