TEXTS: Signet and Folger paperback editions of individual plays. Mimeographed materials to be provided.
NB: Remember to make weekly journal entries. Always be prepared for unannounced quizzes.
| 17 January | Introduction, "Shakespeare's Theater" | A Web page with links to sites containing photographs and information relating to the theater in Shakespeare's day. |
| 24 January | The Two Gentlemen of Verona. | Suggested prompt for reading notes: Notice
particularly ways in which the female characters differ from the male
characters. Also due: In addition to the reading notes, prepare a fully annotated list of at least three statements in 1.2.105-30 (include the statements as well as your annotations) that give the actress playing the part of Julia specific hints for what she is supposed to do (how she is supposed to act) during the soliloquy (do not include stage directions, editorial or otherwise; focus on the text). |
| 31 January | Much Ado about Nothing. | Prompt: Notice especially the characters of Benedick and Beatrice, their developing relationship, and the contrast between the Benedick-Beatrice plot and the Claudio-hero plot. ("Hero" is a Greek name for a woman.) How do the Benedick-Beatrice and Claudio-Hero plots represent different views of "love," "romance," the position and role of women in the Elizabethan period, etc.? |
| 7 February | A Midsummer Night's Dream. | Prompt: What is typically Shakespearean about the play as a romantic comedy? What is different about the depiction of the female and male characters (not necessarily obvious at first)? How do the various plots relate to one another? In particular, in what ways is the final play within the play a parody of the main action (and of "romance" or romantic comedy in general)? |
| 14 February | Videotape of Dream. | Be thinking about a topic for the first paper. |
| 21 February | Examination 1, including the online lecture on the Elizabethan theater. | Confer during this week with the teacher concerning a topic for the first paper. |
| 28 February | The Merchant of Venice. | Prompt: in what sense does the play present a variety of perspectives on intercultural relationships? What is the dual basis of the hostility between Shylock and Antonio early in the play? How does the Portia-Bassanio plot relate to the Shylock-Antonio plot? How might a sixteenth-century Christian perspective on the judgment against Shylock be different from, perhaps more favorable than a twentieth-century perspective (Christian or not), in a theological or doctrinal sense? |
| 7 March | Twelfth Night. | Prompt: What elements of the theme of self-knowledge
(or the lack of it) or the theme of excess are apparent in Orsino, Olivia,
Sir Toby Belch, or Sir Andrew Aguecheek? Due: Paper 1. |
| 14 March | Measure for Measure. | Prompt: In what sense or to what extent are Isabella and Angelo similar in character? What does the play say about the complex topics of leadership, power, individual rights, justice and mercy, vengeance and forgiveness, and so on? Does Isabella do the right thing by first refusing Angelo's offer? |
| [21 March] | Spring Break | "Let's have one other gaudy [joyful] night! . . . Let's mock the midnight bell!" (Antony and Cleopatra). |
| 28 March | Examination 2. Introduction to creating Web pages for the group project. |
Take a disk to class. |
| 4 April | Macbeth. | Prompt: What is the nature of Macbeth's tragedy? What evidence of free will is there in the play? What is the role and significance of the Witches? What is significant about the contrasts between the attitudes and behavior of Macbeth and Banquo? What is the significance of the role of Lady Macbeth in the play? |
| 11 April | Othello. Cinthio, Hecatommithi (171-84). |
Prompt: What role does Othello's race play in his
tragedy? Is Desdemona mainly weak and passive or strong and active? (And
might the answer differ according to whether one considers the early
seventeenth- or the twentieth-century perspective on gender roles?) Why
does Iago act as he does (study his soliloquies particularly carefully)? Due: An annotated list of at least three significant differences between Othello and Hecatommithi. |
| 18 April | Videotape of Shakespeare in Love. | Due: Paper 2. Confer with the teacher at least a week in advance. |
| 25 April | Presentation of Web pages in class. | Due: Group Web-page projects. |
| 2 May | Examination 3 and final examination, including either Romeo and Juliet or Antony and Cleopatra. |