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Macbeth cover art

Macbeth

By: William Shakespeare,Simon Potter,Phil Viner
Narrated by: Joan Walker,Nick Murchie,Coralyn Sheldon
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Summary

Experience Macbeth as a powerful full-cast drama with entertaining and enlightening commentary that explains what's what and who's who as the plot unfolds.

To help you get the most out of Shakespeare, the narrator offers historical insights and background information, so you can enjoy the jokes, appreciate the references, and get a real sense of Shakespeare's world. This unabridged drama is also presented without commentary.

If school turned you off Shakespeare, find out what you've been missing all these years with this beautifully crafted audio presentation.

From the creators of SmartPass audio education study guides, voted third in a national poll to find the UK's favourite audiobook (2008). Winners of 3 Spoken Word Awards for Best Drama (2004), Best Original Audio and Best Publishing Initiative (2005).

©2007 SmartPass Ltd (P)2007 SmartPass Ltd

What listeners say about Macbeth

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Brilliantly explained

Would you consider the audio edition of Macbeth to be better than the print version?

I have never read the play.

Any additional comments?

The additional notes and comments really helped me to understand the difficult language. The fact that you can then listen without these, after gaining a better understanding adds to the experience

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Tiresome students’ notes production

The performance, which itself is not great, is constantly interrupted with heavy handed commentary designed for 4th year students, such is its boring obviousness. Don’t buy

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant way to listen and learn.

I love this series. It gives excellent background, strong performance and insights in the commentary.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

An absolute lifesaver for anyone teaching Macbeth

THis audioplay is absolutely perfect for anyone who is teaching Macbeth. The acting is a touch hacky at points, but the commentary is invaluable.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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  • LC
  • 24-01-21

Great format and Nice performances

I like the format because it has two versions, one with full historical explanation, and one without. The performances were great too. Another illustration of a person/s creating their own nightmare.
I wasn't so keen on some of the music, because it didn't seem to fit and sounded more like The Doors.

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  • Amazon Customer
  • 23-01-13

Now I get it...

The narration and explanations are helpful. I have always struggled through Shakespearean plays.

Don't fret.

This production also comes with a performance that is uninterrupted. Start on Chapter 6 of the audio book for it.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Amelia
  • 11-07-09

I Love the Commentary

I'm a high school teacher and bought this to sue with my class. I don't find the commentary distracting but helpful. My students quickly figured out that when a particular voice was talking that was explanation. Also, there is a version of the play without any commentary in the file as well.

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13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • N8
  • 23-11-08

Very well done

This is a really great audio program. Very high quality sound, narration is very useful and I came away with more knowledge of Shakespeare's history, the circumstances behind writing the play, and an understanding of what the classical language is trying to say. Highly recommended if you are at all interested in Shakespeare.

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10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • V Harper
  • 08-01-10

Excellent for Yr 11 Study

I bought this novel for my daughters Year 11 study, l cannot say how helpful this was, it made Macbeth interesting and exciting. She was one of the top students in Macbeth studies because of this audio novel where normally she struggles with English. Just Excellent also with the background on why this story was written, it made all the difference.

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Dr. Filthy McNasty
  • 01-10-17

Best accidental purchase I've ever made

I just wanted a good dramatization of Macbeth and this one had high ratings so I bought it. I didn't realize until it started that it was filled with commentary every 5 or 10 lines. I've studied Shakespeare at a high level under Paul Cubeta and I expected this commentary to be distracting and written at the lowest possible level. Neither is remotely the case. It is excellent work.

More importantly, the woman who does the narrating is quite an actor herself and sets the emotional pitch of her commentary to match the scene. She almost sounds like another character in the play.

This is a remarkable achievement.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Venn
  • 16-12-09

MacBeth

Eureka, after 25 years i decided to re-read Macbeth, my confused understanding of the play was transformed into an understanding i will never forget. The narration was exquisit i have finally conquored MacBeth.

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4 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • OneForAll
  • 23-06-18

Glad I discovered this

Studying Shakespeare in school, we always had the teacher to lead us through it. This is like that, but more entertaining. The narration and commentary weren't the distraction I feared they might be, but very helpful. Without them, frankly, I'd have been lost, but I understood all that was going on in every scene. And I loved the historical info about England at the time, the Globe Theater, and how MacBeth ties in with King James, for whom Shakespeare wrote it.

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2 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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  • Mellissa
  • 26-05-09

Not What I Expected

I wanted to hear the play performed and got a lot of background and talking throughout. I was very disappointed.

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2 people found this helpful

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  • AKowalczyk
  • 03-04-19

Wonderful!

The narration and explanations in the first half are wonderful! Not having the patience to sit with a textbook, and wanting to read all the Shakespeare I didn’t have time for when I was younger, I’m finding Shakespeare Appreciated truly wonderful!!

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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  • Flipflop9
  • 13-02-13

Great for use in the classroom

Any additional comments?

This is my favorite recording of Macbeth. The actor's performances (especially David Tennet as the Porter) really enhance the play and make it easier for my students to follow along. I know some teachers swear by having the kids read the play aloud, but the mangle Shakespeare's language and they don't know the story yet, so they can't read with very good inflection. The sound effects and the performances really bring the play to life, and I enjoy using it in my classroom.

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