Instructor: Dr. J. L. Lepage
Office: Arts and Humanities 132; tel. loc. 2116
Office hours: T, 10:30-11:30, M, W, 1:30-2:00; or by appointment
COURSE OUTLINE
This course is a survey of twelve representative plays by Shakespeare. They will include comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances. The course begins with a brief account of the social, religious, and intellectual background to the sixteenth century which will serve as a basis for unravelling some to the complex imagery of the plays.
TEXT:
The Complete Works of Shakespeare, David Bevington, gen. ed., (Harper Collins, 1991).
COURSE REQUIREMENTS:
Assignments: one home essay per term (typed or word processed, double spaced, approximately 2000 words; 20% first term, 25% second term*), one in-class assignment per term (10%), a Christmas exam (15%) and a final examination (20%).
THE PLAYS (in order as they will be discussed):
First Term:
(Richard II)
Richard III
Hamlet
Love’s Labour’s Lost
Much Ado About Nothing
Second Term:
King Lear
The Merchant of Venice
Measure For Measure
Othello
Antony and Cleopatra
The Tempest
* In the second term students will be encouraged to direct and perform in scenes from some of the plays.