English 450, Age of Shakespeare

Greenville College
Fall 2005
MWF, 11:30 a.m. - 12:20 p.m., Dietzman 201

Dr. Donna J. Hart
225 Hogue Hall
Phone: Office: 664-6805; Home: 664-3863
Office Hours: MWF, 2:30 - 4:30; No office hours on Tuesday or Thursday.
Email: donna.hart@greenville.edu

Course Description:

Each year, this course does a close reading of 12 - 15 Shakespearean dramatic texts—3 - 4 history, 3 tragedy, 3 comedy, and 2 - 3 of the romances, as time permits. We understand these texts better as we place them in the context of Shakespeare’s life and times. We also understand them better as we approach them through various critical lenses—formal, new historical, feminist, psychoanalytic, postmodernist, etc.

We make every effort to assure that Shakespeare’s texts are not only read, but also seen and heard. Therefore, we will do frequent in-class reading of passages, watch portions of most plays in video performance, and attend every live performance that is available to us, either in St. Louis or in Chicago.

Course Texts:

Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. (for all texts below)

The Norton Shakespeare: Histories. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. (ISBN: 0-393-97671-8)
The Norton Shakespeare: Comedies. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. (ISBN: 0-393-97670-X)
The Norton Shakespeare: Tragedies. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. (ISBN: 0-393-97672-6)
The Norton Shakespeare: Romances and Poems. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1997. (ISBN: 0-393-97673-4)

Course Objectives: The student should be able to--

1. do a close reading of an unfamiliar Shakespearean text with a high degree of understanding and appreciation.
2. correctly answer factual recall questions and interpretive questions of plot, setting, character, theme, dramatic technique, and poetry.
3. better understand Shakespeare’s use of a variety of language devices in the plays—simile, metaphor, allusion, imagery, symbolism, malapropism, pun, double entendre, etc.
4. elicit differences in interpretation a visual “text” of the play may make as compared to his/her personal interpretation of the written text or as compared to another visual performance and be able to make some supportable value judgments as to which is the "better" interpretation.
5. examine how contemporary culture affects the interpretation and performance of a Shakespeare text.
6. evaluate what benefits for Shakespeare study might accrue from use of electronic resources (online Shakespeare texts or websites) and be able to determine which sites are qualitatively “good” or “bad” ones.
7. become comfortable with the sound of Renaissance English.
8. approach a play or portions of a play from varying critical perspectives.
9. complete a major research project, attempting to answer a significant question about some Shakespeare text.

Assessments:

1. Objectives 1, 2, and 3 are assessed by the student’s completion of daily reading assignments and our informal question and answer sessions in class. They are assessed more formally by periodic quizzes and unit tests.
2. Objectives 4 and 5 are assessed through informal class discussion and through assigned writing, either as formal papers or as impromptu in-class essays.
3. Objective 6 is assessed through a formal assignment, requiring students to do an online search for their 10 best Shakespeare sites and compiling them into an annotated bibliography, using MLA format. It is also assessed by our using, for part of a class period, an online text of one play.
4. Objective 7 is assessed by frequent reading aloud of passages from plays, both by professor and by students. The degree to which students become more comfortable and facile with the language is the measure.
5. Objectives 8 and 9 are assessed through informal class discussion and, more formally, through the major research project. The research paper has an introductory section that reviews the major literature on their chosen subject, and a main body section that requires their use of various critical voices, focusing on one of their choice, in order to support their own answer to the research question with which they started.

Attendance, Late Papers, Plagiarism, Grading, and Study Expectations:

For my expectations regarding attendance, see attendance. For expectations regarding late papers, see late papers. For expectations regarding avoidance of plagiarism, see plagiarism. For an explanation of my grading system, see grading. For study expectations, see study expectations.

Tentative Class Schedule:

Week One: August 31

W - Introduction to the class, syllabus, Blackboard, research paper, etc.
F - Powerpoint presentation(s) regarding the history behind the Shakespeare life and plays. On your own, watch video one of the PBS series, In Search of Shakespeare.

Week Two: September 5

M - We'll watch video two of the PBS series, In Search of Shakespeare. ***You should spend this whole week skimming through summaries of the various plays, in order to choose one that you're interested in focusing on for your research paper. I'll ask you for that commitment on Friday.
W - We'll watch video three of the PBS series.
F - We'll watch video four of the PBS series.

Week Three: September 12

M - TAKE THE READING QUIZ ON BLACKBOARD BEFORE YOU COME TO CLASS. Close reading of opening of Richard II.
W - Continue discussion of the play.
F - Seminar: Discuss other scholars' articles on the play.

Week Four: September 19

M - BLACKBOARD READING QUIZ BEFORE CLASS. Close reading of opening scenes of Henry IV, Part I.
W - Continue discussion of the play.
F - Seminar: Scholarly articles.

Week Five: September 26

We'll watch Kenneth Branagh's movie version of Henry V. ***Working Bibliography (MLA) of at least 20 sources that you might use for your research paper. Post to the Digital Dropbox by Friday at 4:00 p.m.

Week Six: October 3

M - BLACKBOARD QUIZ. Close reading of opening scenes of Richard III.
W - Continue discussion of the play.
F - Seminar: Scholarly articles. ***Take-home essay test over the History plays, posted to me on DDB before class on Monday.

Week Seven: October 10

M - BLACKBOARD QUIZ. No Class; this is "Fall Break" Day.
W - Close reading of opening scenes of Taming of the Shrew.
F - Continue discussion of the play.

Week Eight: October 17

M - BLACKBOARD QUIZ. Close reading of opening scenes of Merchant of Venice.
W - Field trip to Chicago Shakespeare Theatre to see Merchant of Venice. ***This is required of everyone, so clear your schedule ahead of time.
F - Discussion of the play.

Week Nine: October 24

M - BLACKBOARD QUIZ. Close reading of opening scenes of Measure for Measure.
W - Continue discussion of the play.
F - Seminar. ***Two-page summary of what has been the best, so far, of your research paper sources. Post to DDB any time during next week.

Week Ten: October 31

M - BLACKBOARD QUIZ. Close reading of opening scenes of Much Ado about Nothing (or any other one of the comedies, if you have another preference).
W - Continue discussion of the play.
F - Seminar. ***Take-home test over the Comedy Plays, posted to DDB before class on Monday.

Week Eleven: November 7

M - BLACKBOARD QUIZ. Close reading of opening scenes of Othello.
W - Continue discussion of the play.
F - Seminar.

Week Twelve: November 14

M - BLACKBOARD QUIZ. Close reading of opening scenes of Hamlet.
W - Continue discussion of the play.
F - Seminar.

Week Thirteen: November 21

M - In-class writing, concerning your research paper. ***Thanksgiving Vacation begins on Tuesday night. No class rest of this week.

Week Fourteen: November 28

M - BLACKBOARD QUIZ. Close reading of opening scenes of King Lear.
W - Continue discussion of the play.
F - Seminar.

Week Fifteen: December 5

M - BLACKBOARD QUIZ. Close reading of opening scenes of The Tempest.
W - Last day of class. Continue discussion of the play. ***Post your research paper to DDB any time before Friday afternoon, 3:30 p.m.

Week Sixteen: December 12

THE EXAM! It will include some few things from the whole course (terminology, major names, etc.), but focus mostly on the tragedies and romances.