50 Must-Read 50 Beta
← The Must-Read 50
Cover of Macbeth by William ShakespeareMacbeth
Classic · Fiction, Classics, Plays

Macbeth

by William Shakespeare
1606 · 135 pages · Fiction
63.5Must-Read
Score Classic
Lifetime bestseller
≈ 3 hours to read · about 6 days at 30 minutes a day

What it's about

Macbeth, a trusted general, secretly lusts for power. Spurred on by the prophecies of three witches and by his ambitious wife, he murders the king. Fearful and haunted, he is driven into a spiral of murder that leads to his own destruction.

Why it's worth reading

It's one of Shakespeare's most popular and most performed tragedies.

You'll love it if you liked

Cover of Hamlet by William ShakespeareHamlet
HamletWilliam Shakespeare
Cover of King Lear by William ShakespeareKing Lear
King LearWilliam Shakespeare
Cover of Othello by William ShakespeareOthello
OthelloWilliam Shakespeare

Good to know

It's Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. An annotated edition helps.

By the numbers

63.5Must-Read Score
  • Readers46 out of 100 · counts 42%
  • Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
  • Bestseller34 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
  • Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%

Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.

Where it ranks

Reads as

Thought-provoking

How we rank

Already read it? Upload your Goodreads or StoryGraph history and get the 50 best books you haven't read, tuned to your taste.Get my 50

More by William Shakespeare

Cover of Hamlet by William ShakespeareHamlet
HamletWilliam Shakespeare
Cover of King Lear by William ShakespeareKing Lear
King LearWilliam Shakespeare
Cover of Othello by William ShakespeareOthello
OthelloWilliam Shakespeare

If you like this, read next

Cover of To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeTo Kill a Mockingbird
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee
Cover of The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert CaroThe Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New YorkRobert Caro
Cover of The Color Purple by Alice WalkerThe Color Purple
The Color PurpleAlice Walker
Cover of 1984 by George Orwell1984
1984George Orwell
Cover of The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. TolkienThe Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the RingsJ. R. R. Tolkien
Cover of A Brief History of Time by Stephen HawkingA Brief History of Time
A Brief History of TimeStephen Hawking

Explore the best-of lists

All 36 best-of lists →
Classic booksTop 25 · 762 rankedFantasy booksTop 25 · 459 rankedMysteries and thrillersTop 25 · 555 rankedLiterary novelsTop 25 · 309 rankedMemoirs and biographiesTop 25 · 290 rankedScience fiction booksTop 25 · 313 rankedRomancesTop 25 · 233 rankedHistorical novelsTop 25 · 116 ranked

Quick answers

Is Macbeth worth reading?

Yes. It's one of Shakespeare's most popular and most performed tragedies. It ranks #2,028 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 63.5 (the best book we found scores 99).

What is Macbeth about?

Macbeth, a trusted general, secretly lusts for power. Spurred on by the prophecies of three witches and by his ambitious wife, he murders the king. Fearful and haunted, he is driven into a spiral of murder that leads to his own destruction.

How long does it take to read Macbeth?

About 3 hours (135 pages), or about 6 days at 30 minutes a day.

What should I read after Macbeth?

If you liked it, try Hamlet by William Shakespeare, King Lear by William Shakespeare or Othello by William Shakespeare.