SYLLABUS FOR E230 INTRODUCTION TO SHAKESPEARE
CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY, SPRING 2010

*2023 Note. Most links have been removed from this archival copy of the syllabus.

COURSE INFORMATION. English 230. MWF 10:00 – 10:50 a.m. Location: Beckman Hall (BH) 104. Instructor: Alfred J. Drake, Ph.D. Office hours: 11:00 – 12:00 p.m. in Jazzman Café (Beckman Hall, 1st. floor). Email: e230_at_ajdrake.com. Catalog: “English 230 provides a general introduction to Shakespeare by considering representative tragedies, comedies, histories, and romances. Designed for those without extensive prior knowledge, this course gives students a historical, literary, and theoretical understanding of Shakespeare’s dramatic works. English 230 does not count toward the English major. Majors should take ENG 430 or 432. (Offered fall semester.) 3 credits.” The English Dept. is located in Wilkinson 217.

REQUIRED TEXTS AT CHAPMAN UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE

Greenblatt, Stephen et al., eds. The Norton Shakespeare. 2nd edition. Four-Volume Genre Paperback Set. Norton, 2008. ISBN-13: 978-0-393-93152-5.

COURSE RATIONALE AND ACTIVITIES

FOCUS AND OBJECTIVES. This course will cover a selection of Shakespeare’s sonnets, comedies, histories, tragedies and romance plays; the reading list follows that structure. We will pay special attention to the playwright’s linguistic and rhetorical excellence and to the structure of his plays, but will also attend to cultural and historical background, biography, stage history, acting methods, and other topics as appropriate. In general, rather than trying to impose claims of universal coherence, thematic unity, etc. on assigned texts, I prefer to discuss themes and issues as they occur throughout the course, making connections where appropriate.

Still, I will mention a few areas of interest here: we should explore Shakespeare’s abiding interest with respect to his tragedies in how, over time or due to some set of shocks, entire societies are torn apart, with no reliable way to make them whole. The bittersweet romance plays present a different perspective on this issue of societal decay or dehiscence; on the whole, they deal in second chances, or what we might call “do-overs with differences,” redemption with acknowledgment of serious loss and suffering. In the comedies, we can note the influence through the Roman playwrights Plautus and Terence of Greek New Comedy, the relative stability or instability of individual identity, and the importance of class and social status. With respect to the history plays, of interest is the relative freedom with which Shakespeare rearranges, telescopes, and otherwise alters the historical incidents and characters which he drew largely from Raphael Holinshed’s Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland (1577/1587).

Finally, for each play, clips from a film production will be shown to illustrate key scenes. I have placed DVD copies of various productions on reserve at the library, so please view as many of the plays as you can.

ACTIVITIES. In class, there will be a mix of lectures, student presentations, whole-class and smaller-group discussion, occasional quizzes, an essay, and a final exam. I encourage questions and comments—class sessions improve when students take an active part. Outside class, do the assigned readings before the relevant discussion dates, complete your journal sets as outlined below, start planning and drafting your essay early, and work on your presentation drafts. In literary studies, the aim is to read and discuss actively and thereby to develop your own voice in response to the texts you read. Insightful interpretation and the ability to make compelling connections are central goals. The essay, discussions, presentations, and journal-keeping should combine to help you work towards these goals.

HOW YOUR PERFORMANCE WILL BE EVALUATED

COURSE POLICIES. Please review the policies page early in the semester. Key points easily stated here: missing more than 20% of sessions may affect course grade; academic dishonesty may result in course failure. The four evaluative requirements outlined below must be substantially completed to pass the course. Since most assignments will be due by email, it is students’ responsibility to contact me promptly if they do not get an email verifying receipt of materials.

PRESENTATIONS REQUIREMENT. At the beginning of the course, students will sign up for two or three (depending on class size) five-minute in-class presentations on authors/works of their choosing (if possible). I will provide presenters with specific questions to address from among those on the questions pages, and a few days after sign-up I will post a schedule on the Presentations page. Each session will feature one or more presentations. Required: Drop by the Jazzman Café (Beckman Hall, 1st. floor) to discuss your first presentation with me at least a week before you are scheduled to speak in class; then email me a final written version by the day before your presentation. For the second presentation, one week in advance email me as full a draft as possible of what you intend to say in class. I will email you back with advice. If I suggest developing the remarks further, email me a revised version at least one day before your in-class presentation. I won’t judge students on their rhetorical skills during the presentation, but rather on evidence of prior preparation and consultation as well as on the written draft. How to do well on this assignment: meet with or email me as required, and send a final written version; good critics challenge and pose questions, so craft your responses to invite discussion; aim for spontaneity and a personal touch: use the question as a springboard rather than a prescription; speak up, but don’t rush things. (20% of course grade.)

