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Course Description
A student taking the full range of literature courses through Scholars Online (five years) will have the opportunity of covering nine plays there; this will double the exposure to eighteen. The coverage here is of course not especially deep, but we do get into lively discussions of the texts, their characters, their themes, and their language that can lead to further study and reflection. We accordingly introduce a range of plays from all three sorts — comedy, tragedy, and history.
Course Website: Summer Shakespeare I
Instructor: Bruce McMenomy
Starts: June 17, 2015
Ends: August 19, 2015
Wednesday 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM ET
Tuition: $200.00
Prerequisites
The student should have some previous experience with literary study, though there are no specific expectations.
Recommended background
Some experience with reading older works, and especially Shakespeare's language, is highly recommended; seeing some plays would also be useful.
Teacher's notes:
Please secure the editions specified here. Other versions of the plays can create confusion (since there is some textual variation) and unannotated editions are very difficult for younger students to master.
Textbooks and Materials
This item is required:
A Midsummer Night's Dream , Authors: William ShakespeareISBN: 0743477545
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
This item is required:
As You Like It , Authors: William ShakespeareISBN: 074348486X
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
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Julius Caesar , Authors: William ShakespeareISBN: 0743482743
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
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King Lear , Authors: William ShakespeareISBN: 074348276X
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
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Richard II , Authors: William ShakespeareISBN: 0743484916
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
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Romeo and Juliet , Authors: William ShakespeareISBN: 0743477111
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
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The Merchant of Venice , Authors: William ShakespeareISBN: 0743477561
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
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The Taming of the Shrew , Authors: William ShakespeareISBN: 074347757X
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
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Twelfth Night , Authors: William ShakespeareISBN: 0743482778
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
This item is recommended but not required and its use is optional:
All of Shakespeare , Authors: Maurice CharneyISBN: 0231068638
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
Other information: NOT required. A convenient middle-weight overview of the whole Shakespeare corpus by a scholar and theorist of theater. Not as penetrating as Garber or Bloom, but somewhat more accessible.
This item is recommended but not required and its use is optional:
Essential Shakespeare Handbook , Authors: Leslie Dunton-Downer, Alan Riding, Karen Wilks (Designer), Elizabeth Wyse (Editor)ISBN: 0789493330
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
Other information: NOT required. This book provides a systematic overview of the whole corpus of Shakespeare plays in an accessible and colorful form, with notes on famous performances, themes, settings, and other such details. It is very useful for a student first getting to know Shakespeare, and equally useful for an advanced student wanting to have the ability to see the corpus in outline.
This item is recommended but not required and its use is optional:
Shakespeare After All , Authors: Marjorie GarberISBN: 0385722141
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
Other information: NOT required. A useful book covering all of Shakespeare's plays critically and thoughtfully, aware of contemporary scholarly trends but not overly encumbered by them.
This item is recommended but not required and its use is optional:
Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human , Authors: Harold BloomISBN: 157322751X
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
Other information: NOT Required. A celebrated and widely cited book, filled with Bloom's own highly personal approach to the various plays in the Shakespeare corpus. Appropriate for the more advanced general reader or the serious scholar; certain to be intimidating for the novice.
This item is recommended but not required and its use is optional:
Will in the World: How Shakespeare Became Shakespeare , Authors: Stephen GreenblattISBN: 0393050572
Best sources: Scholars Online Bookstore
Other information: NOT required. This is a fascinating recent biographical discussion of how Shakespeare's life may have shaped his work. All Shakespeare biography is chancy, and theories about Shakespearean authorship tend largely to divert us from the more serious issues of understanding his plays, but this study has some material relevance to the material at hand. Suitable for more mature readers; probably not appropriate for younger readers.
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