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REVIEW Friedlander, Ed. Enjoying "Macbeth", by William Shakespeare. <http://www.pathguy.com/macbeth.htm> Visited:  13 April 2003 Before You Click on the Link: The site may take a while to load. One very long page holds everything -- text, many photos, some animated graphics, and about half-a-dozen tartan patterns. Topics: This Is NOT "Family Entertainment." The Real Macbeth and His Times Banquo and Fleance Never Existed Some Story Details The Background Are You a Man? Who Was the Third Murderer? Is Macbeth bad luck? A Rooted Sorrow What Does It All Mean? Links (Everything from study guides to exotic chess.) Evaluation: Everything that Dr. Friedlander writes is interesting to read, which is a great big plus. However, not everything that Dr. Friedlander writes is helpful in the study of Macbeth. Most of the highlights are in the first section, "This Is NOT 'Family Entertainment'," which offers examples of the grisly, horror-show aspects of Macbeth. Another highlight is the section entitled "A Rooted Sorrow," in which Dr. Friedlander powerfully states his belief that Macbeth "focuses on the isolation and meaninglessness that result from selfishness and cruelty." On the other hand, a great deal of space is given the story of the real Macbeth, which is kind of interesting -- and sometimes a bit hard to follow -- but which doesn't really help us to understand Shakespeare's play. Shakespeare's source, Holinshed's Chronicles, is now -- as Dr. Friedlander points out -- known to have many errors, but Shakespeare didn't know that. Shakespeare must have thought he was dramatizing real history. Bottom Line: A good grab-bag.

Macbeth Navigator Home

Selected Online Resources