English 190

Book List

Shakespeare, William: The Riverside Shakespeare

Description

This course will explore Shakespeare's artistic use of the formal resources of verse, especially meter, rhyme, alliteration and syntactic parallelism, as well as, by way of contrast, some of his use of music.  We will consider what defines these forms; how they vary across lyric, narrative and dramatic genres; where they come from and how they develop; how they shape performance; and most of all, what they contribute to the emotional power and beauty of his works.  In the past, the course has focused on the Sonnets, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard II, Hamlet and The Winter's Tale, but that could change.

The course is a research seminar, so various short papers and oral presentations will be required, all in the service of one long paper exploring some aspect of Shakespeare's works of the student's own choosing through attention to his verse.

Please read the paragraph on page 2 of the instructions area of this Announcement of Classes for more details about enrolling in or wait-listing for this course.