English 339--Introduction to Shakespeare

Textbooks

• All plays should be read in Signet Classic second revised edition. These are reliable, inexpensive, well annotated and supplemented with critical essays. The appropriate text must be brought to every class.

Workload and Grading

• Five Scantron quizzes for a total of 25%

  • A=8 out of 10; B=7; C=6; D=5; F=4 or less. 9 or 10 provide extra credit.
  • The quiz consists of ten quotations requiring your identification of the speaker. If you know the names of the main characters and have followed the plot in your reading of the play, these identifications should not be difficult.

  • Watching the video version of the play will help you make these identifications, but most of the video performances cut large portions out of the script. The quiz tests your reading comprehension. If you have trouble understanding Shakespeare's English or following what's going on in the plot, it is very helpful to read along while you watch the complete-text BBC video versions available in the library.

• Five papers for a total of 50%

  • Each paper should fill only one page using any font size and spacing, appear attractive, be free of spelling and grammatical errors, and develop a single major point. Papers can refer to but not repeat material raised in class. The best of the five will be included in a class anthology, Shakespeare Boiled Down.
  • Papers should take a variety of approaches, for example: explication of the rhetorical effects of a single passage, exploration of a strand of images or recurrent theme, discussion of a character or a change in character or a relationship, study of an intense dramatic moment, argument in attack or defense of a character or a moral judgement by a character, study of the relation between text and subtext, discussion of genre, comparison of an element in two or more plays, research on a relevant historical item.
  • Accompanying each paper, on a separate page, write about the performances of each play you watched. Include specific description of settings, characters, cuts, expansions, and the way they express interpretations of the Shakespearean text.
  • For tips on writing, please consult these handouts:
1. "Dr. Marx's Special Formula"
2. "Plagiarism"
3. "A Paradigm for Literary Analysis"

4. "Theatre and Film Vocabulary"

• A two-hour final examination for a total of 25%

  • Part one consists of a quotation from each play studied that you will analyse in detail.

  • Part two consists of a one-hour essay on a theme that appears in all the plays studied. A preparation sheet listing several possible options for the topic will be distributed during the last week of class.

• Participation

  • Participation in class discussion is expected from everyone.

  • Every student participates in one of the scenes performed in class, either as actor, director or technician. This participation is not graded. Casting takes place two weeks before performance. Preparation for these scenes includes memorization of lines, blocking, rehearsal and costuming. They can be performed in the classroom or anywhere else on campus. They will be videotaped and made available on the web during this quarter.

• GWR

  • The 500 word essay which comprises the second part of the final examination will be graded separately for those seeking to satisfy the Graduation Writing Requirement. Students who choose to do so may take diagnostic and practise GWR exams during office hours by arrangement with the instructor.

Rules

• Late papers are penalized one full grade for each class session's delay unless a postponement is granted by the instructor in advance.
• Attendance is not optional. Each unexcused absence beyond two lowers the final grade by one half letter; seven or more unexcused absences result in no credit. Three unexcused latenesses count for one absence. Certified medical absences or job interviews are not counted in these totals and are the only reason for makeups .
• Deliberate plagiarism or other forms of cheating result in a failing grade and referral to the dean. Students are responsible for understanding the definition of plagiarism. Please consult the instructor if the linked document on the subject doesn't make it clear to you.

Supplementary Resources

• Kennedy Library has a good collection of Shakespeare materials. Check the 2237 items in Polycat--at http://poetry.lib.calpoly.edu/search/d?SEARCH=shakespeare--or better yet browse the shelves in the fourth floor PR 2894 section. It's a nice place to hang out. Included there are back issues of two fine scholarly journals: Shakespeare Quarterly and Shakespeare Survey. Current issues of both are available on the second floor periodicals desk.
• Kennedy library also has a good collection of videotapes of Shakespeare performances. In addition to the viewing assignments, you'll find several other versions of King Lear and Henry V .
• The World Wide Web is loaded with Shakespeare materials. The best guide to them can be found at the site named "Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet" http://daphne.palomar.edu/shakespeare/
• The Shakespeare Electronic Archive at MIT houses e-versions of all the texts, pictures, film clips and much more. To access, enter Username: "seaguest" and password "miranda". Check it out.
• Links to some relevant web sites appear on appropriate days in the schedule.