English 229-02- English Literature 1700-Present Fall 2002

LIT 422/Shakespeare: Tragedies and Romances Spring 2010

Tuesday, Friday 2:00-3:20 Location: Bliss 153

David Venturo E-mail: [email protected] Office: Bliss 220 Telephone: 771-2155

This course explores issues in Shakespeare’s later career, from 1600 to 1611, when he wrote primarily tragedies and romances, the latter sometimes known as tragicomedies. We will concentrate on six plays—three tragedies, two romances, and one “problem play.” We will have several goals as we read, discuss, and research these plays. First, we will explore issues of genre, and study how loosely and flexibly such forms as tragedy, comedy, and romance were practiced in the early seventeenth century. Second, we will examine Shakespeare’s use of rhetoric and figurative language in the context of close reading and theatrical conventions. Third, we will historicize his plays, that is, read them not simply as texts, but in the context of religious, political, social, aesthetic, economic, and philosophical debates that shook the times. We will explore ways in which the plays address issues such as political stability and monarchical succession; Anglican-Roman Catholic and Anglican-Puritan religious conflicts; gender and race relations; and trade, colonization, and the new world. Finally, since Shakespeare was a professional man of the theater, we will consider his plays from the perspective of theatrical performance.

Be prepared for a substantial amount of reading. This course covers a great deal of material, and many students find the assigned works interesting and enjoyable. It is important to keep up with the reading since class discussion is central to the course. ALL PLAYS SHOULD BE READ IN THEIR ENTIRETY BEFORE THE FIRST CLASS MEETING ON EACH PLAY. Your class preparation, attendance and regular participation are assumed. It is not enough simply to show up for class. You will be expected to participate regularly and meaningfully in class discussion. If you sense problems developing which might affect your class work, please let me know as they arise. If you miss more than three classes, your class participation grade may be seriously affected.

The written work for this class consists of two shorter papers, a longer final paper, and a final examination. The paper assignments are designed to help you advance in the art of researching a scholarly project: to read through primary and secondary sources; to identify important topics of debate and discussion in the discipline; to create your own topic for exploration within the context of those discussions and debates; and then to research and write a paper which demonstrates mastery of sources and methodologies. In addition, everyone will be expected to make a seven- to 10-minute oral presentation. You will have an opportunity to choose topics for presentations during our third class meeting on Tuesday, January 26th.

Presentations will be evaluated for their clarity, originality, research, and rhetorical effectiveness. Papers will be evaluated based on clarity and focus of argument and effectiveness in your use of primary and secondary sources in support of your thesis. In addition, your papers will be graded for style and mechanics. Sloppy writing and proofreading will adversely affect your grade, so write and revise with care. Unexcused late papers will be penalized, so please turn in your papers ON TIME – at the start of class in class on the day due. You will receive a reserve reading list along with this syllabus. You will be expected to consult and use, but by no means restrict yourself to, these sources as you write your papers and prepare your presentations. In addition, you will be expected to document properly your use of sources using Chicago or MLA style. The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed.) and the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (6th ed.) are available in the Reference Room of TCNJ Library. Final grades will be based on performance in the following areas:

First short paper (15% of final grade) Second short paper (15% of final grade) Final paper (30% of final grade) Class participation, including presentations (20% of final grade) Final examination (20% of final grade)

This syllabus also is available on the Web at: www.tcnj.edu/~dventuro

Texts:

Harmon, William and C. Hugh Holman. A Handbook to Literature, 11th ed. (Upper Saddle River: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2006).

Shakespeare, William. The Norton Shakespeare: Volume 2: Later Plays, 2nd edition. Ed. Stephen Greenblatt, et al. (New York: W. W. Norton, 2007).

Dillon, Janette. The Cambridge Introduction to Shakespeare’s Tragedies. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007).

Reading and Paper Assignments

Week I T Jan. 19 Introduction to course; readings: Norton Shakespeare: Volume 2: Later Plays, Greenblatt, “Shakespeare’s Life and Art,” 42-67. . F Jan. 22˜ Hamlet, pp. 103-204 (entire); preliminary assignment due.

Week II T Jan. 26 Hamlet; choose presentation topics.

F Jan. 29 Hamlet.

Week III T Feb. 2 Hamlet; read and discuss Frye handout.

