Shakespeare

hakespeare ‘was not of an age but for all time’ as Ben Jonson understood almost immediately after his death. This course is designed to provide students with an understanding and appreciation of Shakespeare’s works in social, historical, religious, political and theatrical contexts; but it is also intended to introduce students to Shakespeare by focusing on a select number of plays from a 21st century perspective. One important objective is to encourage students to pay close attention to Shakespeare’s language at work through close readings of texts in class. Close supervision of students’ written work and research will be provided, and the class will visit both Stratford-upon-Avon and the Globe Theatre in London to review plays in performance.