F408Z Spring 2024 Something Wicked: Macbeth and Shakespeare’s Anatomy of Evil

F408Z  Something Wicked: Macbeth and Shakespeare’s Anatomy of Evil
Mondays, 11:50—1:15, Apr. 8—May 13
Six sessions
Instructor: Charles Chadwick
Villains abound in Shakespeare’s plays. Seldom, however, did Shakespeare examine the origins, effects, and cost of evil— both to individuals and to society—as he did in Macbeth. Not even Richard III shows us the disintegration of human beings in as shocking and mesmerizing a fashion as does Macbeth. “…something wicked this way comes” the witches greet Macbeth as he succumbs to bloody ambition. Is evil inevitable or is it a choice? Join us as we use a video presentation of the play, lecture, and interactive discussion to examine one of Shakespeare’s greatest plays.
Charles Chadwick has an M.A. in literature and has taught classes for OLLI at UVA, including ten courses on the plays of Shakespeare, three courses on the plays of Eugene O’Neill, and courses on contemporary literature. He is a retired executive in organizational ethics and government contracting.