Eng 553
Spring, 2005
J Fitzmaurice

Shakespeare

This is a masters-level Shakespeare course. Students who take it should have had at least one undergraduate class in Shakespeare or be familiar with Shakespeare's plays from theater performances, film, or video. The class is in part a graduate survey, in which we look at a broad range of topics and a variety of plays. Thus, we will sample from all of the genres: comedy, history, tragedy, and romance. It seems to me that it is useful to mix familiar plays like Hamlet with those that are less frequently taught, as with Titus Andronicus and Pericles Prince of Tyre -- especially in a graduate class. There will be some work with theoretical approaches to understanding the plays, and we will read four articles with theoretical importance along the way: one on feminism, one that is New Historicist, one on authorship, and one on the New Bibliography. The main thrust of the course, however, will be to help students to understand and develop a feel for Shakespeare's plays as literature. We also will spend a good deal of time dealing with video performances and some time with considerations of pedagogy.