Shakespeare

This course aims to develop students' skills in textual analysis and criticism through the close study of Shakespeare's plays and poetry. The principle dramatic genres (Comedy, History, Tragedy) will be addressed, as well as the 'Late' or 'Problem' plays, the Sonnets, and other poems. By the end of the course students will be expected to have gained a basic knowledge of Shakespeare's relation to the world of theatre in his own time. They will have learned how to critically evaluate Shakespeare's dramatic texts as works of literature and works for the theatre, as well as how to situate Shakespeare's poetry in terms of its contemporary contexts, classical precedents, and literary legacies.