A Comic's Understanding

In April of 1611 the first production of Shakespeare’s Macbeth took place in England and has since been performed, read, and studied hundreds of times. As time has gone on, society has strayed further from Shakespearean language, making it harder to understand. Luckily, more resources have come out that help to explain Shakespeare. These resources are essential for people to grasp Shakespeare’s stories and should be used by people, especially students, reading any of Shakespeare’s works. One in particular, Good Tickle Brain, provides a scene-by-scene breakdown for many of Shakespeare’s great works. By offering a step-by-step breakdown of each scene, as well as written summaries, Good Tickle Brain is the best secondary source to help understand Macbeth.

Good Tickle Brain uses comic strips to thoroughly break down Macbeth. A comprehensive summary is provided, simplifying the entire play into comic strips. To delve deeper into Shakespeare, Good Tickle Brain breaks down each act and scene into comic strips that thoroughly explain what happens in each scene, and it provides written summaries of each act. This is helpful for people that don’t understand some of Shakespeare’s words, but also for moments in the text when the direct meaning is not written, but rather inferred by the reader. In Scene 3 of Act 2 readers meet the Porter, who is drunk at the time. The Porter’s intoxication leads to an interaction between him and Macduff, that requires the reader to jump to some conclusions and infer to fully understand what is going on. When the Porter is asked about the effect of alcohol on a man he answers, “It makes him, and it mars him; it sets him on, and takes him off; it persuades him, and disheartens him; makes him stand to, and not stand to; in conclusion, equivocates him in a sleep, and, giving him the lie, leaves him” (Ⅱ, iii.). While the Porter may come across as meaningful and thoughtful, in reality his thoughts are quite the opposite. In fact, his thoughts boil down to an inability to have sex after drinking. Good Tickle Brain breaks down every joke in the scene, and the ones about sex specifically in the last two panels of the comic: “Macbeth: Act 2 Scene 3 (part 1)” and in the written summary at the bottom of the page. Without the written explanation the reader can’t fully understand the jokes that Shakespeare is making throughout the passage due to the outdated language usage.

In Act 4 Scene 3 of Macbeth readers witness an interaction between Malcom and Macduff; Macduff has come to help Malcom overthrow Macbeth. In this part of the scene, Malcom is testing Macduff’s loyalty. This can be seen throughout the scene but particularly when Malcom says “If such a one be fit to govern, speak. I am as I have spoken”(IV, iii.). Malcom is gauging all of Macduff’s responses to make sure that he will be loyal to him, this is what Scene 3 gets confusing. Good Tickle Brain is the best source as it explains that Macduff is being tested, which makes it easier to identify those moments in the text.

Macbeth, like most of Shakespeare’s works, is enriched with rhythm, trickery, backstabbing, and drama. While these elements are what make Shakespeare so great, they also make the stories hard to understand without help. This is why resources like Good Tickle Brain are crucial to further a reader's understanding. Good Tickle Brain exceeds expectations by providing visuals and explanation in modern day language. In summation, Good Tickle Brain is the best resource to use because it thoroughly explains every scene in a visual and written way to best meet the needs and explain Shakespeare to readers.