Read Macbeth Online

A Restoration Version of 
Act III of Macbeth 



One of the most interesting illustrations of the plot excel- 
lence of Macbeth is the way the plot is followed in the Res- 
toration Drama. When we consider how radically the plots 
were changed in Richard the Third and Antony and Cleo- 
patra so as to make them fit the ideals of the stage managers 
only fifty years after the Folio was published, we can see 
clearly that no reverence for the authority of Shakespeare 
was permitted to interfere in any way with the version they 
presented to their audiences. In fact, in the Restoration ver- 
sion of Macbeth no mention is made of Shakespeare as the 
original author, as the accompanying photographic repro- 
duction will show. If, then, in spite of this total disregard 
for the original form of the play, the Restoration version 
follows the original plot with unusual fidelity, it is an inter- 
esting commentary on the dramatic sequence of the original. 

There are, it is true, certain changes in minor sequence, but 
the most striking changes are to be found in the phraseology 
and verse structure. The most striking changes in the play 
are in Act III, which is here reprinted for purposes of com- 
parison. It is hoped that this reproduction of the Restora- 
tion version will not be merely a matter for curiosity as to 
spelling, but may stimulate a more careful study of plot and 
dramatic effect by the members of the class as a whole. In 
studying this Restoration Version, keep in mind the following 
questions : 

1. How does this version create tragic guilt in Macduff? 

2. Should Macduff have this tragic guilt fastened upon 
him? 

3. What is the proportion of rhymed lines in the two 
versions? 

4. What parts are omitted in the following version? 

5. The songs at the end of the act are from Middleton's 
Witch. Do they make a more effective ending than that of 
the original?