F Feb. 5 Hamlet.

Week IV T Feb. 9 Othello, pp. 375-457 (entire).

F Feb. 12* Othello; first short paper due.

Week V T Feb. 16 Othello.

F Feb. 19 Othello.

Week VI T Feb. 23 King Lear, pp. 591-601; (conflated text) pp. 759-833 (entire).

F Feb. 26 King Lear; read and discuss Kantorowicz handout. Week VII T Mar. 2 King Lear; read and discuss Bakhtin handout.

F Mar. 5* King Lear; second short paper due.

Week VIII T Mar. 9 Spring Break; no classes.

F Mar. 12 Spring Break; no classes.

Week IX T Mar. 16 Troilus and Cressida, pp. 205-293 (entire).

F Mar. 19 No meeting.

Week X T Mar. 23 Troilus and Cressida

F Mar. 26 Troilus and Cressida.

Week XI T Mar. 30+ Troilus and Cressida; one-page proposal and one-page working bibliography for final project due. . F Apr. 2 The Winter’s Tale, pp. 1147-1227 (entire).

Week XII T Apr. 6 The Winter’s Tale.

F Apr. 9 The Winter’s Tale.

Week XIII T Apr. 13 The Winter’s Tale.

F Apr. 16 The Tempest, pp. 1321-81 (entire).

Week XIV T Apr. 20 The Tempest.

F Apr. 23 The Tempest.

Week XV T Apr. 27* The Tempest; final paper due.

Final Examination: Date TBA (will take place during exam period).

˜indicates due date of preliminary assignment.

* indicates due date of a paper.

+ indicates due date of one-page proposal and one-page working bibliography for final project. Reserve Reading List for LIT 422/Shakespeare: Tragedies and Romances

Hamlet

Booth, Stephen. “On the Value of Hamlet.” In Reinterpretations of Elizabethan Drama: Selected Papers from the English Institute. Ed. Norman Rabkin. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969, 137-77. PR 653 .R4.

Bradley, A. C. Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth. 1904. 2nd ed. New York: St. Martin’s, 1967. PR 2983 .B7.

Eliot, T. S. “Hamlet and his Problems.” In The Sacred Wood. London: Methuen, 1950, 95-103. PN 511 .E44 1950.

Empson, William. “Hamlet.” In Essays on Shakespeare. Ed. David B. Pirie. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986, 79-136. PR 2976 .E554 1986.

Foakes, R. A. Hamlet versus Lear: Cultural Politics and Shakespeare’s Art. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993. PR 2965 .F6 1993.

Frye, Northrop. “Hamlet.” In Northrop Frye on Shakespeare. Ed. Robert Sandler. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1986, 82-100. PR 2976 .F67 1986b.

Garber, Marjorie. “Hamlet: Giving Up the Ghost.” In Shakespeare’s Ghost Writers. New York: Methuen, 1987, 124-76. PR 2976 .G37 1987.

Granville-Barker, Harley. Prefaces to Shakespeare: Hamlet. Vol. 1. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963. PR 2976 .G673 1963.

Greenblatt, Stephen. Hamlet in Purgatory. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. PR 2807 .G69 2001.

Kantorowicz, E. H. “Shakespeare: King Richard II.” In The King’s Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1957. 24-41. JC 385 .K25.

Kott, Jan. “Hamlet.” In Shakespeare Our Contemporary. Trans. Boleslaw Taborski. New York: W. W. Norton, 1974, 57-75. PR 2979 .P58 K63 1974.

Levin, Harry. The Question of Hamlet. New York: Oxford University Press, 1959. PR 2807 .L39.

King Lear

Booth, Stephen. “On the Greatness of King Lear.” In Twentieth Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Janet Adelman. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1978, 98-111. PR 2819 .T9.

Cavell, Stanley. “The Avoidance of Love: A Reading of King Lear.” In Twentieth Century Interpretations of King Lear. Ed. Janet Adelman. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1978, 70-87. PR 2819 .T9. Colie, Rosalie L. and F. T. Flahiff. Some Facets of King Lear: Essays in Prismatic Criticism. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1974. PR 2819 .C6.

Dollimore, Jonathan. “King Lear (ca. 1605-6) and Essentialist Humanism.” In Radical Tragedy: Religion, Ideology and Power in the Drama of Shakespeare and his Contemporaries. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1984, pp-pp. PR 658 .T7 D6 1984.

