ENGL 6270

Advanced Seminar in Shakespeare

Course Description

Course information provided by the Courses of Study 2019-2020.

Henry V, Richard III, Macbeth…. Shakespeare created riveting, lively, provocative drama when he laid creative hands on the chronicle histories. How does this dramatized history speak to us? What does it say about human agency, material circumstances? These plays debate political philosophy, political theology; they ask compelling questions about rulers and subjects, authority and subversion, dissent and rebellion, women and power. Dramatizing events of the past, with an eye toward contemporary concerns, Shakespeare gives us solemn reflections, violent actions, and witty and entertaining episodes. He invites us to ponder the stakes of history itself, the meaning of historical events, the shaping roles of rhetoric and emotional expressiveness. We will read the plays with chronicle selections, secondary material, and consider the place of cinematic adaptations.

When Offered Spring.

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