Macbeth: Commercial facts
13 lenses on commercial facts for Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Count lenses are exact for our text. AI lenses are our reading and cite only quotes that passed a word for word check.
Jump to: L1 L2 L3 L4 L5 L6 L7 L8 L9 L10 L11 L12 L13
L1. Total word count. Count
1606, 17,992 words. See the full lens on the book page.
L2. Chapter count and average length. Count
1606, 17,992 words. See the full lens on the book page.
L3. Length against modern norms for the genre. Both
17,992 words. Modern plays often runs 15,000 to 30,000 words, so this is in the usual range today. These ranges are rough trade norms, not rules.
At roughly 18,000 words, Macbeth is one of Shakespeare's shortest plays, well below modern novel length. For a stage play it is standard. Modern fantasy or historical fiction in the same tragic mould would be 80,000 to 120,000 words, making this play remarkably compressed.
L4. First published as a serial or a volume? Research
1606, 17,992 words. See the full lens on the book page.
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L5. Serial instalment breaks and how each ends. Both
The play divides into five acts. Act One ends with the witches' prophecy and Macbeth's ambition awakened. Act Two ends with Duncan's murder and the alarm raised. Act Three ends with Banquo's ghost appearing. Act Four ends with Macbeth's false confidence from the apparitions. Act Five ends with Macbeth's death and Malcolm crowned.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 1, Scene 7, Scene 15, Scene 18, Scene 25, Scene 27
L6. Sales and reviews in its day. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L7. Adaptations: film, TV, stage, count and type. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L8. Sequels and series. Research
Facts from outside the text (sales, serial history, adaptations, sequels, most quoted lines). Coming in a later phase, with sources and dates.
L9. Modern books in the same mould (comps). AI
Modern comps include N.K. Jemisin's Broken Earth trilogy (ambition and power), Patrick Rothfuss's Name of the Wind (prophecy and destiny), and Joe Abercrombie's First Law series (moral corruption through power). All feature protagonists undone by ambition and supernatural forces.
L10. Who it would be shelved for today. AI
Today this would be shelved as classic drama or literary fiction. Readers seeking dark fantasy, psychological thrillers about ambition, or retellings of classic tales would find it. Academic readers and students of Shakespeare form a core audience. It appeals to those interested in power, guilt and moral collapse.
L11. Content notes. AI
Content notes: murder of a king, murder of a child and woman, suicide (implied), violence and bloodshed, psychological torment and madness, witchcraft and supernatural forces, themes of ambition and moral corruption.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 9, Scene 10, Scene 19, Scene 21, Scene 25
The castle of Macduff I will surprise; Seize upon Fife; give to th’ edge o’ th’ sword His wife, his babes, and all unfortunate souls That trace him in his line. (Ch 18, para 69)
Your castle is surpris’d; your wife and babes Savagely slaughter’d. To relate the manner Were, on the quarry of these murder’d deer, To add the death of you. (Ch 20, para 57)
All? What, all my pretty chickens and their dam At one fell swoop? (Ch 20, para 64)
L12. A modern pitch line and blurb. AI
A Scottish general hears a prophecy that he will be king. Driven by ambition and his wife's manipulation, he murders the king and seizes the throne. But paranoia and guilt consume him as he commits further murders to secure his power. When the witches' prophecies prove deceptive, he faces his doom.
Scenes (numbered through the play): Scene 3, Scene 5, Scene 7, Scene 9, Scene 12, Scene 13
L13. Title style against genre norms. AI
The title is a simple proper name, typical of Shakespeare's tragedies (Hamlet, Othello, King Lear). This style emphasises the protagonist's centrality and the personal nature of the tragedy. It contrasts with modern genre titles that signal plot or theme.
Ask Macbeth a question about its craft (free beta)
Answers cite chapter and paragraph, and every quote is checked against the text. (3 free questions a day).
Weekly email: coming soon
One short email a week on new AI tools for authors. Sign up opens soon.