English 121, Intro to Shakespeare
Fall 2007

Friday, August 31

First day: Introductions and course outline

• Film: segment one of John Barton's Playing Shakespeare

• Read Connections on The Sonnet

• Read Connections on Scansion

• And if you want to brush up on poetic terminology more general, have a look around the Terms section.
  • Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet, an excellent all-purpose site maintained by Terry A. Gray, who recommends these other sites on Shakespeare.

  • ERIC (English Renaissance in Context) from the Penn Libraries

Come to class prepared to apply the film and readings to a discussion of one of Shakespeare's sonnets.

Also, please go to the class discussion board and write a solid paragraph or two introducing yourself to the class. Aside from the obvious introductory function of this assignment, it also ensures that we flush out any technical problems before moving farther into the term.

Note: here and throughout this syllabus, the first (less indented) reading or link is required, while the second (more indented) reading or link is supplemental and optional. Here, for example, the film viewing and Connections links are required, whereas exploring the other websites is optional.

• Read Shakespeare's sonnets 1, 2, 3, 5, 15, 16, 17, and 18.

• Close reading handout
  • Sir John Gielgud reads the sonnets

Using the close reading handout as a guide, write a paragraph about something unusual and interesting you find in one of the sonnets. We will discuss some of your paragraphs in class, and I will collect them all.

• Read Marjorie Garber's introduction to Shakespeare After All.

• Shakespeare's "Young Man" sonnets (selections): 20, 30, 37, 62, 76, 84, 93, 115, 116, and 123

• And the "Dark Lady" sonnets (selections): 42, 127, 130, 133, 138, 144, 147, 148, and 152

Group 1: Write a response connecting some small issue you find in a close reading of one of these sonnets to one of the broader concerns that Garber raises about interpreting Shakespeare's works. The key to this assignment lies in conveying that connection between a few small details and the big issues or questions of Shakespeare criticism.

• Richard III, Act I
  • Shakespeare's Works in online texts from MIT

Group 2: Stage-setting response

SONNET EXPLICATION DUE UNDER MY
OFFICE DOOR AT 4:00 P.M.

• Richard III, Acts II and III

Group 3: Middle acts response

• Richard III, Acts IV and V

Group 4: Final acts response

• Richard Loncraine, Richard III (1995)
  • The film's IMDB page

  • And its MRQE page

Group 5: Film response

• Connections, Polishing an Essay
  • If you want to see more of what I say about writing papers, you are welcome (but not required) to look through the other sections of the Writing section of Connections.

No response required: we will talk about writing in class.

• Much Ado about Nothing, Act I

• Russ McDonald, "Theater à la Mode: Shakespeare and the Kinds of Drama"

Group 6: Stage-setting response

• Much Ado about Nothing, Acts II and III

Group 7: Middle acts response

• Much Ado about Nothing, Acts IV and V

Group 1: Final acts response

• Film: Kenneth Branagh, Much Ado about Nothing (1993)
  • The film's IMDB page

  • And its MRQE page

Group 2: Film response

• Titus Andronicus, Act I

Group 3: Stage-setting response

• Titus Andronicus, Acts II and III

Group 4: Middle acts response

• Titus Andronicus, Acts IV and V

Group 5: Final acts response

• Film: Julie Taymor, Titus (1999)
  • The film's IMDB page

  • And its MRQE page

Group 6: Film response

MIDTERM EXAM IN CLASS

• Hamlet, Act I
  • Hamlet Works is one of the web's truly remarkable literary sites. You'll need to take a few minutes to figure out the interface, but the site will repay your efforts.

Group 7: Scene-setting response

• Hamlet, Acts II and III

Group 1: Middle acts response

• Hamlet, Acts IV and V

Group 2: Last acts response

• Readings on feminist criticism and Hamlet

Group 3: The response assignment will be the same for both critical approaches. For the approach we read about each day, discuss a point in the article that you consider especially instructive or, on the contrary, to be a misreading of Hamlet. You can talk about more general applications of the day's theory if you like, but every response should start by discussing a specific moment in the day's article.

• Readings on New Historical criticism and Hamlet

Group 4: See the assignment for October 17th.

• Connections, Developing a Thesis and Argument

No response required: we will talk about writing in class.

• The Merchant of Venice, Act I

• Contextual readings by Thomas Coryate, John Leo, and Francis Bacon
  • ERIC (English Renaissance in Context) has a tutorial on The Merchant of Venice

Group 5: Stage-setting response

• The Merchant of Venice, Acts II and III

• Contextual readings from the Examination of Roderigo Lopez and by William Camden

Group 6: Middle acts response

• The Merchant of Venice, Acts IV and V

• Contextual readings by Alexander Niccholes and Sir Thomas Elyot

Group 7: Last acts response

• Film: Michael Radford, The Merchant of Venice (2004)
  • The film's IMDB page

  • And its MRQE page

Group 1: Film response

PAPER PROSPECTUS DUE IN CLASS

• Othello, Act I

Group 2: Stage-setting response

• Othello, Acts II and III

Group 3: Middle acts response

• Othello, Acts IV and V

Group 4: Last acts response

• King Lear, Act I

Group 5: Stage-setting response

PAPER DUE
UNDER MY OFFICE DOOR BY NOON

No class today

• King Lear, Acts II and III

Group 6: Middle acts response

• King Lear, Acts IV and V
  • ERIC (English Renaissance in Context) has a tutorial on history and truth in King Lear

Group 7: Last acts response

No readings or responses today: we will talk about writing in class using material from your papers.

• Macbeth, Act I

• Sourcebooks edition introductory materials, pages 1-20, and CD tracks 1-18 (all material from Act I)

Group 1: Stage-setting response with special attention to the interpretive decisions made by at least one of the actors on the CD

• Macbeth, Acts II and III

• CD tracks 19-29 (all material from Acts II and III)

Group 2: Middle acts response

• Macbeth, Acts IV and V

• CD tracks 30-40 (all material from Acts IV and V)

Group 3: Last acts response

• The Tempest, Act I

Group 4: Stage-setting response

• The Tempest, Acts II and III

Group 5: Middle acts response

• The Tempest, Acts IV and V

No responses: we will leave time for end-of-course carnival events and contests of skill.

FINAL EXAM AT 2:00 P.M.