Shakespeare:
Later Plays McIver 116
Spring 2003 Office
Hours: MW
MWF 10-10:50 334-4691
(o); 316-0463 (h)--before
McIver 140 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.
Course Goals:
Students successfully completing this course
1. will savor some of the
finest writing in any language.
2. will acquire a thorough
reading knowledge of all works on the syllabus.
3. will recognize and
understand the genres and subgenres in which Shakespeare wrote during his later
years—
“problem” play, tragedy, and romance.
4. will recognize and
understand the issues involved in interpreting Shakespeare for
performance--both on stage and
screen.
5. will know the main facts
of Shakespeare's life.
6. will understand
Shakespeare's development as a poet and playwright in his historical period.
7. will understand
Shakespeare's continuing importance as a cultural icon and as a center of
controversy.
8. will develop their
abilities in research and in interpretive, analytical, and critical writing, as
well as in oral presentation.
Course Schedule
Week 1 1/13—Introduction to course and to the Renaissance stage
1/15—All’s
Well That Ends Well, Act 1
General
Introduction—Shakespeare’s Life and Work, 1564-1616
Quiz:
All’s Well Act 1, Intro to Life and Work
Informal scene analysis due—A-F
1/17—All’s
Well, Acts 2-5—Quiz Informal
scene analysis due—G-L
Week 2 1/20—King Day—No Class
1/22—All’s
Well Informal scene analysis due—M-R
ANNOTATION
SIGN-UPS
1/24—All’s Well Informal scene analysis due—S-Z
Week 3 1/27—Troilus and Cressida—Quiz
1/29—Troilus
and Cressida
1/31—Troilus
and Cressida—ANNOTATIONS BEGIN
Week 4 2/3—Troilus and Cressida
2/5—Measure
for Measure—Quiz
2/7—Measure for Measure
Week 5 2/10—Measure
for Measure
2/12—Measure
for Measure
2/14—Measure
for Measure
Essay
#1—Scene Analysis—Due
Week 6 2/17—Othello—Quiz
2/19—Othello
2/21—Othello
Week 7 2/24—Othello
2/26—Othello
2/28—King
Lear—Acts 1-3—Quiz
Plan
for Essay #2—Due
Week 8 3/3—King Lear
3/5—King
Lear
3/7--Midterm Exam
Week 10 3/17—King Lear—Acts 4-5—Quiz
3/19—King
Lear
3/21—Macbeth—Quiz
Week 11 3/24—Macbeth
3/26—Macbeth
3/28—Macbeth
Week 12 3/31—Macbeth
4/2—
4/4—
Week
13 4/7—
4/9—
Essay #2 Due
4/11—
Week 14 4/14—The Winter’s Tale—Quiz
4/16—The
Winter’s Tale
4/18—The
Winter’s Tale
4/23—The
Winter’s Tale
4/25—The Tempest—Quiz
Week 16 4/28—The Tempest
4/30—The Tempest
5/2—The
Tempest—Course evaluations
Week
17 5/5—The Tempest
5/6—Review
Revised Essay #2 Due
Final Examination Friday, May 9, 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. 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: On most days 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.
Informal Scene Analyses: Each student will be assigned one scene from most 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.
Essay
#1—Scene Analysis Essay (due Friday 2/14,
word) analysis of a scene from one of the first three plays studied this term—All’s
Well That Ends Well,
Troilus and Cressida, or Measure for Measure (see Questions for
Scene Analysis handout). This is
to be an
essay, not simply an itemized answering of the set
questions. The purpose of the essay is to describe the inner
dynamics of the scene, and to explain its relation to the
immediately adjacent scenes and to the play as a whole.
Thus I recommend that you choose a scene of moderate
length, neither unusually brief nor unusually long.
Proofread carefully.
Critical Annotations: One set of 3
one-page critical annotations (typed, single-spaced) is required, due in
class on your assigned day (see handout). During the
second 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.
Essay #2--Research Essay (due Wednesday 4/9
at
any
play from All’s Well on--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 Friday 2/28 at
question,
and then b) briefly answer that question in no more than one page (250 words).
Papers will follow
MLA parenthetical citation style. I must receive and approve an Essay #2 Plan before I can accept and
grade Essay #2 itself.
Required Rewrite of Essay #2 (Due Tuesday
5/6 at
thinking
about the subject, as well as your close attention to my written comments on
the original. Your rewrite
must be
attached to your original Research Essay with my comments to receive
consideration.
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 (3/7) and one at the scheduled final time (5/9 noon-3 pm)--will cover
approximately the first and second halves of the semester,
respectively. Exams will consist of essay questions and
definitions of key terms. 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.
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:
Essay #1: 20%
Critical Annotations: 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 ANNOUNCEMENT: To enhance communication with majors, the English
Department maintains a listserve.
Please join the listserve
by sending the following message from your e-mail account (whether on campus or
at home) that
you use most regularly to listproc@uncg.edu: subscribe
English-l firstname lastname
(giving, of course, your own
first and last names). For example: subscribe English-l Jane Doe. Note that the letter l (L) follows
"English," not the
number 1 (one).