Shakespeare

Welcome to the course webpage for this class. All of the materials for the class will be available on this site. I hope you enjoy the class!

Course Introduction

Shakespeare's Life

Wherein we learn a little bit about the life of the bard.

Lecture Resources:
Video Link: "Uncovering Shakespeare's Mysterious Life"

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Macbeth 1.1
Elemental Philosophy

Wherein we meet the three Weird Sisters, have a look at the Four Elements their corresponding Humors, and find out why the Witch Hunter King loved the smell of broiled witch.

Lecture Resources:

Discussion Activity Answer Sheet

Macbeth 1.2-4
Elizabethan Social Structures

Wherein Macbeth finds out his fair and foul future and we take on the Great Chain of Being, Manorialism, Feudalism, and the Three Estates: Nobility, Peasantry, and Clergy. We also take our first quiz and have a look at several dramatic devices including Soliloquy, Foreshadowing, Dramatic Irony, and Character Motivation. Also: bonus materials on Annotation and Quotation of Shakespeare's plays! Yay!

Lecture Resources

Hamlet's Soliloquy

Macbeth 1.5-7
Metaphor and Simile

Wherein Macbeth and Mrs. Macbeth hatch an evil plan and we take our second quiz, explore the concept of metaphor (and simile), and think way too much about breast milk.

Macbeth Act 2

Wherein Macbeth does a dirty deed and we look at the disturbing love life of King Henry VIII and ask the question: "Who's there?"

Lecture Resources:

Macbeth Act 3

Wherein Banquo smells something and gets done and we look into the escalating cost of evil deeds. We also have a quick chat about Shakespeare's classic poetic form: iambic pentameter.

Macbeth Act 4

Wherein Macbeth goes over to the dark side completely, and we examine some of the alternative poetic forms and discuss some of the many iterations of personification in the text.

Macbeth Act 5

Wherein Lady Macbeth has trouble sleeping, trees walk, and Macbeth loses his head. We discuss the exam and take a survey of student opinions about the class so far.

Romeo and Juliet Act 1

Wherein we find our two young lovers meet and find themselves in quite a mess. We discuss exam results, look at the student survey,

Lecture Resources:

Romeo and Juliet Act 2

Wherein Romeo climbs a trellis and the kids run off and get married. We also look at static and dynamic characters, and the somewhat humorously named oxymoron. And we ask the question: What's in a name?

Lecture Resources:

Sonnets: Outline of Themes

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shk_-_romeo_and_juliet_act_2_-_student_worksheet_.docx
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Romeo and Juliet Act 3

Wherein the bodies start to hit the floor, Romeo catches a rap, and Juliet gets betrothed (again). We also have a look at The Globe, Shakespeare's "World."

Lecture Resources:

Video: The Globe Theater

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shk_-_romeo_and_juliet_act_3_-_group_answer_sheet.docx
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Romeo and Juliet Act 4

Wherein the friar cracks a plan, Juliet takes a nap, and the (second) wedding gets cancelled. We also take a look at strategic planning and that classic humor device, the pun.

Lecture Resources:

Video Link: Taylor Swift "Love Story"
Video Link: Mark Knopfler "Romeo and Juliet
Video Link: Bob Dylan "Desolation Row"
The Open-Source Shakespeare Website

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Romeo and Juliet Act 5

Wherein everyone dies.

Lecture Resources:

Video: Strange Adaptations of Romeo and Juliet

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shk_-_romeo_and_juliet_act_5_-_group_answer_sheet.docx
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King Henry IV and V

Wherin we conduct a rapid and inadequately-discussed survey of the three Falstaff history plays using the quite excellent and weird Netflix adaptation, The King.