William Shakespeare's Macbeth

After reading Bruce Coville's and Dennis Nolan's adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream and Ann Beneduce and Gennady Spirin's The Tempest, the shift to the more dire tonality of Coville and Gary Kelley's Macbeth was quite jarring. The illustrations of those two books were so fantastic, in both quality and content, that the strikingly serious panels here were difficult to get used to. Ultimately, though, the shift proved the right decision, in my opinion. Macbeth deserves a more grim disposition than most of Shakespeare's works and Coville, as he did with others, recognized the shift and changed pace capably.

The language used here is similar to Coville's other Shakespeare adaptations. He masterfully simplifies the goings-on of the show more story, while not babying the reader, an important negotiation while writing an adaptation of this nature. show less

The illustrations grow on you. Because he's a Scot, Macbeth appears as a sort of Celtic knight, in mediaeval mail, but wearing a lot of tartan and carrying a shield with Celtic decoration. Banquo is distinguished from Macbeth by his mustache. When the tyrant Macbeth rules, Scotland is foggy and snowy. Once he is overthrown, the black-faced sheep graze happily in a partly sunny pasture. The story is narrated well, with some well-chosen quotations thrown in, and the foreword demonstrates that the author, Bruce Coville, knows his subject.

This is a fabulous retelling of this drama! The author does a fantastic job including all major plot points in clear and descriptive narration. I particularly love the conversation between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth as they plan the murder - the plan is never actually stated, so readers must use inference. Beautiful integration of famous lines from the play. The time sequence is also clearer in this version than the play - readers understand Macbeth's reign over several months and understand what Malcolm is doing in England before he returns to Scotland.

I enjoyed all of Bruce Coville's adaptations of Shakespearean work, but his story of Macbeth is probably one of my favorites. He does a wonderful job of translating the complex tragedy of Macbeth into a more understanding and comprehensive read while still capturing the language and direct themes of Shakespeare's work. I would recommend this to younger students that are going to be immersed into Shakespeare in the next coming years. After reading this, I even felt more equipped reading the original text.

This one is better than the Hamlet one. There is simpler dialogue here and no long speeches, so kids may find this adaptation more accessible. It still has its fair share of murder and magic and the images that go with the text are very well done. They are mostly red and depict ghostly images. I love the image of Banquo's ghost. Again, it reads a bit like a fairy tale, but it is faithful to the original.

This is a wonderful retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth. This version mixes clear language of the present day with actual quotes from the play itself, allowing readers who may not be accustomed to the language of Shakespeare the chance to develop their understanding of it. I love the drawings in this book--they reinforce the dark eeriness that is a major theme of the tale itself. This book could really help students get a feel for the play. I think that the pictures, especially, might spark the interest of a young reader, especially one who enjoys scary stories. Great book!

Macbeth has become a curse in the theater community. If you say his name three times in a row, your performance is doomed. Knowing this, I wanted to find out what Macbeth was all about. Coville's adaptation of the Shakespearan tale helped me discover this. Macbeth fights with himself over heroism and evil. The witches add a fantasy element. I think this book can be enjoyed by any student grades seven and up!