Cover of Macbeth

Macbeth

by William Shakespeare

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Among the most widely assigned — 6 curriculum lists · 1 state

Grade placement varies by school — the median assigned book spans 4 grade levels (83% span three or more, across 13,258 source-cited assignments).

Macbeth by William Shakespeare is assigned in US schools at grades 9–12. It appears across 6 curriculum references and 1 state, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.

This page shows where Macbeth is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.

Grade range
Grades 9–12
Age range
Ages 14–18
Pages
272
Reading time
about 5 hours (est.)
First published
1623
Genre
Tragedy
ISBN-13
9780743477109

New to these terms? Reading levels by grade

More formats & details

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About this book

Shakespeare's shortest tragedy: a Scottish nobleman, spurred by the prophecies of three witches and his ambitious wife, murders the king to seize the throne — and is destroyed by guilt. A near-universal 10th-grade English text; cited in Common Core Appendix B and on AP English Literature reading lists.

Similar grade-level books

See all books like Macbeth→ — matched on theme + reading level.

Why widely assigned

This Tragedy title, typically at grades 9–12. Written in the 1620s; pairs with curriculum units on ambition and guilt; cited across 6 curriculum frameworks.

Themes

ambition · guilt · fate vs free will · corruption · supernatural

Content notes

murder · supernatural · violence

Common Sense Media recommends age 14+.

Where this book is assigned

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Common questions

What grade level is Macbeth?
Macbeth is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 9–12. It appears on 6 school reading lists across 1 state. Exact placement varies by school and district.
How long does it take to read Macbeth?
It takes about 5 hours to read Macbeth (272 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 300 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
What curricula assign Macbeth?
Macbeth appears on reading lists for AP English Literature & Composition, AQA GCSE English Literature (8702), Common Core State Standards (ELA), and 3 others. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
Is Macbeth banned in schools?
Macbeth has documented removals from at least one public-school district in 1 state (TX) per PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. Policies vary by district.
What themes does Macbeth explore?
Central themes in Macbeth include ambition, guilt, fate vs free will, corruption, supernatural.

Why this book is on this list

How we classify

Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.

Lexile measure
Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
Grade band
Grades 9–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
Curriculum alignment
Cited in 6 curricula on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
State-level evidence
Cited in 1 state ELA framework or DOE list (see citations above).
Removal / banning records
Documented as challenged or removed in 1 state per PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans — see the full banned & challenged books list.
Seasonal / contextual tags
Tagged for: Shakespeare.

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