English 452-031
Shakespeare in a Modern Mode
Instr: Roberts, Sheila
Office: CRT 423; 229-4637
e-mail: svrob@uwm.edu
Office hours: TBA
Course Information: MTR; 11:00am-l:13pm; CRT 368 (6/12-7/22)
Course Description
Over the centuries, Shakespeare's plays and poems have remained for theatre-goers and readers always new; always modern. Shakespeare's words to depict Cleopatra might be used to describe his works: "Age cannot wither nor custom fade their infinite variety."
In this course we will come to Shakespeare with this quality of "the modern" in mind. We shall read four recently republished plays, each one incorporating the original text on one page, faced with a modernization on the next. The modernization, mostly of archaic words and phrases that now need footnotes to explain them, is by no means an attempt to simplify or reduce the poetry and grandeur of the plays. The modernizations may be read or not read, depending on the attitude of the reader.
Because Shakespeare inserted so few stage or set directions; so little information on how the plays should be cast and how the cast should be costumed; theatre directors from the seventeen hundreds onwards have experimented with unusual sets and various time-schemes, with their appropriate costuming. A performance of, say, Julius Caesar, may be set at the time of World War I; the cast in the military uniform of the day; or a director may decide to place Much Ado About Nothing in the 19th century, with appropriate Pre-Raphaelite costuming.
We will read and discuss the four required plays, and view films of various productions, not only of our four plays but also of others. Students will also be asked to form small groups to rehearse and perform a short scene for the class. I shall also circulate for in-class reading a selection of Shakespeare's most famous sonnets.
Required Reading:
Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, King Lear
| 6 Response Papers (2-3pp.) on chosen plays, films, and sonnets | 30% |
| A mid-term paper (5-6pp.) | 20% |
| An end-of-semester paper (6-8pp) | 30% |
| Participation in a class-performance of a scene | 10% |
| Attendance, punctuality, class-participation | 10% |
Religious holidays will be respected.
