THE CAMPION INSTITUTE FOR THE ADVANCEMENT
OF INTELLECTUAL EXCELLENCE
presents the fall 2016 Hobart–Ives Lecture
The Curse of Macbeth
Thursday, 10 November | 12 p.m.
SPEAKER:
The Right Honourable Clare Asquith
The Countess of Oxford and Asquith, United Kingdom
Flom Auditorium | William D. Walsh Family Library
Rose Hill Campus
What is the origin of the idea that bad luck surrounds the play Macbeth? It is not Shakespeare’s most violent play, nor his most tragic. Many contemporary dramas also featured witches, black magic, and murder. Yet there is something uniquely sinister about Macbeth. Unnatural occurrences are said to have disrupted performances. Actors still superstitiously avoid mentioning the name of the “Scottish Play.”
This talk will explore the possible causes of the legendary curse and propose a theory of why, from the very beginning, Shakespeare and his acting company might have felt uneasy about performing what has since become one of his most popular plays.
Free and open to the public.
For more information, visit fordham.edu/hobart–ives
or e-mail John Ryle Kezel, Ph.D., at kezel@fordham.edu.