Spring 2000 syllabus will be posted soon! Interested students may view a recent syllabus for the course below, but should be aware that there will be some differences between that course and the one to come... |
Speak the speech, I pray you, as I pronounc'd it to you, trippingly on the tongue. . . . Suit the action to the word, the word to the action, with this special observance, that you o'erstep not the modesty of nature: for anything so o'erdone is from the purpose of playing, whose end, both at the first and now, was and is, to hold as 'twere the mirror up to nature: to show virtue her feature, scorn her own image, and the very age and body of the time his form and pressure. -- Hamlet, III.ii.1-2, 17-24
According to Hamlet, plays are a mirror in which a playwright and the actors who perform the roles may reflect "nature," allowing their society to view itself as it is seen by others. In this course we will read a number of Shakespeare’s works with dual purposes in mind: first, we will seek to learn about the culture Shakespeare lived in and wrote for (the world we see in the mirror of his plays); second, we will attend to the way Shakespearean drama achieves this mirroring effect. Thus, we will familiarize ourselves with the genres Shakespeare used, with the conventions of poetry and drama that govern his texts, with the themes that he explored, and with the techniques and technologies of Shakespearean theater.
Below you will find a schedule for the course. Unless otherwise noted, the readings listed beside each date are to be read prior to that class. I have asked you to buy The Norton Shakespeare. This text is available at the bookstore. Although you may already own an edition of Shakespeare (or some individual plays), it is important that we all use the same text. For reasons that we will discuss in class, Shakespeare editions vary widely. It is crucial that we all read the same version of the plays!
- Deborah Burks
- Office: Galvin Hall 410E
- Office Phone: 995-8252
- Home Phone: 222-7652
- Office Hours:
- 11am-12pm T, W, Th
- 3-4pm T,Th
- Other times by appointment
I sincerely hope that you will drop by during my office hours to introduce yourself, to ask questions, to seek help in preparing your paper, or simply to be neighborly.
Text: William Shakespeare, The Norton Shakespeare
Class meetings: This class will normally meet four days a week (Tuesday through Friday) from 10am to 11am. I expect that the day you are not in class (usually Monday) will serve you as a day to read and keep abreast of the assignments.
Attendance: I expect you to be in class: it is where you will learn how to approach the material for this course. Because I know that the human animal is weak and that temptation is strong, I offer the following incentive for attendance (or, more accurately, disincentive for absence): I'll subtract 2% from the final grade for the first absence, 4% for two, 8% for three, 16% for four, etc. This means that missing class lowers your final grade considerably. There are no make-ups for quizzes.
Other requirements: I will use a number of different kinds of assignments to assess your performance in this course. This is good news -- really! First, there will be a number of reading quizzes throughout the quarter; if you do the reading, these quizzes will be no problem. Once during the quarter you will participate in a staged reading of a scene from one of the plays. During the first half of the quarter you will have a short close-reading assignment designed to supplement our work in class and to familiarize you with the resources and skills you will use when you write your term paper. The term paper will be a literary analysis (4-5 pages) of a carefully defined aspect of one of the plays. There will also be two exams: one in week five, the other during finals week. The final will be comprehensive. Of course, you are expected to be prepared for and in attendance during all class meetings.
Components of Final Grade:
- reading quizzes: 15% (collectively)
- close-reading assignment: 10%
- midterm exam: 20%
- final exam: 20%
- term paper: 20%
- staged reading: 10%
- attendance/participation: 5%
All work submitted for this class must, of course, be your own. If you have any questions about what constitutes Academic Misconduct, be sure to ask.
Close Reading Assignment
First Step: read I Henry IV. Carefully study the scene between Falstaff and Prince Henry in the tavern in which the two men imagine what the king will say to his son when Henry answers the king’s summons (Act 2, scene 5, lines 299-439). Look up any words you don’t know.
Second Step: Write a few sentences or a few paragraphs in which you try to articulate this scene’s function within the play. You might think about these questions: What is Shakespeare trying to do in this scene? What point is he trying to make here? What does he want us to learn about these two important characters from their conversation here? Is this scene in any sense a turning-point in the play? Does this scene parallel any other scenes in the play?
Third Step: Make a list of every thing that happens in the scene: action as well as dialogue. Remember that there may be characters present on stage who do not speak during this portion of the scene: don’t leave anyone off your list! Now consider the props and costumes called for in the scene. Add these items to your list. Now consider the language spoken by the characters: is there any imagery or symbolism in the dialogue of which you should make especial note? Can you add any observations about the style of their speech or their diction that might be important to your interpretation of the scene?
Fourth Step: Decide which items on your list are significant elements of the scene. In other words, which things done, said, used, worn, sat-upon, eaten-off-of, etc. work to make this scene’s dramatic point?
Now it’s time to write the paper! You needn’t write a formal essay. Instead, I’d like you to write a short statement about the scene’s function and meaning within the play, then I’d like you to provide an annotated list of those elements used by Shakespeare to achieve that meaning and function. Include only those items which are significant and be sure that your annotations are sufficiently complete to explain what you find significant about each item you include.
There is no page minimum or maximum for this assignment. I only ask that you be thorough and that you adequately explain the items you include in your list. Again, this is not a formal essay: after your initial statement about the scene, you may break away from traditional paragraph form altogether. The most successful papers will be those that are most thorough (both in terms of items listed and significance explained).
A "staged reading" is a performance of sorts. You will be providing the class with an interpretation of a short scene from one of the plays we are studying.
You should consider the following elements of your scene:
- Blocking. While you are not required to mount a full scale production of your scene, you will need to have blocked the action of the scene. Remember that there may be important actions implied by the dialogue that are not explicitly called for in the stage directions.
- Dialogue. You will need to prepare thoroughly for your reading. Practice speaking the speeches! You do not need to memorize them, but you should not be tied to your text, either.
- Character. You will want to invest your reading with appropriate emotion and emphasis. You will also wish to speak clearly and "in character." You should also have a definite "reading" of the character you have chosen to play. (You should know how your scene fits into the character's development in the play, and you should give thought to your interpretation of your character's behavior & speech in the scene.)
- Costume. It would be appropriate for you to use costuming and props. Certainly you should have thought through what your character would wear in the scene and what props come into play.
- Dramatic Structure. You should have a strong sense of the place of your scene within the play.
You should plan to practice your performance with the other participants so that you can coordinate with one another. Perhaps you could meet on one of our reading days during our usual time slot (our room will be available to you at those times). One hint: you should plan to reduce your script to a manageable, hand-held format. Don’t lug the book around with you.
The preparation that you put into this reading will make you our resident expert on the scene and character. You should expect to be asked questions about the scene after you have performed it.
Your grade will be based on your performance and preparation. You will demonstrate the latter both during your reading and during our discussion. Be creative. Be bold. (Also, of course, be faithful to the text.) This is an opportunity to bolster your course grade -- and it should be fun. Remember, we are a small group and everyone will be performing sooner or later, so there's no need to be nervous.
This assignment constitutes 10% of the course grade.
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Read the "Shakespearean Chronology" in the Norton Shakespeare (3365-3392). It is an interesting document because it records a wide range of things which happened in England between 1558 and 1616. Perhaps the most interesting part of this historical digest are the excerpts from John Stow’s Abridgement of the English Chronicle, which was a contemporary account of history-in-the-making: sort of like the year-end editions of Newsweek or Time or People.
Read this assignment with an eye for what events and issues concerned people in Shakespeare’s day. Be prepared to ask about at least two items mentioned there. We will use your questions in class as a way to discuss the history and culture of Shakespeare’s England.
For a longer list of web resources for early modern literary and cultural studies, see the Links page on my website.