Course Description

A Course open to all students who wish to read Shakespeare without fear. The only prerequisites are a willingness to read steadily and attentively. The course seeks to provide a perspective on the twenty or so years that Shakespeare worked as an actor, playwright and entrepreneur among the London theater companies. We will read plays representative of this period and the dramatic genres of his career. Our meetings will emphasize the development of Shakespeare as a writer, his dramatic language and form, the social and historical context for play production, and the influence of his characters and themes on the development of western imagination. This course satisfies the general education requirement in Culture and Civilization and applies to the Literature major.

Reading and Class Calendar

A class calendar and reading schedule are below. Some adjustments in calendaring may occur. You are strongly encouraged to read the material in advance of the class meeting. The textbooks ordered for this course, available at the bookstore, are the Signet editions. They are well edited and reasonably priced. You may find that you wish to use another text. I would caution you to avoid cheap remaindered editions that are poorly edited and textually unreliable. Please check with me on the reliability of the alternative text you wish to use.

Student Responsibilities

Steady and involved attendance is a requirement of the course. Students who are absent for two consecutive meetings must confer with me. Absences of four or more will put a passing grade in serious jeopardy. The encouragement, above, to keep pace with the reading schedule is, in great part, made to promote class discussion and question raising. The reading of literature is a collective enterprise. I will endeavor to communicate my observations; I will look to you for equivalent observations.

In addition to attendance and participation, there will be mid-term and final examinations which will be a combination of short answer and essay topic questions. In addition, you will be asked to submit two short critical papers, details about which will be distributed in advance of the due date.

All students should read the section on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism in the Student Handbook, a copy of which is available from the office of the Dean of Students.

Students registered with the Office of Specialized Services who wish to request any accommodations, please confer with me.