Dr. Rankin 3 credits

This course affords students the opportunity to explore in significant detail Shakespeare’s extant comedies and histories. Among the most important works in British literature, these plays continue to delight and puzzle readers and theatergoers. Of significant interest is his fashionable commitment to writing chronicle history plays during the 1590s and the nearly complete cessation of this genre during the seventeenth century. At the same time, Shakespeare produced memorable comedies that question the boundaries between reality and fantasy, interrogate gender biases, and investigate the relationship of individuals to the larger state. One overarching concern will be to ascertain (if it is possible) why these plays are still relevant four centuries after they were written. This course will investigate Shakespearean themes including including tyranny, regicide, political and religious instability, sexism, miracles, madness, villainy, witchcraft, greed, ambition, art, revenge, republican government, and more. We will historicize these ideas against the backdrop of cultural and political contexts in which Shakespeare lived and wrote. Readings include Richard II, Richard III, Henry IV, Part I, Henry V, The Comedy of Errors, Love's Labour's Lost, The Merchant of Venice, Measure for Measure, and more. Assignments include essays, reports, and a final bibliographical project.

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