Syllabus 09spring Revised

English 417: Shakespeare I Prof. Jim Garrett Office: E & T A608 Office Hours: Tuesday 3-4pm, Thursday 10:30-11:30am Phone: (323) 343-4163 Email: [email protected]

Course Description Prerequisites: Upper division standing is prerequisite to enrollment in 400-level courses. ENGL 102 or its equivalent is prerequisite to all upper division English courses. Prerequisite for all literature courses: ENGL 250, or 200A, 200B or 200C unless otherwise stated. Catalog Description: Shakespearean drama. Intensive study of five or six plays chosen from the following: Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Twelfth Night, The Merchant of Venice, Henry IV–Part One, Richard III, and Hamlet; elements of Shakespearean drama. Learning Objectives: English 417 introduces students to the basic elements of Shakespearean drama (character, structure, setting, imagery, theme, verse form, and so on) and situates the plays within their theatrical and sociopolitical contexts. Our goal is not to exhaust these plays, but rather to learn and practice ways of reading that will enable us to read and understand Shakespearean drama and to analyze and critique staged and cinematic performances of the plays. After successfully completing this course, students will be able to: 1. Identify and distinguish among Shakespeare’s major works, and describe their relative chronological position in the canon; 2. Identify the important political, religious, and cultural events that occurred during Shakespeare’s life, and use these ideas to interpret the plays; 3. Describe the manner in which an Elizabethan play was performed; 4. Apply various critical approaches to Shakespeare’s life and/or works; 5. Analyze the importance of performance choices (text, casting, set, costume, blocking, props, enunciation, and so on) in creating meaning; 6. Produce several original, documented essays demonstrating competency in critical reading, literary analysis and writing. Course Requirements: There is much reading and writing in this class. You will need to be diligent about planning ahead and completing your tasks on time. Listed below are the required assignments for this course: 1. Two writing assignments (each 20% of course grade) 2. A mid-term exam (20% of course grade) 3. A take-home final exam (20% of course grade) 4. Performance of a short monologue with an accompanying one-page character analysis (5% of course grade) 5. Group performance of a scene with an accompanying 1-2 page scene analysis (10% of course grade)

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6. Attendance, punctuality, participation, effort (5% of course grade) In order to pass this course all assignments (papers and exams) must be legitimately attempted. Plagiarism (see description below) does NOT constitute a legitimate attempt of the assignment. Texts The following texts are required for this class: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, The Tempest (preferably New Folger Library editions) McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare (2nd edition, Bedford, 2001) The following texts are recommended for this class (they have not been ordered and therefore are not available in the bookstore): A Literary Terms Guide—Abrams, Glossary of Literary Terms (Wadsworth, 2008); Cuddon, Penguin Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory (Penguin, 2000); Hamilton, Essential Literary Terms (Norton, 2007); Harmon, A Handbook to Literature (Prentice-Hall, 2008) A Format/Style Guide—Gibaldi, MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (MLA, 2009); The Chicago Manual of Style (Univ. of Chicago, 2003); Turabian, et al, A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (Univ. of Chicago, 2007); Williams, Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace (Longman, many editions available)

Policies Grading Policy: The distribution of points for the individual assignments in this course is listed in “Requirements” above. For the quarter, 250 points are possible. Course grades are based on standard percentages (i.e. 90% and greater is some version of an A, 80%-89% is some version of a B and so on). Plus and minus grades are used in the class. Electronic Devices: Please turn off all computers, cell phones, pagers, portable radios, televisions, computers, MP3/CD/Disc/Mini-disc players, and any other electronic communication and/or entertainment devices before coming to class. Please do not use telephones, text messaging, instant messaging, IRC, email, snail mail, carrier pigeon, paper airplanes or any other means of surreptitious and distracting communication during class. Contacting the Instructor: Email is the most effective way of communicating with me outside of class and my office hours. However, be reasonable. If you email me at 2:00 AM the morning before a paper is due, don’t expect a response. Attendance: Attendance is mandatory. I will take attendance at the start of every class. If you are not present I will mark you absent. Arriving late will count as half of an absence. You are allowed one absence without penalty. Each absence beyond the first one will reduce your course grade. If you miss more than four classes you will be disqualified from taking the final and therefore will fail the class. Please read the assigned material thoroughly and thoughtfully prior to class and be prepared to contribute to class discussions. If you do not voluntarily contribute to class discussion, I will call on you. If you are absent, you are responsible for the material you missed; if possible, make arrangements in advance with a classmate.

