English 345.01, Shakespeare Spring 2004
Stephan Flores (sflores@uidaho.edu);
12:30-1:45 TTH Admin 301
www.uidaho.edu/~sflores/345.html 885-6156
MW 1:00-2:00 p.m. & by appt. 125 Brink Hall
Prerequisite: English 102 or equivalent, and must have passed or be currently enrolled in English 210, or enroll by permission of instructor.
Required Texts:
The Norton Shakespeare. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt. Norton, 1997.
McEvoy, Sean. Shakespeare: The Basics. Routledge, 2000.
Criticism and other historical texts available on library reserve.
Course Description: We will study Shakespeare's drama through primary and secondary texts and films, and exchange points of view as we work together to develop our understanding of selected plays in the genres of comedy, mixed-genre, tragedy, and romance. Through class and group discussion, sentence-length to paragraph length entries and exchanges, paraphrase/explication, succinct critical responses, a term essay, and a final exam, the class shall explore the social, sexual, political, performative, and formal issues that these texts represent, and consider Shakespeare's development as a playwright.
English 345 Spring 2004 Syllabus
English 345 WebCT Discussion site (excerpted self-introductions from WebCt Welcome entries: here)
WebCt/CTI Summary Help Guide for Discussions
Requirements:
1. Twice-weekly online Journal/Discussion entries (at least thirty entries in total for the semester): each first entry a Thesis-Sentence Statement to be posted prior to class Tuesday--the second entry a brief sentence to paragraph length response to some aspect of the play, class discussion, and/or another student’s thesis-sentence, to be posted to the threaded discussion site by noon Friday. Please copy/collect these entries as well in a separate document or folder, to be collected at midterm and at the end of the semester for my review.
2. Paraphrase/Explication (600 words, titled) of a short passage (fifteen lines or so) from The Merchant of Venice. A paraphrase restates and translates to provide the gist of the original even as this exercise both explains and necessarily alters meaning. An explication presents a meticulous, thorough, and systematic close reading (annotation) or unfolding line by line, presenting your questioning sense of the text’s meanings, methods, and implications. The explication is not only explanatory or expository but implicitly argumentative: an occasion for you to discover, clarify, and account for your understanding and interpretative analysis of the passage and its function in context(s). This is also a chance to share your perceptions, enthusiasms, and even your doubts as you delve into the text’s significance and purpose.
3. Critical Responses on Twelfth Night and on Othello (500-600 words, single-spaced, titled); the response on Othello must cite a critical perspective on the play from a secondary piece of criticism as a point of reference and departure for further analysis. Your observations and analysis should be succinct and sharply focused, with potential for substantial development.
4. Term Essay (6-7 pp. double-spaced): this critical essay develops ideas prompted by our study, discussion, and viewing of the plays, by recent scholarship, and by your particular perspectives. I shall attend to the ways that you select, define, and engage questions and contradictions, and to the clarity, imagination, and grace that you demonstrate in presenting your topic, (hypo)thesis, and argument. I do not always expect essays to conclude by "solving" such problems or by "proving" your thesis; I hope that you address interesting topics in thoughtful and useful ways. Please feel invited to confer with me during the writing process.
5. Final Exam on All's Well That Ends Well, Macbeth and The Winter's Tale (short explications/analyses).
6. Participation in class and group discussion (including informal writing and performance exercises). Please take advantage of opportunities to discuss your reactions, share your insights and study, and to listen and reply to others' ideas. I shall call regularly upon individuals and groups to facilitate class discussion. Individuals and groups shall also prepare in advance to lead off discussion once each during the semester. On these days the group shall lead off our discussion by presenting their positions on the material (with some brief summary, focus on key points in the reading, perhaps some incorporation of secondary criticism or historical research or interpretation through direction and performance), and by suggesting further issues the class might consider. Individuals shall take turns over the semester to present Thesis-Sentence critical statements: the Thesis-Sentence presents a reasoned, interpretative, precise claim on some aspect of the play in question. I hope these strategies will enable you to move the class in directions you find most helpful, give you opportunities to develop critical skills through collaboration, and provide for a productive, interesting exchange of perspectives and participation among the class.
7. Due dates: All required work is due at the beginning of class on the due date--work turned in later will be marked late and graded accordingly. All required graded written work will be downgraded one notch (for example, B+ to B, converted to points for each assignment) for each weekday late (not just days classes meet but counting just one day for a weekend). Work submitted more than a week late will not be accepted. I will grant short extensions for medical and family emergencies--but talk with me as soon as possible to request an extension. ALWAYS KEEP EXTRA COPIES OF YOUR WORK.
8. Attendance is required. Excellent attendance is rewarded; poor attendance is penalized. If you have no absences by the semester's end (excused or not), you will receive four bonus points; with only one absence you will receive two bonus points. Two absences will not affect your semester grade, but a third absence will lower your semester total by four points, with a seven point reduction for each additional absence (for example: four absences=minus 11 points, five absences = minus 18 points); six or more absences will cause you to fail the class, regardless of your semester point total. Almost all absences will be counted--excused or not--if something extraordinary occurs, talk to me.
9. Grades: Paraphrase/Explication (30 pts); Two Critical Responses (30 and 35 pts); Term Essay (120 pts); Final Exam (60 pts). These required assignments add up to a maximum of 275 points. Thus 247-275 points equals an A, 220-246 equals a B, 192-219 equals a C, 165-191 equals a D, and anything below 165 merits an F. I shall also reserve a potential three bonus points based on my perceptions of the strength of your participation and efforts over the semester; in addition, incomplete weekly journal entries will be counted against your semester grade, with the loss of one point for each missing entry, up to a maximum loss of 15 points.
10. Office hours. I encourage you to confer with me--especially before assignments are due--to talk about your interests, intentions, and writing strategies. My office in Brink Hall is not accessible to the handicapped, so please let me know if you need to meet me at my office in the University Honors Program, 315 Commons. If you cannot make my regular hours, we’ll arrange another time. I also welcome communicating with you by E-mail (sflores@uidaho.edu).
Links:
Questions/Guide on The Comedy of Errors
More Study Questions on The Comedy of Errors
Questions on The Merchant of Venice
Interview with Trevor Nunn about PBS film production of The Merchant of Venice
Race and Religion in The Merchant of Venice and Othello
Research Report on Production of The Merchant of Venice at the New Globe Theatre
Shakespeare and Anti-Semitism: The Question of Shylock
Questions on The Winter's Tale
Research Report on Production of The Winter's Tale at the New Globe Theatre
Research Report on the production of The Tempest at the New Globe Theatre
Shakespeare's Globe Research Database
Selected Shakespeare Criticism
Site/Links to Further Resources
Chronology of Shakespeare's Time site
Questions on Measure for Measure
Research Report on Production of Henry V at the New Globe Theatre
Questions on The Taming of the Shrew
Advice on Critical Responses and Journal Entries [Fall 2001]
Here's an image from Henry V
Here's a statue of Lady Macbeth
Here's Twelfth Night's Malvolio