Shakespeare

 

English 4330, Fall 2008

Required Texts:

The Riverside Shakespeare, 2nd ed.,  G. Blakemore Evans, ed., 1997.

 

Schedule of Assignments:

 

Week 1 Sep. 3

Introduction Lecture on biography

 

Week 2 Sep. 8

More biography Taming of the Shrew

 

Week 3 Sep. 15

Quiz 1 Taming of the Shrew

 

Week 4 Sep. 22

Twelfth Night

 

Week 5 Sep. 29

More Twelfth Night Henry V

 

Week 6 Oct. 6

PAPER 1 DUE Henry V

 

Week 7 Oct. 13

More Henry V Othello

 

Week 8 Oct. 20

MIDTERM EXAM  Study Guide More Othello

 

Week 9 Oct. 27

More Othello

 

Week 10 Nov. 3

Measure for Measure

 

Week 11 Nov. 10

Coriolanus

 

Week 12 Nov. 17

Coriolanus

 

Week 13 Nov. 24

More Coriolanus.  Maybe start Othello MAJOR PROJECT DUE, Friday April 24th, by 3:30.

 

Week 14 Dec. 1

Othello

 

Week 15 Dec. 8

Othello

 

Dec.

15

3:00-5:00 FINAL EXAMINATION  Study Guide

 

                   

Requirements Major Project: You have three choices: The research paper, which is to be 12-15 pages in length and use MLA style format. Here are some ideas for paper topics. Report on teaching Shakespeare (for English Education students only). The director's notebook. I must approve all topics.  I have examples of each of these types of projects if you would wish to look at them. Books on Reserve: I will be putting books on reserve for this course.  The list of titles will be available here (no link yet).  Paper 1: One short paper, 3-5 pages long, topic to be assigned. You should adhere to the instructions described in my handout "About Writing Papers for this Class."    Attendance: The success of this class depends, in large part, on your active participation.  Therefore, attendance is necessary.  You will be allowed three absences; if this is a Tuesday/Thursday semester, I count our long day as two classes.  This includes emergencies.  Statement on Buying Textbooks: Although I am not requiring that you purchase your book for this class, I urge you to do so for a number of reasons.  First, English majors should be working diligently throughout their undergraduate careers to building a personal library.  I still proudly own nearly all of the books I used as an undergraduate (I even bought books for classes I didn't take).  If you are planning to teach, write, or go on to graduate school, you should have a library of books that you can consult, re-read, and show off.   Books, after all, are what WE do.  Second, annotating your books is an important learning strategy.  The current policy of renting books that you're not supposed to write in prevents you from actively interacting with a text.  If you're not underlining or bracketing key passages as well as writing questions or comments in the margins, then you are not getting the most out of your text.  You may not be aware that after the first week of classes, you may purchase your textbooks from the Textbook Center for a 20% discount that offsets the rental fee.  As a general rule, I try to order for my literature courses new editions that are both inexpensive and critically reliable.  I urge you to purchase your books. Statements on Special Needs Any student who may need an accommodation due to a disability, please make an appointment to see me during my office hours. A VISA from Services for students with Disabilities authorizing your accommodations will be needed.   If there is any other condition or situation that may affect your work, such as participation in sports or clubs, you must notify me within the first week of class.  I may require written documentation. Specific Course Outcomes approach Shakespeare's texts with more confidence and understanding; recognize and consider implications of Shakespeare's use of the elements of literature (e.g., iambic pentameter, tragedy, foil characters, soliloquies, and plot structure); become aware of the ways in which Shakespeare's works may have been received in his own time; recognize the philosophical and intellectual viewpoints of the Renaissance; recognize the part played by literary scholarship in understanding and enjoying Shakespeare's works; compare Shakespeare's themes to modern 21st century life. University Statement on Learning Outcomes An educated person understands what it means to be human and what the human condition is. The purpose of the study of humanities is to explore the range of human thought and experience - achievements and failures, joys and sorrows, comedy and tragedy, life and death. It should challenge students to understand and evaluate how others, past and present, historical and fictional, have struggled with these issues. A course meeting liberal arts requirements in humanities is designed to enable students to: confront basic questions about reality, knowledge, goodness, justice, and beauty; examine critically how great writers and thinkers have addressed these questions; and ponder these questions as they apply to their own lives and times.

Summaries of Plays

Not all of the plays have summaries or study questions yet.  I'll try to get those up soon.

Study Questions

Grade Distribution:

Biography Quiz 10% 
Short Paper 15% each
Major Project  25%
Play Quizzes  10%
Midterm exam 20%
Final exam 20%

Office Information:

Gardner 342
342-1924
hadorn@uwplatt.edu
Office hours:  TBA

 

 

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