Course Title: Shakespeare’s Comic and Tragic Modes:
As You Like It, Measure for Measure, Macbeth, Hamlet
Time: Fall 2024. Tues. 9:00 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. (Sept. 17 – Nov. 19, no holidays.)
Location: Maryland Pkwy campus, 4350 S. Maryland Pkwy. MAB2. Room TBD.
Instructor: Alfred J. Drake, Ph.D.
Email: ajdrake@ajdrake.com
Shakespeare Web: https://www.ajdrake.com/shakespeare
Materials Specific to This Class
As You Like It – Questions | Commentary
Measure for Measure – Questions | Commentary
Macbeth – Questions | Commentary
Hamlet – Questions | Commentary
Introduction to Shakespeare’s Life & Times (Drake)
Intro. to Shakespeare’s Language & Art, Pt. 1 (Drake)
Intro. to Shakespeare’s Language & Art, Pt. 2 (Drake)
Recommended Texts (*These editions can generally be bought used at much lower cost than new.)
Shakespeare. As You Like It: A Norton Critical Edition. W. W. Norton, 2011. ISBN-13: 978-0393927627.
Shakespeare. Measure for Measure: A Norton Critical Edition. W. W. Norton, 2009. ISBN-13: 978-0393931716.
Shakespeare. Macbeth: A Norton Critical Edition. W. W. Norton, 2013. ISBN-13: 978-0393923261.
Shakespeare. Hamlet: A Norton Critical Edition. W. W. Norton, 2019. ISBN-13: 978-0393640106.
Or, you may prefer the Norton genre set: Greenblatt, Stephen et al., eds. The Norton Shakespeare. 4-vol. bundle. 3rd edition. New York: W. W. Norton, 2015. ISBN-13: 978-0393265460. (Used editions are sometimes available for $60-$70 online. New, the set costs about $120.)
Course Overview: We will examine the variety within Shakespeare’s comic and tragic plays. As You Like It is a sunny comedy with a heroine, Rosalind, who helps her suitor gain insight into true love. Measure for Measure is a dark comedy that unsparingly explores the difficulties of maintaining civility among flawed human beings. Macbeth is a taut tragedy in which a warrior pursues the crown promised him by supernatural insight, only to destroy his own soul. Hamlet is a sprawling tragedy in which the protagonist’s interiority conflicts with the revenge-command given him by his murdered father, making him anything but a straightforward “revenger.”
*Note: We will watch segments from excellent film productions, some of which contain material that some viewers may find distressing.
Schedule (Subject to change)
Week 1 Sept. 17 Intro to Shakespeare.
Week 2 Sept. 24 As You Like It, Acts 1-3.
Week 3 Oct. 01 As You Like It, Acts 4-5.
Week 4 Oct. 08 Measure for Measure, Acts 1-3.
Week 5 Oct. 15 Measure for Measure, Acts 4-5.
Week 6 Oct. 22 Macbeth, Acts 1-3.
Week 7 Oct. 29 Macbeth, Acts 4-5.
Week 8 Nov. 05 Hamlet, Act 1.
Week 9 Nov. 12 Hamlet, Acts 2-3.
Week 10 Nov. 19 Hamlet, Acts 4-5 and course retrospective.