This course will be taught in person and requires regular, in-person attendance; as a courtesy to those who have been unable to find housing near UCSB or who fear they may be ill, I will also tape the lecture and mount it online, but the power points will not be uploaded.

In lecture, TA sections, we will study four representative plays from the first part of Shakespeare’s career, often in conjunction with film adaptations of the works. The five plays are The Taming of the Shrew, Richard II, The Merchant of Venice, and Hamlet. Students are expected to read each play at least twice. Lectures will not proceed in narrative order through the individual plays; rather we will discuss dominant themes and issues addressed by each play in their entirety.

The course requirements include regular attendance and participation in the lectures and sections as well as 4 multiple-choice tests, 2 written papers and a final comprehensive exam (covering all the plays of the course).

The tests, papers, and exam will require you to focus on the play(s) and cite from them, even if not exactly word for word.

There will be an honors section on Thursdays directly after the lecture, at 12:30-1:20 pm in the Early Modern Center (EMC), SH 2510.