English 340-01 Speaking IntensiveChristopher Hodgkins
Shakespeare: Later PlaysMoore Hall for Humanities 3316
Fall 2011Office Hours: TTh 1:00-1:30 and by appt.
TTh 11:00-12:15334-4695 (o); 316-0463 (h)--before 10 pm
MHRA
Texts
David Bevington, ed. The Complete Works of Shakespeare, 6thedn.
Joseph Gibaldi. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th or 7thedn.
Course Goals:
Students successfully completing this course
1. will savor some of the finest writing in any language.
2. will acquire a thorough reading knowledge of all works on the syllabus.
3. will recognize and understand the genres and subgenres in which Shakespeare wrote during his later years—“problem” play, tragedy, and romance.
4. will recognize and understand the issues involved in interpreting Shakespeare for performance—both on stage and screen.
5. will know the main facts of Shakespeare's life.
6. will understand Shakespeare's development as a poet and playwright in his historical period.
7. will understand Shakespeare's continuing importance as a cultural icon and as a center of controversy.
8. will develop their abilities in research and in interpretive, analytical, and critical writing, as well as in clear, coherent, and effective oral presentation.
Course Schedule
Week 18/23—Introduction to course and to the Renaissance stage
8/25—All’s Well That Ends Well
General Introduction—Shakespeare’s Life and Work, 1564-1616
Quiz: All’s Well, Intro to Life and Work
Informal scene analysis due—A-M
Week 28/30—All’s Well
Informal scene analysis due—N-P
ANNOTATION SIGN-UPS
9/1—Troilus and Cressida—Quiz
Week 39/6—Troilus and Cressida
9/8—Measure for Measure—Quiz—ANNOTATIONS BEGIN
Week 49/13—Measure for Measure
9/15—Measure for Measure
Week 59/20—Othello—Quiz
9/22—Othello
9/23Essay #1—Scene Analysis—Due 4 pm
Week 69/27—Othello
9/29—King Lear—Quiz
Week 710/4—King Lear
10/6—King Lear
Week 810/11—No Class—Fall Break
10/13—Midterm Exam
Week 910/18—Macbeth—Quiz
10/20—Macbeth
10/21—Plan for Essay #2—Due 4 pm
Week 1010/25—Macbeth
10/27—Antony and Cleopatra—Quiz
Week 1111/1—Antony and Cleopatra
11/3—Antony and Cleopatra
Week 1211/8—The Winter’s Tale—Quiz
11/10—The Winter’s Tale
Week 13 11/15—The Winter’s Tale
11/17—The Tempest—Quiz
11/18—Essay #2 Due 4 pm
Week 1411/22—The Tempest
11/24—No Class—Thanksgiving Day
Week 1511/29—The Tempest—Course evaluations
12/1—Performance Projects
Week 17
Final Examination Tuesday, December 13, 12-3 pm—NO EXCEPTIONS
Course Requirements
Attendance and Participation:Due to the high demand for this course, I will drop any student not attending the first or second day of class. Consistent attendance is mandatory. Regular and active participation in class discussion will raise your course grade. In-class quizzes will be fairly frequent, and no make-ups will be allowed. Thus, unexcused absences will indirectly lower your course grade. Furthermore, more than two unexcused absences will directly lower your course grade, and a pattern of unexcused absences will result in your being dropped from the course. Two tardies will count as an absence, and students leaving class unexcused and not returning will be marked absent. Two unexcused tardies equal one unexcused absence. Attendance will be taken daily, and no absence or tardy will be excused without advance notice.
In cases of adverse weather, classes will meet unless the Chancellor closes the University.
Textbooks, Laptops and Electronic Devices in Class: You must bring the required textbook each day to class; students failing to do so may be counted absent for that day. Laptops must remain closed and turned off during class. Students using laptops in class without permission will be counted absent for that day.Electronic devices must be turned off in class, and text messaging is not allowed. Students using electronic devicesor text-messaging in class without permission will be counted absent for that day; students using any electronic device during a quiz or examination without permission will fail the quiz or exam, and may be dropped from the class.
Quizzes: When we begin a new unit or play, I will start class with a ten-point reading quiz covering the entire assignment or play. These quizzes will be strictly factual and will test whether or not you have read the material with moderate attention. These quizzes will not be returned, although I will keep them on file throughout the term. A pattern of poor or missed quizzes will lower your course grade. A pattern of good or excellent quizzes will raise your course grade.
