Shakespeare 2012

English 3123, TR2 – Shakespeare II: Tragicomic Shakespeare – Spring 2012

Tanya Pollard

3405 Boylan

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:15-3:30

e-mail: Tpollard@brooklyn.cuny.edu

website: http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/tpollard

Office: 3108 Boylan

phone: 718-951-5000 x6216

hours: TR 12:15-1:15

and by appointment

When we think of Shakespeare, we typically think of tragedies and comedies. Yet Shakespeare's plays frequently toy with their genres, and many of them contribute directly to a new genre emerging in early modern England: tragicomedy. This course will examine Shakespeare's use of tragicomic conventions, including false deaths, bed-tricks, sudden reversals, and strange revelations. Plays will include Much Ado About Nothing, All's Well that Ends Well, Measure for Measure, The Winter's Tale, Cymbeline, and Pericles. Assignments will include informal presentations, several short essays, one longer essay, and two exams.

Week

Date

1-31

2-2

2-7

2-9

2-14

2-16

2-21

2-23

2-28

3-1

3-6

3-8

3-13

3-15

3-20

3-22

3-27

3-29

4-3

4-5

4-10

4-12

4-17

4-19

4-24

4-26

5-1

5-3

5-8

5-10

5-15

Reading

Introduction; Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing 1-2

Much Ado About Nothing 3-4

OED workshop, library classroom 383

OED presentations

Much Ado About Nothing 5, All’s Well that Ends Well 1

All’s Well that Ends Well 2-3

All’s Well that Ends Well 4-5

Measure for Measure 1-2

Measure for Measure 3-4

Measure for Measure 5, Winter’s Tale 1

review

exam

Winter’s Tale 2-3

Winter’s Tale 4-5

Cymbeline 1-2

Cymbeline 3-4

Cymbeline 5, Pericles 1

Pericles 2-3

Pericles 4-5

no class: spring break

staging project presentations

Library research workshop; Library Room 383

review

exam

presentations

essay drafts due; peer-revision exercise

final draft due

Assignment

group 1-1

group 2-1

OED essay

group 3-1

group 4-1

group 1-2

group 2-2

exam

group 3-2

group 4-2

group 1-3

group 2-3

group 3-3

group 4-3

staging

exam

final essay

Course Requirements and Expectations:

Attendance is required. If you miss more than three classes, your overall grade will drop; at six absences, you will fail the class. Lateness will count as a partial absence.

Readings: Because this class is based on close reading of the texts, it is very important that everyone reads everything fully before coming to class. To ensure that this happens, we will have regular brief reading quizzes. If you fail more than 3 reading quizzes (whether from absence or not having done the reading), you will fail the course. It is also very important that everyone brings a copy of the text to class. Editions of all the texts are available to be purchased at Shakespeare & Co. bookstore on Hillel, but you are welcome to use other editions if you prefer. If you forget your copy you should stop by the library and check out an edition on the way to class.

Presentations and responses: Each of you will be assigned to a group, and will be (individually, not collaboratively) responsible to come to class prepared to present a close reading of a passage from that day’s reading, and to submit a short written response, on the day your group is scheduled. If you will be absent on a day you are scheduled to present, it is your responsibility to find someone to swap with you. If you miss class without finding a replacement, you will lose credit for the presentation, but your written response is still due.

Participation: Learning is a collaborative process, and it is important that each of you engage fully with the texts and with each other. To this end, I will expect you to participate actively in class discussions, and to respond to your classmates’ presentations. In order to build a classroom atmosphere of courtesy and concentration, please avoid behavior that is disrespectful and interferes with others’ learning, including rudeness, talking while others are speaking, and ringing from cell-phones, pagers, watches, etc.

Written work should have a thesis that is well argued, clearly written, and supported by analytical close readings of textual passages. Specific guidelines will be distributed before each assignment. Late papers will be marked down one-third of a grade for each day late. Any use of others’ ideas and/or words must be fully acknowledged in footnotes; see me if you are unsure about what this means. Plagiarism will result in failing the class and being reported to the Dean’s Office.

*note: you will not be able to pass the class without submitting all required written work