English 117 - Winter, 2012

Shakespeare

Class Information

Instructor: Friedlander, Robert
Time: TR 3:10-4:30
Location: 146 Olson

Description

Shakespeare's Later Plays in Context

In this course, we will explore plays written by Shakespeare in the latter half of his career - including comedies, tragedies, and romances. We will place Shakespeare’s drama in its contemporary context to explore Shakespeare’s interpretation of his own culture. Renaissance England was roiled by controversy: religious dissent, political intrigue, gender disorder, and the discovery of the new world challenged received ideas and customary practices. Shakespeare’s plays explore all of these phenomenon, making his theater a privileged place for its audience – and for us – to consider the production and reproduction of English culture. Our inquiry into Shakespeare’s world will focus on the social categories of class, gender, sexuality, and race, reading Shakespeare’s drama in concert with other cultural artifacts such as popular prose, poetry, and illustrations from Shakespeare’s time.

At the same time, we will keep in mind Shakespeare’s specific place in his culture as an actor, poet, and playwright: what do his plays and poetry tell us about what it meant to work in Shakespeare’s theater, and how do they intervene in contemporary debates about the nature and value of art and performance? In this way, our course, like Shakespeare’s plays themselves, will stage a broad inquiry into Renaissance culture from the grounded perspective of Renaissance England’s theatrical milieu.

Grading

Mid-term - 15%
Final - 20%
1 OED paper - 20%
1 EEBO paper - 20%
Quizzes - 15%
Section Attendance and Participation - 10%

Texts

Measure for Measure, Shakespeare
Troilus and Cressida, Shakespeare
King Lear, Shakespeare
Othello, Shakespeare
The Winter's Tale, Shakespeare
The Tempest, Shakespeare