General introduction to the works of Shakespeare, emphasizing the plays: tragedies, comedies, histories, and romances. Approaches Shakespeare both as poetry and as drama, concerning itself with language and with staging. This class may include students from multiple sections. (Humanities, Elective)
Prerequisites
ENGL& 101 or instructor permission
Course Outcomes
- Describe theatre and stagecraft in Shakespeare's day.
- Describe political, social, and cultural milieu in which Shakespeare wrote his plays.
- React verbally and in writing to a given play, noting themes and motifs.
- Explain verbally and in writing the complexities of Shakespeare's English, noting his own stylistic moves as well as the poetic content of the dialogue, e.g., connotation, images, figures of speech, irony, symbolism, rhyme, and rhythm.
- Write a paper which defends a given literary thesis with reasons and textural examples.