"Murdering Ministers" integrates everything worth knowing about Shakespeare’s "Macbeth" from four centuries of criticism and performances, stage as well as film, in a scene-by-scene close reading that provides the reader with an exhaustive knowledge of the play and answers questions that have captivated us for centuries. Did Burbage, the first Macbeth, enter on horseback? When does the idea of regicide first occur to the Macbeths? Why does Macbeth withhold part of the witches’ prophecy from his wife? Is Banquo honest? Did Shakespeare believe in witchcraft? Why is the play cursed? What has happened to the baby that Lady Macbeth has given suck? Answers to this and much more come from actors, critics, and directors of countless productions since 1606. Moreover, "Murdering Ministers" is an expedition into the historical context of "Macbeth": the politico-religious turmoil of Jacobean England. It is hardly a coincidence that Shakespeare’s play of regicide and witchcraft followed hard upon an assassination attempt on James I, author of a manual on black magic and how to detect it – but did the playwright mean to praise or to provoke his king with the Scottish Play?
Finally, the book questions the tradition of the play as an exclusively sombre tragedy with all humour confined to the brief appearance of the porter in Act II. Macbeth is, in fact, full of hilarious dramatic irony rarely explored or exploited since the early 19th century. Although it may be a stretch to call it a comedy, there is plenty to laugh at. It wouldn’t be Shakespeare otherwise.
