Shakespeare: Early Plays and Sonnets McIver 116
Fall 2002 Office
Hours: TTh 1:45-2:15
TTh
12:30-1:45 334-4691
(o); 316-0463 (h)--before 10 pm
McIver
139B cthodgki@uncg.edu
Texts
David
Bevington, ed. The Complete Works of Shakespeare, 4th revised edn.
Joseph
Gibaldi. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 5th edn.
Objectives
1.
Students will acquire a thorough reading knowledge of all works on the
syllabus.
2.
Students will recognize and understand the genres and subgenres in which
Shakespeare wrote during his earlier years--lyric, comedy, history and tragedy.
3.
Students will recognize and understand the issues involved in interpreting
Shakespeare for performance--both on stage and screen.
4.
Students will know the main facts of Shakespeare's life through 1601.
5.
Students will understand Shakespeare's development as a poet and playwright in
his historical period.
6.
Students will understand Shakespeare's continuing importance as a cultural icon
and as a center of controversy.
7.
Students will develop their abilities in spoken communication and presentation.
8.
Students will develop their abilities in research and in interpretive, analytical,
and critical writing.
Course
Schedule
Week 1 8/20--Introduction
to course--Sonnets 1-6 (handout)
8/22--The Sonnets--Quiz
on the Introduction to sonnets; 7-10, 18-20
sonnet paraphrase due--A-H
Week 2 8/27--Sonnets
29, 55, 71, 73, 116, 123
Quiz:
General Introduction--Shakespeare's life and work through 1601
sonnet paraphrase due--I-P
8/29--Sonnets
127-130, 144-54
sonnet paraphrase due--Q-Z
Week 3 9/3--The
Taming of the Shrew--Quiz
9/5--Shrew
Week 4 9/10--Richard
III--Quiz
9/12--Richard III--Annotation sign-ups
9/13--Essay
#1 (Sonnet analysis) due—4 pm
Week
5 9/17--Romeo
and Juliet--Quiz
9/19--R & J
Week 6 9/24--A
Midsummer Night's Dream--Quiz
ANNOTATIONS BEGIN
9/26--MSND
Week 7 10/1--MSND
10/3--The Merchant of
Venice--Quiz
Week 8 10/8--Merchant
10/10--Midterm Exam
10/17--Merchant--Performance groups assigned
Week 10 10/22--Merchant
10/24--I Henry IV--Quiz
Week 11 10/29--I
Henry IV
10/31--Much Ado About
Nothing--Quiz
11/1--Plan
for Essay #2 due--4 pm
Week
12 11/5--Much
Ado
11/7--Much Ado
Week 13 11/12--Henry V--Quiz
11/14--Henry
V
Week 14 11/19--Henry
V
11/21--Hamlet--Quiz
11/28--No Class--Thanksgiving
Week 16 12/3--Hamlet
12/5--Hamlet Course evaluations
12/6--Essay #2 due--4 pm
Week 17 FINAL Thursday, December 12, 12 Noon-3
pm--no exceptions
Course
Requirements
Attendance and Participation: Due to the high demand for this course, I
will drop any student not attending the first or second day of class.
Consistent attendance is mandatory, particularly in this Speaking Intensive
course. Regular and active participation in class discussion will raise your
course grade. In-class quizzes will be fairly frequent, and no make-ups will be
allowed. Thus, unexcused absences will indirectly lower your course grade.
Furthermore, more than two unexcused absences will directly lower your
course grade, and a pattern of unexcused absences will result in your being
dropped from the course. Two tardies will count as an absence, and students
leaving class unexcused and not returning will be marked absent. Two unexcused
tardies equal one unexcused absence. Attendance will be taken daily, and no
absence or tardy will be excused without advance notice.
In cases of adverse weather, classes will meet unless
the Chancellor closes the University.
Quizzes: Whenever we begin a new unit or
play, I will start class with a ten-point reading quiz covering the entire
assignment or play. These quizzes will be strictly factual and simply will test
whether or not you have read the material. These quizzes will not be returned.
A pattern of poor or missed quizzes will lower your course grade. A pattern of
good or excellent quizzes will raise your course grade.
