George Hatza: Shakespeare gets his due on PBS series

For an artist's work to last more than four centuries, he or she has to be doing something right.

Add to its greatness a profound mystery, and the result is a fascination that has enthralled audiences and scholars since William Shakespeare was born (or at least baptized) in 1564 and died in 1616. To say he is by consensus the greatest English-speaking playwright is not only an understatement but also commentary that leads to a haunting enigma: Who was he?

Is the historic William Shakespeare the bard behind the most accomplished dramatic works ever to be written and published in the English tongue? No one to date has provided persuasive evidence that he is not. So let's just agree for now that Shakespeare was indeed William Shakespeare of Stratford-on-Avon.

At the moment on PBS, Fridays at 9 and 10 p.m., a series of films gathered under the title "Shakespeare Uncovered" has been airing. The final two air Friday, but the DVD is already available on

Following Ethan Hawke through the urban jungle of Lower Manhattan with its graffiti-sprayed walls and sense of dread provides the perfect backdrop for an exploration of "Macbeth," a tragedy so terrifying due to its obsession with the occult that some will not speak its title, referring to it as the "Scottish play."

We visit Dunsinane Hill in Scotland, and it's exactly as I pictured it. The source material for the plays is explored, as is Shakespeare's penchant for rewriting history, and for stealing others' tales and shaping them into something uniquely his own. Actors and directors share what leads them to their diverse interpretations.

What captured my attention was how Shakespeare innately grasped his characters' motivations. What leads Macbeth to murder Duncan? The witches? Lady Macbeth's urgings? His own desire to be king? Or a flaw in his character shared by all serial murderers?

One thing makes Shakespeare's plays relevant not only to his own time but to ours as well and every age in between: human psychology. His perceptive poetry transports us to the most mysterious corners of the human mind.

Contact Entertainment Editor George Hatza: 610-371-5075 or

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