English 499: Shakespeare in Italy
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English 499H: Shakespeare in Italy Summer May-June 2016 Dr. D.R. Ransdell MT 3pm-4pm [email protected] http://ransdell.faculty.arizona.edu
Course Description:
Although William Shakespeare probably never traveled to Italy, he set a third of his plays there. As such, they make for a rich study for students in the Orvieto program. Filmmakers too have capitalized on these Italian connections, making special use of setting in their productions. In this course you will study a variety of these plays in written or cinematic form, read criticism about setting and Shakespeare’s use of Italian elements, and synthesize what you learn about this Italian connection in a final paper that discusses several “Italian” plays.
Materials:
Roe, Richard Paul. The Shakespeare Guide to Italy: Retracing the Bard's Unknown Travels. NY: Harper Perennial, 2011.
Othello or Romeo and Juliet The Taming of the Shrew The Merchant of Venice Much Ado about Nothing
One play of your choice:
Tragedies: Coriolanus, Titus Andronicus, Julius Caesar, Anthony and Cleopatra
Comedies: Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors (Italian sources), All’s Well that Ends Well, The Winter’s Tale, The Tempest (Italian characters on an unnamed island), Twelfth Night (Illyrian coast) [You could also consider Measure for Measure; it takes places in Vienna but has Italian characters.]
Or a similar play, also with an Italian setting, from the Jacobean Era, such as:
Johnson, Ben. Volpone Middleton, Thomas. Women Beware Women Webster, John. The Duchess of Malfi Webster, John. The White Devil
Critical sources (Internet/provided on my website) Note: If you’re going from Tucson to Orvieto and back again, you might like to have hard copies of the plays as well as Roe’s text. If you’re traveling before or after the program, you might want to use electronic versions instead.
Course Breakdown:
Mini-Analyses (4): 50% Final Paper: 50%
Note that since this is a college writing course, you are naturally expected to submit writing that is free of grammatical and mechanical errors; otherwise you will lose credit. (See Grammar Challenge below.)
To begin preparing for your final paper, each week you will write a Mini-Analysis discussing one aspect of the play (in text or film version) in relation to at least one piece criticism. (This means a chapter from Roe, an article, an introduction, or a forward, NOT an anonymous e-source.) For your Mini-Analyses, consider questions such as: How does Shakespeare make use of Italy? How does setting inform or shape each play? What difference does Italy make? How does Italy contribute to Shakespeare’s creations? Why did Shakespeare choose to make his characters Italian? Your Mini-Analyses should be around 1500-2000 words each (4-6 pages). Present a controlling idea in your introductory paragraph and use topic sentences to help readers move among your points. Include quotes from the play and references to at least one critical source. Edit your work according to SWE—Standard Written English—and submit your analyses by midnight on Friday (5/27, 6/3, 6/10, and 6/17). Late analyses will lose 1/3 grade per day late.
Your Final Paper should discuss at least three “Italian” plays and include research from at least six sources (each Roe chapter counts as a source). Usually you will want to draw quotes from each text you use. Show a sophisticated understanding of course materials and create an in-depth analysis in the form of an organized, edited academic paper. Cite sources inside your paper according to MLA and write a Works Cited page that lists the texts you used. (9-13 pages, approx. 3000-4000 words, more thorough papers generally earn more credit). “Due” 6/24, but accepted through 7/1 without penalty. Late papers lose 1/3 grade per day but will be accepted through July 8.
Sample directions your final papers might take:
Playgoer as Traveler: How does being in Italy affect your understanding of Italianate plays?
Italy as character: How does the use of Italy enhance/affect Shakespeare’s works?
Italy as historical backdrop: How does Shakespeare use key facts to create optimal dramatic tension? Italy vs. England: How does Shakespeare’s use of setting compare from one country to another?
Filming Italy: How do directors use vivid Italian settings to punctuate Shakespeare’s plays?
Technicalities: Double-space your papers using Times New Roman 12. Late work will be marked down 1/3 grade per class period late. Remember to back up all your work in a couple of places. Barring technical difficulties, I’ll ask you to submit all your work via dropbox or d2l in Word or rtf.
Classroom Etiquette: Come to class on time and don’t leave until class is over. To avoid distracting classmates, please use electronic devices only for course materials. (Do not try to read our texts with your cell phone.)
Attendance: You are allowed to miss one class; thereafter, each absence lowers your overall grade by 1%.
Final Note: Plays were meant to be seen, not read, of course. If you possibly can, watch film versions of our materials. For example:
Zeffirelli’s Taming of the Shrew, Romeo and Juliet Baz Luhrman’s Romeo and Juliet Parker’s Othello Hoffman’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream (filmed in Tuscany/Lazio) Radford’s The Merchant of Venice Branaugh’s Much Ado about Nothing
Note: On your free weekend, you might consider visiting Venice (Othello, Merchant), Verona (Romeo & Juliet, Two Gentlemen), or Padova (Shrew).
Daily Syllabus
NOTE: Summer school goes fast. Skim if you have to, but keep up.
Week 1:
T 5/24 Introduction. We’ll discuss the class generally.
R 5/26 *We’ll meet today to make up for Monday’s class.
For class: Read/watch Othello/R & J if you’re not familiar with it; read the corresponding chapter in Roe. Also read a corresponding “General Resource” from my website. F 5/27 Submit your mini-analysis on Othello or Romeo & Juliet. (Take an extra day or two if necessary.)
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Week 2:
M 5/30 For class: Read/watch The Taming of the Shrew; be prepared to discuss.
