In this course, we will study works Shakespeare wrote early in his career as a dramatist in Elizabethan England. In addition to formal and stylistic elements of these works, we will examine the political and social issues that interested Shakespeare and his contemporaries enough to prompt their exploration on stage.
Our discussions of the historical and cultural contexts in which these works were written will help to illuminate Shakespeare’s representations of gender, social hierarchy, and nation, as well as his interest in structures of religious and political authority, rebellion, and revenge.
Our reading list will include selected sonnets, Venus and Adonis, The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, 1 Henry IV, and Hamlet.
Students in the class will write two papers, take one exam, give a group presentation on historical and cultural contexts, and participate in discussions in class and outside of it in online forums.
Statue of Shakespeare in Central Park, NYC.