Shakespeare

SHAKESPEARE

ENGLISH 457

FALL 2000 Dial-153 MWF: 9:00 - 9:50

Dr. Richard Vela
Office: Dial 133,
Hours 10:00-11:30 MWF,
521-6600
richard.vela@uncp.edu

North Carolina Shakespeare Festival
High Point, NC

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Course Description – ENG 457: SHAKESPEARE
An introduction to the Elizabethan theater, a study of Shakespeare's career as a dramatist, and a critical survey of a number of major plays--histories, comedies, and tragedies.

TEACHING METHODS will include discussion, exercises, demonstration, lecture, and the
use of films. The emphasis in this course will be to approach Shakespeare's plays as dramas performed
on the Elizabethan stage. They are not novels, or psychological case studies. Though I will use a
variety of critical approaches, one of the main methods of presentation will involve staging of scenes
under Elizabethan conditions and comparing different filmed versions of the plays with each other and
with the stated or implied stage directions in the actual texts. Sometimes we may also use copies of the
folio and quarto editions of the plays to compare the original text with the changes implied by modern
editorial apparatus and the assumptions of modern editors.

AIMS OF THE Course include, of course, becoming familiar with Shakespeare’s plays,
but students should also become aware of the historical, cultural, and, most specifically, the theatrical conditions in London during the Early Modern Period. In addition, students should learn something practical about critical and philosophical approaches to the plays–and learn to avoid several oversimplifications. They should also become familiar with scholarly resources for understanding
and teaching the works. These include library, internet, film, and theatrical resources. Students
should also try to see a professional stage performance of at least one play during the semester.

Please note that this is a senior level course. The readings and assignments assume a
certain level of proficiency in writing, writing about literature, doing research in literature, reading
texts, and understanding the trends and terms of current literary criticism. I also expect a level of
maturity regarding Elizabethan language and images. In short, this is a difficult course.

TEXT: THE RIVERSIDE SHAKESPEARE (2nd ed), edited by G. Blakemore Evans.

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WRITTEN REQUIREMENTS
Diagnostic Paper 2-page revision, taking into account the information provided.	Write on Shakespeare’s sonnets. Demonstrate your proficiency in understanding the structure, imagery, and language of the poem and your ability to analyze poems.
2-page paper on staging a scene from Romeo and Juliet or The Taming of the Shrew	Using the sources handed out, discuss how a specific scene might have been performed on the Elizabethan stage.
2-page paper on structural analogy in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, or Henry V	Using the sources handed out, discuss the organization of events in a particular scene and the relationship of this scene to another in the play.
2-page paper on intertextuality in Othello, using Cinthio's story, Shakespeare's play, and at least one filmed version	Using the source, write a specific comparison/ contrast with some aspect of the play. Suggestions will be provided.
2-page contribution to a discussion of different critical approaches to Hamlet
Prospectus	About 250 words (about a page), with a thesis, describing what you intend to write about for your research paper.
Research Paper	Using at least 8 sources (which you could develop from the Annotated Bibliography), write an 1250-1500 word paper (about 5-6 pages) on a topic that we discussed in conference. Surprise topics/papers will not be acccepted. YOU MUST HAVE A CONFERENCE ON THE PAPER. NOTE THE DATES IN THE FIRST THREE WEEKS OF NOVEMBER
Final Examination	Using the study questions and your text, develop two comprehensive, thorough essays on the topics provided. (Back to Top)
PLAGIARISM POLICY	In general, a final draft of a paper that shows any evidence of deliberate plagiarism automatically receives and "F" and cannot be made up. Plagiarism on the final examination or on the research paper will result in an "F" in the course. The UNC-Pembroke Honor Code provides a specific method for handling violations. [http://www.uncp.edu/sa/hbook.htm] Please review the rules for quoting and paraphrasing materials. If you have any doubts about how you have handled your sources, please check with me before you submit your final copy. Most composition manuals explain the methods for using sources and give examples of correct and incorrect approaches. I will sort cases of plagiarism out according to the following scale: 1. carelessness may reduce the grade, 2. plagiarism of a source will fail a paper, 3. an attempt to pass off a paper that is not your own as if it were will fail the course] (Back to Top)
PLAGIARISM POLICY
ATTENDANCE POLICY	Do not miss class. Arrange your life so that classes are more important than most other appointments. Getting the notes from someone else is not quite the same thing as being there. If you think you might have to miss more than three classes, please do not stay in the course. If you have to miss more than three classes--without there being extraordinary circumstances to justify the absence--you may have to withdraw or fail, depending on the date of the absences. (Back to Top)

SHAKESPEARE FALL 2001 COURSE CALENDAR DR. VELA
Aug. 20 Introduction to the course Reading Shakespeare’s Sonnets In-class email analysis [Sonnet 18]	Aug.22 Sonneteers of the Italian and English Renaissance [Handout]	Aug. 24 Sonnets 3, 12, 18, 29, 30, 35, 46, 55, 60, 73, 87, 94, 116, 127, 129, 130, 144, 146
Aug. 27 Sonnets continued Revision due	Aug. 29	Aug. 31 Taming of the Shrew
Sept 3 LABOR DAY HOLIDAY	Sept. 5 Taming of the Shrew Dessen "Shakespeare and the Theatrical Conventions of his Time" [Handout] Hunter "Bluecaps..." [Handout]	Sept. 7 Taming of the Shrew
Sept. 10 Taming of the Shrew	Sept. 12 Romeo and Juliet Staging RJ [Handout]	Sept. 14 Romeo and Juliet
Sept. 17 Romeo and Juliet	Sept. 19 Romeo and Juliet	Sept. 21 SHORT PAPER 1: Staging a Scene from TS or RJ
Sept. 24 Midsummer Night’s Dream MEET IN THE LIBRARY	Sept. 26 Midsummer Night’s Dream	Sept. 28 Midsummer Night’s Dream
Oct. 1 Midsummer Night’s Dream	Oct. 3 Much Ado About Nothing	Oct. 5 Much Ado About Nothing
Oct. 8 Much Ado About Nothing	Oct. 10 Much Ado About Nothing	Oct. 12 MIDTERM HOLIDAYS
Oct. 15 Henry V Mack "Observations..." [Handout]	Oct. 17 Henry V	October 19
Oct. 22 Henry V	Oct. 25 SHORT PAPER 2: Analogy in MND, MAAN, or H5	Oct. 27 PROSPECTUS AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
Oct. 29 Julius Caesar	Oct. 31 Julius Caesar Conferences on Paper Draft	Nov. 2 Julius Caesar Conferences on Paper Draft
Nov. 5 Hamlet Conferences on Paper Draft	Nov. 7 Hamlet Conferences on Paper Draft	Nov. 9 Hamlet Conferences on Paper Draft
Nov. 12 Hamlet Conferences on Paper Draft	Nov. 14 Othello Conferences on Paper Draft	Nov. 16 Othello Conferences on Paper Draft
Nov. 20 Othello	Nov. 22 SHORT PAPER 3: SOURCE OF OTHELLO	Nov. 24 THANKSGIVING HOLIDAYS
Nov. 26 Macbeth	Nov. 28 Macbeth	Nov. 30 Macbeth
Dec. 3 Macbeth	Dec. 5 The Tempest	Dec. 7 The Tempest
Dec. 10	Dec. 12 FINAL EXAM 8:00-10:00

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