English 121, Intro to Shakespeare
Spring 2007

Monday, January 22

First day: Introductions and course outline

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

• Read Connections on The Sonnet

• Read Connections on Scansion
  • 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.

• 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.

• Romeo and Juliet, Act I
  • Shakespeare's Works in online texts from MIT

  • ERIC (English Renaissance in Context) has a tutorial on poetry in Romeo and Juliet

Group 2: Stage-setting response

• Romeo and Juliet, Acts II and III

Group 3: Middle acts response

• Romeo and Juliet, Acts IV and V

Group 4: Final acts response

• Film: Baz Luhrmann, Romeo + Juliet (1996)
  • The film's IMDB page

  • And its MRQE page

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, viewing the film is required, whereas exploring the websites is optional.

Group 5: film response

• Much Ado about Nothing, Act I

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

Group 1: Stage-setting response

• Much Ado about Nothing, Acts II and III

Group 2: Middle acts response

• Much Ado about Nothing, Acts IV and V

Group 3: Final acts response

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

  • And its MRQE page

Group 4: Film response

• Titus Andronicus, Act I

Group 5: Stage-setting response

• Titus Andronicus, Acts II and III

Group 1: Middle acts response

• Titus Andronicus, Acts IV and V

Group 2: Final acts response

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

  • And its MRQE page

Group 3: 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 4: Scene-setting response

[class canceled]

• Hamlet, Acts II and III

Group 5: Middle acts response

• Hamlet, Acts IV and V

Group 1: Last acts response

• Readings on feminist criticism and Hamlet

Group 2: The response assignment will be the same for all three 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 3: See the assignment for March 12th.

• 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 4: Stage-setting response

• The Merchant of Venice, Acts II and III

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

Group 5: Middle acts response

• The Merchant of Venice, Acts IV and V

• Contextual readings by Alexander Niccholes and Sir Thomas Elyot

Group 1: Last acts response

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

  • And its MRQE page

Group 2: Film response

• Othello, Act I

Group 3: Stage-setting response

• Othello, Acts II and III

Group 4: Middle acts response

• Othello, Acts IV and V

Group 5: Last acts response

• 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

PAPER PROSPECTUS DUE IN CLASS

• 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

• Measure for Measure, Act I

• Machiavelli, from The Prince

Group 4: Stage-setting response

PAPER DUE
UNDER MY OFFICE DOOR BY 4:00

• Measure for Measure, Acts II and III

• Contextual readings from "T.E." and Henry Swinburne

Group 5: Middle acts response

• Measure for Measure, Acts IV and V

Group 1: Last acts response

• King Lear, Act I

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

Group 2: Stage-setting response

• King Lear, Acts II and III

Group 3: Middle acts response

• King Lear, Acts IV and V

Group 4: Last acts response

• The Tempest, Act I

Group 5: Stage-setting response

• The Tempest, Acts II and III

Group 1: 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 9:00 A.M.