English 144

English 144: Introduction to Shakespeare

Professor Adrienne L. Eastwood Fall 2009

Mondays and Wednesdays, 10:30 – 11:45 a.m., Sweeney Hall 229

Office Hours and Location: Faculty Office Building, Room 116

Hours: Tuesdays, 12:30 – 2:30 pm, Wednesdays 1:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. I am also available by appointment.

Phone #: 924-4509

Web page: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/eastwood/

Course Description: This course will explore some of the major plays of William Shakespeare. We will approach these texts chronologically (with a few minor exceptions), and examine the ways in which Shakespeare developed as a playwright through his work in various dramatic modes (comedy, history, tragedy, and romance). One of my goals for this class is to encourage you to understand the plays within the historical context of early modern culture. To this end, we will examine and discuss not only the plays themselves, but also some additional primary texts (e.g., excerpts from homilies, speeches, pamphlets, and other texts) that will help us to imagine this context. While we will approach the plays from different thematic perspectives, we will concentrate on familial relationships, examining how topics related to the family (courtship, marriage, parent/child relationships, etc.) coincide with larger issues of the political and social order. For example, we will discuss the construction of the family as a mini-commonwealth, and the political impact that added to Shakespeare’s dramatic productions. Similarly, we will consider the relationship between patriarchal and monarchal authority, and the ways in which related ideologies circulated among Elizabethans.

Moving from an understanding of Shakespeare in his own historical context, we will also address the more universal applications of Shakespeare’s plays through performance. Performance tends to reinterpret and update the words on the page and, I argue, keep Shakespeare’s vision relevant and alive. Performance in this sense includes not only performance on a stage, or the performance of a particular character, but the way in which the play is interpreted—how the variety of choices made about the play in its production (either on stage or on screen) shape its meaning.

Course Objectives: The primary goals of this course are to introduce you to several of Shakespeare’s major works, and to encourage you to begin to imagine what life must have been like for Shakespeare and his audiences, as well as to get a sense of the enormous impact the professional theater had on Elizabethan culture. You will also gain from this course a general understanding of dramatic form (comedies, histories, tragedies, and romances), and a reading competence in Elizabethan English. Finally, I would like you to acquire an appreciation for the range of choices involved in performing—and therefore interpreting—a Shakespearean play.

Required Texts:
Greenblatt, Stephen, ed. The Norton Shakespeare. New York: Norton, 1997.

McDonald, Russ. The Bedford Companion to Shakespeare, 2^nd Edition (BCS), New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2001.

Grading Breakdown: Essay 1: 15% (1,500 words)

Essay 2: 25% (2,000 words)

Presentations: 10%

Final Project: 15% (1000 words)

Class Participation: 10 %

Final Examination: 25 %

Course Requirements: Have the plays and supplementary materials read in full by the time we begin to discuss them in class. Regular attendance and active class participation are encouraged.

I reserve the right to assign quizzes and written assignments throughout the semester.

Written Work: You will be asked to write two formal essays for this class. Suggested topics for the essays will be distributed in advance. If you wish to write on a topic of your own devising, you should discuss the project with me well in advance. These two critical/analytical papers should clearly demonstrate your own engagement with the plays rather than your paraphrase of what others have written about them. All assignments must be typed, double-spaced, with 1” margins all around. Please use a 12 point font. General guidelines for papers will be discussed in class. Your success on these papers will be directly proportional to your knowledge and understanding of the texts.

Late Papers: Turning in assignments late is unfair to the other students; therefore, I will lower your grade one full letter for each day the paper is late. In the case of emergencies, please see me.

I will not accept emailed assignments.

Final Projects: In order to address questions of performance and interpretation, I will be asking you to read/perform scenes from the plays with other students throughout the semester. By way of a final project, I would like you to produce a version of an important scene for yourselves, and then provide a written rationale of your production. Detailed instructions will be distributed later in the semester, but you should be thinking about which scenes are particularly resonant, and how you might go about interpreting the scene for an audience. Consider your creative options as wide open. One option would of course be to choose a small cast and act the scene for the class; however, depending on your talents and interests, you might wish to approach this project differently, choosing instead to film a scene on video, do an audio production, or respond to the scene in some other way.

Participation: A portion (10%) of your grade will be based on your participation in class. If for some reason you are unable to attend class, it is your responsibility to find out what information and/or assignments you missed. If you miss an in-class quiz or a writing assignment, you will receive a zero. There will be no opportunities for making up missed work.

In order to receive an A or a B in participation, you must do more than just attend class. You must also demonstrate to me that you have been keeping up with the readings and thinking about the questions raised by the lectures. I expect each of you to engage in the class discussions, participate in group activities, and come to class with the relevant materials.

Classroom Etiquette: Laptops, cell phones, or other computer devices have no place in this classroom. You must keep these devices put away while you are here. Bring the assigned texts to each class meeting and please arrive on time.

Presentation: At around week 7, you will be asked to give a 5-minute presentation to the class on a scholarly article treating one of the plays we have read up to that point in the semester. Your presentation should identify the critic’s thesis and summarize the evidence s/he uses to make their claims. Finally, you will offer an evaluation of the critic’s argument weighed against your knowledge of Shakespeare’s play.

Recommendations: Read the introductions to the plays in your Norton; view videos of plays we are reading when possible (see below). When possible, the recommended films will be placed on reserve at the Instructional Resources Center, 130. Most are readily available on Netflix or at other video rental outlets.