Elton, William R. King Lear and the Gods. San Marino, CA: Huntington Library Publications, 1968. PR 2819 .E4.

Frye, Northrop. “King Lear.” In Northrop Frye on Shakespeare. Ed. Robert Sandler. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1986, 101-21. PR 2976 .F67 1986b.

Granville-Barker, Harley. Prefaces to Shakespeare: King Lear. Vol. 2. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963, 1-74. PR 2976 .G673 1963.

Greenblatt, Stephen. “Shakespeare and the Exorcists.” In Shakespearean Negotiations. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988, 94-128. PR 2976 .737 1988.

Kahn, Coppélia. “The Absent Mother in King Lear.” Rewriting the Renaissance: The Discourses of Sexual Difference in Early Modern Europe. Ed. Margaret Ferguson, Maureen Quilligan, and Nancy J. Vickers. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986, 33-49. HQ 1075.5 .E85 R48 1986.

Kantorowicz, E. H. “Shakespeare: King Richard II.” In The King’s Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1957. 24-41. JC 385 .K25.

Kott, Jan. “King Lear, or Endgame.” In Shakespeare Our Contemporary. Trans. Boleslaw Taborski. New York: W. W. Norton, 1974, 127-68. PR 2979 .P58 K63 1974.

Mack, Maynard. King Lear in Our Time. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1965. PR 2819 .M3.

Rosenberg, Marvin. The Masks of King Lear. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1972. PR 2819 .R65.

Othello

Bloom, Harold, ed. William Shakespeare’s “Othello.” Modern Critical Interpretations. New York: Chelsea House, 1987. PR 2829 .W47 1987.

Fiedler, Leslie A. “The Moor as Stranger; or, ‘Almost Damned in a Fair Wife.’” In The Stranger in Shakespeare. New York: Stein and Day, 1972, 139-96, PR 2989 .F5.

Granville-Barker, Harley. Prefaces to Shakespeare: Othello. Vol. 4. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963, 120-266. PR 2976 .G673 1963.

Greenblatt, Stephen. Renaissance Self-Fashioning: From More to Shakespeare. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1980. PR 429 .S45 G7 1980.

Hunter, G. K. “Othello and Colour Prejudice.” In Dramatic Identities and Cultural Traditions: Studies in Shakespeare and his Contemporaries. New York: Barnes and Noble, 1978, 31-59. PR 2976 .H77 1978.

Parker, Patricia. “Fantasies of ‘Race’ and ‘Gender’: Africa, Othello, and Bringing to Light.” In Women, “Race,” and Writing in the Early Modern Period. Ed. Margo Hendricks and Patricia Parker. London: Routledge, 1994, 84-100. PN 471 .W556 1994.

Stallybrass, Peter. “Patriarchal Territories: The Body Enclosed.” In Rewriting the Renaissance: The Discourses of Sexual Difference in Early Modern Europe. Ed. Margaret W. Ferguson, Maureen Quilligan, and Nancy Vickers. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1986, 123-42. HQ 1075.5 .E85 R48 1986.

Vaughan, Virginia Mason. Othello: A Contextual History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. PR 2829 .V38 1994.

The Tempest

Brown, Paul. “’This Thing of Darkness I Acknowledge Mine’: The Tempest and The Discourse of Colonialism.” In Political Shakespeare: New Essays in Cultural Materialism.” Ed. Jonathan Dollimore and Alan Sinfield. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1985, 48-71. PR 3017 .P59 1985.

Fiedler, Leslie A. “The New World Savage as Stranger; or, ‘Tis New to Thee.’” In The Stranger in Shakespeare. New York: Stein and Day, 1972, 199-253. PR 2989 .F5.

Frye, Northrop. “The Tempest.” In Northrop Frye on Shakespeare. Ed. Robert Sandler. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1986, 171-85. PR 2976 .F67 1986b.

Greenblatt, Stephen. “Martial Law in the Land of Cockaigne.” In Shakespearean Negotiations. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988, 128-63. PR 2976 .737 1988.

Kott, Jan. “Prospero’s Staff.” In Shakespeare Our Contemporary. Trans. Boleslaw Taborski. New York: W. W. Norton, 1974, 293-341. PR 2979 .P58 K63 1974.

