INTRO TO SHAKESPEARE TH 383   (CRN 14324)   Spring 2012         KI 216 • MWF • 10 to 10:50 a.m.          Jim Bartruff • KI 201G • 620-341-5704 http://www.emporia.edu/~bartruff jbartruf@emporia.edu

Download a copy of syllabus as a pdf.

Course Objectives.

• We will study Shakespeare's life, his texts, and his poetic and dramatic techniques.
• We will examine Shakespeare’s plays as translated for television and film.
• We will study Shakespeare’s texts as they guide actors in performance.
• We will read and discuss representative works from Shakespeare’s plays.
• We will develop our critical thinking through written assignments about the plays and playwright.

 Required Text

• Shakespeare: Script, Stage, Screen (Bevington, Welsh & Greenwald) Pearson/Longman, 2006. ISBN 0-321-19813-1

Recommended Texts

• Complete Works of Shakespeare, Pelican Shakespeare recommended.
• Playing Shakespeare by John Barton, Methuen Press, 1984. 
• Simply Shakespeare by Toby Widdicombe, Longman, 2002.
• Shakespeare’s Bawdy by Eric Partridge, Dutton, 1969.
• Shakespeare's Words, A Glossary and Language Companion, by David and Ben Crystal, 2002.
• The Elizabethan World Picture by E.M.W. Tillyard , Vintage, 1959.

Course Assignments (500 points possible)

1. Book report, oral report or term paper, your choice. (50)
2. Critique a Shakespeare production or perform a Shakespeare monologue. (50)
3. Midterm Exam over Shakespeare’s life and works. (100)
4. Reading quizzes. Some extra credit opportunities will be available. (100)
5. Sonnet Analysis. Research, scan and present a reading of a Shakespearean sonnet with a written analysis. (50)
6. A short exam covering Shakespeare's rhetoric and language.
7. Final exam over the materials covered in the second half of the course. (100)

GRADING SCALE

Recommended URLs

• Bardware.com http://www.bardware.com/bardware/
• Complete Works of Shakespeare http://www-tech.mit.edu/Shakespeare/works.html
• Shakespeare and the Internet http://shakespeare.palomar.edu/
• Shakespeare Resource Center http://www.bardweb.net/
• Shakespeare’s World http://shakespeare.emory.edu/index.html
• Shake-Sphere: The Shakespeare Study Guide http://www.shakespearestudyguide.com/
• Shaksper: The Global Electronic Shakespeare Conference http://www.shaksper.net
• World Shakespeare Bibliography http://www.worldshakesbib.org/

Course outcomes. Through this course the student will:

• Appreciate the contributions of William Shakespeare to world theatre and drama.
• Develop a system to better understand the language and imagery of Shakespeare, the writer.
• Understand how political, religious and social circumstances influenced Shakespeare’s works.
• Develop a better understanding of Shakespeare performances in television, film and stage.
• Express his or her critical evaluation of scenes/plays in rehearsal and performance.
• Read and view representative works of the Shakespeare canon.
• Learn some useful approaches to performing Shakespeare.

Reading list for Book Report assignment

• A Year in the Life of William Shakespeare-1599 by James Shapiro, Harper Collins, 2005.
• Acting Shakespeare by John Gielgud, Scribners, 1991.
• The Case for Shakespeare: The End of the Authorship Question by Scott McCrea, Praeger, 2005.
• How Shakespeare Changed Everything by Stephen Marche, Harper, 2011.
• How to do Shakespeare by Adrian Noble, Routledge, 2010.
• The Lodger Shakespeare: His Life on Silver Street by Charles Nicholl, Penguin, 2009.
• Looking at Shakespeare: A Visual History of 20th Century Performance by Dennis Kennedy, Cambridge, 2001.
• Me and Shakespeare, Adventures with the Bard by Herman Gollob, Doubleday, 2002.
• Playgoing in Shakespeare’s London by Andrew Gurr, Cambridge, 2004.
• Shadowplay: The Hidden Beliefs and Coded Politics of William Shakespeare by Clare Asquith, 2005.
• Shakespeare After All by Marjorie Gerber, Anchor Books, 2005.
• Shakespeare:  A Life by Park Honan, Oxford Press, 1998.
• Shakespeare: A Life in Drama by Stanley Wells, W.W.Norton, 1994.
• Shakespeare: The Biography by Peter Aykroyd, Nan A. Talese, 2005.
• Shakespeare, The Invention of the Human by Harold Bloom, Riverhead Books, 1998.
• Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson, Atlas Books (Eminent Lives Series), 2007.
• Shakespeare and the Drama of his Time by Martin Wiggins, Oxford, 2000.
• Shakespeare's Wife by Germaine Greer, Harper Collins, 2008.
• Simply Shakespeare by Toby Widdicombe, Longman, 2002.
• Soul of an Age: A Biography of the Mind of William Shakespeare by Jonathan Bate, Random House, 2009.
• Thinking Shakespeare: A Guide for students, actors and directors by Barry Edelstein, Spark, 2007.
• Ungentle Shakespeare: Scenes from His Life by Katherine Duncan-Jones, Arden Shakespeare, 2001.
• Will in the World. How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare by Stephen Greenblatt, Norton, 2004.
• William Shakespeare, The Man Behind the Genius by Anthony Holden, Little Brown, 1999.

Course policies

• All assignments are due on the day they are assigned--at class time.
• Late assignments will not be graded. But you must turn them in to pass the course.
• All written assignments must be typed. Handwritten work will not be accepted.
• You may e-mail certain assignments.
• If you arrive late to class, you will be considered absent.
• Early departure from any class will also count as an absence.
• Bring your book, something to write with and note paper to each class.
• Participation in school plays/activities will not excuse you from class work.
• We will follow ESU’s Dishonesty Policy at http://www.emporia.edu/acadaff/dishonesty.htm

Download a copy of syllabus as a pdf.

Disability statement.  
Emporia State University will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. 
Students need to contact the Director of Disability Services and the professor as early in the semester as
possible to ensure that classroom and academic accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.  All
communication between students, the Office of Disability Services, and the professor will be strictly confidential.

Faculty-Initiated Student Withdrawal Procedure.
Students should be aware that your instructor follows the university’s policy of faculty-initiated student withdrawal. 
It reads as follows:  “If a student's absences from class or disruptive behavior become detrimental to the student’s
progress or that of other students in the class, the faculty member shall attempt to contact the student in writing about
withdrawing from the class and shall seek the aid of the office of Vice President of Student Affairs to help insure contacting
the Student.  The Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs   shall provide the student information about the existing
appeals procedures.  Upon receiving a written report from the faculty member, the Vice President of Student Affairs may
initiate a student withdrawal from the class.  None of the above implies or states that faculty members are required to
initiate the student withdrawals for excessive absence.   [Policy and Procedures Manual 43.11]

COURSE CALENDAR

Due Dates for Major Assignments

Test over Language and Rhetoric (February 01)
Sonnet assignment (February 13)
First draft of term assignment (March 12)
Midterm exam (March 14)
Monologue or Critique (April 09)
Term Assignment (May 02)
Final Exam (May 08)

Download a copy of syllabus as a pdf.

Some Internet resources. The following sites can be accessed online.

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Email jbartruf@emporia.edu

Updated 04/09/2012 8:16 AM