Academic Integrity:

"Your own commitment to learning, as evidenced by your enrollment at
San Jose State University and the University's Integrity Policy, require you to be
honest in all your academic course work. Faculty members are required to report
all infractions to the Office of Judicial Affairs." The policy on academic
integrity can be found at: http://sa.sjsu.edu/judicial_affairs/index.html

Avoiding Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of somebody else’s words or ideas and is considered an instance of academic dishonesty that instructors must report. Repeated instances of plagiarism will result in a student’s expulsion from the University. You commit plagiarism by

· buying, stealing, or borrowing a paper;

· hiring someone to write a paper;

· building on someone’s ideas without providing a citation;

· or copying from another source or using a source too closely when paraphrasing.

In other words, submit only your own work. To learn how to cite sources accurately and forthrightly, consult your handbook.

The instructor reserves the right to revise the requirements and to notify students of such revision in a timely manner, e.g., "subject to change, announced at least one class meeting in advance."

If you have any questions about when or how to document a source, do not hesitate to ask me for clarification. The SJSU library has an on-line tutorial on plagiarism that you can access at http://tutorials.sjlibrary.org/plagiarism/index.htm.

Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you have emergency medical information to share with me, or if you need to make special arrangements in case the building must be evacuated, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible, or see me during office hours. Presidential Directive 97-03 requires that students with disabilities register with the Disability Resource Center to establish a record of their disability (924-6000).

Grading Policy:

In English Department courses, instructors will comment on and grade the quality of student writing as well as the quality of ideas being conveyed. All student writing should be distinguished by correct grammar and punctuation, appropriate diction and syntax, and well-organized paragraphs. Grades issued will represent a full range of student performance and will adhere to the following SJSU academic standards of assessment:

The “A” essay will be well organized and well developed, demonstrating a clear understanding and fulfillment of the assignment. It will show the student’s ability to use language effectively and construct sentences distinguished by syntactic complexity and variety. Such essays will be essentially free of grammatical, mechanical, and usage errors.

The “B” essay will demonstrate competence in the same categories as the “A” essay. The chief difference is that the “B” essay will show some describably slight weaknesses in one of those categories. It may slight one of the assigned tasks, show less facility of expression, or contain some minor grammatical, mechanical, or usage flaws.

The “C” essay will complete all tasks set by the assignment, but show weakness in fundamentals (usually development), with barely enough specific information to illustrate the experience or support generalizations. The sentence construction may be less mature, and the use of language less effective and correct than the “B” essay.

The “D” essay will neglect one of the assigned tasks and be noticeably superficial in its treatment of the assignment—that is, too simplistic or short. The essay may reveal some problems in development, with insufficient specific information to illustrate the experience or support generalizations. It will contain grammatical, mechanical, and usage errors that render some sentences incomprehensible.

The “F” essay will demonstrate a striking underdevelopment of ideas and insufficient or unfocused organization. It will contain serious grammatical, mechanical, and usage errors that render some sentences incomprehensible.

“The Department of English reaffirms its commitment to the differential grading scale as defined in the SJSU Catalog (“The Grading System”). Grades issued must represent a full range of student performance: A= excellent; B= above average; C= average; D= below average; F= failure. Courses graded according to the A, B, C, No Credit system shall follow the same pattern, except that NC shall replace D or F. In such cases, NC shall also substitute for W (or Withdrawal) because neither grade (NC or W) affects students’ GPA.”

Schedule of Readings (Subject to Revision)

Week 1

Aug. 24 Introduction to early modern society

Shakespeare and his Theater. Bedford, Introduction, Chapters 1 and 2.

Aug. 26 Bedford, Chapters 3 and 4

Recommended viewing: Shakespeare in Love. Dir. J. Madden. 1998; Elizabeth, dir Kapur, 1998 (Cate Blanchett).

Week 2

Aug. 31 The Taming of the Shrew, Bedford Chapter 8

Sept. 2 The Taming of the Shrew. ** (Distribute prompts for paper 1)

Recommended viewing: The Taming of the Shrew, dir. F. Zefferelli (Richard Burton & Elizabeth Taylor

Week 3

Sept. 7 LABOR DAY

Sept. 9 The Taming of the Shrew - FURLOUGH NO CLASS

Week 4

Sept. 14 Titus Andronicus; The Rape of Lucrece

Sept. 16 Titus Andronicus

Recommended viewing: Titus, dir. J. Taymour (Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange)

Week 5

Sept. 21 Richard II, Bedford Chapter 9

Sept. 23 Richard II Paper 1 Due

Week 6

Sept. 28 Henry IV Part 1, Bedford Chapter 7

[Distribute directions for 5-minute presentations]

Sept. 30 Henry IV Part 1

Week 7

Oct. 5 Henry IV Part 1

Oct. 7 Presentations

Week 8

Oct. 12 As You Like It

Oct. 14 As You Like It (Distribute prompts for paper 2)

Recommended viewing: Othello, dir. Parker (Laurence Fishburne)

Week 9

Oct. 19 Hamlet FURLOUGH NO CLASS

Oct. 21 Hamlet

Week 10

Oct. 26 Hamlet

Oct. 28 Othello

Week 11

Nov. 2 Othello

Nov. 4 Othello

Week 12

Nov. 9 Final Projects Prompt. King Lear [Symbolism assignment]

Nov. 11 King Lear

Week 13

Nov. 16 King Lear Paper 2 Due

Nov. 18 The Winter’s Tale Proposal for final projects due.

Week 14

Nov. 23 The Winter’s Tale, Bedford, Chapter 10

Nov. 25 Thanksgiving FURLOUGH NO CLASS

Week 15

Nov. 30 Catch-up/review

Dec. 2 Final Project Presentations

Dec. 7 LAST DAY OF INSTRUCTION

Final Examination: Friday, December 11^th, 9:45 a.m. – 12:00. Bring Blue Books