Macbeth is a tragedy by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy, and is believed to have been written some time between 1603 and 1606 with 1607 being the very latest possible date. The earliest account of a performance of what was likely Shakespeare's play is April 1611, when Simon Forman recorded seeing such a play at the Globe Theatre. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book for a specific performance.