T 5/31 For class: Read Roe’s Ch 4 and one of the following: “Levith on Shakespeare’s Italians,” “Levith on Padua,” or Marrapodi on “Italianate Unity”
R 6/2 Submit your mini-analysis on The Taming of the Shrew.
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Week 3:
M 6/6 Read/watch The Merchant of Venice. Be prepared to discuss.
T 6/7 Read Roe’s Chs. 5 & 6.
R 6/9 Submit your mini-analysis on The Merchant of Venice.
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Week 4:
M 6/13 Read/watch Much Ado about Nothing.
T 6/14 Read Roe’s Ch 10, “Levith on Messina,” and Raymond on the “Two Sicilies.”
R 6/16 Submit your mini-analysis of Much Ado about Nothing.
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Week 5:
M 6/20 Read a play of your choice and be prepared to discuss it.
T 6/21 Read several critical sources and be prepared to discuss them.
F 6/24 Final Paper “due,” but accepted through July 1st without penalty. Late papers lose 1/3 grade per day but will be accepted through July 8. Did Shakespeare Visit Italy? . Shakespeare's writings suggest that he visited Italy, although no other evidence is available to indicate that he ever set foot outside of Britain. As for the evidence in his writing, consider that more than a dozen of his plays–including The Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, All's Well That Ends Well, Othello, Coriolanus, Julius Caesar, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Winter's Tale all have some or all of their scenes set in Italy. Consider, too, that plays not set in Italy are often well populated with people having Italian names. For example, although The Comedy of Errors takes place in Ephesus, Turkey, the names of many of the characters end with the Italian ''o'' or ''a'':–Angelo, Dromio, Adriana, Luciana. In Hamlet's Denmark, we find characters named Marcellus, Bernardo and Francisco. Practically all of the characters in Timon of Athens bear the names of ancient Romans– Lucullus, Flavius, Flaminius, Lucius, Sempronius, Servillius, Titus, Hortensius. Of course, it is quite possible that Shakespeare visited Italy only in his imagination. From http://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/xTaming.html by Michael Cummings
Possible Web Sources:
Berry, Ralph. “Shakespeare’s Venice.” Contemporary Review 272.1588 (1998): 252+. Literature Resource Center. Web.
Bevington, David. “The Comedy of Errors as Early Experimental Shakespeare.” Bulletin of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. 2003. 13-25.
Freed, Eugene. “”News on the Rialto”: Shakespeare’s Venice.” Shakespeare in Southern Africa 21 (2009): Web.
Jones, Robert C. “Italian Settings.” Studies in English Literature 1500-1900. 10.2 (1970): 251-68.
Parks, George B. “The Development of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The Huntington Library Bulletin (1937): 1-11. Web.
Praz, Mario. “Shakespeare and Italy.” Sydney Studies in English. Sydney, 1977. 3-18. Web.
Parks, George B. “The Development of The Two Gentlemen of Verona. The Huntington Library Bulletin (1937): 1-11. Web.
Praz, Mario. “Shakespeare and Italy.” Sydney Studies in English. Sydney, 1977. 3-18. Web.
Zeeveld, W.G. “Coriolanus’ and Jacobean Politics.” Modern Language Review 57.3 (1962): 321-34. JSTOR. Web.
D.R.’s Grammar Highlights
Note that following these simple guidelines might help you prevent common mistakes.
When you make grammar mistakes, your readers may have to reread your sentence in order to understand it. That confuses them and makes them lose time. If you make enough mistakes, they’ll start to disagree with your opinions automatically! Instead, observe some simple rules to make your writing more effective.
1) Add a comma after a long introductory phrase: Even though it was long after midnight, I wrote three more drafts of my English essay. This comma helps your readers find the subject of your sentence.
2) Add a comma after a conjunction ONLY when the phrase that follows is an independent clause (a complete sentence). I thought I had enough time to write my essay, but I had to work until dawn to finish my work. (Note the difference: I thought I had enough time to write my essay but had to work until dawn to finish my work. No subject= no comma.)
3) Use commas around non-restrictive (unnecessary) clauses: My roommate, who never turns off her alarm clock, drives me crazy. The sentence could simply read “My roommate drives me crazy.” (If you have two roommates, the information becomes necessary so that you can explain which roommate is the sleepyhead: My roommate who never turns off her alarm clock drives me crazy. My other roommate never bothers to set one.)
4) Divide sentences with a semi-colon; use a comma after words such as “however.” We went to a terrific party last night; however, the food tasted awful. 5) Avoid run-ons. In other words, don’t run two sentences together your readers will be irritated. See what I mean? Run-ons are frustrating for readers because they assume they have misread and have to go back and reread your sentence only to find out that YOU are the one who made the mistake. Instead write: Don’t run two sentences together. Your readers will be irritated. If you want the sentences to work closely together, you might use a semi-colon instead: Don’t run two sentences together; your readers will be irritated.
6) Avoid fragments unless they are clearly used on purpose. A fragment is a word or phrase masquerading as a sentence but that is incomplete in some way. Bad idea? Once in a while it makes sense to use a fragment stylistically, but you have to be careful that it doesn’t seem like a mistake. For example, “Bad idea” isn’t a full sentence, but it demonstrates my example.
7) Avoid “number” mistakes. Grammatically, “everyone” is singular, but “their” is plural. Therefore it’s awkward to write: Everyone should bring their syllabus. Instead make the phrase plural: Students should bring their syllabi. (You can also use the singular form, but it’s awkward too: Everyone should bring his or her syllabus.)
8) Use colons precisely. A colon means one of two things: a list is coming or an example is coming. If you have an example or a direct quote coming, that example/quote might be a full sentence. Johnny told me a lot of things that night: “I’m not sure why I decided to kill Yiolanda, but once I did, the rest came easily.”