Orgel, Stephen. The Illusion of Power: Political Theatre in the English Renaissance. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975. PN 2590 .C66 O73.

Sundelson, David. “’So Rare a Wonder’d Father’: Prospero’s Tempest.” Representing Shakespeare: New Psychoanalytic Essays. Ed. Murray Schwartz and Coppélia Kahn. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1980. PR 2976 .R4.

Troilus and Cressida

Adamson, Jane. Troilus and Cressida. Twayne’s New Critical Introductions to Shakespeare. Boston: Twayne (G. K. Hall), 1987. PR 2836 .A85 1987. Campbell, Oscar James. Comicall Satyre and Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida. San Marino, CA: Huntington Library Publications, 1965. PR 658 .C63 C3.

James, Heather. Shakespeare’s Troy: Drama, Politics, and the Translation of Empire. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. PR 2836 .J36 1997.

Kimbrough, Robert. Shakespeare’s Troilus and Cressida and Its Setting. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1964. PR 2836 .K5.

Kott, Jan. “Troilus and Cressida.” In Shakespeare Our Contemporary. Trans. Boleslaw Taborski. New York: W. W. Norton, 1974, 75-83. PR 2979 .P58 K63 1974.

Smith, Hallett, ed. Twentieth Century Interpretations of The Tempest. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1969. PR 2833 .S6.

The Winter’s Tale

Adelman, Janet. “Masculine Authority and the Maternal Body: The Return to Origins in The Romances.” In Suffocating Mothers: Fantasies of Maternal Origins in Shakespeare’s Plays, Hamlet to The Tempest. London: Routledge, 1992, 193-238. PR 3065 .A37 1991.

Barton, Anne. “Leontes and the Spider: Language and Speaker in Shakespeare’s Last Plays (1980). In Essays, Mainly Shakespeare. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994. PR 2976 .B34 1994.

Dolan, Frances. “Finding What Has Been ‘Lost’: Representations of Infanticide and The Winter’s Tale.” In Dangerous Familiars: Representations of Domestic Crime in England, 1550-1700. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994, 121-70. HV 6949 .E5 D65 1994.

Egan, Robert. “’The Art Itself Is Nature’: The Winter’s Tale,” In Drama Within Drama: Shakespeare’s Sense of His Art in King Lear, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest. New York, Columbia University Press, 1975. PR 2995 .E34.

Frey, Charles. Shakespeare’s Vast Romance: A Study of The Winter’s Tale. Columbia, MO: University of Missouri Press, 1980. PR 2839 .F7.

Frye, Northrop. A Natural Perspective: The Development of Shakespearean Comedy and Romance. New York: Columbia University Press, 1965, 72-117. PR 2981 .F7.

Frye, Northrop. “Shakespeare’s Romances: The Winter’s Tale.” In Northrop Frye on Shakespeare. Ed. Robert Sandler. Markham, Ontario: Fitzhenry and Whiteside, 1986, 154-70. PR 2976 .F67 1986b.

Hunt, Maurice, ed. The Winter’ s Tale: Critical Essays. New York: Garland Publishers, 1995. PR 2839 .W56 1995.

Paster, Gail Kern. “Quarreling With the Dug, or I Am Glad You Did Not Nurse Him.” The Body Embarrassed: Drama and the Disciplines of Shame in Early Modern Europe. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1993, 215-80. PR 658 .B63 P37 1993.

Tragedy

Frye, Northrop. Fools of Time: Studies in Shakespearean Tragedy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1973. PR 2983 .F7.

McEachern, Claire, ed. Cambridge Companion to Shakespearean Tragedy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002. PR 2983 .C28 2002.

Grading Rubric

Grading papers is an art, not a science. The following table, therefore, provides guidelines only. It breaks down the course’s grading criteria into four categories: argument, evidence, style, and mechanics. These are not, however, entirely discrete categories, and, in fact, your performance in one area may very well affect your performance in another. For example, readers may have difficulty grasping your argument if they have to struggle to understand the sentences that convey it. Sometimes an overwhelmingly good or bad performance in one area may outweigh other factors.