JOURNALS REQUIREMENT. Responses to a choice of questions from the study questions page for each play. Four separate journal sets due by email as specified below in the session schedule. Electronic format required. I will not mark journal sets down unless they are late (maximum grade = B), incomplete, or so brief and derivative as to suggest evasion of intellectual labor: they should consist of honest responses to the assigned readings, not “yes-or-no” style answers, quotation of the assigned texts without further comment, or pasted secondary material from Internet sources. How to do well on this assignment: read instructions; complete entries as you go through each text; send sets on time, making sure I verify receipt; respond with a thoughtful paragraph on each chosen question—use your own words and refer to the texts’ specific language. (30% of course grade.)

PAPER REQUIREMENT. By the end of Week 13 (Sunday, 5/02) a one-paragraph description addressing the general topic and specific argument of the projected paper will be due by email. (Full rough drafts are also encouraged.) Not providing this description on time may affect the final draft grade. Please read the term paper instructions carefully since they contain the general prompt, suggested topics, and advance draft comments. I reserve the right to require proof of the final paper’s authenticity, such as notes or an early draft. Final draft (5-7 pages) due as specified towards the bottom of the syllabus page. There is no need to consider this a research paper, though you are free to make it one. How to do well on this assignment: send required advance paragraph on time and incorporate advice I send; allow time for revision; proofread and follow MLA formatting and style guidelines; avoid exhaustive coverage and stale generalities: instead, develop a specific, arguable set of claims, demonstrating their strength by showing how they enhance our understanding of specific language, structures, and themes; document your online/print sources; read instructions. (30% of course grade.)

FINAL EXAM REQUIREMENT. The exam will consist of substantive id passages (30% of exam), mix-and-match questions (match phrase or concept x to author/text y; 30% of exam), and key lecture points paired with substantive quotations from the assigned texts (40% of exam). There will be more choices than required responses. Books and notes allowed for all sections, but no laptops. Students may not share books or notes during the exam. Exam date: see below. How to do well on this assignment: read the online prep. sheet; take good notes and ask questions/make comments; above all, enjoy the works rather than thinking of them only as “test material.” If you take pleasure in the assigned texts’ language, attend to the sophistication with which they have been structured, and reflect on the intellectual/moral/spiritual value you derive from them, you are likely to earn a good exam grade. (20% of course grade.)

EMAILING ASSIGNMENTS. Email journals, presentations, and term paper as attachments. Don’t send more than one document in the same email. Label subject lines appropriately: “E230 Journal 1, Jane Doe” etc. You can paste journal sets into a regular email or send them as an attachment. (Journal “sets” include responses to questions about several authors; do not send entries on each author in a given set separately—responses on the relevant authors should be combined into one document.) Please contact me if you don’t receive prompt email confirmation.

QUESTIONS FOR JOURNALS AND PRESENTATIONS

*2023 Note. Visitors may download the following questions in PDF format: SHAKESPEARE COMBINED. Another resource is my website at LIMBS OF ALARBUS, which offers comments on most of Shakespeare’s plays.

Sonnets | Midsummer Night’s Dream | Twelfth Night | Merchant of Venice | Henry V | Macbeth | Hamlet | King Lear | Antony & Cleopatra | The Tempest

*Note. ‘‘The General Introduction’’ (1-99) should be read carefully over the course of the semester. Material from it may appear on the final exam. The short introductions to the individual plays are assigned as well. The eleven plays below are arranged successively by type: three comedies, two histories, four tragedies, and two romance plays.

SCHEDULE: WORKS DISCUSSED ON DATES INDICATED

WEEK 1

Mon. 02/01. Course introduction: Wiki site, procedures and evaluation requirements.

Wed. 02/03. Introduction to the Elizabethan/Stuart Periods and to Shakespeare’s life and art.

Fri. 02/05. Introduction to Shakespeare’s language: general observations and selected Sonnets. (Norton, Romances and Poems 606-59).

WEEK 2

Mon. 02/08. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Acts 1-2, Comedies pp. 377-94).

Wed. 02/10. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Acts 2-3, Comedies pp. 384-408).

Fri. 02/12. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Acts 3-4, Comedies pp. 394-414).

WEEK 3

Mon. 02/15. A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Acts 4-5, Comedies pp. 408-424).

Wed. 02/17. Twelfth Night (Act 1, pp. Comedies 697-710).

Fri. 02/19. Twelfth Night (Act 2, Comedies pp. 710-722).

