Reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Register Now for Reading Shakespeare’s Macbeth

Price: $45
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location: Room 71, Schroeder Family School of Business Administration Building
Instructor(s): Mark Cirino, PhD

We will read Shakespeare’s great tragedy over the course of five weeks – one act per week – and discuss its themes, its darkly beautiful language, and the complex characterization of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In addition to guided discussion and close-reading, we will also consider moments from various cinematic adaptations of the play. Our goal is to make the play accessible to non-specialists and increase your appreciation of Shakespeare’s genius.

As with last year’s summer class, this class will be designed for those who might have had previous frustration with Shakespeare, or who might even be intimidated by the very name “Shakespeare.” Whether you have read this play long ago or never at all, this course will be valuable and enjoyable, and you will become more comfortable reading Shakespeare’s sublime work.

Any edition of Macbeth is acceptable. I recommend an inexpensive paperback copy with accompanying notes, such as the Folger Shakespeare Library or Signet Classics.

Materials/Readings: Macbeth, William Shakespeare (any edition)

Mark Cirino received his PhD at the Graduate Center-CUNY. Of his eight books about American literature as writer or editor, his most recent is One True Sentence: Writers & Readers on Hemingway’s Art (2022), with Michael Von Cannon. He serves as the General Editor for Kent State University Press's “Reading Hemingway” series, for which he wrote the volume on Across the River and into the Trees (2016) and co-edited Reading Winner Take Nothing (2021) with former UE student Susan Vandagriff. Dr. Cirino is the host of the popular Hemingway Society-sponsored podcast, One True Podcast.