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Do you remember being in a dilemma when somebody asked you if you prefer 'From Russia With Love' to 'Goldfinger'? Or when somebody spoke out that 'Revolver', 'White Album' or 'Abbey Road' is a better album than 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'? Imagine then my turmoil when I heard this from someone: 'Macbeth' is even a greater tragedy than 'Hamlet'.

What? Is this for real?

After finishing both the plays back to back, I have come to my own conclusion.

Dare I say it?

Well, 'Macbeth' is even more intense, stunning and devastating than 'Hamlet'. There, I have said it.

First of all, a token of gratitude to three splendid filmmakers whose splendid adaptations were more than enough to make me compelled to pick up 'Macbeth': Akira Kurosawa for 'Throne Of Blood', Vishal Bhardwaj for 'Maqbool' and Justin Kurzel for the more faithful 2015 film adaptation. Three films, in three different languages and interpretations and every one of them is just unforgettable.

Let's move on, shall we?

What needs to be said more? Shakespeare's mastery of not just the spoken word and the scenes of carnage, vengeance and human pathos but also of mood, menace and melancholy is unrivaled in its sheer density and intensity. This time around, there is also a streak of darkness, painted in scarlet, staining each page and plot proceeding and after finishing the 5 eventful and often unsettling acts of the drama, we feel as if we have lived through pure hell.

A classic meditation on the corrupting, dehumanizing power of naked ambition, of demons forged by battered masculinity and brutality, 'Macbeth' features perhaps the finest cast of characters that the Bard ever pulled off , rivaling even 'Hamlet' and 'King Lear' by handing us a dazzling lineup of characters who feel utterly believable, from a flawed Banquo falling prey to nursing his own hopes for the throne to the rich and winsome generosity of King Duncan, from the diligent, incorruptible honesty of Macduff to the shattering helplessness of Lady Macbeth, one of the greatest characters that Shakespeare ever etched.

The plot is rubber-tight, terse and quite often terrifying in its bellowing pace and fury, the murder and madness come off as more elegiac and eerie than in 'Hamlet' and the dialogue is taut, punchy and hard-hitting. Sure, 'Hamlet' featured some of the most extraordinary and unforgettable monologues long before Paddy Chayefsky started raving and ranting in his script for 'Network'. But the dialogue in 'Macbeth' is pointed and sharp, with gorgeously dark rhymes and turns of phrase. While 'Hamlet' has the shades of a noir thriller, this one is bathed in the blood of dread.

Indeed, one of the most visceral stories I have ever read and Shakespeare's finest work yet, I guess. (Then again, that final statement will always be for debate).