"e;I dreamed, and behold, I saw a man clothed with rags, standing in a certain place, with his face from his own house, a book in his hand, and a great burden upon his back.
Macbeth tells the story of the Scottish general Macbeth, who, following a prophecy made by witches and influenced by his wife Lady Macbeth, becomes king by murdering King Duncan; whereupon paranoia drives him into a vortex of further murder and violence until he is overthrown and killed by Macduff, restoring the order destroyed by his crimes and addressing the themes of lust for power, guilt and the supernatural.
Valentina Hine and Robert Leach's new translation of Masquerade brings out all the searing tensions and dangerous actions of the society which Lermontov depicts, and conveys the performative perils which threaten the innocent when life is seen as a masquerade.
