Further Reading from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh
PICT Theatre and The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh work together to provide our patrons with the best materials to enhance your enjoyment of the show.
While Scotland may have voted no to independence, you can do a lot of independent exploration about “The Scottish Play” at Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. Try a novelized version of the play, poetry inspired by the play or sample a few of the many versions available on DVD.
Macbeth: The Text of Macbeth, the Actors’ Gallery, Sources and Contexts, Criticism, Afterlives, Resources
By William Shakespeare
This 2014 Norton Critical Edition is based on the First Folio (1623). It includes the innovative feature “The Actors’ Gallery,” which presents famous actors and actresses–among them David Garrick, Sarah Siddons, Ian McKellen, Hira Mikijirô, Patrick Stewart, and Kate Fleetwood–reflecting on their roles in major productions for stage and screen. Includes a section with debates on witchcraft, regicide and free will. Essays represent four hundred years of critical and theatrical interpretation.
Witches and Jesuits: Shakespeare’s Macbeth
By Garry Wills
This Pulitzer-Prize winning author emphasizes the political-theological context and argues that the role of the witches is much more significant than many modern productions account for and essential to the play’s dramatic structure.
Macbeth: a Novel
By A.J. Hartley
If you’re more of a fiction reader, check out the novel version of the story. According to a Booklist review, “This is an exceptional adaptation of a classic work of literature, a novelization that can add to the understanding and pleasure of the original to which it pays homage.”
Traffic with Macbeth: Poems
By Larissa Szporluk
Her verse has been compared to the ‘incantations’ of the three witches and invokes the dark, wild and magical world that Macbeth’s characters inhabit.
Shakespeare’s plays: With his life. Illustrated with many hundred wood-cuts, executed by H.W. Hewet, after designs by Kenny Meadows, Harvey, and others
This is the first American illustrated Shakespeare and complete sets are scarce! Please visit our rare book room, Monday through Friday, to view this treasure (does not circulate).
DVDs
The library system has over a dozen versions of Macbeth on DVD including…
Macbeth: An Opera in Four Acts after Shakespeare
Sung in Italian, with subtitles
Macbeth
A new, 2014 version directed by Roman Polanski
Throne of Blood (Kumonosujō)
A Japanese version from famed director Akira Kurosawa
Want to introduce Shakespeare to young people? Try these…
Shakespeare and Macbeth : the story behind the play
By Stewart Ross
For grades 5-8, the author works to ground the play in more practical matters, helping the student understand the basic plot points of the story.
Tales from Shakespeare: Seven Plays
Presented and illustrated by Marcia Williams
Ages 8-12. Each play is formatted “graphic novel style” with colorful illustrations and with Globe spectators “famously rude and noisy” in the margins, adding commentary.
How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
By Ken Ludwig
A guide for parents to learn about Shakespeare together, from memorizing passages to putting the plays in historical and cultural context. With an introduction by John Lithgow.
Macbeth (e-book)
For ages 10 and up. Part of the LA Theatre Works presents…series.
Shakespeare for Students: The Characters of Shakespeare (DVD)
Hosts lead students on an exploration of the major characters of Shakespeare’s works. Contains a teacher guide.