![Shakespeare[Paint-Wix].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11f5c5_2a8a0aae5e4b4774bc65a189b049a797~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_980,h_576,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/11f5c5_2a8a0aae5e4b4774bc65a189b049a797~mv2.png)
What Are They Saying?
For virtually every line of the play, we provide exhaustive notes to define unusual or archaic words, supply missing words, unwind Shakespeare’s convoluted sentences, and unpack the lush imagery.
Why Are They Saying It?
Knowing what’s being said is only the beginning. Next we talk about why they are saying it – is she cajoling? Shaming? Luring? Punishing? There are many ways to read a line. We draw on our sixty productions to illuminate exactly why each character says each line.
What Is the Drama of the Scene?
Next we look at the scene as a whole and talk about the drama of the scene. What is the pressing question in the audience’s mind in this scene? For example, can Lady Capulet get the Nurse to shut up? Can Macbeth solve the problem of how to kill Duncan without getting himself killed in turn? Drama is made of questions like these, and virtually every scene in a Shakespeare play, no matter how small, is a drama.
Experience Shakespeare
Like Never Before
Every other edition of Shakespeare’s plays is written by academic scholars. We are not academics. We are theatre practitioners. And Shakespeare created his plays not as books to be read, but as scripts to be performed in front of a live audience.
Our idea is to provide exhaustive notes side-by-side with the script. This way, if you want help with a line, it's right there. But if you don't need help, it's out of your way.
Hear what teachers are saying
“It might seem like there’s nothing new in the world of editing Shakespeare, but Khan and Armstrong have brought a fresh and innovative approach that will help students of all ages engage with the plays. Their Macbeth is the edition all teachers will embrace as it provides a structure that allows to understand the play as story, as literature, and as performance, all at once. This edition will truly allow students to understand Shakespeare in a way no other edition can.”
Annalisa Castaldo, Ph.D.
Professor of English
Widener University
“Thank you so much for sending the book to me. I've been teaching Macbeth for about 2 weeks now, and the book has been a LIFESAVER. As a relatively new teacher, it is saving me lots of time and helping me teach with confidence. It also gives me topics to think about and questions to pose to my students.”
Ariana Ramos
English Teacher
South Brunswick HS
“Using this script, the students were definitely aided by the additional annotations. It freed them up to work in small groups or have richer conversations, because we more quickly got past basic questions. It adds a lot of depth to the text: Beyond the definitions of unfamiliar terms, it helps students better understand character motives and visualize the stage action.”
Stacy Carlough
AP Literature Teacher
Freire Charter School
“Carmen Khan and Jack Armstrong have produced a fundamentally different edition of Macbeth. It goes far beyond annotations elucidating individual words, phrases and lines. They offer a director’s insight into the play based on their decades-long experience. They invite the reader to become an active interpreter of the play. Unlike many editions which impose a distant or disengaged view of the play, Khan and Armstrong emphasize its performance on stage so that the play comes alive for the reader.”
Sheryl L. Forste-Grupp
Ph.D., English Teacher,
the Baldwin School
![SkaterShakes[Paint].png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/11f5c5_c09d608aee5c478ea48312432740decd~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_980,h_576,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/11f5c5_c09d608aee5c478ea48312432740decd~mv2.png)