Introductory Topics in Literature
Topic: Shakespeare and the Classics
Class Information
Instructor: Connally, Kenneth
CRN: 84056
Time: TR 9:00-10:20
Location: 113 Hoagland
Description
Ben Jonson famously wrote that his friend and fellow playwright William Shakespeare understood only "small Latin, and less Greek." While neoclassicists like Jonson followed ancient dramatic models strictly, Shakespeare, the "poet of nature," deviated wildly from the "rules" of Greek tragedy and comedy. Yet Shakespeare too was deeply influenced by the culture and art of ancient Greece and Rome. He set many of his most famous plays in the ancient world and heavily relied on Greek and Latin sources for his plots. The philosophical ideas we find in his writings also often derive from Plato, Aristotle, or the schools of the Epicureans, Stoics, and Skeptics. In this class, we will read Shakespeare alongside his classical sources, examining the intertextual links between the great author of the Renaissance and the literature of the ancient world.
Grading
Short Essays: 15%
Short Essay Revisions: 15%
Term Paper: 30%
Quizzes: 10%
Midterm: 10%
Final: 20%
Texts
The Comedy of Errors, William Shakespeare
Henry V, William Shakespeare
Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare
Course Reader
Roman Comedy: Five Plays by Plautus and Terence