ENGL 225 A: Shakespeare

Spring 2025
Meeting:
TTh 10:30am - 12:20pm / SIG 224
SLN:
14084
Section Type:
Lecture
Instructor:
ADD CODE FROM INSTRUCTOR PD 3
Syllabus Description (from Canvas):

 

 

Spring 2025                            English 225a     `                         W.R. Streitberger

Tu Th 10:30-12:20                                                                     A-510 Padleford   

SIG  224                                 Shakespeare                                streitwr@

 

                                        

Required Materials:

Text: The Norton Shakespeare, Essential Plays/ Sonnets 3rd ed. ISBN 978-0-393-93863-0

Films (see them on YouTube or rent them):

Much Ado About Nothing (1993), dir. Kenneth Branagh (w/ Kenneth Branagh)

      The Merchant of Venice (2004), dir. Michael Radford (w/ Al Pacino)

      Othello (1995), dir. Oliver Parker (w/ Lawrence Fishburn)

      The Tempest, (2010) dir. Julie Taymor (w/ Helen Mirren)

 

The Course: This is a 200-level university course in Shakespeare’s plays. Early in his career Shakespeare was primarily a writer of comedies and histories; in his later career he primarily wrote tragedies and tragicomedies. We will be concerned with close reading, viewing, and discussing plays written throughout his career: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, The Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, Othello, and The Tempest.

 

The Course:

This is a lecture-discussion class. I will lecture from time to time, but much of our class sessions will be devoted to discussions. For each 50-minute class period I have assigned reading and provided three questions about it. Your job is to come to class prepared to discuss those questions. This a production-oriented course. We will see film adaptations of four of the plays we read. You must bring your text to every class period.

Catalog Description:
Introduces Shakespeare's career as dramatist, with study of representative comedies, tragedies, romances, and history plays.
GE Requirements Met:
Arts and Humanities (A&H)
Writing (W)
Credits:
5.0
Status:
Active
Last updated:
April 23, 2025 - 12:48 am