James Shapiro

Macbeth; Act 5, Scene 5 Macbeth December 23, 2016 James Shapiro had no interest in Shakespeare in high school and never took a Shakespeare course at college.  Today, the author of 1606: William Shakespeare in the Year of Lear, has a legitimate claim to be recognized as one of world’s foremost Shakespeare scholars. Shakespeare's heroes almost always get a last great speech.  Not so with Macbeth.  When Equivocation rules the land, nothing is as it seems.  In our interview, Professor Shapiro explores the details of Macbeth, the world in which it was written and we discover how Mr. Shapiro came to devote his life to helping people understand Shakespeare’s plays - and why they matter today. Click here to follow along with the text. Click here for a First Folio version of the text. Click here for a scanned version of the text.