Fall 2005

E 321 • Shakespeare: Selected Plays

Course Description

We will approach Shakespeare's texts as scripts written for performance. Students should be prepared not only for frequent in-class discussion and reading performances of scenes, but also for active participation in a final performance project requiring memorization of lines and rehearsals. We will also, from time to time, examine film versions of the plays. Our close, critical reading of the script (both for class and in class) will hopefully open up the various possibilities of interpreting the play experiences. Attendance, preparation for class (text in hand), and energetic contribution to discussion and performance are absolutely necessary.

Grading Policy

Writing and exams: Two (2) hour exams, one (1) in-class essay, one (1) out-of-class essay, final examination.
Classwork involves writing brief "position paragraphs" on special topics in the plays, quizzes about text understanding, group discussions of topics, group reports, "reading performances" of scenes, lecture, and discussion.
Writing and exams 60%
Class work 40%

Texts

The Complete Works of Shakespeare, ed. Bevington

Plays:
The Taming of the Shrew
Love's Labours Lost
A Midsummer Night's Dream
Twelfth Night
The Merchant of Venice
Richard II

Romeo and Juliet
Hamlet
The Tempest
One revenge play by a writer contemporary with Shakespeare

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