Shakespeare’s Comedies
English 3923
M-W-F
Dr. Duke Pesta
107B Morrill Hall
Office Hours: TBA
Office Phone: 744-8949
Home Phone: 533-2896
Teaching Assistant
John Richard Stevens
408 Morrill Hall
Office Phone: 744-2079
Office Hours: M & W
F
Course Objectives
Besides developing your critical skills as a thinker,
reader, and writer of expository prose, this course will provide you the
opportunity to study the plays and poems of Shakespeare in a sustained and
detailed manner. First and foremost, Shakespeare is enjoyable, and this course
will emphasize those aspects of Shakespeare's work that have endeared him to
readers and audiences of all classes and educational backgrounds. But the study
of Shakespeare in an advanced English course is also a very serious endeavor,
for a thorough understanding of Shakespeare and his world is a necessary attainment
for anyone who aspires to fulfill the mission of liberal education. Shakespeare
remains an enduring influence in our society, and his plays and poems are woven
into the very fabric of our collective culture. Thus, you will b expected to
read Shakespeare's plays carefully, think about them intensively, write about
them critically, and hopefully, respond to them passionately.
Required Texts
The Complete Works of Shakespeare, by
Shakespeare (Bevington, Editor).
The
Grading
35% Midterm Exam 10%
Small Group Exam 1
35% Final Exam 10%
Small Group Exam 2
10% Quizzes
Grading Scale
100-90A; 89-80 B; 79-70 C; 69-60 D;
59-0 F.
Attendance/Quizzes
You need to be here for every class. Attendance will
be taken each day in our large Monday and Friday lecture sessions, and you will
be receive 5 points for each lecture you attend. At the end of the semester, I
will drop 5 points from the attendance section of your overall quiz grade. On
Wednesdays, you will spend the first few minutes of class taking a brief,
written quiz over that day's assigned reading and the readings and lectures
from the previous week. Each quiz will count for 10 points. The written quizzes
will be straightforward and content oriented, designed to verify that you are
reading on schedule. At the end of the semester, I will also drop your lowest
written quiz grade. Missed quizzes and quizzes missed due to tardiness may not
be made up under any circumstances. Your overall percentage of quiz/attendance
points will count for 10% of your final grade. More than two absences/missed
quizzes will seriously compromise your chance to do well in this course.
Disability Policy
If you have a disability or need special
accommodation of any nature whatsoever, I will work with you and the Office of
Disabled Student Services (315 Student Union) to provide reasonable assistance
to ensure a fair opportunity to perform in this class. Please advise me of such
disability and the desired accommodation as soon as possible after the
commencement of the semester.
Syllabus
January
W/14 Read A Midsummer Night's Dream Acts 1 and 2.
W/21 Read A Midsummer Night's Dream Acts 3 and 4.
W28 Discussion
Group Meeting 1: Read A Comedy of Errors
Act 1. Read also the section “To
What
Ends are All These Words” in Chapter 2 of the Bedford Companion (pages 36-42).
February
W/4 Discussion
Group Meeting 2: Read A Comedy of Errors
Act 2. Read also the section
“Theater a la Mode” in Chapter 3 of the Bedford Companion (pages 81-85).
W/11 Discussion
Group Meeting 3: Read A Comedy of Errors
Act 3. Read also the section
“Town and Country Life in Shakespeare’s
(pages 219
thru 224 and 231 thru 233).
W/18 Discussion
Group Meeting 4: Read A Comedy of Errors
Act 4. Read also the section
“Performances, Playhouses, and Players in Chapter 4 of the
(pages 109
thru 114).
W/25 Discussion Group Meeting 5: Read A Comedy of Errors Act 5.
March
W/3 Discussion
Group Meeting 6: Essay Exam over A Comedy
of Errors.
W/10 Discussion
Group Meeting 7: Midterm Exam
W/17
Spring Break—No Class
W/24 Discussion
Group Meeting 8: Read The Winter's Tale
Act 1.
W/3l Discussion
Group Meeting 9: Read The Winter's Tale
Act 2.
April
W/7 Discussion
Group Meeting 10: Read The Winter's Tale
Act 3.
W/l4 Discussion
Group Meeting 11: Read The Winter's Tale
Act 4.
W/2l Discussion
Group Meeting 12: Read The Winter's Tale
Act 5.
W/28 Discussion
Group Meeting 13: Essay Exam over The
Winter's Tale.