Writing and Speaking:
Daily
Discussion: Each day I will begin class by calling on one or two students
and inviting your informal comments on, questions about, and/or reactions to
the day’s assigned reading. I will call on each student in the class in this
way at least once per term. Your readiness for discussion will be considered as
part of your overall participation.
Essay
#1--Sonnet analysis essay (due 9/13):
You will write a short (2-3 page) analysis of a sonnet (see handout).
Choose any of Shakespeare's sonnets not
on the syllabus, and in 500-750 words explain its meaning by commenting closely
on its use of figurative language, particularly of any "conceits,"
and of the sonnet form, to convey its themes. The analysis is to be entirely
your own; you are to do no research for this one outside your textbook's
notes.
Scene
Analysis: Each
student is required to choose one scene from each of the nine plays and write
informal answers to a series of analytical questions about it (see Questions
for Scene Analysis); I will call on each student at least twice per term to
comment for a few minutes on his or her chosen scene.
Critical Annotation Presentations: One set of 3 one-page critical
annotations (typed, single-spaced) is required, due in class on your assigned
day (see handout). During the fourth week of the semester, you will sign up for
individual due dates that will be determined by the dates for discussing
particular plays. The annotation assignment requires that you search the
library for 3 academic journal articles discussing the assigned play, and
prepare a one-page annotation for each critical source that you choose. Each
annotation must (a) begin with the basic bibliographical information about each
source in correct MLA citation style (see MLA Handbook, required for
this course); then (b) it must summarize the critic's interpretive argument;
and finally (c) it must assess whether the article makes a worthwhile
contribution to our understanding and appreciation of its subject, and why (or
why not). I prefer annotation sets that referee varying interpretations of a
work, thus displaying your powers of discernment. I will call on annotators to share their researches and insights with
the class, so come prepared to speak on your assigned day. Your speaking will
be evaluated for clarity, audibility, pacing,
and coherence.
Essay
#2--Research Essay (due 12/6): This essay will be a longer (4-6 page) study
of any play up to and including Hamlet--whether on the syllabus or not.
It will incorporate library research into an interpretive argument of your own
(see handout). In addition, in advance of the second paper you will submit a Plan for Essay #2 (due 11/1), in which
you will a) write out your idea in the form of a question, and then b) briefly
answer that question in no more than one page (250 words). Papers will follow
MLA style. I must receive and approve an
Essay #2 Plan before I can accept and grade Essay #2 itself.
Late
papers: Late papers will drop a full letter grade per weekday. However, if
you know that a difficulty is coming up and you'll need more time, come see me
well in advance to discuss an extension.
Plagiarism: You are expected to abide by the UNCG academic honor policy
on all work, and to sign a statement to that effect on each paper and exam.
Plagiarism involves any situation in which another's work (whether their ideas
or their actual words) is submitted as your own. A first offense may result in an F on that assignment, while
repeated offenses can cause you to be expelled from the University. If you are unsure about how to give credit
to your sources, see the MLA Handbook or come talk to me.
Exams: Two exams--one at midterm (10/10) and one at the scheduled final
time (12/12)--will cover the first
and second halves of the semester, respectively. Exams will consist of essay
questions, definitions of key terms, and identification of important quotations
from the works studied. Dates and times of both the midterm and the final exams
are firm. If you know now that you
cannot attend one or the other exam as scheduled, you should not take this
class.
Performance Projects: Each of
you will take part in presenting (as part of a group of five or so) a 15-minute
excerpt from one of the plays on the syllabus (see handout). I will grade each
group for oral presentation, effort and participation.
Grading: I will grade on a straight
percentage scale, as follows:
A 100-94 C+ 79-77 D- 63-60
A- 93-90 C 76-74 F 59-0
B+ 89-87
C- 73-70
B 86-84 D+ 69-67
B- 83-80 D 66-64
Your
assignments count in the following ways:
Performance
Project: 5%
Essay #1:
15%
Critical
Annotation Presentation: 15%
Plan for
Essay #2: 5%
Essay #2:
20%
Midterm
Exam: 20%
Final
Exam: 20%
Plus or
minus consideration of attendance, participation, and quizzes.
SPECIAL
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