Lectures on Shakespeare and reading of his best works.

This class focuses on a selection of works from Shakespeare’s entire career. We'll be reading a limited number of plays and some of the poetry. One of the main topics to focus on is the oscillation between regular and irregular. What is the rule, and what is the exception in Shakespeare's works? Who has the right to speak the last words in a tragedy? Why do comedies often end with a character addressing the audience? What is the function of such rules and what happens when they are transgressed? We’ll begin by looking at the sonnets in order to learn how to read early modern verse. In the rest of the semester, we’ll read some of Shakespeare’s greatest hits, including Midsummer Night’s Dream and King Lear, but also consider less popular works, such as Troilus and Cressida and Henry VIII. The format of the class includes lectures as well as discussion, all based on your questions and comments.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills