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Course Description

Summary

We will spend the term immersed in in-depth reading and analysis of the plot, structure, language, and cultural context of five Shakespeare tragedies: Titus Andronicus, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth. We will also read Thomas Kyd's 16th-century play The Spanish Tragedy, to which Shakespeare owed a significant debt, and Tom Stoppard's 20th-century existentialist, absurdist tragicomedy Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. Additionally, we will screen and discuss several 20th-century and contemporary films based on individual plays. Students should expect to write critical essays, take in-class reading quizzes, complete a longer final project, and participate actively and vocally in class conversations.