CRITERIA ARGUMENT EVIDENCE STYLE MECHANICS/ GRAMMAR GRADE

A Argument clearly stated at Extensive and varied factual Excellent prose style: Minimal errors in beginning and developed evidence supports argument. clear, elegant, persuasive. grammar, spelling, logically throughout the No significant omissions, Language and phrasing punctuation, etc. paper to a conclusion. irrelevancies, or errors of fact. are precise and, in some Paragraphs organized Quoted and paraphrased cases, memorable. around concepts with material is introduced fluidly, Writer has an identifiable strong topic sentences. with varying and helpful and coherent voice. Argument is bold, fresh, framing. and compelling.

B Argument generally clear, Generally good evidence, but Clear, serviceable prose Occasional errors but some digressions or some lack of variety of sources, that does not obscure such as failures to develop fully to errors of omission, and/ or understanding. Writer typographical a conclusion. Papers in the irrelevant data. Quoted and has used varying errors, spelling B-/C+ range generally paraphrased material is framed sentence patterns, mistakes, and have a routine argument, properly, though at times although the sentences inappropriate use one that rehashes class mechanically. lack the rhythm and of the passive discussion rather than precision of an A paper. voice. breaking new ground. Writer’s voice is emerging.

C Argument is implied, but Some evidence, but excessive Understandable writing, Repeated, not explicitly stated and/or dependence on a single scene or but sometimes vague, significant errors not well developed to a source, substantial omissions or wooden, or choppy. which detract from conclusion. When irrelevancies, and/or minor Sentences are overall effect of organized, paragraphs and errors of fact. Quoted and haphazardly constructed, paper or suggest a topic sentences emphasize paraphrased materials are giving the impression wavering sequence (time, scenes, dropped into the text without that the writer has little commitment to the etc.) rather than concepts. adequate attribution or framing. control. assignment.* Unnecessary plot summary. These papers often recognize an image or thematic pattern and display that pattern, but do not advance an argument. D Argument is barely Very little, or largely irrelevant Writing is confusing, Frequent and discernable and/or poorly evidence, and/or substantial vague, and/or hard to serious errors developed. errors of fact. Problems in understand. which make paper quoted and paraphrased hard to understand material ranging from or suggest a misquotations to passages that profound lack of arouse suspicions of plagiarism. commitment to the assignment.*

F No discernable argument Virtually no relevant evidence Writing is nearly Massive errors or paper totally digresses and/or very serious errors of unintelligible. which render paper from argument. fact. Problems in quoted and nearly paraphrased material that unintelligible.* indicate irrelevance or plagiarism.

*Note: At this level, my response to errors in mechanics, grammar, spelling, and diction will be targeted, not comprehensive.

Students who clearly do not understand a grammatical or stylistic principle (e.g., passive voice, comma splice) will not be markedly penalized before the problem is noted; once the instructor has explained the principle (in class, in office hours, or in comments on a paper), repetition of these errors in future assignments may significantly reduce students’ grades.

Class Discussion/Participation: You are expected to read the assignments with enough care and thought to participate productively in all class activities including class discussions, presentations, and peer-response assignments. This doesn't mean you are necessarily expected to understand everything you read, but you should be ready to voice your questions, doubts, and points of confusion as well as your conclusions and insights. Regular attendance and willingness to participate meaningfully are crucial to your success. More than two unexcused absences or more than three absences of any kind (barring documented family crises or health problems) may drop to failing.

Final Exam: This will be a comprehensive examination which will cover all the material in the course. Success on the exam depends on your familiarity with the works and author as well as knowledge of broader movements and key ideas of the period. The best way to prepare for this exam is to be diligent throughout the semester.

Attendance: Absence is excused only for those reasons recognized as valid by the College and outlined in the Student Handbook. If you are absent for a legitimate reason, you are still expected to get assignments from classmates. If you miss more than two classes, you are required to meet with me to arrange a schedule of writing assignments to make up for missed time. If you miss more than three classes, your class participation grade may be seriously affected. Plagiarism and Academic Honesty: All students are expected to be familiar with, and adhere to, the College's policies regarding academic integrity as well as the definition and description of plagiarism on the College's Writing Program homepage. Technical plagiarism (i.e., sloppy, incomplete, or erroneous citation of consulted materials) can result in failure of an assignment. Instances of suspected academic dishonesty will be dealt with in conjunction with the College's Office of Academic Integrity.