Macbeth: The New Oxford Shakespeare

’Will all great Neptune’s ocean wash this blood clean from my hand?’

Dark and violent, Macbeth is a restless, haunting exploration of the human costs of violence and power. One of the most theatrically spectacular of Shakespeare’s plays, Macbeth has endured as a psychologically and supernaturally sinister work. Emma Smith’s introduction considers the historical and contemporary contexts of the play, from the influence of the Gunpowder Plot as an act of domestic terrorism, to the combination of banal domesticity and pure horror in the play’s setting and events.

The New Oxford Shakespeare offers authoritative editions of Shakespeare’s works with introductory materials designed to encourage new interpretations of the plays and poems. Using the text from the landmark The New Oxford Shakespeare Complete Works: Modern Critical Edition, these volumes offer readers the latest thinking on the authentic texts (collated from all surviving original versions of Shakespeare’s work) alongside innovative introductions from leading scholars. The texts are accompanied by a comprehensive set of critical apparatus to give readers the best resources to help understand and enjoy Shakespeare’s work.

ABOUT THE SERIES: For over 100 years Oxford World’s Classics has made available the widest range of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford’s commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, helpful notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

William Shakespeare

Emma Smith is Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the University of Oxford and Fellow of Hertford College. She has published widely on Shakespeare and her work This is Shakespeare (2019) was a Sunday Times Bestseller. She has worked with theatre companies including the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre, participated in radio programmes including Radio 3’s Sunday Feature and Radio 4’s In Our Time, and served as a consultant for TV and film. She is the General Editor for the Oxford World’s Classics editions of the New Oxford Shakespeare.

John Jowett is Emeritus Professor of Shakespeare Studies at the Shakespeare Institute, University of Birmingham. He is the General Editor of the New Oxford Shakespeare with particular responsibility for the original-spelling Critical Reference edition. He is General Editor for the ongoing Arden Early Modern Drama, a parallel series to the Arden Shakespeare that publishes non-Shakespearian drama of the early modern period.