Macbeth vs The Great Gatsby: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Drama, Fiction
Macbeth
“Thunder and lightning. Enter three Witches.”
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The play concerns a trusted general who secretly lusts for power. Encouraged by the prophecies of three witches and urged on by his ambitious wife Macbeth commits regicide. Left fearful and superstitious by this…
The Great Gatsby
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.”
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Here is a novel, glamorous, ironical, compassionate – a marvelous fusion into unity of the curious incongruities of the life of the period – which reveals a hero like no other – one who could live at no other time and…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Great Gatsby highest: The Great Gatsby 3.9 · Macbeth 3.5.
- Macbeth is the quickest read — about 1 hours vs 7 for The Great Gatsby.
- The Great Gatsby has the widest readership — 6120259 ratings behind its score.
- Macbeth reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 66 times.
- Macbeth runs the darker storyline; The Great Gatsby stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Macbeth | The Great Gatsby | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.5 (18773) | 3.9 (6120259) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (1169) | 4.5 (2) |
| Google Books | 5.0 (1) | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 3.5 (555) | 4.5 (806) |
| LiveLib | — | 4.0 (5) |
Reception
| Macbeth | The Great Gatsby | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 18773 | 6120259 |
| Editions | 1867 | 1179 |
| Citations | 66 | 24 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 8761 | 2127185 |
| Reading it now | 325 | 85180 |
| Written reviews | 190 | 138625 |
| Wikipedia attention | 485 | 94574 |
| Pages | 84 | 431 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Macbeth or The Great Gatsby?
The Great Gatsby has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Great Gatsby 3.9/5, Macbeth 3.5/5).
Which is shorter to read: Macbeth or The Great Gatsby?
Macbeth is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Macbeth (84 pages, ≈ 1 h 33 m); The Great Gatsby (431 pages, ≈ 7 h 59 m).
Which is harder to read: Macbeth or The Great Gatsby?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Macbeth: Challenging; The Great Gatsby: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
Macbeth: no film adaptation on record; The Great Gatsby: 5 film adaptations.