L.ENG 333 - Shakespeare Before 1600

Credits: 3

An intensive study of Shakespeare’s Sonnets and some of the plays Shakespeare wrote before the year 1600, such as Richard III, Love’s Labour’s Lost, Romeo and Juliet, Richard II, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, Henry IV Parts 1 and 2, Much Ado about Nothing, Julius Caesar, and As You Like It. The focus will be on learning how to read, understand, and take pleasure in these poems and plays by exploring Shakespeare’s characteristic techniques and themes in the context of his linguistic, theatrical, and literary milieu. The course will include films as well as classroom discussions and much challenging and rewarding reading. Assignments may include memorization and performance of sonnets and passages from the plays, a narrative-critical essay, a written abstract and oral summary of a published critical essay, an oral interpretation of a scene from a play, a critical paper, and a final exam.
Prerequisite: None
Co-requisite: None
General Education Classification: Not Applicable