| Professor Eric
Leonidas 321 Willard Hall 832-2750 leonidase@ccsu.edu |
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Description: This course provides a broad overview of Shakespeare’s drama. It is organized roughly by genre: we read comedies, histories, tragedy, then a romance. We will approach the plays through a series of questions, developed by students, in five general categories: plot, characters, language and imagery, social relations, and social conventions or mores. You will be responsible for reading about an act for each class and for making a list of three questions in a given category. Our discussions will proceed from the questions you raise. The course is not intended to be an exhaustive study of the plays. Its purpose is to offer an introduction to the complexity of Shakespeare and to the types of readerly approaches that can open up the richness of his language and dramaturgy.
Text: The Norton Shakespeare, eds. Stephen Greenblatt et al. (NY: Norton, 1997). If you already have a collected Shakespeare or individual editions of the plays, you may use your own copies. However, different editions have different act, scene and line numbers. Bring a text of the play we are reading every day! Shakespeare’s Festive Comedy, by C.L. Barber, is optional, but it is a useful explanation of comic complexity.
Requirements: 2 short papers, 1 performance presentation, occasional quizzes, final exam, group work, regular attendance and participation.
Group Work: There is a lot of it. At the beginning of each play you and 4 or 5 other students will be assigned a category. You will make lists of questions individually. At the beginning of most classes you will be given a chance to confer with the others working in your category, and together you will come up with a central list of questions around which we will base our discussion.
Grades: The papers and final are each worth 25% of your grade. The final 25% is a "classwork" grade made up of your quizzes, group-work and participation.
Attendance: You must
come to every class (I take roll) and you must participate. Since
the days are largely based on your work, your participation will also determine
how much the discussion follows your own interests.
Schedule
W 9/5 Introduction, Shakespeare the Man
F 9/7 Playing in Elizabethan
England
The Norton Shakespeare,
pp. 3281-86, 3296-3301
M 9/10 Taming of the Shrew, Introduction and Act 1
W 9/12 Taming of the Shrew, Act 2
F 9/14 Taming of the Shrew, Act 3
M 9/17 Taming of the Shrew, Act 4
W 9/18 Taming of the Shrew, Act 5
F 9/21 Twelfth Night, Introduction and Act I
M 9/24 Twelfth Night, Act 2
W 9/26 Twelfth Night, Act 3
F 9/28 Twelfth Night, Act 4
M 10/1 Twelfth Night, Act 5
W 10/3 Paper #1 Due
F 10/5 Richard II, Introduction and Act 1
M 10/8 Richard II, Act 2
W 10/10 Richard II, Act 3
F 10/12 Richard II, Act 4
M 10/15 Richard II, Act 5
W 10/17 Performance Presentations
F 10/19 Henry the Fourth, Part One, Introduction and Act 1
M 10/22 Henry the Fourth, Part One, Act 2
W 10/24 Henry the Fourth, Part One, Act 3
F 10/26 Henry the Fourth, Part One, Act 4
M 10/29 Henry the Fourth, Part One, Act 5
W 10/31 Performance Presentations
F 11/2 Othello, Introduction and Act 1
M 11/5 Othello, Act 2
W 11/7 Othello, Act 3
F 11/9 Othello, Act 4
M 11/12 Othello, Act 5
W 11/14 Performance Presentations
F 11/16 Measure for Measure, Introduction and Act 1
M 11/19 Measure for Measure, Act 2
W 11/21 Measure for Measure, Act 3
F 11/23 No Class: Happy Thanksgiving!
M 11/26 Measure for Measure, Act 4
W 11/28 Measure for Measure, Act 5
F 11/30 Performance Presentations
M 12/3 Winter’s Tale, Introduction and Act 1
W 12/5 Winter’s Tale, Act 2
F 12/7 Winter’s Tale, Act 3
M 12/10 Winter’s Tale, Act 4
W 12/12 Winter’s Tale, Act 5
F 12/14 Conclusions; Paper #2
Due
Group Work Questions--Some
Examples
Plot: The general purpose of these questions is to enquire what happens, how do we know about it, and why. Also, is there a subplot and, most important, how is it related to the main plot?
1. How is the plot established
in this act and its scenes? Are we shown things, do we overhear them,
are we told directly?
2. What is confusing
about the plot in this act? Are we being kept deliberately in the
dark?
3. What is the purpose
of a particular entrance, of a decision, or event, or remark?
4. What is the subplot,
what are its themes, and why is it there? In other words, how does
it relate to the main plot?
Characters: This category probably has the most overlap with the others. Look at the questions in plot, language, social relationships and mores and ask what they say about particular people in the plays.
1. What kind of person
is each character? Good, bad, timid, brave, mature, immature, worldly,
innocent, outgoing, introspective? What made him or her this way?
2. What is the effect
on characterization of a soliloquy, an action, a decision?
3. Do we learn most about
the character from what he or she says or does, or from what others say
about or do to him or her?
4. Don’t overlook the
minor characters: what is the point of various friends, enemies, acquaintances,
messengers, fools, elders, etc?
Language: These questions are intended to focus our attention on how the characters speak: their poetry or prose; the images, similes and metaphors they use; any affected or "pretend" speech. You’ll have to notice these things before you can ask about them, so read carefully.
1. What is this or that
symbol supposed to represent?
2. What images are repeated,
and why?
3. Who speaks poetry?
Who speaks prose? Why?
4. Is the language difficult?
Is it supposed to be?
5. What does a character’s
particular way of speaking suggest about him or her? What kind of
person is he or she supposed to be?
Social Relations: This one is the broadest. Focus on how people get along: men and women, members of families, upper and lower classes, individuals from different nations, various social "types."
1. Who seems most powerful
in the various acts? How do you know?
2. Who is most oppressed?
What do you think Shakespeare’s opinion is as to this group’s issues?
3. What are the ideals
set forth for men, women, sons/daughters, nobility, commoners. That
is, how are they supposed to act? Do they live up to their responsibilities?
4. Does anything strike
you as rebellious in Shakespeare’s presentation of different social groups?
Are the women bold to the men? Are the lower classes disrespectful
of the upper ones? Who is irreverent, and what does Shakespeare think
about that irreverence?
5. Can people change
social positions? Men and women, king and commoner, wiseman and fool?
Social Conventions and Mores: These questions ask what normal behavior for the various characters should be, and why they fail to follow it.
1. Is anyone breaking
the law? Should they be (that is, does Shakespeare suggest the laws
or rules are just or unjust)?
2. Who is faced with
a moral decision? How does he or she make a choice? What does
Shakespeare suggest the character should do?
3. If a character seems
good or bad, what are the standards he or she is upholding or failing to
uphold?
4. If someone does something
threatening to the society, do they do it for personal or "public" (for
the good of all, for example) reasons? Does Shakespeare seem in support
of these actions?
5. Characterize the larger
society behind the action: is it stable or unstable, orderly or not, fair
or unfair?