Writing and Speaking:
Daily Discussion: On most days I will begin class by calling on one or two students and inviting your informal comments on, questions about, and/or reactions to the day’s assigned reading. I will call on each student in the class in this way at least once per term. Your readiness for discussion will be considered as part of your overall participation.
Informal Scene Analyses:Each student will be assigned one scene from many of the nine plays and write informal answers to a series of analytical questions about it (see Questions for Scene Analysis); I usually will call on each student to comment for a few minutes on his or her assigned scene. Your oral response contributes to the speaking-intensive aspect of the course.
Essay #1—Scene Analysis Essay (due Friday 9/23, 4 pm):You will write a short (2-3 page, 500-750 word) analysis of a scene from one of the first three plays studied this term—All’s Well That Ends Well, Troilus and Cressida, or Measure for Measure (see Questions for Scene Analysis handout). This is to be an essay, not simply an itemized answering of the set questions. The purpose of the essay is to describe the inner dynamics of the scene, and to explain its relation to the immediately adjacent scenes and to the play as a whole. Thus I recommend that you choose a scene of moderate length, neither unusually brief nor unusually long. Proofread carefully.
Critical Annotations: One set of 2 one-page critical annotations (typed, single-spaced) is required, due in class on your assigned day (see handout). During the second week of the semester, you will sign up for individual due dates that will be determined by the dates for discussing particular plays. The annotation assignment requires that you search for 2 academic journal articles discussing the assigned play, and prepare a one-page annotation for each critical source that you choose. Each annotation must (a) begin with the basic bibliographical information about each source in correct MLA citation style (see MLA Handbook, required for this course); then (b) it must summarize the critic's interpretive argument; and finally (c) it must assess whether the article makes a worthwhile contribution to our understanding and appreciation of its subject, and why (or why not). I prefer annotation sets that referee varying interpretations of a work, thus displaying your powers of discernment. I will call on annotators to share their researches and insights with the class, so come prepared to speak on your assigned day.
Essay #2--Research Essay (due Friday 11/18 at 4 pm): This essay will be a longer (4-6 page) study of any play from All’s Well on—whether on the syllabus or not. It will incorporate library research into an interpretive argument of your own (see handout). In addition, in advance of the second paper you will submit a Plan for Essay #2 (due Friday 10/21 at 4 pm), in which you will a) write out your idea in the form of a question, and then b) briefly answer that question in no more than one page (250 words). Papers will follow MLA parenthetical citation style. I must receive and approve an Essay #2 Plan before I can accept and grade Essay #2 itself.
Late papers: Late papers will drop a full letter grade per weekday. However, if you know that a difficulty is coming up and you'll need more time, come see me well in advance to discuss an extension.
Plagiarism: You are expected to abide by the UNCG academic honor policy on all work, and to sign a statement to that effect on each paper and exam. Plagiarism involves any situation in which another's work (whether their ideas or their actual words) is submitted as your own. A first offense may result in an F on that assignment, while repeated offenses can cause you to be expelled from the University. If you are unsure about how to give credit to your sources, see the MLA Handbook or come talk to me.
Performance Projects: On December 1, each of you will take part in presenting (as part of a group of five or so) a 12-15-minute excerpt from one of the plays on the syllabus (see handout). I will grade each group for oral presentation, effort and participation.
Exams: Two exams--one at midterm (10/13) and one at the scheduled final time (12/13, 12-3 pm)--will cover approximately the first and second halves of the semester, respectively. Exams will consist of essay questions and definitions of key terms. Dates and times of both the midterm and the final exams are firm. If you know now that you cannot attend one or the other exam as scheduled, you should not take this class.
Grading: I will grade on a straight percentage scale, as follows:
A 100-94C+ 79-77D-63-60
A- 93-90C 76-74F59-0
B+ 89-87 C- 73-70
B 86-84 D+ 69-67
B- 83-80D66-64
Your assignments count in the following ways:
Essay #1: 20%
Critical Annotations: 15%
Plan for Essay #2: 5%
Essay #2: 20%
Midterm Exam: 20%
Final Exam: 20%
Plus or minus consideration of attendance, participation, and quizzes.