Paper #1 assignment and Revised Course Schedule

English 3213: Shakespeare

Paper #1: Shakespeare’s Secret Sauce

INTRO: In Wells’ William Shakespeare: A Very Short Introduction, he notes that notonly did Shakespeare obsess over comedy for most of his career, but “it is typical of Shakespeare that he broadens [a comedy’s] emotional range by enclosing the farcical action with a serious framework” (71). These moments are almost part of Shakespeare’s comedic DNA, and you can find them in virtually every Shakespearean comedy. It’s fascinating to try to isolate these recurring themes, since this tell us not only how he wrote his plays, but what motivated him to do so. As a playwright, what did he find funny, compelling, disturbing, perplexing, and most of all, human? And how did he define a ‘comedy’?

PROMPT: For your first paper, I want you to discuss ONE specific element of Shakespeare’s comedy that repeats almost verbatim from Much Ado to The Shrew. You might call this variations on a theme, since it doesn’t have to presented in exactly the same way, but it should be the same ‘theme,’ meaning that if you put them side by side, you would go, “oh yeah, there it is again.” So the question is why does he repeat this element, and how does he change/adapt it from one play to the next? Can we tell that one version is earlier and one later? Does the language change? The types of characters? The dramatic situation? And most of all, does he make it a joke…or does he veer away from comedy altogether?

Some themes/elements you might consider are:

• Language—specific speeches, exchanges, jokes/puns, etc.
• Characters—stock types (the naïve lover, the feuding couple, the scheming villain, the saucy servant, the bumbling official, etc.)
• Scenes—specific interactions, comic confusions, pranks at other characters’ expense, etc.
• Genre—moments when we enter a different kind of play (tragedy, farce, etc.)
• Songs—the way he incorporates music/poetry from outside the play
• Meta moments—where he seems to be winking at the audience, showing his awareness of being an actor/playwright/poet
• Others…?

NOTE: Try to make it more than a compare/contrast essay. Look at it more as figuring out why he chose to repeat this element, what it reveals about his comedy, and how he might have expanded it from one play to the next (especially as he matured as an artist).

REQUIREMENTS

• Page limit optional, but we both know when you haven’t put in enough work!
• QUOTE from each play and examine the quotes—or as we say in English, “close reading.” Don’t just summarize what you see, SHOW us.
• Introduce quotations with the Act and Scene like so “Act 2.3,” etc., and cite the page number from your edition.
• DUE IN TWO WEEKS: Thursday, October 3^rd by 5pm

REVISED COURSE SCHEDULE

T 24     Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Induction-Act 1

R 26    The Taming of the Shrew, Acts 2-3 (ALSO: Originals Reading @ 3:30)

 

OCTOBER

T 1       Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, Acts 4-5

R 3      Ten Things I Hate About You; Paper #1 due by 5pm

 

T 8       Ten Things continued

R 10    FALL BREAK

 

T 15     Film: Macbeth adaptation (TBA)

R 17    Film Continued & Wells, William Shakespeare, Chapter 6

 

T 22     Shakespeare, Macbeth, Acts 1-2

R 24    Shakespeare, Macbeth, Acts 3-4

 

T 29     Shakespeare, Macbeth, Act 5  

R 31    Film: A Thousand Acres (1997)

 

NOVEMBER

T 5       Film Continued / Paper #2 due by 5pm

R 7      Shakespeare, King Lear, Act 1

 

T 12     Shakespeare, King Lear, Acts 2-3

R 14    Shakespeare, King Lear, Act 4-5

 

T 19     Shakespeare, The Tempest, Acts 1-2

R 21    Shakespeare, The Tempest, Acts 3-5

 

T 26     Paper #3 due by 5pm (no class)

R 28    THANKSGIVING BREAK

 

DECEMBER

T 3       Wells, William Shakespeare, Chapter 8 & Epilogue

R 5      Adaptation Discussions/Wrap Up

 

FINAL EXAM PRESENTATIONS: TBA