WEEK 4

Mon. 02/22. Twelfth Night (Act 3, Comedies pp. 722-36).

Wed. 02/24. Twelfth Night (Acts 4-5, Comedies pp. 736-50).

Fri. 02/26. The Merchant of Venice (Act 1, Comedies pp. 435-45).

JOURNAL SET 1 DUE BY EMAIL SUNDAY 02/28. (Reminder: this set includes Midsummer and Twelfth Night. Respond with a full paragraph to 6 questions on each play spanning at least three acts. Please expect an email from me verifying receipt.)

WEEK 5

Mon. 03/01. The Merchant of Venice (Act 2, Comedies pp. 445-59).

Wed. 03/03. The Merchant of Venice (Acts 3-4, Comedies pp. 460-83).

Fri. 03/05. The Merchant of Venice (Acts 4-5, Comedies pp. 473-89).

WEEK 6

Mon. 03/08. Lecture on Shakespeare’s English History Plays.

Wed. 03/10. Henry V (Act 1, Histories pp. 769-79).

Fri. 03/12. Henry V (Acts 2-3, Histories pp. 779-805).

WEEK 7

Mon. 03/15. Henry V (Act 4, Histories pp. 805-825).

Wed. 03/17. Henry V (Act 5, Histories pp. 825-36).

Fri. 03/19. Macbeth (Act 1, Tragedies pp. 825-37).

WEEK 8

Mon. 03/22. Macbeth (Acts 2-3, Tragedies pp. 837-57).

Wed. 03/24. Macbeth (Acts 4-5, Tragedies pp. 857-78).

Fri. 03/26. Macbeth (Acts 4-5, Tragedies pp. 857-78).

JOURNAL SET 2 DUE BY EMAIL SUNDAY 03/28. (Reminder: this set includes Merchant, Henry V, and Macbeth. Respond with a full paragraph to 6 questions on each play spanning at least three acts.)

WEEK 9

Mon. 03/29. Spring Break: No classes.

Wed. 03/31. Spring Break: No classes.

Fri. 04/02. Spring Break: No classes.

WEEK 10

Mon. 04/05. Hamlet (Act 1, Tragedies pp. 336-56).

Wed. 04/07. Hamlet (Act 2, Tragedies pp. 356-72).

Fri. 04/09. Hamlet (Act 3, Tragedies pp. 372-92).

WEEK 11

Mon. 04/12. Hamlet (Act 4, Tragedies pp. 393-408).

Wed. 04/14. Hamlet (Act 5, Tragedies pp. 408-424).

Fri. 04/16. King Lear (Act 1, Tragedies pp. 739-759).

WEEK 12

Mon. 04/19. King Lear (Act 2, Tragedies pp. 759-73).

Wed. 04/21. King Lear (Act 3, Tragedies pp. 773-87).

Fri. 04/23. King Lear (Act 4, Tragedies pp. 787-802).

WEEK 13

Mon. 04/26. King Lear (Act 5, Tragedies pp. 803-23).

JOURNAL SET 3 DUE BY EMAIL WEDNESDAY 04/28. (Reminder: this set includes Hamlet and King Lear. Respond with a full paragraph to 6 questions on each play spanning at least three acts.)

Wed. 04/28. Antony and Cleopatra (Act 1, Tragedies pp. 889-902).

Fri. 04/30. Antony and Cleopatra (Act 2, Tragedies pp. 902-21).

PARAGRAPH DESCRIBING TOPIC AND ARGUMENT FOR PAPER DUE BY EMAIL SUNDAY 05/02.

WEEK 14

Mon. 05/03. Antony and Cleopatra (Acts 3-4, Tragedies pp. 921-56).

Wed. 05/05. Antony and Cleopatra (Acts 4-5, Tragedies pp. 940-67).

Fri. 05/07. The Tempest (Act 1, Romances and Poems pp. 374-89).

WEEK 15

Mon. 05/10. The Tempest (Acts 2-3, Romances and Poems pp. 389-410).

Wed. 05/12. The Tempest (Acts 4-5, Romances and Poems pp. 410-25).

Fri. 05/14. The Tempest (Acts 4-5, Romances and Poems pp. 410-25).

JOURNAL SET 4 DUE BY EMAIL EXAM DAY. (Reminder: this set includes Antony, and Tempest. Respond with a full paragraph to 6 questions on each play spanning at least three acts.)

FINALS WEEK

Final Exam Date: 8:00 – 10:30 a.m. Monday, May 17th. Paper due by email Monday, May 24 or sooner. I must turn in grades by 4:00 p.m., Sunday, May 30. For your other courses, check the Spring 2010 Chapman Final Exam Schedule.