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Written Assignments: Please note the following carefully when preparing your written assignments for this class: •

Written assignments must be typed following standard formatting practices for college writing—use a readable type style and size (12 point type), indent paragraphs, double space between lines, and use one inch margins. Any style guide will contain information on formatting your written assignments for submission.

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Before handing in written assignments, edit and proofread your work carefully.

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Do not use plastic covers or report folders or title pages on your written assignments. Each assignment, though, should have your name, the course number, the date, and my name on separate lines (double-spaced) in the upper left corner of the first page. If the paper has a title, center it on the first page, after the above information.

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Use page numbers and place them in the upper right corner of the page. If you are uncertain how to have word processing software generate the correct page number in the header of your document, ask someone in one of the labs.

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MLA format and style conventions should be followed for all written assignments (essays and responses). For more information on MLA format and style conventions, see The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, the appropriate section of a recent (published after 2000) writer’s handbook, or one of the many reputable online sources.

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Late papers are not accepted. The assignment due dates are distributed on the first day of class, and the assignments are made available often weeks before they are due.

Academic Dishonesty/Cheating: Collaborating with others is encouraged when you are planning your papers, reviewing each other’s work, preparing for presentations or for exams. Study or reading groups can be effective ways to study and learn. However, when you write your papers, the text needs to be your own. •

You must carefully observe the standard rules for acknowledging the sources of words and ideas. If you make use of a phrase or a quote or if you paraphrase another writer’s words or ideas, you must acknowledge the source of these words or ideas telling us the source of these materials. APA and MLA style differ on the exact format of this attribution, but the simple version is the name of the author and the page number (if appropriate) in parentheses at the end of the sentence containing the use of the source material. If you fail to acknowledge properly the source of your text, you will receive a zero on the assignment and be reported to the Student Disciplinary Officer.

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If you plagiarize or otherwise misrepresent the source of your work, you will receive a zero on the assignment and be reported to the Student Disciplinary Officer.

Schedule 3/31 4/2 4/7

Reading Due Campus Closed: Cesar Chavez Day Course Introduction; Overview of Shakespearean Drama Macbeth (Acts 1-3); “Reading Shakespeare’s Language” in

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Assignments

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4/9 4/14 4/16 4/21

4/23 4/28 4/30 5/5 5/7 5/12 5/14 5/19

Reading Due Macbeth Folger edition (xv-xxiv); “To What End Are All These Words?” (36-58) Macbeth (Acts 4-5) Macbeth (cont.); McDonald, “Performances, Playhouses, and Players” (109-126) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Act 1.1-2.1) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Acts 2-5); McDonald, “Shakespeare, ‘Shakespeare,’ and the Problem of Authorship” (11-28) A Midsummer Night’s Dream (cont.); Monologue Preparation Henry V (Acts 1-3); McDonald, “Town and Country: Life in Shakespeare’s England” (219-236); Monologue Preparation Henry V (Acts 4-5); Monologue Preparation Henry V (cont.); Monologue Preparation Monologue Performances Midterm Exam

5/28 6/2

Hamlet (Act 1) Hamlet (Acts 2-5); McDonald, “Politics and Religion: Early Modern Ideologies” (303-325) Hamlet (cont.) Hamlet (cont.); McDonald, “Men and Women: Gender, Family, Society” (253-277); Start The Tempest The Tempest (Acts 1-3); Set up Performance Groups The Tempest (Acts 4-5); Group Performance Preparation

6/4 6/9 6/11

The Tempest (cont.); Group Performance Preparation Final Exam 10:45-1:15—Group Performances No Class Meeting

5/21 5/26

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Assignments

Assign monologues

Character Analysis Due First Writing Assignment Due

Second Writing Assignment Due Assign Take-home Final Take-home Final due in my campus mailbox

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Still Need • Literary Terms • Guide to Reading Shakespeare • Monologue Assignment • Monologue Grading Rubric and Form (for student assessment) • Midterm Notes • Midterm • Essay Assignments • Final Notes • Final • Group Performance Assignment (incl. list of appropriate scenes) • Group Performance Assessment Rubric and Form (for student assessment)

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