A study of Shakespeare's dramatic works, selected to represent his exploration of major genres over the course of his career. Although we will be reading the plays intensively as literary works, we will also be considering social and political issues in Elizabethan and Jacobean England in order to clarify the complex engagement of Shakespeare's stage with cultural controversies of his period. Our goal will be to appreciate Shakespeare and to examine the impact of his drama in its own day and its ramification for ours. As much as possible, we will also be discussing the plays we read as works written for performance, and explore what this meant then and now.

The plays likely to be studied: A Midsummer Night's Dream; The Merchant of Venice; Measure for Measure; Hamlet; Othello; King Lear; The Tempest. The text used will be The Norton Shakespeare.

Course Requirements:

There will be a midterm and a final exam, as well as two relatively short essays.

Intended Audience:

No data submitted

Class Format:

No data submitted