English 117S

Shakespeare

Book List

Greenblatt, Stephen: The Norton Shakespeare

Description

This class focuses on a selection of works from Shakespeare’s entire career. We'll be reading a limited number of plays and some of the poetry. One of the main issues I'd like to focus on is the oscillation between "regular" and "irregular." What is the rule, and what is the exception in Shakespeare's works? How is a comedy supposed to end? How does it end? What makes a tragic hero? Is Hamlet a tragic hero? What are the rules of theater? What are the rules of literature? Who creates them and why? When do they get transgressed, and why? A tentative list of the plays includes Titus Andronicus, Richard III, A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, Measure for Measure, King Lear, and The Tempest. We'll also read some of the sonnets. There will be three essays; no exam, but we'll conclude one class every week with a brief response paper to the lectures and to the materials.

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