ENGL 242 - Individual Shakespeare Play

FDR: HL
Credits: 4
Planned Offering: Spring

Prerequisite: Completion of FW requirement. A detailed study of a single Shakespearean play, including its sources, textual variants, performance history, film adaptations and literary and cultural legacy. The course includes both performance-based and analytical assignments.

Spring 2015 topic:

ENGL 242-01: Shakespeare: Hamlet’s Ghosts (4). A specter is haunting Europe—and, for that matter, the rest of the world—the specter of Hamlet. Translated into languages from Finnish to Klingon, the play has captured the imaginations of readers and artists worldwide. In the first part of our course, we examine Shakespeare’s play in detail, studying its sources, textual variants, performance history, and film adaptations. Subsequently, special attention is given to the play’s literary and cultural legacy to see ways the play has been both cited and revised to comment on our modern situation. Students write analytical and creative papers as well as perform a scene from Hamlet in groups. A two-day workshop at the Blackfriars Playhouse in Staunton help students prepare for their scene performances. (HL) Pickett