Week

Tuesday

Thursday

1

8/21/07 Introductions; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; Study Questions on A Midsummer Night's Dream

8/23 A Midsummer Night’s Dream (complete your initial reading of each play by the second day of class discussion); McEvoy-Introduction/(1) Understanding the Text: Shakespeare’s Language (1-30)

2

8/28 MND; McEvoy-(7) Understanding Comedy: The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Measure for Measure, The Merchant of Venice, and Twelfth Night (139-174); Journal Entry 1 due (include some response to McEvoy as well as MND)

8/30 Richard II; McEvoy-(2) Shakespeare’s Language (31-54); Group 1 leads off discussion; Questions on Richard II; see also Prof. Teo Sipahigil's essay "God, Earthly Might, and Politics in Richard II" [pdf]

3

9/4 RII (371); McEvoy-(8) Understanding history: King Richard II, King Henry IV Part I and King Henry V (175-209); Journal Entry 2 due (include some response to McEvoy as well as RII)

9/6 RII; Greenblatt, “General Introduction: Shakespeare’s World” (1-29); Group 2 leads off discussion

4

9/11 1 Henry IV; Greenblatt, “The Playing Field” (30-39); McEvoy-(3) Types of Stage Action (55-70); Journal Entry 3 due (on 1HIV)

9/13 1HIV; Greenblatt (46-51); Group 3 leads off discussion; Questions on 1 Henry IV [pdf]

5

9/18 Critical Response (850 words) due on RII and/or 1HIV; McEvoy-(4) The Plays in Performance (71-104)

9/20 Macbeth; Greenblatt (57-65); Group 4 leads off discussion; Questions on Macbeth

6

9/25 McEvoy-(9) Understanding Tragedy: Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello (208-240); Journal Entry 4 due (on Macbeth)

9/27 Macbeth; recommended: Sinfield’s or Adelman's essays, Macbeth: New Casebooks; Group 5 leads off discussion

7

10/2 Twelfth Night; recommended: Gurr, “The Shakespearean Stage” (Norton, 3281-3301); Group 6 leads off; Questions on Twelfth Night

10/4 TN; review McEvoy’s section on this play; Journal Entry 5 due (on TN); extended film excerpts shown in class, from Trevor Nunn's 1996 version, and a stage production with Helen Hunt.

8

10/9 TN; come to class with a significant line from Twelfth Night and a line from Macbeth; recommended: Coddon, “’Slander in an allow’d fool: Twelfth Night’s Crisis of the Aristocracy”; film excerpts from Tim Supple's 2003 film Twelfth Night

10/11 Midterm Exam on Macbeth and Twelfth Night; bring texts of plays to class for reference, and blue books and/or notebook paper. No notes allowed.

9

10/16 The Merchant of Venice (2091)

10/18 MV; review McEvoy’s section on this play; Group 7 leads off discussion

10

10/23 MV; recommended: “casebooks” of essays on reserve, ed. Coyle (1998) and Mahon & Mahon (2002); Journal Entry 6 due (on MV)

10/25 MV; Group 8 leads off discussion

11

10/30 Othello; Group 9 leads off discussion; Questions on Othello

11/1 Othello; review McEvoy on this play; Journal Entry 7 due (on Othello); extended film excerpt shown in class

12

11/6 Othello; see anthologies on reserve as well as essays on Othello by Callaghan (Marxist Shakespeares, Shakespeare Without Women) and Jardine (Reading Shakespeare Historically); Group 10 leads off

11/8 Essay (1500 words) due on The Merchant of Venice and/or on Othello

13

11/13 King Lear (conflated text, p. 2479); Group 11 leads off discussion

11/15 KL; review McEvoy on this play; Journal Entry 8 due (on KL)

14

11/20 Fall Recess

11/22 Fall Recess

15

11/27 KL

11/29 KL

16

12/4 The Tempest

12/6 Term Essay (2200 words) due in class, or in my Brink Hall mailbox by 4 pm Friday 12/7--this will not be accepted later than 4 p.m. Monday Dec. 10--if turned in on Monday, the essay will be counted one day late; The Tempest; McEvoy-(10) Understanding Romance: The Winter’s Tale and The Tempest (241-263)

17

Journal Entry 9 (hard copy, on The Tempest) due by (or before) 2:30 pm December 13 (final class meeting December 13th, 12:30-2:30 p.m.)