Overview

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

A study of the works of William Shakespeare performed before 1601. Students may take both ENGL 311 and 313 for credit towards the English major. Students with credit for ENGL 312 may not take this course for further credit without permission of the department.

COURSE DETAILS:

"Shakespeare and the Politics of Dissembling"

This course will focus on five plays from the first half of Shakespeare’s career. After setting the stage by looking first at Machiavelli’s The Prince and then at one of Shakespeare’s first plays (Titus Andronicus, a political revenge play set in Rome), we will turn to Shakespeare’s English history plays. These plays will form the centrepiece of the course. The plays dissect the details of political acumen and accomplishment, both in the elevated court world and in the “profane” world of taverns, alleys and battlefields. Some of our concerns in the course will include the relationship between courtiers and monarchs, and between private courts and public spheres; justice and virtue, and their relationship to political success and realpolitik; and ultimately the replacement of the outdated honour driven aristocratic warrior by the politically astute but dissembling (modern) political agent.

Students will be required to buy the Modern Library’s affordable paperback versions of the plays, edited by Jonathan Bate. Students  also buy the David Wootton (Hackett Publishers) edition of the Machiavelli.

The plays are listed here in the order in which we'll read them:

Titus Andronicus

Richard III

Richard II

King Henry IV, part one 

Henry V 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

Comprehend Shakespearean drama at a fairly high level. Read early modern texts and develop a grounding in salient political thought. Colloborate with fellow Seminar students on a short but highly enjoyable theatre production that will get us thinking about production choices, acting, staging, etc. Enjoy these deep, rich plays.

Grading

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

The Prince, Machiavelli. Edited by David Wootton, Hackett Publishers.
978-0872203167

Titus Andronicus, Shakespeare. Ed. J. Bate (2nd edition). Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.
978-1350030916

Richard II, Shakespeare. Ed. C. Forker. Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.
978-1903436332

Richard III, Shakespeare. Ed. J. Siemon. Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.
978-1903436899

Henry IV, part one, Shakespeare. Ed. D. S. Kastan. Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.
978-1904271352

Henry V, Shakespeare. Ed. T. W. Craik. Bloomsbury Arden Shakespeare.
978-1904271086

REQUIRED READING: