ENGL2402 - 01 - Shakespeare: Tragedies, Comedies, Histories, and Romances

(LI) Literary Inquiry

This course is a survey of Shakespeare's plays from the four dramatic genres: comedy, tragedy, history, and romance. It provides an in-depth study of a selection of plays as well as a consideration of broader concerns such as Shakespeare's central place in the Western literature and culture. How do modern audiences respond to Shakespeare's plays? Do the plays resonant with a twenty-first century audience because of certain "universal" truths unearthed by a sixteenth-century "genius"? If so, what are those universals? Why do Shakespeare's plays persist at the core of the Western canon of literature? What are the specific features of a Shakespeare comedy, tragedy, history, or romance? How are the plays reimagined in contemporary media and popular discourse? In addition to doing in-depth readings of the original plays in their specific historical contexts, we will study contemporary film adaptations, well-known critical interpretations, and significant theoretical approaches.